Shallow Ground

Written by Andy Maslen

Narrated by Steve West

Detective Ford has a cold-blooded killer to catch. But can he escape his own dark secrets?

Barely a month since his promotion to Inspector, DI Ford is called in to investigate the murder of a young nurse and her son in a small flat in Salisbury. There are few clues, and no apparent motive, but Ford can sense that there’s a serial killer at work. After all, he knows from brutal personal experience how killers cover their tracks…

It’s been six years since Ford lost his wife in a climbing accident—an accident he caused. He is desperate to keep the truth hidden, especially from his son, Sam. But Ford’s new partner, Dr Hannah Fellowes, is a crime scene investigator with a ruthlessly analytical mind, and as they work together to track down the killer, his crippling guilt is compounded by fear of exposure.

When instinct leads him towards a high-profile suspect, his superiors’ warnings just make him more determined to connect impulse and fact. But can Ford hold it all together—the case, his life—long enough to stop the killer?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Nov 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781713530497

Andy Maslen

Andy Maslen was born in Nottingham, England. After leaving university with a degree in psychology, he worked in business for thirty years as a copywriter. In his spare time, he plays blues guitar. He lives in Wiltshire.

Reviews for Shallow Ground

[marykuhl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the first in the DI Ford series and I was not disappointed. DI Ford is assigned his first case. A woman is found in her flat, blood seeping through the floor to the flat below. As Ford and his team look for the killer, the body count keeps increasing. Jools is his right hand, Hannah is the new CSI and is blunt and too the point. I enjoyed all the characters in this story and look forward to #2. Thank you NetGalley, Andy Maslen and Amazon Publishing UK.

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I decided to read Andy Maslen's Shallow Ground because of its Salisbury, England, setting. I couldn't remember reading a police procedural set there before. The setting didn't figure much in the story, but what did was the characters. The opening scene which shows readers how Ford's wife died is chilling and emotionally draining without going overboard graphically. Will Ford's overwhelming sense of guilt ever fade? Should it ever fade? Perhaps subsequent books will tell us.There's a running (lame) joke about Ford's first name, but after a more famous one with Inspector Morse, this doesn't spark any jollity in me. He's trying to raise his fifteen-year-old son, Sam, the best way he knows how, and that's not easy. Not only is Sam at "that age," Sam is also deeply wounded by his mother's death-- and the fact that Ford spends a lot more time on the job than he does with his son.To Ford and Sam add two more interesting characters, Ford's second-in-command, Jools, and the new crime scene investigator, Dr. Hannah Fellowes. I look forward to learning more about all four of these characters in subsequent books. For me, the weak link is the plot. Although I did find the serial killer to be interesting, the route taken to his capture needed to be streamlined. There was too much of the "red herring" suspect. I also found Ford's tendency to rely more on his gut than he does on the evidence to be annoying. You can't throw 'em in the slammer without proof, Ford. Learn how to focus on getting the evidence that proves your gut without throwing all your superiors into conniptions, please.All in all, an interesting beginning to a new series. With such a strong cast, I look forward to Ford's next case.