Showing posts with label British mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British mystery. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Review: The Stone Chamber (#25 DI Wesley Peterson) by Kate Ellis

I've loved Kate Ellis's Wesley Peterson series, right from the very first book (The Merchant's House). I think it is the mix of a classic murder mystery with a historical backstory that does it for me.  This one, the 25th in the series (25th!) is perhaps her best yet.


One summer evening, Robert and Greta Gerdner are shot dead at their home in the Devon countryside. DI Wesley Peterson suspects the execution-style murders might be linked to Robert's past police career, until Robert's name is found on a list of people who've been sent tickets anonymously for a tour of Darkhole Grange - a former asylum on Dartmoor. Others on this list have also died in mysterious circumstances. Meanwhile, archaeologist Neil Watson finds the skeleton of a woman buried in a sealed chamber dating back to the fifteenth century at a nearby dig. Is there a connection between the ancient cell and the chilling history of Darkhole Grange?

As always, Kate Ellis has written a brilliantly twisty, cleverly plotted story that is impossible to put down. Multiple characters and multiple threads somehow manage to all connect at the end (I don't know how she does it!), with a reoccurring motif of incarceration. I particularly loved all the spooky houses!

Although this story is the 25th in the series, it is possible to read it as a stand alone. However, there are a lot characters, both regular and new, and it might be easier to at least read the first book to help understand who everyone is.

On of my favourite reads this year, The Stone Chamber would suit anyone who loves classic murder mysteries and authors such as Elly Griffiths.


Thank you to Kate Ellis and Piatkus (Little, Brown Book Group) for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.


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Saturday, 16 January 2021

Review: The Night Hawks (Dr Ruth Galloway Mystery #13) by Elly Griffiths

I love Elly Griffiths's books, particularly her Ruth Galloway series, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of The Night Hawks. It is a wonderful gothicky murder-mystery, with a nod to The Hound of the Baskervilles, and it's my favourite so far.

Ruth has returned to Norfolk after being offered the role of Head of the Archaeology Department at the university. She is suffering from slight imposter syndrome, not helped by a particular member of staff undermining her at every turn, but she is still DCI Nelson's expert of choice whenever a body is found. In this case, a young man has been found washed up on the beach at Blakeney Point by a group of metal detectorists called The Night Hawks. At first DCI Nelson believes the man drowned accidentally, but then more murders are discovered at the nearby Black Dog Farm - named for the legendary Black Shuck, a harbinger of death... 

The Night Hawks is a fabulous traditional murder mystery, with humour and emotional conflict dished up alongside a fiendishly clever plot. Elly Griffiths takes care to write believable characters you can thoroughly engage with and care about. Ruth has finally landed her dream job, only to be undermined by an irritating mansplainer at every turn. She and DCI Nelson are still involved in their will/they won't they relationship, and fans will be delighted that Cathbad makes an appearance. I loved the gothic edge - a spooky old farm and a legendary ghostly dog. There's even buried 'treasure' - and bodies! I gave up trying to work out who the murderer was and just thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Although this book is number 13 in the series, you don't need to have read the others. Elly explains everyone's backstory deftly and succinctly before getting on with business. The Night Hawks is one of my favourite reads this year. Why isn't it a TV series yet?!!


Thank you to Elly Griffiths and Quercus for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.


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