Murder on the River

Murder on the River by Janice Frost
10/2/25; 268 pages
Joffe Books
Warwick & Bell #5

Murder on the River by Janice Frost is a highly recommended procedural and the fifth book in the DI Warwick and SPC Bell series.

Detective Inspector Steph Warwick is Christmas shopping when she gets the call from DS Elias Harper about the body of a young man pulled from the River Witham. He is identified as Max Barsby, a serious archaeology student and his death was caused by someone bashing in the back of his head and not drowning. With Christmas approaching many of the students are gone so finding information is a challenge but they do have a few leads.

At the same time Special Constable Jane Bell investigates a break-in and discovers an unexpected link to Max. Her son Patrick was also friends with Max's cousin so they have contacts with the family and the two begin to look more closely into who could have murdered Max. They come up with more information about the case, ruffling Warwick's feathers, but she also knows Bell has a nice way with people that Warwick is lacking.

The pace moves fast while the information and clues uncovered are logically followed up on.The narrative alternates between the official police investigation with Warwick and Harper and the unofficial investigation by Jane and Patrick Bell. (As a special constable Jane is a volunteer on the police force.)  The plot is actually interesting and held my complete attention. There is a nice balance between the two points-of-view and several surprising twists in the investigation occur along the way. The final denouement is satisfying.

This was my first introduction to the series so it did require a slower reading pace at the beginning to keep all the characters straight. Once They were sorted out, the novel moved very quickly. The characters do reference past events along the way. These would all be known characters for those who have been following the series, but they do show some growth and depth in this outing. I actually enjoyed Jane and Patrick working together and thought they'd be an interesting duo working as private investigators.

Murder on the River is an entertaining, fast-paced procedural. Thanks to Joffe Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.