Death at the White Hart

De: Chris Chibnall

Narrado por: Jessica Gunning

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the multi-award winning creator of BROADCHURCH and showrunner of DOCTOR WHO, and narrated by Golden Globe Award winning BABY REINDEER star Jessica Gunning. Get ready for the most exciting crime fiction debut of the year...

When Nicola Bridge moves back to Dorset after years as a CID detective in the big city, the last thing she expects is for the picturesque village of Fleetcombe to become a grisly crime scene.

Jim Tiernan, landlord of the White Hart pub, has been found dead, the body staged with macabre relish on an isolated country road. As soon as she starts asking questions, Nicola realises everyone in the village has something to hide.

Frankie, the hairdresser who isn’t a skilled enough actor to conceal they’re lying about the night of the murder.

Eddie, the delivery driver whose heart starts racing every time he drives past the crime scene.

Deakins, the embittered farmer still living in the shadow of a supposedly murderous ancestor.

And even the little girl, hidden at the top of the playground slide, who’s watching them all.

Whispers. Rumours. Lies. But Nicola knows that somewhere among them, a killer is hiding in plain sight.

Because sometimes the smallest villages hide the darkest secrets...

'Snappy dialogue, confident. Turns expectations of village life on their head' Sunday Times

'A strong pace, good characterisation and an excellent sense of place get this projected series off to a flying start' Guardian

'Layered, human, suspenseful and surprising - this guy knows how to tell a story, that's for sure' - Lee Child

©2025 Chris Chibnall (P)2025 Penguin Audio

More of this please Mr C!

Absolutely loved this and very much hope it becomes a series. The characters were all well written and were entertaining, I’d like to know them better.

Narration was excellent too. All round great listen - highly recommended!

Predictable and poorly narrated

I had high expectations given that I loved both Broadchurch and Jessica Gunning's acting, but this was a big disappointment. The writing is very simplistic, almost like a TV script that sorely needs actors to bring it to life. The reveal didn't land with much impact and several aspects felt unsatisfactorily unresolved.

Sadly, the narration is equally weak, Jessica's timing/pauses are all over the place and I found this an annoying listen at times. I don't think the amateurish writing helped but her performance certainly doesn't improve matters.