This is the first in a series about DCI Craig Gillard, a good detective that has led a clean life, seems to be fit and the subject of a lot of water-cooler talk by the ladies.  Without getting into the sub-plots of the story DCI Gillard is called in to find a missing person, which turns out to be his first love ever, the now married Elizabeth Knight.  Liz Knight gave up her education and promising future career to marry Martin Knight, a Professor that would become a pain in the police department's butt by doing reports on how the police department was lax in their work, and how criminals were not trained to return to society and become contributing members to their community.  Liz turned down an education at Harvard so she could concentrate on her romance with her future husband and become a mother of two.

The beginning of the hunt for Liz is not helped by Liz's husband, Professor Martin Knight's denial that Liz is missing by not really co-operating with the police, and Professor Knight simply justs vanishes off the face of the earth.  DNA evidence is later found proofing that Liz is now dead, but no body is ever found.  With Professor Knight missing, a multi-country manhunt for Martin Knight goes into effect.  Evidence of affairs are found against the Professor even hurts his case even more.  After months of investigation, neither Knight is found and with the pressure of the public and press, Gillard is removed from the case.

The Body in the Marsh is well written, even though sometimes you want to scream at your book or ebook reader for the police to open their eyes to the obvious.  The sub-plots of the story work well with the investigation and Louth did his homework to make the read as real as an investigation can get.  Although DCI Gillard is a smart detective, he sort of fumbles his way to solve the case. This being his diligence to work the case from his insight and gut feelings. Eventually, he is put back on the case and works his way to the point to where he can solve the case. 

I like this series.  For me, 3-1/2 stars do not mean mediocracy.  Louth didn't just go through the paces but pieced together a really good book and I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

The Body in the Marsh by Nick Louth,

Book 1 in the DCI Craig Gillard Series

BITE NICK LOUTH
Publishing 7th May 2015, paperback original, £7.9

SYNOPSIS

The most gripping thriller you’ll ever read, Bite is a breath-taking ride of a novel, a high-concept conspiracy thriller about a virus outbreak and a man who will never give up the search for his missing girlfriend.

Tomorrow should be the greatest day of Erica Stroud-Jones's life. In just 24 hours this brilliant young scientist will present her secret work to a conference in Amsterdam - research that promises to revolutionise the battle against a deadly tropical disease. Millions of lives could be saved; a Nobel Prize beckons.
Arriving to watch her are sceptics and rivals, admirers and enemies. Erica's own eyes will be on sculptor Max Carver, her American new love to whom she will dedicate her achievement.

Tomorrow never comes.

Erica vanishes during the night. Max, desperate, terrified, sets out to find her, descending into an underworld full of malice and cunning. But even he is shocked by the dark terror he finds in the heart of the woman he loves.

REVIEW

The scientist Erica Stroud-Jones is missing. She disappears just hours before she will present her secret work to a conference in Amsterdam; research that could finally revolutionize the battle against a deadly tropical disease. But now she is gone and her boyfriend Max Carver must do everything in his power to find her. But that are people out there who would do anything to stop him. And, then people start getting sick, but it seems that someone is behind this new illness...

This book was wonderfully captivating, a real page-turner. There are three different narratives in this book; Ericas diary from her time in Africa, Max Carvers searching for Erica and the doctors who discover the illness and all three of the narratives work perfectly together until the end.

This is my kind of book a thriller that until the last page is thrilling to read and that manage to deliver some surprises. I admit that towards the ending I found that I had some problem fully take in the story, but I think it had more to do with me being tired than the book. Also, in this book not everything is black and white, sure there is some evil people, especially one really nasty person, but I felt that the man behind the all, I could understand him. I could understand how he came to do the things he did and that is not always so when it comes to thriller. Often is it money or power, but in this case, not everything had to do with money, well in a way it did, as it was a mans greed that started everything. 

What really got to me in the end was the ending of the book when everything that had happened in the book in the present got explained and it was so perfect! It was just a perfect closing for the book, the explanation how one thing led to another thing. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Louth is a bestselling thriller writer, award-winning financial journalist and an investment commentator. A 1979 graduate of the London School of Economics, he went on to become a Reuters foreign correspondent in 1987. It was an experience at a medical conference in Amsterdam in 1992, while working for Reuters, that gave him the inspiration for Bite, which was a self-published bestseller in 2014. Freelance since 1998, he has been a regulator contributor to the Financial Times, Investors Chronicle and Observer Money section, and has published seven other books. Nick Louth is married and lives in Lincolnshire. Follow him on Twitter @Investmtinsider

Thank you Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! 

My plan was to finish this book this morning, but then I got called in to work instead. Not the best thing when you have read until 1 a.m. and you get called in 5.30 a.m. :P

The funny thing with last night was that I decided to stop reading at 70%. I put away the Ipad to charge it and then continued to read on the Iphone...XD 

So now, finally am I going to finish the book!

Arriving home and finding two book packages was really nice today. One book from Piatkus and one that I have bought, guess which one that I bought! ;)

I have Bite as an e-book, but it's really nice to have it paperback because the book is seriously good! I ahe around 20% of it left to read and if I hadn't got called in to work today would I have already finished the book...:P

The Bite Blog Tour starts next week and on May 8th is it my turn to host it! :D