(3.5) As a beginning to a new series, this is a good book. I think the series will get better as it progresses, just like Vera and Shetland did, and I'm excited to see who they cast in the adaptation - I'm assuming they'll adapt it.

I appreciated that Cleeves finally has a gay protagonist and Matthew Venn has an interesting backstory that I hope will be revealed more in the next books. I also like his DS, Jen Rafferty, a strong, single mom with a past that is sure to get more attention as well.

My pet peeve is that if you put a map in the front of a book, the places you mention in the story MUST be on that map! Not the case here. Boo.