The Body in the Dales (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery, #1)

by J. R. Ellis

An unpopular victim. An impossible crime. A murderer on the loose.

Revised edition: Previously published as The Body in Jingling Pot, this edition of The Body in the Dales includes editorial revisions.

A body is discovered deep in a cave beneath the Yorkshire Dales. Leading the investigation into the mysterious death are experienced DCI Jim Oldroyd and his partner DS Carter, a newcomer from London.

The deceased is Dave Atkins, well known throughout the village but not well liked. While there is no shortage of suspects, the details of the crime leave Oldroyd and Carter stumped. How did Atkins’s body end up in such a remote section of the cave? When someone with vital information turns up dead, it becomes clear that whoever is behind the murders will stop at nothing to conceal their tracks.

Oldroyd and his team try to uncover the truth, but every answer unearths a new set of questions. And as secrets and lies are exposed within the close-knit community, the mystery becomes deeper, darker and more complex than the caves below.

• ISBN10: 1503903117
• ISBN13: 9781503903111
• Publish Date: 9 August 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thomas & Mercer
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Body in the Dales is the first book in a procedural series set in Yorkshire. It's an ensemble cast featuring a methodical and cerebral lead character DCI Jim Oldroyd and co. Originally published as The Body in Jingling Pot(a better title in my opinion) and released in 2017, this re-release is published by Amazon UK's crime imprint Thomas & Mercer and came out 9th August, 2018. This version is available in ebook, paperback and audiobook formats and clocks in at 320 pages.

The pacing is very sedate and there is a large cast of secondary characters who aren't always clearly delineated. I did enjoy this book once I was a bit more invested in the characters, though that honestly took a while. The dialogue was competent and readable from the beginning, and though there wasn't much of a hook at the start, the book really did reward the effort to keep reading.

A little side info: When I was a kid, my best friend's family were keen spelunking enthusiasts. I have always been a very bookish kid (big surprise there), but well, best friend and all, I tried my very best to get into caving along with her family. It never took with me at least, the breathtaking glittering caves full of secret beauty never outweighed the squishy muddy stodgy cold drippy reality of squeezing along in the near-darkness and hearing my own breathing interspersed with the occasional grunt and *dammit* of something whacking against a cave wall or low hanging hard surface.

This book is about that. Lots and lots of that. It is pretty well written and entirely readable. It has a very 'English crime' feel and in a lot of ways reminds me of Deborah Crombie's Duncan and Gemma series.

Obvious trigger warning, extreme claustrophobes need not apply.

Four stars, I'll be reading the next books in the series. Possibly worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, the entire series is available to borrow on KU.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.