The Body in the Dales

I was introduced to J.R. Ellis', "A Yorkshire Murder" mystery series through book number five in series, "The Nidderdale Murders". I was so taken by it, that I requested that my local library purchase this first book in series, which they have graciously done.

Again, I was captivated by the brooding and unrelenting environment of the Yorkshire countryside which plays a strong role in this murder mystery. This time, its the circuitous cave systems deep below the surface which capture the imagination. A body is found in one system, which has been dead a few days. Yet, cavers were just there a day or so ago and did not encounter it. How did it get there and who had it in for this unfortunate fellow? We soon learn that there are lots of show more folks with reasons to murder this wretched man. DCI James Oldroyd and his newly hired Detective Andrew Carter are soon on scene having been called out from the Harrogate Division of West Riding Police. Oldroyd is an old Oxford man who is deeply wedded to his job and the Yorkshire environs. He has a strong philosophical approach to his work and is highly respected. Carter recently left service in London but is soon taken under Oldroyd's wing.

Ellis does a fine job of fleshing out the series of characters in this book, laying out well the personalities of the detectives who serve throughout the series as well as the players for this particular story. He also does an excellent job of painting a landscape such that the reader sees it as if standing by the characters in the book. Makes this reader want to visit and hike the dales.

If a mystery set with country village charm appeals to you, then I highly commend this series to your reading pile. show less

When the body of Dave Atkins is found in a hard-to-reach spot in the local cave system, Yorkshire Detective Inspector Oldroyd and his team have to figure out not only who murdered the hated man, but how the murderer could have carried a dead body into such a difficult underground location, and how the body could show signs of having been in the cave for over a week when the caving club had been exploring that very path just two days before.
Atmospheric with Northern dialect and a little village full of suspects.

The Body in the Dales is the first book in the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries, and if I hadn't already read a later book in this series and enjoyed it, I probably would not have continued the series having only read this one. So, despite this rating, I am already halfway through book two.

Let's start with what I enjoyed. First of all, I loved the setting. The descriptions of the village and the surrounding area were amazing, and I was already planning a trip to go potholing in my head as I was reading this book. I love exploring caves, but these ones are probably too much for me at the moment, but I can dream and live vicariously through these characters.

The book begins with a young detective who is inappropriately dressed for his first day show more on the job, and other than trying to show his character, I don't know why else the author would dress him this way in Wales. He can't be that clueless, can he? And honestly, I still have no idea why he moved from London to Wales, but he is now a part of Oldroyd's team, so I guess you just have to accept there is no reason?

The plot was actually interesting though, even if I was not a fan of the execution. There were some twists and turns that kept me engaged, and I definitely enjoyed meeting all the villagers and discovering their secrets. Oldroyd liked to keep a lot of things to himself though, and work things through, and although I know this a technique used by the author to keep the reader guessing, it actually left a bad taste in my mouth as it would mean keeping things from his own team as they were investigating. I wasn't a fan of this writing technique. And did the ages of Carter and Steph not bother anyone else? They were in the mid to early twenties and have already spent several years as detectives? Umm, what?

The last thing I will mention is that I am not a fan of the 'relationship' in this book. I will leave it at that, but give your head a shake girl!! show less

A somewhat stereotyped police procedural, redeemed by the interesting Yorkshire Dale's setting and murder scene of a pothole. Find it hard to believe victim's friends he was with night he was killed weren't interviewed by police, only his many apparent enemies. Entertaining enough though.

I bought this first in a series as a Kindle deal and wanted to read it this month, as the next few in the series are also on sale this month. I figured if I liked it enough to continue, I'd snap the others up. That won't be happening.

This mystery suffered from too many characters, flat writing, and too much information kept from the reader and then miraculously disclosed at the end. It's a lazy approach for a writer, but I might have forgiven it if the characters hadn't been two dimensional and boring.

2.5 stars

This story certainly takes most of us to places we have not been - underground into a cave system.
In reality this is something I would much rather do vicariously. Getting stuck underground would not be my idea of fun. Nevertheless I learnt a lot about caving

The first mystery to be solved is how the body got there? a remote section of a cave that is relatively difficult to get to. Did somebody carry the body there? It doesn't seem that the location was where the murder was committed. And then what was the motive for the murder?

DCI Jim Olroyd is an interesting character, and one can't help thinking of Andy Dalziel, and his treatment of newcomer DS Carter is kindly. I could have done without Carter's phone conversations with his inane show more London mate, although I suppose they do emphasis how very different life in Yorkshire is.

There were some inconsistencies in the mental picture of the deceased Dave Atkins who is described as both attractive to women, and a difficult person to like, but perhaps the last was from the point of view of cuckolded husbands.

The final solution to the first mystery was similar to my first thoughts on the topic, although the actual motive was harder to guess.

The narrator was set a hard task in this reading in that he attempts to reproduce an incredible number of voices. In the main he manages to make most voices distinctive. show less

A pretty good plot, but there was a lot of fluff around the characters that didn't really contribute to the story. Perhaps its a setup for the rest of the series, but I found it just distracted from the story.