A Death in the Dales

December 5, 2016
Set in 1926, Brody’s leisurely paced seventh Kate Shackleton mystery (after 2016’s Death of an Avid Reader) takes the private investigator and her teenage niece, Harriet, to the Yorkshire village of Langcliffe, where they stay at a cottage belonging to Dr. Lucian Simonson, who’s sweet on Kate. No less than three problems require Kate’s attention. First, Lucian’s aunt, Freda, witnessed the murder of the local alehouse keeper in 1916 and maintained until her recent death that the wrong man was executed for the crime. Kate feels compelled to investigate this old case, despite the disapproval of some townspeople. Meanwhile, Harriet befriends a girl whose brother has gone missing. Finally, the wife of Langcliffe’s biggest landowner wants help retrieving some indiscreet letters. No wonder Lucian feels Kate has no time for him. The characters are pleasant enough, but there’s not much mystery, except for an out-of-left-field ending that takes everyone by surprise. Agent: Judith Murdoch, Judith Murdoch Literary (U.K.).

December 15, 2016
A private investigator's pleasure trip turns into a murder hunt. Her suitor, Dr. Lucian Simonson, has invited Kate Shackleton to use the Yorkshire house he inherited from his aunt. Kate (Death of an Avid Reader, 2016, etc.) thinks it will be the perfect place for her niece Harriet, who's recovering from diphtheria, to build up her strength while Kate gets to know Lucian better. Soon after she settles in, Bradley Wigglesworth, an old friend of Lucian's Aunt Freda, brings Kate a puzzle he wants her help with. Freda has been shunned by many of the villagers ever since she testified in defense of Flaherty, an Irishman accused of murdering a publican who tossed him out of his bar. Freda saw the whole thing from her house across the street, but her testimony wasn't believed at the trial, and to her everlasting regret, Flaherty was hanged. Although loath to take up a lost cause, Kate agrees to look into it because she feels indebted to Freda, who believed in her investigative powers. Kate also becomes involved in the case of Martin, a young boy whose sister Beth, a friend of Harriet's, fears for his safety when he's sent to work on a ramshackle hill farm. After breaking farmer Gouthwaite's leg while escaping from a beating, Martin has struck out on his own. While looking for Martin, Kate visits a farm whose farmer is obviously dead, perhaps poisoned. Gabriel Cherry, who worked for Gouthwaite, helps Kate look for Martin, but he too has secrets to hide. The past holds the answers to many questions that even Lucian would prefer Kate left to the police. An excellent British cozy less notable for its plethora of not-very-challenging mysteries than for its atmospheric setting, its interesting characters, and a twist with unexpected bite.

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February 1, 2017

Problems come in sets of three, and it's no different in 1926 Yorkshire, the setting for Brody's seventh series installment featuring private investigator Kate Shackleton (after Death of an Avid Reader). This time she has her teenage niece, Harriet, in tow, and the pair stay in a cottage owned by Dr. Lucian Simonson. As befitting a small English village in a mystery novel, there's plenty of tension bubbling just beneath the surface in Langcliffe. Lucian's recently deceased aunt was positive the wrong man was executed for a crime--except that crime took place in 1916. Kate decides this is a perfect old case to investigate, but that's not the only thing to occupy her time--and detective skills. Harriet becomes fast friends with a girl whose brother has gone missing, and one of the village's biggest landowners wants Kate's assistance in secreting away some letters, though he's far from the only villager in this picturesque hotbed of intrigue with something to hide. VERDICT The mysteries themselves may not be complex, but given the fascinating cast of supporting characters, a pleasant Yorkshire setting, and an endearing heroine, this is a solid British traditional mystery that should please series regulars and newcomers alike.

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