This book is a very well written murder mystery. A great plot with believable characters and a good setting. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I love a good murder mystery! This one was written very well. You had to suspend belief a bit near the end but I did enjoy the plot twist. All in all I would say this is a worthwhile read for mystery and JR Ellis fans.

Jim Oldroyd is the current day version of Sherlock Holmes in this wonderfully written mystery. The hills of Yorkshire are the scene of two strange murders. An enjoyable read for thruller lovers like me.

What a charming and refreshing police procedural mystery this was. I was captivated by the Yorkshire Dales setting, the relaxed country vibe, the quirky characters and the small town feel. Our main protagonist, DCI James Oldroyd has completely won me over. He's highly respected and admired by his colleagues for his amazing ability to resolve the most difficult of cases. He is thoroughly committed to his job and can never seem to turn off his analytic brian when it comes to solving a mystery. That's great for the police department but a bit rough on his loved ones. There's a tremendous depth to his character. On one side, he's incredibly good at his police work without any display of arrogance. He is a leader by example. Yet, there is also a touch of humility and introspection to his character. He enjoys stories of Sherlock Holmes as well as the wealth of Shakespearean literature and finds inspiration for resolving mysteries by opening his mind to disciplines outside of police work. There is also a touch of philosophic pondering, which I found absolutely delightful.

The writing in the earlier pages of the book is fairly straight forward police procedural language - not too desciptive. "Just the facts, ma'am." As the solving of the mystery becomes less cut and dry, the language becomes more descriptive, more painterly and rather philosophic. The cast of characters is tremendous and well developed. The pace is steady up until the last quarter of the book at which point the urgency accelerates and one's heartbeat rises, with the story resolving into a satisfactory conclusion when all is said and done.

Although this fifth book of the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series was my first foray into this much admired series, I did not find myself at a loss for having missed the previous four books.There was enough background information provided on each of the long-standing characters to set the tone and provide firm-footing. However, as enjoyable as this one was, I'll definitely be going back to catch the earlier books.

I am grateful to publisher Thomas & Mercer for having provided a complimentary electronic copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Drew me in from first pages.Well written interesting characters a storyline that kept me guessing to the end,#netgalley#amazonuk

Thanks to #NetGalley and #ThomasandMercer for the advance copy of this book - the following opinions are my own.

Though this is the 5th in a series and I haven't read anything else by this author, this could totally be read as a standalone. I always appreciate when the author of a series doesn't spend half of the current book explaining back story. There are a couple of prior events referenced, but only in passing, and they don't impact this story at all. Well done!

This is a strong police procedural with red herrings everywhere but Oldroyd, the main detective, keeps pushing and eventually solves the puzzle. Almost as interesting as the murder investigation is the great descriptions of the dales and fells and general landscape of the area - clearly the author loves this part of England. And the town names! I actually went onto Google maps to see if they're real, and sure enough - there they all were.....a bunch of little villages in the back of nowhere in the middle of GB.

So, a good cozy murder mystery with a good variety of characters, very evocative of a place, and a satisfying ending - what else could you possibly want?
Review soon to appear on my blog, Bookshelf Journeys

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It is about a policeman that was called to a small village to try to solve a murder. While there, another murder occurs and he must try to determine if the two are related. The only problem that I had with the book was trying to figure out some of the dialect that some of the people used. I would recommend this book as it is a good mystery boo

I have read 3 or 4 books by J. R. Ellis and really enjoy his writing style. This book is a traditional style mystery/ police procedural, with a fine sense of place and some interesting characters.

First we have the murder of a retired judge and there seem to be plenty of motives for his murder. However, the murder was witnessed and the murderer, who doesn’t seem to have a motive, subsequently disappears. Before that murder is solved, there is another murder. Again, no sign of the murderer, and surprisingly, this is a different suspect than the one who was seen committing the first murder.

DCI Oldroydand his team do finally solve the murders, but I would never have guesses the solution. This was a book that kept me turning the pages and I read it in one sitting. I hope that there will be more from this author.

With out reading the previous books, I still enjoyed this one. I am now looking forward to starting with the first book and reading them. This story had me guessing until the end. The main characters are interesting and well developed. Good mystery and no smut.

Book setting makes you feel like you are there. Great visual details to transport you to the area. Good mystery with a great twist!

Having now finished The Nidderdale Murders, I've discovered that it is the fifth book in a series; however, it reads perfectly as a stand-alone. I would put this one in the category of cozy mystery. It takes place in a Yorkshire village where a group has gathered for a grouse hunting holiday on the estate of Alexander "Sandy" Fraser. After a lavish dinner at a local inn, Sandy leaves for home but is stopped outside the inn and shot! There's not much mystery about the 'who' because a barmaid witnesses the whole thing from a window in the inn. The murderer is identified as Alan Green, a local handyman and gardener, but no one can figure out why he would have shot Fraser. No one liked Fraser, but Alan Green appeared to have no real ties to the man. Then again, Alan Green seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. The case is being investigated by DCI Jim Oldroyd and his team of two detective sergeants. The three interview virtually everyone in the town, but still can't make sense of the crime. Then, a local shopkeeper is murdered outside his shop. Again the crime is witnessed by a local woman, and she quickly identifies the shooter. Once again, the murder makes no sense to anyone in town who know both the victim and murderer, and once again, the murderer disappears completely. Of course, Oldroyd eventually figures it all out with the help of William Shakespeare and Arthur Conan Doyle. It's a crazy, but satisfying conclusion.

I would recommend The Nidderdale Murders to readers who enjoy British cozy mysteries. For me, I found it slow reading. It's not really my genre. It is atmospheric and the characters are well developed. It is also well written, but it felt too old-timey for me to really enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

I got in late in this series, this being my first book. It was written in a way that it was a great stand alone and I didn’t feel lost. The setting was beautifully described and I really enjoyed the cast of interesting characters. I will definitely be going back to the beginning of the series. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

THE NIDDERDALE MURDERS takes readers to a small Yorkshire village where the shooting death of a former judge with a plethora of enemies brings DCI Jim Oldroyd and his team to investigate. There is an eyewitness to the shooting but the culprit appears to have disappeared into thin air. A short time later another shotgun murder occurs and once again there is an eyewitness who can identify the assassin and once again, even with dogged and time consuming investigation, the culprit is nowhere to be found.

It is a pleasure to see a mystery cracked through dogged investigative work and this smart police procedural more than delivers on this. J. R. Ellis has provided an addictive, ferociously clever and well plotted tome encompassing all the best elements of the genre (wit, clues, twists, engaging characters and of course—murder). The final solution is one most readers will not see coming.

DCI Oldroyd and his investigators, the towns of Nidderdale and Niddergill and their residents are all characters who live on long after the book is closed.

Alexander “Sandy” Fraser is a prominent judge that moves from a big city to the small town of Nidderdale upon his retirement. His new property is expansive enough to hold grouse shooting events that are very popular with some but raises the ire of activists who wish to protect the birds and the environment. After each day of grouse hunting Sandy hosts a gathering for the event participants at the local inn. After one such outing as Sandy leaves from the inn he is shot in the chest and killed. His murder is witnessed and the killer is clearly identified but cannot be found.
While Sandy is a rather pompous and unpleasant person that is behind on his payments to the inn, has run-ins with his neighbors, berates his employees at every turn and is generally disliked by all, no one seems to have a strong enough motive to kill him. When a local shop owner is murdered in almost the same manner a few days later authorities begin to suspect that the murders are not random and must have something in common. The investigation takes frequent twists and turns with so many characters that at times are difficult to keep straight. A good “who done it” mystery that will keep you guessing.

Murder in an English Village

It’s grouse hunting season and retired judge Sandy Fraser is running large, boisterous hunts on his grouse moor. Fraser is not well liked in the village of Nidderdale, but since he provides jobs and uses the local inn to cater the lunches and dinners during the hunt, the people put up with him. Then after one hunt, leaving the dinner at the Dog and Gun, the local inn, he’s shot in the parking lot.

One of the inn employees peering out the window sees the shooting. The gunman looks directly at her and she recognizes the local handyman, Alan Green. It seems like an open and shut case, but the locals call in DCI Oldroyd. Since Fraser was a retired judge, they want the best man on the case. The case becomes problematic when Green can’t be found. Then another murder of a local shop owner happens with the same elements including the disappearance of the gunman. Now it’s become a case worthy of Oldroyd’s talents.

I enjoyed this police procedural. Oldroyd is a likable character with all his quirks. His subordinates like him too which makes for happy reading. The setting is beautifully described. The author takes pains to bring you into the town and the surrounding area. It made me want to visit.

The mystery is full of twists. It seems simple, but there are a myriad of suspects and minor characters. It makes it challenging to figure out the plot. If you enjoy English mysteries, this is a good one.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

This was a very enjoyable read. I found myself immersed in the setting (which was so beautifully described) and the characters' lives. Loved the banter between the detectives. The mystery was engrossing and I didn't see the ending coming at all. Recommended! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is actually the 5th book in a series, but the first of which I've read in that series, and absolutely loved it! I didn't feel as if I was missing anything between characters or plot, and I am already planning to grab the first of the previous books.

In The Nidderdale Murders, Detective Oldroyd is sent to investigate an apparently open and shut case where a prominent local man was murdered, and there was even an eye witness! We follow Oldroyd and his fellow detectives as they try and to piece together this mystery -why did the main suspect potentially murder the victim, and where did they go?

This one is more of a slow burn, but such a fun read. The author's ability to describe the scenes and portray the character's personalities keeps this moving along so well, all while giving us time to piece the mystery together.

I jumped into the middle of this series because I was selected to read it early from Netgalley. Now, I want to go back to the beginning of the series and start reading them.

I enjoyed all the characters in this book. Ellis had many red herrings, as anyone in the village could have committed the murders. All the characters had good motives to do the murders, and you really couldn't blame them if one of them was responsible for it.

Ellis wrote in a way that transported me to Yorkshire. I'm American and some of the language at first was hard to understand, as it was Yorkshire, but I got the hang of it. I could tell with reading this book that Ellis knows the Yorkshire area well. I could just tell as his description of the area literally made me feel as though I was walking along with the characters of the village.

I recommend this book. If you are like me and have never read this series, reading this out of order, really want matter. I think you will just want to start this series, as I do.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Kindle Version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the first that I’ve read n this series. I’ll be looking up the others. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. It reads like an old fashioned English murder mystery.

I really liked the mystery in this book. The story was slow-paced and very descriptive, which perhaps for a new reader in this series it stood out - but a seasoned reader of this author would've appreciated. The plot got really interesting in the second half, and like most mystery novels, the climax and ending were more fast-paced than the whole rest of the book. This is greatly annoying because it takes me forever to start a new book because despite knowing what the story is about, it takes a lot to have to learn new characters and keep them straight in your head. Like I said, a lot of what I disliked in this book can be blamed on me reading this book first in the whole series and this was the 5th book. I really appreciated the main character, Jim Oldroyd, as he seems quite human in his perspective and experiences, not superior to all other cops in the world like how other authors choose to portray their main detectives in murder mysteries. Although those can be quite exciting and thrilling to read about as well. As a superhero fan, I can say with the utmost truth, Aloysius Pendergast is no less a superhero than any other.
I really really liked what the mystery turn out to be as well. It was amazing the level of thinking and planning that went into this revenge plot that Wilson had cooked up, creating three distinct identities is no easy feat that's for sure. The fact that the MET had not informed the officers and detectives working on the Fraser murder case about their secret mission is quite reflective of real-life politics in the law enforcement agencies all around the world. The fact that Oldroyd said that there was no space for anyone's ego in law, just the determination to get the real criminals was so 4th wall that it seemed to echo the author's mind more than just a dialogue of a character; one that I agree wholeheartedly.
I really enjoyed the second half of the book, and if it had been on paper, I think I would have enjoyed it even more, but that's just personal taste and I'm grateful I got to read this ARC edition of this amazing book in this series!