The book selected as the September read for the Solve The Murder Book Club was “A Death in the Dales by Frances Brody”
A murder most foul
When the landlord of a Yorkshire tavern is killed in plain sight, Freda Simonson, the only witness to the crime, becomes plagued with guilt, believing the wrong man has been convicted. Following her death, it seems that the truth will never be uncovered in the peaceful village of Langcliffe . . .
A village of secrets
But it just so happens that Freda’s nephew is courting the renowned amateur sleuth Kate Shackleton, who decides to holiday in Langcliffe with her indomitable teenage niece, Harriet. When Harriet strikes up a friendship with a local girl whose young brother is missing, the search leads Kate to uncover another suspicious death, not to mention an illicit affair.
The case of a lifetime
As the present mysteries merge with the past’s mistakes, Kate is thrust into the secrets that Freda left behind and realises that this courageous woman has entrusted her with solving a murder from beyond the grave. It soon becomes clear to her that nothing in Langcliffe is quite as it appears, and with a murderer on the loose and an ever-growing roster of suspects, this isn’t the holiday Kate was expecting . .
Review
The book begins with a prologue and a murder that occurred in 1916. Then the story begins in 1926. Kate Shackleton’s niece is recovering from diptheria, so she takes here away to the Yorkshire Dales to recuperate.
Luckily, Kate has been lent use of a house by her friend, Dr Lucian Simonson. His aunt has died and left him the house. Could this be the right place to set up a village GP? Could his relationship with Kate blossom? It is such a shame that Aunt Freda did not get to see Kate as she really wanted to meet her….
Turns out Auntie did not just want to meet a potential wife for her nephew. She also wanted to meet Kate to discuss the murder she witnessed all those years ago. Aunt Freda was convinced that the wrong man was convicted and the evidence she has held onto gets passed to Kate by Mr Wrigglesworth, auntie’s friend to investigate. He alone seemed to agree with Auntie, while the rest of the village were convinced the man was guilty.
As well as investigating this cold case, Kate finds herself investigating the disappearance of a young farm lad. He and his sister were sent to the village when their mother died and now he has gone missing.
Along the way there is another death under mysterious circumstances, a delicate investigation into some missing love letters and dealing with hostile locals to a keep her busy in addition to looking after her niece’s recovery. How will Kate have any time to spend with her potential husband-to-be?
An interesting read. A bit slow at first as all the characters were introduced and all the plot lines came into being. But then it ook off and all the threads resolved themselves by the end. A satisfying ending to the book, with some sensitive things handled well.
Recommended.
A Death in the Dales is available from Amazon
Want to read more of the Kate Shackleton Mystery series? Check out the Solve the murder bookshop at https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/frances-brody
The City Adventurers love reading about mystery, so we’ve started our own book club.