The Bodies in the Beach

Like That such a vicious, destructive trade could be so well hidden behind Weston's tired facade full of real people, living real ordinary lives is completely likely whilst being beguilingly told, unfurled in ordinary ways like a teenagers beach picnic the only way a desperate young man can reveal his dreadful last nights' murder. Interesting, new aspects of technology are always my favourite and this includes loads. The story was very well worked out, deliciously hidden and revealed, with emotions kept to the end as delicious, well deserved icing on a very tasty, un-put-down able cake of a book. Well done Paul Stephens! A great first novel. To whom would I recommend it? Adults loving intriguing detective fiction, students contemplating ways to augment their income! Rating choice This is just what you want in a good crime novel - a twisting plot unravelled by believable, engaging, real people caught in their intertwined lives with technology and boffins to help.

Great story. Enjoyed the characters and their back stories and the everyday setting. It was modern and well written and now about to read the next one!

I'm a proud Bristolian, though not lived there for a long time, and was first attracted to this novel due it being centred at Weston-super-Mare. Bristol and its surrounds has to be one of the most interesting and reported areas of the UK. The novel, from start to finish, gave a real sense of place, community and culture and provided just the right back drop to a gripping tale - well structured and paced. Interesting characters, particularly DS Miller, with believable interactions. I loved this novel, and was gripped to the end. But One question - when is the next novel due in this series? I cant wait!

Good book a few twists good pace and a believable main character. So all in all a very good read

You don't get many novels set in Weston-super-Mare, in fact I can't think of any, so upon the release of this e-book I was intrigued to see what the author had come up with. I know Weston well, having lived there for two and a half years, and my previous experience of books set in places I am familiar with ("The Brothers of Glastonbury", by Kate Seldon) was not a good one, the author of that previous book having clearly used a streetmap rather than a knowledge of the town for her reference. So I ventured into Paul Stephens's fictional "Weston-super-Mare" with caution, expectation and a slight fear that the setting being so familiar would make the narrative difficult to believe - Miss Marple's "St. Mary Mead" could be anywhere, but Weston exists. Dangerous territory! But I need not have feared. The story transcends the location - on one level there is the murder investigation, on another the relationship between the two central characters (Mary, who is one of the Detectives investigating, and Michael, who is a local character who "knows too much"), and on another level the delicately woven fabric of a Weston-super-Mare where Albanian Gangsters share the streets with ex-public school teenagers in flashy cars, and where the highlight of the social week seems to be the Country and Weston themed Karaoke at a pub on the Railway Station platform that bears more than a passing resemblance to "Off the Rails". You know a book is heading in the right direction when you don't want to put it down, when you delay eating because you just want to read a couple more chapters and in this regard the plot in "The Bodies in the Beach" hits the mark. Perhaps because it is his first novel, Paul Stephens packs a punch in pretty much every chapter (and there are rather a lot of chapters!)... from the moment they discover the first body to the eventual post-wrap drink there are many twists and turns. As a long time reader of crime fiction I have become quite used to "working out who did it" halfway through a book (or earlier in some cases) and I am pleased to report that this was not the case here: every time I thought I knew "where it was heading" something else would appear to make me think again. A great first novel, and at £1.99 for download the bargain of the week!!

I was searching for ds Miller Manchester when this one came up, well written and good local knowledge, the similarities and writing styles of both authors make this an excellent companion, maybe any detective with the moniker Miller is worth a look at? I'm going to download the next in the series. Definitely recommended.

An excellent thriller with a strength of plot and characterisation unusual in a first novel. Reminiscent of Rankin, but instead of Edinburgh you get Weston-super-Mare, brought to life with its muddy beaches and seedy pavilions; and instead of Rebus you get DS Mary Miller, balancing the tensions of local immigration and international crime against the politics of modern policing. Add to the mix Michael Slade, the supermarket checkout attendant with the super-high IQ, and it makes for a rattling good read that keeps you involved to its suitably satisfying conclusion. Can't wait for the sequel!

I have nearly finished this book, but am finding it very absorbing. It is a little slow-paced at first, but I prefer that to incessant descriptions of car chases, fist fights where the hero gets, at most, a fractured rib, gun fights with only baddies dead, gory self-indulgent sadistic murder etc. I look forward to more in the series, if there is a series. I agree with some reviewers that descriptions of parts of a town can be unnecessarily tedious, but it didn't interfere with my enjoyment.

The Bodies in the Beach by Paul Stephens This book is full of excitement with amazing technological twists and turns. The characters are all so different, believable and interesting. Also, my questions were answered as to how and why certain things were done as the plot unfolded. I consider this murder mystery to be a book that keeps the reader in its grip until the end. Ann Whyte

Excellent Well written British police thriller with à really good storyline and good interesting characters. Very up to date story believable plot. Will read more