The Whitby Murders (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery Book 6)

Bought for myself. Had me enthralled from start to finish, can't wait to read more of J.R. Ellis books.

Easy reading, I always have enjoyed his books

As it’s a book , I read it !

Keeps you guessing to the end

Where do I start with this review? I have read all the previous books in the series and enjoyed them as a means of escapism. I am Yorkshire born and bred so I like the settings. This book, is far below the standard of the others, not even the fabulous town of Whitby can save it. The author has no idea about police procedure, he clearly has never heard of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and he has no understanding of how police teams operate. I can forgive some of that because it’s a work of fiction, and every day police work and procedure would be very boring for most people, but surely there has to be some research done and an attempt at authenticity? No senior police officer would allow another officer to have any part investigating a case involving a member of his family, and to allow him to go to another police area with a sergeant to do so is absolutely ridiculous. Who was supposed to be doing Oldroyd’s work in Harrogate in his absence, along with that of the sergeant? Oldroyd is held up to be some kind of genius, held in awesome esteem by his junior officers, yet his interview technique is appalling. He doesn’t interview a suspect, he just tells them his own theories, and they crack and confess all due to his ‘superior intellect and insight’. What a load of rubbish. The author is not alone in writing like this, most detective fiction writers do. Why they insist on having a uniformed officer in the room whilst detectives interview suspects is beyond me. It never happened in the 30 years I was in the police where I served as both a uniformed officer, detective and a senior officer, but as I say, it’s fiction. However, it’s frustrating when the basic police procedures and relationships are set aside. There is rarely any mention of the detective constables the two detective sergeants are there to supervise. There wouldn’t be two DS’s working solely with a DCI. The whole rank structure is askew, and it wouldn’t take much effort to find out how a general CID office operates. The plot in this book is paper thin and overall it was a disappointment. By far the worst faux pas is Oldroyd interviewing the suspect who has also tried to kill his (Oldfield’s) daughter. This just would not happen, it would jeopardise the whole investigation and would leave the police wide open to accusations of malpractice etc. Even in the world of fiction, I find this to be unbelievable. I enjoyed the other books in the series because the plots were different from the tedious outpouring usually on offer, but this one just doesn’t work for a number of reasons. What a complicated, ridiculous chain of events to steal a painting. Morton could have just burgled the flat or arranged someone else to do it for him, rather than needlessly killing three people. Of course, the author has taken a plot from a classic piece of literature and woven it into his own offering purely to enable his DCI to recognise the similarities and lead him to solving the case. Certainly not this author’s best, but I’ll read the next one in the series as I find the police set up completely laughable, but entertaining nonetheless.

Very enjoyable read.

I really liked the characters. The culprit was a little predictable, however I enjoyed the read.

Another gripping book from author JR Ellis in the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series.Set in Whitby famous, amongst other things, for it's association with Bram Stoker's Dracula, we are embroiled in all things dark and deadly. However, things are not what they seem! And so we are led expertly down avenues and cul-de-sacs aplenty before an amazing finale.Another solid 4-star read!