BLOG TOUR! Nothing Bad Happens Here by Nikki Crutchley

The book....

She looked away from his face and took in the clear spring night, full of stars. Her last thoughts were of her mother. Would she finally care, when one day they found her body, and a policeman came knocking at her door?

The body of missing tourist Bethany Haliwell is found in the small Coromandel town of Castle Bay, where nothing bad ever happens. News crews and journalists from all over the country descend on the small seaside town as old secrets are dragged up and gossip is taken as gospel.

Among them is Miller Hatcher, a journalist battling her own demons, who arrives intent on gaining a promotion by covering the grisly murder. 

Following an anonymous tip, Miller begins to unravel the mystery of the small town. And when another woman goes missing, Miller finds herself getting closer to the truth. But at what cost?

Purchase from Amazon: http://a.co/7y5bFY8 

The review...

How on earth could I resist a novel set on the coast of Coromandel? I’m ashamed to say that I never realised until now that it’s a real place and not an invention of Edward Lear. Anyway, there’s no sign of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo, but there’s plenty else going on in the small seaside town of Castle Bay, New Zealand, despite the locals’ frequent and increasingly unconvincing assertions that “Nothing bad ever happens here”.

When the body of a young backpacker is discovered, months after her disappearance, nobody wants to believe there’s a genuine connection to Castle Bay - surely, one of the many summer visitors must be responsible for Bethany’s murder. Surely, there can’t be a monster living among them, in their safe and picturesque little town.

As local police officer Kahu Parata and out-of-town journalist Miller Hatcher investigate, dark secrets begin to emerge which certain people would rather keep hidden. And another, less pleasant side of Castle Bay gradually becomes apparent.

Nothing Bad Happens Here is an excellent small-town murder mystery which I really enjoyed reading. The story is told largely from the perspectives of Miller and Kahu and they are both likeable and relatable characters with their own issues - Kahu dealing with his wife’s illness and the couple’s inability to have children, Miller grieving the recent death of her mother, struggling with her alcohol use and under pressure from her boss to deliver a great story. Other characters, including Delta and Oprah (yes, really!) at the Haven wellness retreat where Miller stays, are also very well drawn, as indeed are certain less likeable characters...

An atmospheric sense of place pervades the story, the idyllic surroundings of Castle Bay contrasting sharply with some very sad and unpleasant events therein. 

I found Nothing Bad Happens Here to be a great read and a very impressive debut novel from Nikki Crutchley, who I'll definitely look out for in future. Many thanks to the author and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read it and to be part of the blog tour!

The author...

After seven years of working as a librarian in New Zealand and overseas, Nikki now works as a freelance proofreader and copy editor. She lives in the small Waikato town of Cambridge in New Zealand with her husband and two girls. Nikki has been writing on and off her whole life and recently has had success in flash fiction. She has been published in Flash Frontier, Flash Fiction Magazine and Mayhem Literary Journal, and has also had a story published in the Fresh Ink Anthology. Crime/thriller/mystery novels are her passion. Nothing Bad Happens Here is her first novel, set on the Coromandel Coast of New Zealand.

Follow Nikki on:

Website: www.nikkicrutchley.com

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