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Tom Morton #4
A Serpent in Paradise
Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here
In Paradise, beware the Serpent…
Welcome to 7Bridge, Cheshire’s most exclusive gated community.
Behind the barriers, sports stars and their wives are treated like royalty and insulated from reality, but something in the garden is rotten.
One of the residents is badly beaten and drowned. The local police quickly arrest a young footballer for murder, but DCI Tom Morton and his partner are convinced that they have the wrong man.
Morton and Fraser are only there to tie up loose ends, but they quickly unravel a poisonous web of secrets and back-stabbing. Can Tom and Elaine discover the truth before the case is closed and an innocent man is sent to prison?
This new adventure for Tom Morton follows straight on from Mark Hayden’s highly regarded Operation Jigsaw trilogy. Instead of a violent conspiracy, Tom finds himself grappling with the closed world of 7Bridge. Instead of a bomb, his equilibrium is threatened by his feelings for the victim’s sister. Elaine watches her boss struggle to maintain his professional approach while he has to cope with her volatile temper.
To find a very lucky killer, they need to fight through the lies and tear down the privileges of the very rich, who will bend every rule to keep their secrets to themselves.
In Paradise, beware the Serpent…
Welcome to 7Bridge, Cheshire’s most exclusive gated community.
Behind the barriers, sports stars and their wives are treated like royalty and insulated from reality, but something in the garden is rotten.
One of the residents is badly beaten and drowned. The local police quickly arrest a young footballer for murder, but DCI Tom Morton and his partner are convinced that they have the wrong man.
Morton and Fraser are only there to tie up loose ends, but they quickly unravel a poisonous web of secrets and back-stabbing. Can Tom and Elaine discover the truth before the case is closed and an innocent man is sent to prison?
This new adventure for Tom Morton follows straight on from Mark Hayden’s highly regarded Operation Jigsaw trilogy. Instead of a violent conspiracy, Tom finds himself grappling with the closed world of 7Bridge. Instead of a bomb, his equilibrium is threatened by his feelings for the victim’s sister. Elaine watches her boss struggle to maintain his professional approach while he has to cope with her volatile temper.
To find a very lucky killer, they need to fight through the lies and tear down the privileges of the very rich, who will bend every rule to keep their secrets to themselves.
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 21, 2015
85 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Mark Hayden
27 books286 followersAuthor also writes under Ruth Ward
Mark Hayden is the nom de guerre of Adrian Attwood. He lives in Westmorland with his wife, Anne.
Adrian has had a varied career working for a brewery, teaching English and being the Town Clerk in Carnforth. He is now a part-time writer and part-time assistant in Anne's craft projects.
He is also proud to be the Mad Unky to his Great Nieces & Great Nephew.
His current writing project is the King’s Watch series of urban fantasy novels, from 13th Witch all the way down to Zero Hour. If he can keep it up.
Mark Hayden is the nom de guerre of Adrian Attwood. He lives in Westmorland with his wife, Anne.
Adrian has had a varied career working for a brewery, teaching English and being the Town Clerk in Carnforth. He is now a part-time writer and part-time assistant in Anne's craft projects.
He is also proud to be the Mad Unky to his Great Nieces & Great Nephew.
His current writing project is the King’s Watch series of urban fantasy novels, from 13th Witch all the way down to Zero Hour. If he can keep it up.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 8, 2020
After Operation Jigsaw ends Tom Morton is sent to a gated community in Cheshire called 7Bridge, home to celebrity footballers, a real-life princess and other millionaires. A complaint has been lodged against local police for harassment and tensions are escalating, Tom has been brought in to resolve matters quickly, but before he can even start he and his new partner, DC Elaine Fraser, are called to the scene of the murder of one of the residents, playboy Gianni White.
The local police have a strong suspect, a young footballer whose fiance was having an affair with the victim, heck the two even had a vicious fight only moments before Gianni was deliberately drowned and even the fiance thinks he did it. But Elaine arrested the guy in the ambulance on the way to hospital and she's convinced he didn't do it. Oh, and there's a gossip blog spewing spite and dirty secrets about the residents of 7Bridge, could that be behind the murder?
I was worried that after the fantastic end to the Operation Jigsaw series any spin-off with Tom Morton would be a damp squib, especially when Conrad Clarke has already become a star in his own right, but this murder in a Footballer's Wives community which is 50% indulgence and 50% prison camp was bang on the money. There's politics, gossip, double-dealing, blended family feuds, bribery, and romance for Tom!!
The local police have a strong suspect, a young footballer whose fiance was having an affair with the victim, heck the two even had a vicious fight only moments before Gianni was deliberately drowned and even the fiance thinks he did it. But Elaine arrested the guy in the ambulance on the way to hospital and she's convinced he didn't do it. Oh, and there's a gossip blog spewing spite and dirty secrets about the residents of 7Bridge, could that be behind the murder?
I was worried that after the fantastic end to the Operation Jigsaw series any spin-off with Tom Morton would be a damp squib, especially when Conrad Clarke has already become a star in his own right, but this murder in a Footballer's Wives community which is 50% indulgence and 50% prison camp was bang on the money. There's politics, gossip, double-dealing, blended family feuds, bribery, and romance for Tom!!
June 16, 2024
It's all rather vague...
The evidence is vague, the interviews are vague, the weird situation with 7bridge's ownership is vague, the point of Mother Superior is vague... the layout is vague... I just felt like it was all like wandering through a fog in dark glasses...
Trying to be too clever, half the characters seem to be randomly connected to each other. the rest are just unexplained people that there's no reason to focus on, yet we're constantly drawn back to them...
There really ought to be a clearer reading order too... now it's suggesting another series set before this one... please resolve this with Amazon so readers have a clear, concise reading order
The evidence is vague, the interviews are vague, the weird situation with 7bridge's ownership is vague, the point of Mother Superior is vague... the layout is vague... I just felt like it was all like wandering through a fog in dark glasses...
Trying to be too clever, half the characters seem to be randomly connected to each other. the rest are just unexplained people that there's no reason to focus on, yet we're constantly drawn back to them...
There really ought to be a clearer reading order too... now it's suggesting another series set before this one... please resolve this with Amazon so readers have a clear, concise reading order
August 3, 2020
Another great book which continues Tom’s story whilst dropping him into a very different setting than the operation jigsaw trilogy.
Awesome read and starting the next book now. Hope there will be more Tom Morton books to come and really looking forward to starting to catch up on Conrad’s journey in the Kings Watch which I actually started before these but was encouraged to read these books before starting and I’m glad I did.
Awesome read and starting the next book now. Hope there will be more Tom Morton books to come and really looking forward to starting to catch up on Conrad’s journey in the Kings Watch which I actually started before these but was encouraged to read these books before starting and I’m glad I did.
October 24, 2020
DCI Morton stand alone
After some intriguing introductions to DCI Tom Morton and his impetuous Colleague , we get to meet him again, standing in his own patch.
An excellent bit of plotting that nonetheless is most interesting because of the characters.
It took a moment to adjust to the different writing styles of this book, compared with the Conrad Clarke stories, but it’s well worth persisting with,
Enjoy!
After some intriguing introductions to DCI Tom Morton and his impetuous Colleague , we get to meet him again, standing in his own patch.
An excellent bit of plotting that nonetheless is most interesting because of the characters.
It took a moment to adjust to the different writing styles of this book, compared with the Conrad Clarke stories, but it’s well worth persisting with,
Enjoy!
September 17, 2020
Engaging modern whodunnit.
I decided to check out Tom's story after his encounter with Magik. I'm not disappointed. An intriguing murder mystery story set in the world of rich 'talent.
I decided to check out Tom's story after his encounter with Magik. I'm not disappointed. An intriguing murder mystery story set in the world of rich 'talent.
November 13, 2020
Keeps you guessing!
This was a good crime novel that kept me guessing all the way through. I was way off, but far preferred the real ending. Tom is a great character and develops realistic relationships during the book. It is believable and very enjoyable
This was a good crime novel that kept me guessing all the way through. I was way off, but far preferred the real ending. Tom is a great character and develops realistic relationships during the book. It is believable and very enjoyable
September 21, 2023
Very enjoyable
I fell on love with Mark Haydens writing through The King's Watch series of books. This one has no magic but still a very good crime thriller, which keeps you guessing until the end.
I fell on love with Mark Haydens writing through The King's Watch series of books. This one has no magic but still a very good crime thriller, which keeps you guessing until the end.
March 14, 2021
Great Story in Tom Morton series
Such clever stories, so well written that I have a hard time putting these books down. I was a big fan of Conrad Clarke, now I'm a fan of Tom Morton as well.
Such clever stories, so well written that I have a hard time putting these books down. I was a big fan of Conrad Clarke, now I'm a fan of Tom Morton as well.
April 20, 2022
Mark Hayden's Great Britain is a place I want to visit!
May 29, 2021
I like Mark Hayden's style of writing, and his characters are likeable. It's good, easy reading and the storyline is usually interesting and original.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews