Blood is thicker than water... and runs just as freely...
When the body of a man is discovered face down one morning in the swimming pool of his upmarket family home, the team wonder if it is the result of a tragic accident or serious foul play.
DI Tom Janssen is currently suspended pending the outcome of the events at the close of his previous case. Using the time away from the office to consider his future, and how this will impact on his family life, Tom is invited to attend a school reunion which he reluctantly agrees to. Coming face to face with people he hasn't seen in years leads to more than a reunion of old friendships. Some people find it hard to let go of the past while others foster long-held grudges. It isn't long before Tom finds old feuds rekindled and scores that aim to be settled... one way or another.
Finding himself at the centre of a murder inquiry - only this time as a witness rather than an investigator - can he steer clear of the case or will temptation, and a search for the truth, be too much for him to ignore.
When Death Calls is the sixteenth novel in the Hidden Norfolk crime series by the multi-million selling British crime writer, JM Dalgliesh, the author of the Misty Isle and Dark Yorkshire books. Perfect for fans of JD Kirk, Damien Boyd, LJ Ross, Rachel McLean and Simon McCleave.
The series
Tucked away on England’s brooding east coast, where the land bleeds into mist and marsh, the Hidden Norfolk series unfolds with quiet intensity. It’s here—beneath the surface of a place known more for coastal charm than crime—that the past lingers like fog and truth is a slippery, shifting thing.
Read full series description
Following Detective Inspector Tom Janssen, each story peels back the veneer of village life, revealing the tension, trauma, and long-buried secrets that ripple just beneath. These aren’t crimes of convenience—they’re rooted deep in character, shaped by community and carried out in silence. In this world, justice isn’t clean-cut, and resolution rarely comes without personal cost.
What makes the series stand out in the realm of British detective fiction is its devotion to atmosphere over action. The sense of place is almost a character in itself—windswept beaches, fading skies, and forgotten lanes form the backdrop to crimes that echo long after the final page. The pacing is deliberate, the storytelling intimate, and the emotional weight unflinching.
Fans of slow-burn crime novels, rich in psychological complexity and steeped in setting, will find themselves drawn into the quiet power of these investigations. There’s nothing flashy here—just sharp writing, layered plots, and a protagonist whose quiet persistence mirrors the landscape he patrols. In Hidden Norfolk, every whisper of wind might be carrying a secret, and no one is ever quite as innocent as they seem.
#1 · 2019One Lost Soul 
#2 · 2019Bury Your Past 
#3 · 2020Kill Our Sins 
#4 · 2020Tell No Tales 
#5 · 2020Hear No Evil 
#6 · 2020The Dead Call 
#7 · 2021Kill Them Cold 
#8 · 2021A Dark Sin 
#9 · 2021To Die For 
#10 · 2022Fool Me Twice 
#11 · 2022The Raven Song 
#12 · 2022Angel of Death 
#13 · 2023Dead To Me 
#14 · 2023Blood Runs Cold 
#15 · 2024Watch and Prey 
#16 · 2025When Death Calls 
#17 · 2026Keep No Secrets 
#18 · 2027Hidden Norfolk Book 18 Be the first reviewer
Sign in and write the first reader review.
