Murder in Norfolk (Detective Anna McArthur #1)

Please note this book was first published as Catfish

She went for a walk to clear her head. She found a dead woman carved with a message.

Detective Constable Anna McArthur is off duty, off the case — and barely holding it together. Ten months after a near-fatal knife attack, she’s still haunted by the job that almost ended her career. But when she stumbles across a body beneath the medieval chapel in King’s Lynn’s historic park, instincts override fear.

The victim is young, female, anonymous. The word catfish is cut into her skin. There’s no ID. No witnesses. No one has reported her missing.

Drawn back into Norfolk’s Serious Crimes team before she’s officially fit for duty, Anna must navigate the hostile suspicion of her colleagues and the looming shadow of her past. But as another body surfaces with the same mutilation, Anna realises this isn’t random — and the killer is only getting started.

A compelling mystery set in the heart of Norfolk. DC Anna McArthur is an intuitive, defiant young detective on extended leave after a traumatic stabbing in the line of duty. She’s clever, driven, and never backs down — but her past haunts her, and her return to the Serious Crimes team puts her under pressure from colleagues who doubt her readiness. In her corner: a few loyal allies — and DCI Aaron Burns, a complicated superior whose belief in her might be more than just professional.

Setting
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk — a brooding landscape of ancient churches, flat fenland, and eerie parks hiding centuries of secrets. From shadowy chapels to windswept promenades, the setting is steeped in atmosphere and laced with local lore.