Book Review: The Nidderdale Murders (Yorkshire Murder Mysteries #5) by J.R. Ellis

 

Title: The Nidderdale Murders (Yorkshire Murder Mysteries #5) 

Author: J.R. Ellis

Stars: 3.5 

Review:

For fans of good solid English Police murder mysteries this will be a very pleasant and enjoyable read. I enjoyed the story and thought the basic plot was well thought out and presented. It is a murder mystery with a twist. However, the final few pages wandered off into an area I felt did not belong in the story. Although, it blended well into setting a background for future stories/murders involving the main character.

I have rated this book 3.5 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review. The above is 

my view based on my reading and understanding of the story.

Synopsis:

A retired judge is shot dead outside the Dog and Gun inn in the remote Yorkshire village of Niddersgill. There’s a witness who saw everything, and the gunman’s on the run; the case should be open-and-shut for DCI Jim Oldroyd. But the murderer had no motive for wanting Sandy Fraser dead and, what’s more, no trace of him can be found.

As Oldroyd and his team cast the net wider, they discover that Fraser wasn’t without enemies in Niddersgill. As the wealthy owner of a grouse moor, he’d clashed with farmers, debtors, hunt saboteurs and blackmailers. But none of them were at the scene of the murder. And when a local shopkeeper is gunned down in a second senseless attack, it’s clear that these killings are anything but random.

Surrounded by the dramatic beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, Oldroyd faces a race against time to connect the crimes and find who’s behind them. But with all the evidence sending him down dead ends, can he get one step ahead before someone else is killed?

About The Author:

During a long career teaching English, I wrote plays for children and occasional ghost stories. I have always been fascinated by the paranormal and by mysteries, conspiracy theories and unexplained crimes.
My love of my native county is deep and the settings of my Yorkshire Murder Mysteries within Yorkshire's varied landscapes are important. I have made a study of the sub-genre of the Locked Room Mystery during the height of its popularity between 1930 - 1960 in the stories of writers such as John Dickson Carr, Clayton Rawson and Ellery Queen. I was an avid watcher of BBC's "Jonathan Creek" in its heyday. I believe the element of puzzle is essential to crime fiction and my novels contain a double mystery: the standard "who dunnit?" but also "how dunnit?!"
I avoid the dark and gruesome in my writing and I strive to include some humour and elegance in style, a vivid sense of place and a compelling mystery! My characters both innocent and guilty are mostly ordinary people.
I am a member of a writers' group in Otley which has inspired me to write poetry and various forms of short fiction.