DCI George Hennessey and DS Somerled Yellich are summoned to the site of a mass murder: four members of the same eccentric, titled family have been killed and then posed in the ruins of a historic mansion. There is no question that they have been murdered, as their necks have all been broken in a very precise manner; the only member of the family to have survived lived away from the family and had experience in the military - and is currently missing. When another victim is murdered in identical fashion, Hennessey and Yellich know that it is a race against time to locate the murderer before he or she strikes again….This long-running series set in York is one of my favourites, because Mr. Turnbull’s writing style is very straight-forward; there are no poetical or rhetorical flourishes here, just plain descriptions of what the characters see, hear, say and think. For some reason the books are hard to find, although it appears that e-books are available from the 20th book in the series (this is the eighth); I am always delighted, therefore, when I finally find one! I don’t think it’s strictly necessary to read these books in order, although I am striving to do just that; the characters remain solidly themselves, firmly situated in their lives, and the City of York is just as much a character as are the people. Recommended, if you can find them! ( )