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Product Description
Product Description
The TV Detective finds television reporter Dan Groves newly assigned to the crime beat, and in a state of angst about it. He needs a crash-course in police work; the solution is to shadow Detective Chief Inspector Adam Breen on a high-profile murder inquiry, which doesn't go down well with some members of the police force. The victim is a notorious local businessman, Edward Bray, a man with so many enemies that one of the problems the inquiry faces is having a surplus of suspects. Bray is killed at a prearranged meeting, in a lay-by on a dark and storm-lashed night, by a blast through the heart from a shotgun. Adam investigates and uncovers a tantalising question, which seems to be at the heart of the case: why was the killing planned for a different day, but put off apparently because the weather was sunny? Tensions abound between Dan and the police, and he comes close to being thrown off the case - until the detectives come to realise he might actually be helpful, in using the power of television to tempt the murderer into a trap.
About the Author
Simon Hall is the BBC Crime Correspondent for the Devon and Cornwall area. This is the fourth novel in his TV Detective series. Simon is 40 years old and lives with his wife in Exeter.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I was looking forward to reading The TV Detective, having read and enjoyed all of the earlier books apart from the first one, A Popular Murder, which is expensive and hard to get hold of. The TV Detective follows the same premise as A Popular Murder, i.e. it describes how the main character, Dan Groves, a local news reporter, meets and first works with the Police to help solve a crime, the murder of a local businessman with plenty of enemies. It is not however the same book as A Popular Murder as claimed in an earlier review but a complete rewrite. I know this as I contacted the author and he was good enough to reply. Apparently A Popular Murder was published on an "as required" basis. Now that the subsequent books have been quite successful, it was decided to publish the story properly but in order to do himself justice, he decided to use the writing experience he has gained by rewriting it from the ground up. There are several different elements and plot twists that weren't in the earlier book.
Anyway, to the book itself. I enjoy reading Simon Hall's stories despite not being a huge fan of the crime genre. I think it's partly because I am familiar with the Plymouth area, where the books are set and partly because the main character essentially does the same job as the author, i.e. a crime correspondent on the BBC South West News. This makes it all the more authentic. Mainly though, his characterisations are spot on and the plots are not overly complicated. I find I get to really empathise with the characters. The TV Detective is in the same style as the other books in the series in that the reporter, Dan Groves, is invited by the police to tag along with one of their investigations and help them out by reporting on the news when it is likely to benefit the enquiry. In this book, you get to find out how this arrangement started and how he needed to build up trust from the Police. It also introduces how he has to balance the needs of the Police with the insatiable demands for a good exclusive story from his producer
There are several recurring characters, including Dan's drinking buddy, the Paparazzo Dirty El, his "crew", cameraman Nigel and outside broadcast man "Loud" Jim and it also introduces Claire, who would become a love interest in later books. Although the characters have a brief introduction in subsequent books for the benefit of new readers, it's interesting to see how these characters were introduced in the first place. As with most of the other books, there is a secondary plot but this is very small and revolves around a riddle set by a murderer before he was sent down and has been bugging the police for years. It had quite an ingenious answer in the end. And yes, there are plot holes (e.g. the use of a hit man wasn't considered) but to be honest I enjoyed the book so much, it didn't bother me.
I found this book well paced and extremely enjoyable to read. If you haven't read any of Simon Hall's books before, I recommend starting with this one. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you like it, then you are sure to like the others as they are in much the same vein.
Anyway, to the book itself. I enjoy reading Simon Hall's stories despite not being a huge fan of the crime genre. I think it's partly because I am familiar with the Plymouth area, where the books are set and partly because the main character essentially does the same job as the author, i.e. a crime correspondent on the BBC South West News. This makes it all the more authentic. Mainly though, his characterisations are spot on and the plots are not overly complicated. I find I get to really empathise with the characters. The TV Detective is in the same style as the other books in the series in that the reporter, Dan Groves, is invited by the police to tag along with one of their investigations and help them out by reporting on the news when it is likely to benefit the enquiry. In this book, you get to find out how this arrangement started and how he needed to build up trust from the Police. It also introduces how he has to balance the needs of the Police with the insatiable demands for a good exclusive story from his producer
There are several recurring characters, including Dan's drinking buddy, the Paparazzo Dirty El, his "crew", cameraman Nigel and outside broadcast man "Loud" Jim and it also introduces Claire, who would become a love interest in later books. Although the characters have a brief introduction in subsequent books for the benefit of new readers, it's interesting to see how these characters were introduced in the first place. As with most of the other books, there is a secondary plot but this is very small and revolves around a riddle set by a murderer before he was sent down and has been bugging the police for years. It had quite an ingenious answer in the end. And yes, there are plot holes (e.g. the use of a hit man wasn't considered) but to be honest I enjoyed the book so much, it didn't bother me.
I found this book well paced and extremely enjoyable to read. If you haven't read any of Simon Hall's books before, I recommend starting with this one. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you like it, then you are sure to like the others as they are in much the same vein.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you have read A Popluar Murder then beware as this is the same book under a diffrent name. It is the first, in the what has become known as, the TV Detective series. It is a very good first novel and sets the tone for the series that followed.
We follow Dan Groves as he is tranfered from being the Environment Correspondent to the Home Affairs, or crime beat for ITV South West. The setting of Plymouth is well done and brings a new location to crime fiction. The people are not portrayed as yokels and Plymouth is well described.
I would highly recommend this series as it develops Groives and Detective Chief Inspector Adam Breen well and draws you into thyeir lives. We have the commitment phobe Groves and the estranged family man Breen who compliment each other well.
The story is well told and highly recommended.
We follow Dan Groves as he is tranfered from being the Environment Correspondent to the Home Affairs, or crime beat for ITV South West. The setting of Plymouth is well done and brings a new location to crime fiction. The people are not portrayed as yokels and Plymouth is well described.
I would highly recommend this series as it develops Groives and Detective Chief Inspector Adam Breen well and draws you into thyeir lives. We have the commitment phobe Groves and the estranged family man Breen who compliment each other well.
The story is well told and highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed the slight twist on this , approaching it from out side the police force .Very readable and liked the litte link into his next book
Also enjoyed insight into TV reporting .Some characters a little sterotyped I agree , but arent all police detective novels and films ?
His boss demanding results was a nice replacement for grumpy chief - constables a la Morse , Frost etc
Didnt see need for girl friend involvements, that felt a bit detective - by numbers
Overall , am looking forwrd to next one
Also enjoyed insight into TV reporting .Some characters a little sterotyped I agree , but arent all police detective novels and films ?
His boss demanding results was a nice replacement for grumpy chief - constables a la Morse , Frost etc
Didnt see need for girl friend involvements, that felt a bit detective - by numbers
Overall , am looking forwrd to next one
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good so far .....
I was really enjoying this book, and had got about half-way through, when I left it on the Tube! I have to apologise to Amazon and the Vine programme - I never finished it, so... Read more
Published 6 months ago by The Librarian
TV Detective
This was the first book I had read by this author so cannot compare to his other work. It was an enjoyable enough read but lacked that sparkle that would make it worthy of 5... Read more
Published 11 months ago by crime reader
Not a bad debut
Local TV reporter Dan Groves has been moved by his news editor from the Environment beat to Crime, and almost immediately has a major story to get his teeth into: the murder of... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Phil Robertshaw
The sun doesn't always shine on TV
I quite enjoyed reading The TV Detective although as a crime novel it shouldn't be taken too seriously. Read more
Published 21 months ago by V. Warrington
Wow!!
I would recommend this book to anyone! I found it totally un-put downable.
The story is a great one, the setting is fantastic and the author quite a wordsmith! Read more
The story is a great one, the setting is fantastic and the author quite a wordsmith! Read more
Published 22 months ago by Tiger
An enjoyable read.
British Crime Fiction has a great heritage- Christie, Child, La Plante, Arnott, Dexter- Simon Hall is a British Crime Fiction writer but his work is adequate rather than zinging... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ben Whitehouse
Clever, taut and believable thriller, great little read!
This is the second book by Simon Hall I have read and I can safely say it won't be the last. The first of his detective novels I read was Evil Valley, which again featured... Read more
Published 24 months ago by T. SMEDLEY
Staid and unbelievable
This is about an environment reporter who finds himself dumped with the crime beat (a job he doesn't want). Read more
Published 24 months ago by ratscat13
ENJOYABLE WHODUNNIT.................
I was a bit confused here having read "The Death Picture" and the "Evil Valley", as I was familiar with many of the characters in this book. Read more
Published on 21 May 2010 by L. Hay
A great dectective yarn...
Although entertaining, it is not the plot of this well crafted novel that makes it a good read. Dan Groves - an unlikely crime reporter, and an unwilling one - is pitched into... Read more
Published on 21 May 2010 by Roger Sharp
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