
GONE is the latest in the Meredith & Hodge series, and had just completed its blog tour. I think it's safe to say it was well received. Here are a few of the headings from reviews:
Wow! - The best one yet! - Gripping page turner! - GONE and done it again.
I loved writing this one. It was a little bittersweet at times, and I did question the path the characters were taking more than once. But Meredith always does things his way. I've had more emails and comments about this storyline than any other, and some lovely reviews. As an author, the excerpt below really did put a smile on my face.
"..., As involving as this is, the real beating heart of the book is John Meredith’s personal life. The scene where he meets up with his first true love is brilliantly written, and so, so poignant. They wine and dine, make it back to her hotel and …. I am not going to spoil it for you, but it is the most emotionally intuitive piece of writing I have read for a long time."
You can read the full review here: https://fullybooked2017.com/2025/01/16/gone-between-the-covers
Here's a little of the opening chapters for you:
CHAPTER ONE
2016 – Brandon Farm
Louise could taste blood, and lifting her fingers to her lips, pressed them softly against the pain. When she pressed her tongue forward, it found its way through her lip to her fingertip, and she cursed. That would scar. Yes, this was a cushy number for the best part, but not cushy enough to put up with this shit. Been there and done that.
As the familiar thumping on the floor above began, Louise lifted her eyes, but instead of releasing a string of abuse as intended, she covered her head with her hands and opened her mouth to scream.
Anyone listening wouldn’t have heard a scream, only the grunt as the hammer smashed into the side of her skull before it was raised again and again.
“What have you done? Stop hitting her. You can see she’s dead.” An odd choice of words, as they couldn’t see, as their eyes were screwed shut against the horror of it.
The thumping stopped and their eyes opened.
“Why? Look at what you did. I suppose you want me to help you clean this up now, don’t you? It’s the last time. I’m warning you. This is the last time. Nothing is worth this. Poor Jasmine. Poor Thomas.”
CHAPTER TWO
2024
DCI John Meredith nodded at Daisy and tapped his spoon against his mug before walking to stand next to the screen in the Cold Case Review Team’s new office. His team fell silent and Meredith pointed at an attractive young woman with curly red hair and perfect teeth who smiled at the camera.
“Louise Marshall. Went missing in 2010. She was thirty years old. A farmer on the outskirts of Reading found her body buried in one of his fields in 2018. She’d been dead for some time, but according to the forensic pathologist, not as long as the eight years she’d been missing. We have their report. You’ll get it later. Their best guess is that she’d been dead for around two years. The soil on that side of the farm is boggy as it’s close to the Thames, and it floods frequently. The boggy condition at the location of the burial site caused partial mummification of the remains. Her skull had been smashed repeatedly with a hard, blunt instrument, probably a hammer. She had a broken arm which had healed in the last year or two of her life, and she’d given birth to a child, probably in the six to nine months prior to her death. That would make her child, assuming it survived, about eight years old.”
DS Tom Seaton raised his hand. “Are we all working on this one, and why have we got it? I’m not complaining, because I think we could do with getting our teeth into something. But surely the Thames Valley team in Reading should have this, shouldn’t they?”
“I’m getting to why, and yes, this will be a team effort because if you hadn’t noticed, we’re a little short of staff.” Meredith pursed his lips and looked at his feet.
CCRT members Patsy Hodge, who was also Meredith’s wife, and Linda Trump, the team’s Girl Friday, were on extended sick leave. A serial killer the team had been hunting had attacked and almost killed Patsy, leaving her with a fractured skull, a compound fracture of her arm, and issues she wouldn’t talk about.
Linda had come to the rescue in the nick of time, and had taken a knife, repeatedly stabbing the man, resulting in his death. Physically, Linda was unharmed, mentally she was learning to accept her actions. Linda was having counselling, Patsy was insisting she was okay. It had been over three months and Meredith knew Patsy was anything but okay. At first, it seemed as if she was coping well and it was just the physical injuries that needed to heal, but now, mentally, she was becoming more and more troubled.
Meredith tutted at his thoughts and looked up. “And, Seaton, if you let me finish, all will become obvious. A few miles up the road, on a different farm, another body was dug up late last year. No mummification, but a hole in the skull. And it was this young woman. Daisy, do the honours.”
The image changed to another young woman of a similar age and appearance. On Meredith’s nod, Daisy pulled the first photograph back, and the two women smiled out at the team.
“Jasmine Jones. Jasmine was twenty-five when reported missing in 2002, and the pathologist’s best guess is she died approximately ten to fifteen years before being found last year. There wasn’t much left to go on. For the purposes of the investigation, we’ll assume she died between 2008 and 2013 but keep an open mind. So, in answer to your question about why us? Louise lived in Bristol and Jasmine in Worle. On the day they went missing, they had both purchased a ticket from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington. Neither of them made it to London because they both got off at—”
“Reading,” George Davis announced. “Who dealt with the misper files?”
“Swindon,” Meredith finished his sentence.
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