murder | Fenlandphil's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘murder’

7 Nov

A Most Curious Christmas by Katherine Black: A Review.

Posted by fenlandphil in A Most Curious Christmas., Book, Book Review, Christmas, Katherine Black, May Corrigan, mini dachshunds. Tagged: Book, Book Review, Christmas, Morrigan, murder, Pantomime, Peter Pan. 2 comments

Blackheath, during the approach to Christmas, is blighted by the murder of Caspar Campbell, a friend of the Morrigan household.

The Morrigan family home, Greenway, is due to host its first family Christmas for many years. The celebrations include the return to the family home of May Corrigan’s identical twin sister, Cass, on the insistence of Minty. Minty is May and Cass’s somewhat unconventional ninety-six-year-old mother.

Fletcher, May’s friend, is the other member of the household, apart from May’s mini Dachshunds, Bess and George. Fletcher is writing, directing and producing the village pantomime, Peter Pan.

The star of the show, a fading, predatory actor, Clarke Woolf, is playing Widow Twankey and causing Fletcher problems trying to manage Woolf’s attempted philandering.

The run-up to Christmas brings the sharing of family secrets, while May is trying to navigate her way through an acrimonious divorce.

This is a great book. I read it very quickly, putting aside things I shouldn’t have put aside to find out how the story ends. It certainly turns out to be a most curious Christmas.

21 Mar

A Storm in a Teacup by Rachael Gray, a review.

Posted by fenlandphil in A Storm in a Teacup, Book Review, East Yorkshire, Elderwick Mysteries, Rachael Gray. Tagged: Book Review, detective, Elderwick, murder, Storm in a Teacup. 6 comments

A Storm in a Teacup by Rachael Gray

It isn’t unusual for human bones to be discovered during archaeological excavations, in this case, on the site of a proposed new farm shop, at Elderwick Hall, in whose grounds the discovery was made. The hall has had a long and troubled history, so finding an unknown burial wasn’t a huge surprise. However, once all of the remains had been uncovered, the questions followed, whose remains were they, how long had they been there and what was the cause of death?

Although being there when the discovery was made, Laurel tried to avoid being drawn into the inquiry. She had decided to steer clear of detective work but eventually, reluctantly, to help her friends, she succumbed to the inevitable and started with the help of Maggie and Albert, to investigate the murder.

Laurel’s fractious relationship with D.I. Coral; doesn’t help the situation, particularly, as Laurel was at the site when the remains were discovered. The story is multilayered with a glorious cast of characters, including Albert’s stroppy cockerel, Aroon, it is set in the delightfully painted East Yorkshire village of Elderwick. Who wouldn’t want to buy cakes from the Plump Tart, enjoy tea and cakes at the Pleasant Pheasant or sink a pint at the Snooty Fox?

I thoroughly enjoyed, A Storm in a Teacup, which is the third in the Elderwick Mysteries series. I read it quickly; wanting to find out how it ended, more please, Rachael.

5 Feb

The Low Road by Alex Walters, a review.

Posted by fenlandphil in Alex Walters, Book, Crime Fiction, Detective Inspector Alec McKay, The Low Road. Tagged: A9, Book Review, Inverness, murder, Scottish Highlands. 3 comments

**The Low Road written by Alex Walters**

The story is set in Inverness and the surrounding rural area of the Scottish Highlands. An escalating series of fatal road accidents on straight sections of the A9 road are beginning to interest Detective Inspector Alec Mc Kay, of Inverness’s Major Investigation Team, (MIT). He starts to think these accidents are being deliberately caused, to kill or injure the occupants of the targeted vehicles. However, there doesn’t seem to any common factor regarding the victims or connection linking them to each other. Interwoven with this investigation is a press campaign casting doubt on a twenty year old murder conviction. The murder was investigated by Detective Superintendent Rory Grant the late husband of the current head of the MIT, DCI Helena Grant. Helena Grant, is concerned that the campaign will defame the reputation of her late husband. Investigating the murder story and employed to write ghost articles for rabble rousing campaigner Iain Pennycook; is veteran free lance reporter, Craig Fairlie. The outcome is unpredictable in every respect.

This crime fiction story is fast-paced, engaging and well-told; I raced through it and will seek out other books by Mr Walters. This is an excellent book.

3 Mar

Death at the auction by E C Bateman a review

Posted by fenlandphil in Book, Book Review, Death at the Auction, E. C. Bateman, Stamford. Tagged: Auction, Book, Book Review, Georgian, murder. 12 comments

Sometimes I find I need to read a little of a book to find its rhythm, usually once found, the read becomes easy and the book becomes a real pleasure, this was the case for me with Death at the Auction.

The story is set in the Georgian town of Stamford, the action starts in the sales room of one of its auctioneers.

Grant’s, is a family-owned business; Felicia Grant is the unfortunate auctioneer confronted with the last-minute addition to the auction, the lot of a cupboard. However, it is the cupboard’s contents which start the search for a murderer.

Felicia finds herself drawn into the investigation. Initially she is at odds with the local police in the shape of Detective Sergeant Pettifer and Detective Inspector Heavenly but as the body count increases she eventually finds herself collaborating with them.

Stamford is somewhere local and to a degree familiar, a place I keep meaning to visit more often and for longer. It is an ideal setting for this book.

The story is well crafted and an excellent who dunnit, the outcome is unpredictable.

Death at the Auction is available from Amazon or any good bookshop

24 Jan

The Dead Husband by Gillian Jackson a review.

Posted by fenlandphil in Book Review, Gillian Jackson, The Dead Husband. Tagged: Book, Book Review, murder. 7 comments

While building a snowman with her two children, Harriet Smith finds the body of a man in a snow filled ditch near her isolated cottage. To be precise it was Barnie the family dog who found it.

What follows is the hunt for the identity of the body, why and how it came to be where it was found. In a way the story resembles peeling an onion as each layer is removed another lurks beneath it. Peeling this onion to reveal a murder are Detective Inspector Samantha Freeman and Detective Sergeant Jenny Newcombe.

The plot twists and turns, complicated by not only family jealousies, deceit, abuse and violence but the problem of juvenile delinquents.

The characters are well drawn the scenes well described, I read this book quickly, a real page turner. I found it to be an unusual and enjoyable read.

Available from Amazon

1 Dec

A pair of sharp eyes by Kat Armstrong a review

Posted by fenlandphil in A Sharp Pair of Eyes, Bustling Bristol, Historical Novel, Kat Armstrong. Tagged: Bath, Book, Book Review, murder, Novel, West Country. 3 comments

I am not normally tempted by historical novels; those more historical than the 1930s, that is but it was the promise of a murder mystery that swung the balance. The story is set in the early eighteenth century West Country and mainly in Bristol.

Miss Coronation Amesbury leaves her village in Wiltshire to seek her fortune in Bristol. The coach journey alone in atrocious weather is an adventure in its self. Her arrival in this bustling port city following a difficult overnight stay in Bath is not an easy one for her and a great shock after village life.

The recent horrendous murder of several young boys haunts Bristol. We follow Coronation as she looks for work in what she hopes will be her new home and her search for the perpetrator of these horrendous crimes.

The time, place and the events are beautifully painted we can see it all in our minds eye, a warts and all view of a bustling Bristol with its busy port during the era of slave trading. The story is well told and I found myself neglecting important tasks to finish the book, I struggled to put it down until I read those two final words, “The End”.

A Brilliant read.

4 May

The Backs Written by Alison Bruce a review.

Posted by fenlandphil in Alison Bruce, Book Review, Cambridge, Gary Goodhew. Tagged: murder, The Promise, Writing. Leave a comment

Alison has become one of my favourite authors and I am gradually reading her Gary Goodhew series. I say gradually with good reason. I enjoy her writing and read the books one at a time with an interval in between each one, so I enjoy each one as a fresh read.

“The Backs” is number five in the series and number six “The Promise” is sitting on the shelf ready for my next special occasion.

The Backs, as is all of Alison’s books, the ones I have read so far, set in and around Cambridge. I am familiar with the city and the surrounding area. For me, this familiarity is a bonus.

Following a violent scene-setting prologue the action moves what was for the story the present day, the Gog Magog hills at night, a burning car and the discovery of a gruesome murder.

Jane Osborne’s return to Cambridge sets the story off in another direction and the plot weaves around several different strands. DC Gary Goodhew and the team he belongs to gradually, start to untangle the events leading up to the murder and hitherto undiscovered crimes of the past. In the process darker, secrets emerge from their hiding places.

As with all Alison’s novels (the ones I have read so far), the characters are well-drawn and the plot multilayered, as each layer is lifted more is revealed underneath. Each time the reader thinks they may have an inkling of who the villain may be or the possible outcome the ground shifts underneath.

All in all a damn good read.

4 Apr

The Scent of Guilt by Tony J Forder, a review.

Posted by fenlandphil in Book Review, The Scent of Guilt, Tony J Forder. Tagged: DI Bliss, DS Chandler, murder, Peterborough. Leave a comment

This is the second of Tony J Forder’s books featuring D I Bliss and his partner Detective Sergeant Penny Chandler.

Newly returned to Peterborough after twelve years away policing organised crime, DI Bliss joins the Major Crimes Team and immediately is thrown into a brutal murder enquiry. The murder appears to be the latest in a series. Bliss very quickly spots a possible link between a series of rapes and murders.

Penny Chandler now promoted to Detective Sergeant joins the enquiry as the rapes she has been investigating seem linked to the murders.

The search for the serial killer and rapist then becomes a desperate race against time to apprehend the culprit before he can add to his growing list of rape and murder victims.

The enquiry involves a trawl through old cases and incidents. When a pattern emerges a trip to the U.S.A. becomes a necessity to follow old leads. Bliss and Chandler know they are up against a deadline but don’t know what it is. Speed and accuracy are needed, the plot twists and turns as the desperate search accelerates to a cliff-hanging conclusion.

A satisfying, engaging, read, the characters are well-drawn and apart from the U.S.A., the settings are familiar to me.

Excellent, thank you, Mr Forder.

Degrees of Darkness is the next in the series and I shall be obtaining it before very long.

The Scent of Guilt is available on Amazon and from bookshops.

Fenlandphil's Blog A blog from the low country

Posts Tagged ‘murder’

A Most Curious Christmas by Katherine Black: A Review.

A Storm in a Teacup by Rachael Gray, a review.

The Low Road by Alex Walters, a review.

Death at the auction by E C Bateman a review

The Dead Husband by Gillian Jackson a review.

A pair of sharp eyes by Kat Armstrong a review

The Backs Written by Alison Bruce a review.

The Scent of Guilt by Tony J Forder, a review.

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