Today at Celtic Connexions, I’m reviewing Faith Martin’s Murder Most Final.
Blurb
One of the world’s favourite detectives returns . . . for the final time?
Former Detective Hillary Greene has solved some of the toughest cases in Thames Valley Police’s cold case history.
But this could be the one that breaks her.
Ten years ago, sixteen-year-old Angela Manning stepped off her school bus, and vanished.
By morning, her broken body was found at the bottom of a disused Oxfordshire quarry.
The inquest returned an open verdict. No murder weapon. No forensic evidence. Only one elderly witness, who glimpsed two shadowy figures standing on the cliff moments before Angela fell.
Now Hillary and her team must uncover what really happened that night.
Angela was pretty, popular – and determined to become an actress. She dazzled the local amateur dramatics group she belonged to – but not everyone admired her confidence. Some loved her. Some envied her. And some had very good reasons to want her gone.
Hillary and her team must retrace the schoolgirl’s final hours.
Because someone knows the truth about what happened on that lonely cliff edge.
And they’ll do anything to keep Hillary from discovering it.
This is the case that Hillary’s boss, Superintendent Rollo Sale, has never been able to forget. Now he’s about to retire, he asks the cold case team to pull out all the stops. This could be Hillary Greene’s final investigation.
Book Links and Info
| Goodreads | https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/258731964-murder-most-final-a-gripping-british-crime-mystery-full-of-twists |
| Purchase Link | https://mybook.to/murdermostfinal-zbt |
| Publication Day | Tuesday, October 20, 2026 |
| Publisher | Joffe Books |
| Genre | Crime Thriller |
| Page Count | 262 pages |
| Series / Standalone | 23rd standalone book in the DI Hilary Greene series |
My review
This is my first Faith Martin novel. I’m not sure how I missed her before, but I’ll definitely keep her and her novels in my sights.
We meet retired detective Hillary Greene and her team, who work with Thames Valley Police to investigate cold cases. My mind immediately went to three TV series: Morse, Lewis, and Endeavour.
Many twists and possible suspects kept me guessing as I turned the virtual pages.
The book was gritty, well-written, and humorous in great British fashion. Maybe “humorous” isn’t quite the right word, but it works.
I love the author’s style and the way she turns a phrase. Best of all, I couldn’t guess whodunnit until the author revealed the suspect.
About Faith Martin
Faith Martin was born in Oxford, and has spent all her life within twenty miles of the university city, even working at Somerville College for six years before turning to writing full-time.
Faith has been writing for nearly 30 years under four different pen names and has had nearly 50 books published so far. She began writing romantic thrillers as Maxine Barry, which Joffe Books are in the process of re-releasing as brand new eBooks. Then she turned to crime, and as Joyce Cato wrote classic-style whodunits, since she’s always admired the golden-age crime novelists. But it was when she created her fictional DI Hillary Greene, and began writing under the name of Faith Martin, that she finally began to become more widely known. Her latest literary characters WPC Trudy Loveday, and city coroner, Dr Clement Ryder, take readers back to the 1960’s and the city of Oxford. Having lived within a few miles of the city of dreaming spires for all her life, both the city and the countryside/wildlife often feature in her novels. Although she has never lived on a narrow boat (unlike DI Hillary Greene!) the Oxford canal, the river Cherwell, and the flora and fauna of a farming landscape have always played a big part in her life – and often sneak their way onto the pages of her books.
Her hobbies include walking her now ageing dog, wildlife-watching, reading and (reluctantly) gardening.
Connect with Faith
| https://www.facebook.com/FaithMartinAuthor/ | |
| X / Twitter | https://x.com/FaithMartin_Nov |
