You can hide, but you can't run... When the body of a church warden is discovered hanging from the belfry of a village church, DI Tom Janssen and his team must investigate the circumstances that led to his death.

Whilst navigating the fallout from the conclusion of their previous case, the Norfolk CID team is under intense scrutiny with another police force investigating their recent conduct. Some people would like nothing more than to see the team fail. With no clear motive for murder or a reason to take his own life, the team have little to go on.

Meanwhile, a hit and run accident on the Sandringham Estate leaves a pregnant woman in hospital and when the fleeing vehicle is located - abandoned beside a coastal sailing club - the investigating team find more than they bargained for when they look inside.

The hunt is on for a brutal murderer whose motives and goals are unknown, and when other interested parties appear in the area the stakes are raised further. Just who are the hunters, who is watching, and, more importantly, who is the prey?

Watch and Prey is the latest book in the Amazon #1 bestselling series, by British crime writer, J M Dalgliesh, the multi-million selling author of The Misty Isle and Dark Yorkshire books.

Published
November 28, 2024
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Hidden Norfolk

The series

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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.

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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.

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