📖 Book Description
New Forest Murder Mysteries
Detective Elinor Saxby thinks she’s found her perfect rural retreat:
a crooked little cottage amid the towering pines of the New Forest.
But bad things still happen in beautiful places . . .On a lonely stretch of shingle, where the Solent laps the forest’s edge, something terrible is about to wash ashore. The bloated body of a young man.
Several days dead. A ragged wound gapes in his chest. Because this was no accident. He’s been shot at close range, then dumped.City cop Elinor’s on the case – and utterly out of her depth.
The frosty coastguard tells Elinor the victim is a stranger. From out of town.
But Elinor would swear she knows more than she’s saying . . .Before long, a second body is discovered deep in the forest.
Same wound. Same cold-blooded MO. Same killer?It’s up to Elinor to unravel the truth from the lies, before more victims die.
But she’d better watch her back.Because here in the New Forest, secrets run deeper – and darker
– than the murky waters of the Solent itself.Trusting the wrong person might just cost Elinor everything . . .
📚Publication Details
AUTHOR: Linda Mather 🔗 Instagram
BOOK TITLE: Fear in the New Forest
SERIES: New Forest Murder Mysteries – book 2
PUBLISHER: Joffe Books
🔗 Website • Facebook • Instagram • YouTube · TikTok • BlueSky
PUBLICATION DATE: 12 August 2026
EDITION REVIEWED: Digital Edition
ISBN: 9781805737704
PAGES: 302
Find out more
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🌟 Book Tour
I’m delighted to be taking part in the Virtual Book Tour for Fear in the New Forest, hosted by Zooloo’s Book Tours.
My sincere thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours for the opportunity to take part in this virtual book tour, and to Joffe Books for providing digital review copy of Fear in the New Forest. As always, my review is based solely on my own reading experience and reflects my honest opinion.
Zooloo’s Book Tours 🔗 Website • Facebook • Instagram • TikTok
👤 About the Author
Linda Mather is the author of the Jo and Macy Mystery series.
The 6th book in this series is THE PERFECT HOUSE FOR MURDER, published in August 2023.
Her Jo and Macy Mystery books are Forecast Murder, A Sign for Murder, Murder as Predicted, The Hanged Man and A Future Murder, all published by Joffe Books and available on Amazon. They feature Jo Hughes and her private investigator boss David Macy. Jo is an astrologer, who also works as a PI and whose tenacious inquiries lead her to twisty resolutions.
The Jo and Macy Mysteries series is set in the West Midlands and Cotswolds. A sense of place is really important to Linda. She likes to research the places she writes about by visiting when she can to absorb the atmosphere, weaving the details into the stories.
The idea for her latest book came to her during lockdown during many canal walks. The cottages with their flower-filled window boxes and the idyllic pubs along the canal path are so pretty and perfect that it looks as if nothing bad could ever happen there. Linda saw this as a challenge.
Linda has recently landed a contract for 3 books in a police thriller series and is currently writing the first of these, which is set in the New Forest.
She also has plans for the next Jo & Macy Mystery.
🔗 Connect with the Author
👩🏻💻 My Review
One of the things I really enjoyed about Fear in the New Forest was the way Linda Mather sets the scene. The New Forest is such a beautiful location, with the woodland meeting the coastline and the Solent providing a peaceful backdrop. Of course, this is a murder mystery, so that peaceful setting doesn’t stay peaceful for long!
Having read the first book, Death in the New Forest, I appreciated how the story brings us up to date with Elinor and her small team. You can read this as a standalone without feeling you’ve missed anything in the characters’ personal lives, while returning readers will find the recap natural rather than repetitive. Elinor’s past is referred to lightly throughout, giving us hints on why she left the Midlands to start again. Getting to know the full team gives us a better understanding of each member, their individual strengths and weaknesses and, of course, any demons they are dealing with. I really like the way this is handled, allowing the characters to develop alongside the investigation rather than making their personal stories feel like an interruption.
The investigation gets underway almost quietly, with Elinor enjoying a peaceful walk along the shore with an old friend from her Midlands days. A coastguard helicopter appears overhead and suddenly that peaceful day takes a very different turn. From there, there is a lot going on. The writing keeps the pace moving, with new information, different threads and developments constantly giving us something else to think about. I found myself following the various possibilities and wondering who was responsible, while the busy summer setting adds another layer of urgency.
For me, the combination of the beautiful setting, the developing team dynamics and the fast-moving investigation made this an enjoyable read. I like Elinor and feel she is settling into her new role and becoming more established in her surroundings. I also enjoyed following the twists and turns of the case as it unfolded.
I can’t wait to see what is coming next!
#FearInTheNewForest #LindaMather #NewForestMurderMysteries
#JoffeBooks #NetGalley #ZooloosBookTours
MoMoBookDiary Index
- Author
- Linda Mather
- Title
- Fear In The New Forest
- Series
- New Forest Murder Mysteries – book 2
- Publisher
- Joffe Books
- Genre
- Murder Mystery
- Setting
- UK – England – New Forest
- Source
- Zooloo’s Book Tours
- NetGalley
- Date Read
- 9 – 10 August 2026
- Review Shared
- Amazon
- Goodreads
- NetGalley
- TheStorygraph
This review may also appear on my social media channels and selected book platforms.
All links were correct at the time of publication.
DISCLOSURE: I received a review copy of this book via Zooloo’s Book Tours and NetGalley.
As always, my thoughts are honest and my own.
This review is original content.
Please credit and link back if you wish to quote.
© [2026] [MoMoBookDiary]
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