I started this book with high hopes for it from the description. I managed to get half way through it before giving up. I just couldn't identify with the main characters and didn't really enjoy. Just not my type of book really .

Probably my favourite and most eagerly anticipated cosy series. The author has brought to life the North Yorkshire landscape and populated it with wonderful characters. This one is slightly darker than the previous seven books, but ties up neatly with the baddie *finally* getting caught.

Developments in Samson and Delilah's relationship, as well as several others, is front and centre, but all while tying together a few seemingly unrelated jobs that have come into the Dales Detective Agency. The new, disparate, slapdash crew, which includes Ida Capstick, struggles to get organised and on top of things while Samson has returned to London for a period of time.

All the previously laid threads meet here and many are neatly tied up, although there's one more book (at least), so obviously not all of them. Am very much looking forward to No 9!

Highly recommended, although this is definitely a series you need to start from the beginning in order to be able to follow the characters and story arcs.

Delilah Metcalfe runs a web design business and a quirky dating agency in Bruncliffe, Yorkshire Dales. When former bad boy Samson O’Brien returns to open the Dales Detective Agency with Delilah, the two find themselves in the middle of a wild crime spree in the seemingly peaceful town.

In Julia Chapman's "Date with Evil," the eighth Dales Detective cozy mystery, the trio, including investigator Ida Capstick, tackles a mix of quirky offenses, from stolen goods to haunted farms. Chapman paints a charming picture of Yorkshire Dales and its eccentric locals, making for a delightful return to Bruncliffe. With a sizable suspect pool and tangled motivations, "Date with Evil" is a fun ride of mystery and small-town charm.

I just love the dales detective series, they just get better and better. Cosy crime that holds your interest, you don’t always need lots of blood, guts and gore to make a story. I think the characters are great and love the dynamics between our leading characters.

This was very much a book of two halves. I nearly gave up reading at about 25% as so many characters had been introduced, with little to no introduction (which I assume means they were from the previous books), and quite frankly I was lost. I didn't know who anyone was, and what their connections were,.

However, I decided to keep reading and it sort of fell into place and it was possible to get to grips with who the main characters were. The plot itself was good, and there were lots of interesting twists and turns.

This is the perfect type of cozy murder book but I do recommend reading some of the others first in order to understand the background.

This is the final book in the Dales Detective Agency series,I think. Like the other two or three I have read it is fast moving, comedic at times, full of potential tragedy, loyalty and a wonderful sense of the Dales.

It is useful to read all the books in the series. The ending was a surprise. For the first time in the series I realised there was a map at the front of the book. I do love to look at a map whilst reading. It was a very enjoyable book.

3.5 stars rounded up

I found Date with Evil to be a very enjoyable cosy mystery. It's cleverly written, with various POVs and the different strands of the story being slowly but steadily woven together. The main characters, Delilah, Ida and Samson, are very likely and well fleshed out. Personally, I thought the pacing could have been a bit quicker - I found myself getting frustrated by knowing more than our heroes at some parts. Nevertheless, this makes for an easy read and definitely had me on the edge of my seat towards the end. I think I will check out Julia Chapman's earlier books, too.

Delilah Metcalfe lives in the picturesque town of Bruncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales, where she runs two businesses that are not exactly suited to the local environment. While her web design business just seems strangely exotic to locals, it’s her Dales Dating Agency that really causes eyebrows to be raised (dating being something that only Londoners and other barmpots get up to). Fortunately, it’s been a while since notable numbers of clients of the dating agency have been dying in suspicious circumstances.

Samson O’Brien used to be Bruncliffe’s favourite bad boy, although he left town suddenly years ago, fleeing his alcoholic father and neighbours who were quick to judge but slow to help, ending up in a successful career as an undercover police officer. When he had to leave London in a hurry, Samson decided that opening the Dales Detective Agency would be the perfect way to see himself through a bad time, although the fact that he inadvertently rented premises for the agency from Delilah certainly made things more interesting than expected.

The latest case for Delilah and Samson (and newly promoted investigator Ida Capstick) sees them puzzling over a crime wave of unlikely dimensions, with the offences ranging from stolen washing to dodgy business practices to a haunted farm. There’s also a potential missing persons case to get to grips with. Could the disparate series of crimes perhaps be related?

Date with Evil is the eighth book in the Dales Detective cosy mystery series by Julia Chapman and it provides a welcome return to Bruncliffe, its inhabitants, and the masses of secrets and resentments that are bubbling away under the surface of the apparently tranquil town. The descriptions of the scenery of the Yorkshire Dales are wonderful and, while not all the local characters are exactly endearing, Chapman portrays them all with a great deal of fondness.

This latest instalment in the series features an entertaining central mystery and a great cast of characters, both those involved in the cases and those who make up the wider community of Bruncliffe. The suspect pool is sufficiently large and the motivation behind the crimes sufficiently complicated that it’s great fun trying to piece together the clues and identify the guilty party before Samson and Delilah do.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan Pan for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Date with Evil’ by Julia Chapman.

This is Book 8 in the highly popular Dales Detective series of mysteries.

I designated it as a semi-cosy as it has darker themes than I expect from the usual gentle cosy. As this was my first experience of this series I have no idea if they are all as dark.

It opens with Delilah Metcalfe of Bruncliffe’s Dales Detective Agency struggling to meet the mounting demands for the agency’s services. Ida Capstick, the newly appointed member of the investigations team, is distracted by her brother George’s belief that their farm is haunted.

Then the mother of a local estate agent arrives at the offices insisting that her son is missing. Delilah, along with Samson O’Brien, begin to investigate what appears to be a straightforward case little realising that several of their cases are about to collide and enter more sinister territory. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Usually I am confident about just jumping into an ongoing mystery series as authors will provide background for readers new to the series. However, in this case I found myself fairly lost given what was clearly extensive character backstories and plot lines that appear to have been carried over from previous books.

However, as I kept reading I did get more into the swing of the current story and found it a compelling read.

Still, I feel that this is a series that I would advise is best to read from the beginning, which is something that I hope to do in the upcoming months.

In terms of ratings, I can imagine that those readers invested in the goings on in Bruncliffe and the Dales Detective Agency it’s a clear winner but it proved a bit of a struggle for me without experience of the earlier books.

I really enjoyed reading the story about the Dales Detective Agency. Even though it can be read as a stand alone book, I felt I missed out a bit from not having read the previous books in the series.
The book is very well written with interesting characters, set in a village in. the beautiful Yorkshire Dales.
Samson is still still not back from London and Delilah’s is struggling to keep up with the work from the detective Agency and her own IT/software business. Too much to do too little time and the cases keep coming so Delilah enlists some help.

Hooray!!! Not only is one of my most anticipated books in my grasp, but it didn't disappoint, love this series even more for having this book in it!

I was so nervous and excited to pick up this book, the village of Bruncliffe with it's overly familiar residents, inter-related families, cake, tea...and murder, has become a go to for me for reading slump rescue recommendations, reading clubs, and just getting out of the doldrums in general, and this was to be a culmination of so many different story threads, and Julia Chapman did it!!!

Great pace, great finish to so many stories, this feels like it could be a very satisfying end to my time in Bruncliffe with Samson and Delilah, but I don't want it to be, and right there is a mark of the success of this 8th instalment. I can't really comment too much on the plot because it ties up so many loose ends, and a fair amount of motive and villain identity is known before this book even starts
, the mystery here is how is it all going to be resolved. The stakes are high, the danger greater than ever as the villain of the piece sees their plans fast unravelling, but will the Dales Detective Agency succeed in discovering the perpetrator, and will Bruncliffe be left unscathed, or will the village be scarred forever by the fallout of this last(?) investigation?

I wouldn't recommend anyone to read this book without reading the others first, relationships and storylines all converge in 'Date with Evil', but if that's too much of a reading commitment, I would at least start with the first book to get to know the characters, then read one or two before this one, if by that point you feel you can bear the spoilers.

Anyone who likes cosy mysteries, a rural English setting, a dash of romance, and vivid engaging writing by an author who clearly loves all of those things, will love this series. It will be interesting to see the TV series if/when that happens, but make sure you read the books first if you can.

I'm also so glad the publishers have stuck with Yorkshire's own Emily Sutton as the cover artist, her style is a perfect fit for these stories, whimsical, cosy, and full of love for the dales, great choice!

My first of the Dales Detective series and I will definitely read others.

Bruncliffe is uneasy with missing persons, missing washing, a caravan fire and dodgy dealings at the Estate Agents.

Great characters and a fast paced adventure. Especially loved the role of the dog. Enjoy reading.

This is the eighth book in the Dales Detective series of books by Julia Chapman. The stories are all set in the Yorkshire Dales, in and around the fictional town of Bruncliffe. They feature the activities of detective Samson O’Brien and his business partner Delilah Metcalfe, who also runs the Dales Dating Agency. There is an ongoing storyline running through the series, but each book can still be read as a stand-alone. However, they do make a great story if read in sequence. This book also features a map of Bruncliffe at the beginning, which makes a great reference point while reading the text. In common with the rest of the books in the series, this one has an eye-catching cover featuring a scene connected with the story within.

The story picks up where the previous one in the series, Date with Betrayal, ended. Both the detective agency and the dating agency have more than enough business, and they are in dire need of some extra staff. Friend and cleaner Ida Capstick has stepped up to the mark and is showing herself to be a budding detective. However, she is worried about her brother, George, who is acting strangely, even for him. One of their new cases involves the disappearance of a young local estate agent - did he go of his own accord or is there something more sinister going on? When Delilah realises that most of their cases are in fact linked, the detectives begin to worry that their peaceful little town may be a hub for something serious, even downright dangerous.

It was so good to be back in the lives of Samson and Delilah, and, of course, Tolpuddle the Weimaraner. This story was filled with danger and intrigue, offset by witty interludes, mainly from the elderly residents of the local care home. There was also the promise that, after some false starts, romance may just be blossoming for the detective duo. The story deals in part with the very serious issue of human trafficking, something that is all too present, even in apparently isolated locations such as Bruncliffe. I was pleased to find that the great sense of community was still present in the town, everyone pulling together when it mattered. I can recommend this book and the series to other readers who enjoy a mystery and I am already looking forward to the next title.

I have just reviewed Date With Evil by Julia Chapman as an advanced reader copy thanks to @PanMcMillan and @NetGalley.



I have a confession to make before I start this review – I love Bruncliffe and all its inhabitants, I was itching to get back to the town. Something would have had to go dreadfully wrong with Ms Chapman to get a bad review on this title.

It didn’t - she’s only got better.

Bruncliffe is the type of place I would love to live, if only they’d have me. Chapman has created a superb cast of characters with all the domestic gossip, rivalries, fallings-out and community spirit anyone who grew up in a small town will love and recognise.

Since Samson O’Brien started the Dales Detective Agency in the downstairs office of Delilah Metcalfe’s Dales Dating Agency, the calibre of drama has gone up a notch. The pair have become embroiled in several cases that put them smack bang in the path of danger and in a ‘will-they, won’t-they’ relationship. It’s hard to know which crackles with energy more, the various explosions and fires or their chemistry.

We left the town at the end of the last instalment with Samson’s name cleared and (nearly) everyone safe after the entire town was involved in a showdown with corrupt coppers, eastern European mafia and money launderers. However, now Samson is free to return to his job in the Met. Will he leave Deliah and Bruncliffe? And have they rid the town they love from the evil within? Or did the roots go much further?

These questions and more are answered in this new book in the series!

I very much enjoyed and will continue recommending this series to all who love a cosy crime or indeed as a palette cleanser for those who love more gritty crime. I can’t wait for more!

#JuliaChapman #NetGalley #PanMacMillan #DDA

Date With Evil is by far and away Julia Chapman's best book in her Dales series as far as I am concerned. There's pace and action and plot strands coming together and finally tying up everything from the previous seven books. It's full of life and bounce and characters coming into their own. Gone is the irritating stand-off between Samson and Delilah. Banished too is the over-dependence on lack of communication as a plot device. More like this please.

There are dark deeds afoot in the Dales.th
With Samson still out of town, Delilah is struggling with running all of her businesses and has roped in Ida to help with the detective agency. When Mrs lister comes in and asks them to look into the disappearance of her son, Stuart, they dismiss it as everyone knows he has gone travelling to Thailand. Mrs Lister is not so sure as the postcard she has received doesn't contact kisses and is from a digital postcard provider.
Samson returns and all seems well in the world and the work keeps coming in.
Meanwhile two men have taken up residence in a barn, afraid of discovery. What do they have to do with the estate agents?
Read the book and all will become clear. I really enjoyed this.

The first of the Dales Detective series I have read but the colourful characters and great storyline will have me reading all the others.
There was an awful lot going on but the way it all tied together as the plot expanded was wonderful, it also spoke of current problems such as modern slavery in rural areas and human trafficking. Along with the hard hitting issues there was humour and affection between the central characters.
Thank you Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for giving me access to this little gem of a series, I loved it.

Another fantastic read from the Dales Detective series .
This series gets better with each new instalment.
In the “ sleepy” town of Bruncliffe Delilah finds herself in danger once again.
The story is fast paced with numerous threads coming together in this book to give a satisfying conclusion to the crimes that have occurred previously.
This series has it all it’s cosy but with a hard edge and involves serious crimes in a place where you would never think it would be taking place!
The characters are likeable and the writing is of an excellent calibre and all this takes place in Yorkshire a beautiful part of the country.
All in all it has everything to make it an intriguing and enjoyable read
Thanks to NetGalley and PanMacmillan.

The first of the Dales Detective series I have read but the colourful characters and great storyline will have me reading all the others.
There was an awful lot going on but the way it all tied together as the plot expanded was wonderful, it also spoke of current problems such as modern slavery in rural areas and human trafficking. Along with the hard hitting issues there was humour and affection between the central characters.
Thank you Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for giving me access to this little gem of a series, I loved it.

I received an email from the publisher saying they thought I would love this book and having read the synopsis I tended to agree with them and neither of us were wrong!
I was concerned that this was the 8th book in a series I'd not heard of. Although there were obvious times when there were things I should have known, the story flowed nicely around those parts leading me to decide that as much as I've enjoyed this book, I now need to find copies of the other seven too!
This has quite a fast paced story with lovely characters and settings that were easy to view in my minds eye as I read.
The author has managed to juggle many threads, only pulling on each one at the right time so when it all unravelled it was an amazing ending to read!