Crook o' Lune

"Crook o' Lune" is a wonderful title for this mystery steeped in the atmosphere of the fells near the Lancashire/Yorkshire border.There is a threefold allusion, to the bend in the River Lune which gives its name to the locale, to the shepherd's crook which is weaponised in the plot, and, finally, to the criminal behind the misdeeds which Chief Inspector Macdonald uncovers.This novel sees Lorac at the height of her powers of landscape painting and characterisation:she makes it so easy to smell the sheep and vividly picture the farms and their inhabitants. Lunesdale and its people are the stars, and even the likeable and humane Macdonald is effectively relegated to a bit part.The mystery plot does not unduly puzzle or perplex, although it encompasses stolen sheep, arson, manslaughter, attempted murder and murder. The solution lies in the past, and the case is solved, at least in part, by the piecing together of historical evidence, which was an interesting and different approach.Lorac is a very good writer of clear and uncluttered prose. I read this almost at one sitting, so involved did I become in all that was going on.Martin Edwards' Introduction enhances the reader's experience and is to be commended.Very recommendable, not so much for the detective element, but as a marvellously evocative, engaging, and, in modern terms, immersive dip into rural England in the early 1950s.

Beware the totally WRONG other review. This is NOT Lorac's last novel ;this was published in 1953. For all fans of the Lune dale settings this is a must read . Her inside knowledge and awareness of the subtleties of living in these remote ,yet beautiful fells shines through . Macdonald fits into this area very well indeed and sets a wonderful example to the local force; not by being smug ,but by quiet understanding. His interrogations gain so much more than the more forceful tactics used elsewhere.I thought Martin Edward's introduction was most informative and sympathetic to the more rural nature of this book. It may not be one for locked room fans , nor alibi busting brain teasers. ! There are some quietly effective red herrings and a few moments of real tension and shock. All the more effective for being disguised in the countryside setting.Maybe this is the last Lunesdale Lorac until the last appearance of Macdonald in the 1959 reissue of Dishonour among Thieves.

Liked the local knowledge about a beautiful area and found the story very unusual. Also liked a lot of the characters especially the detective.

So good to read a story where the characters are real people going about their daily lives.The plot is logical, and the clues all there in the narrative, but not so obvious that I guessed the culprit before the end.The additional detail of description of the wild terrain and the beauty of the views is the icing on the cake.

Very good mystery thriller. Worth keeping to read again.

Am 50% through this book, so no spoilers! Taking my time to enjoy the sense of place which Lorac gives. She evidently really loved the Lakes area where this is set. In her introduction she states that you can't buy the house which figures predominantly in the story because it's hers! She also really understands how the people in the area think, which adds to the realism (even though the crime is fictional). Some might complain that the story moves slowly, but that is life in a farming community. When's the next one coming out?!

An enjoyable read and made a welcome change from the previous books which haven’t been the best.

Excellent book but it has already been published as The Last Escape. I was very excited to think this was a new ECR Lorac book being published so it was very disappointing to discover I had already read it. I’d thoroughly recommend it but if you’re a fan be sure that you haven’t read it before you purchase