This is the second J.R. Ellis Yorkshire Mystery I've read and my verdict is the same. Reasonably good plot but the writing is awkward. This is particularly true when it is important to obscure the gender of the object of the sentence. With a bit of reorganization the paragraph would flow smoothly but too often the less graceful path is chosen. One small oddity is a decision to open the French doors from the house into a garden during a party at the end of Jan. Mr. Ellis lives there, I don't, but the weather service says that the temps at the end of Jan are about 6 C/43 F, That's too cold for me. They are hardy people up there.

Although this is my first read in the Yorkshire Murder series and this is #7, I was certainly drawn into a gothic ghost story. Now I have to go back and read the other in this series!
Story opens with Rev Clare Wilcox being appointed the Bishop pf Kendall. She is excited about the promotion. She is currently the pastor of St. Anne’s which is described as medieval church. It is believe to be haunted by a monk who was put to death and now haunts the church.
Clare is scheduled to meet someone in the church, however no one is there. Suddenly someone appears and hits her. She is later found bludgeoned to death. Some believe she was killed by the mysterious monk.
Clare is described as kind and generous. She was also a pioneer in women’s causes.
Some believe that may be what caused her death. I, of course, prefer thinking it is the gothic ghost!

I always like reading the author’s notes and/or acknowledgements as we get the inside scoop into what inspired the author to write this novel. Author John R. Ellis tells us that St. Anne’s is fictional but is based on a number of Yorkshire churches. He also tells us that there is a church that has a giant pendulum hidden in its walls but is keeping the name a secret. Additionally he points out that many places exist and are not fictional ~e.g. Our Lady of the Crag and Mother Shipton’s Cave, etc.

Want to thank NetGalley and Amazon Publication UK for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for December 7. 2021

Another excellent read from J.R. Ellis.
I’ve read all of the books in the series so far and I think each title betters the last, and this certainly is the best yet.
As always the calibre of writing is high , we find DCI Jim Oldroyd and his side kick Andy investigating the murder of a popular female vicar, with a hint of the supernatural.
The subject is also close to Jim’s heart due to his sister being a vicar , the police are unsure of the murder weapon as well as to the identity of the killer.
The writing is descriptive and at times atmospheric , the main characters are likeable , this is a perfect book for a winters afternoon , a hot chocolate in hand and lose yourself in the fabulous snowy depths of Yorkshire.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK.

Red herrings abound in this mystery that is the 7th in the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries. A female rector is murdered in the church at St. Anne's. DCI Oldroyd and his crew are stumped as to who or what killed the rector. They are stumped as to what killed her - and there are no clues during the initial stages of the investigation. They begin interviewing people surrounding the rector and several possible suspects emerge, but nothing definitive. The team follows the leads they find and turn up several possible motives as well. It was intriguing to follow the investigation and the findings as the case unfolds.

A well-plotted mystery and I enjoy the character DCI Oldroyd. I've only read two books from this series, but plan to read more.

Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on December 7, 2021.

This is the latest in the Yorkshire Murder series featuring DCI Oldroyd and his team and is an atmospheric murder mystery set in the depths of Winter. Perfect reading for a chilly December or January evening.
A popular female vicar is found brutally murdered in her church in Knaresborough and Oldroyd and his team are called in. The murder has alarming similarities to a local ghost story dating back to the 16th century. The spooky atmosphere is reinforced by the heavy snowfall which forces DCI Oldroyd and his sergeant to spend the night in the church. Did Oldroyd really see a ghost?
As ever with J R Ellis, the story is brilliantly plotted with various characters who could all be possible suspects. The police team are a likeable bunch and it’s nice to have police officers who appear to have a happy home life. The wintry setting really adds to the story and the book conveys the beauty as well as the inconvenience of heavy snow. I also loved the M R James quotes at the start of each chapter.
This is a great murder mystery and I definitely recommend it. Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well that was an interesting book - I had thought it was going to be a cozy mystery but then it became very intense (which I really liked). It was fascinating and really learned a lot from it which I wasn't expecting to.

This is now an author that I will be looking at in the future.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

This is the seventh volume in the Yorkshire Murder series, and it follows the usual pattern of a creepy crime with possible supernatural elements. This new novel is as atmospheric as always, and the reader can follow along DCI Oldroyd’s walks. The setting is a spooky church where a rector is found murdered in a violent way with no possible earthly explanation. The cast of suspects is very shady, and I didn’t know whodunit until the very end (I apologize to my favorite suspect, who ended up being innocent). Oldroyd, his team and family are very likable and this time the action again hits close to home, so I was closely following the action. The one thing that I’m not a fan of is how politically correct their conversations are turning and how it’s starting to affect the actual solving of the mystery. I can’t explain more without giving away the ending. Other than that, I enjoyed this read.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/#Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas & Mercer!

I thought the overall story was very well done with the character added in to make it all go together. Once I receieved this book I was able to read it from the very beginning to the very end. I thought the character built up made the whole story pop and make sense to me in my opinon. I thought the story line was so well done and it was a joy to read in my opinon. I received this book for free thru an Advanced Review Copy, ARC, with an honest review freely given.