A change of tack by the author and an enjoyable one at that. Am an avid fan of mainstream DCI Daley novels but this, I thought, shaped up to be a jaunty novel that quickly got a little darker. Humour with a hangdog DI Grasby in the 50’s that turned up everything from theft, murder and international espionage including a femme fatale with, above all, an opportunity to aquit himself. A very good read and a great stocking filler.

Denzil Meyrick is a wonderful writer who knows how to intrigue, entertain and play wonderful games with the reader through twists and turns in plots. The DCI Daley series has captured many readers with fast paced crime fiction but peppered with dry humour .
Murder at Holly House is a great period detective / crime tale set in the 1950s in a Yorkshire village where all is not what it seems. Inspector Frank Grasby has been ordered to move to the quiet yet eccentric village following a series of detective ‘ mishaps’ . Within a short time, he finds himself involved in the death of a man found in a chimney, a murdered American and encounters with a cast of curious characters - it soon becomes apparent to Grasby that all is not what it seems and who can he actually trust
Told with an immense amount of humour - very much tongue in cheek at times- this is the perfect winter detective Christmas read. Certainly not cosy crime ; the story captures an era/ time without resorting to cliches and stereotypes, The relationship between Frank and his father is highly comical. Grasby finds himself in a series of awkward situations - fast paced and full of fun; this is will further delight fans of Meyrick… will there be a sequel and further adventures for Inspector Grasby?

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Denzil Meyrick for the ARC! I love reading Christmas mysteries in the summer when I'm dying of heat and dreaming of chesnuts roasting on an open fire. Highly recommend to all fans of a Christmas murder.

Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick is a police story after World War 2 and it is very old fashioned and based in Yorkshire. Whilst the story was in keeping with the 1950’s and the Russian threat, it seemed irrelevant in these days of the Ukraine invasion by Russia.
I did enjoy the story of Murder of Holly House but I wouldn’t choose to read anymore involving the same characters.
Recommended

Denzil Meyrick can do no wrong in my opinion. This latest book is full of quirky characters, humour and a blitz of action. The main character is a lovable but sigh inducing chap who means well but doesn't often succeed. I loved the story and hope the character appears again. One question though... did they find the horses?
Thanks to Netgalley and the author and publisher for a temporary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book but found myself getting sidetracked along the way and the story just couldn’t hold me.
The narration was clever and I did enjoy the way the characters were portrayed. Having said that, at times I found my self getting confused and ultimately, I just didn’t really care what happened next which is sad.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy of Murder at Holly House, the first novel to feature Detective Inspector Frank Grasby of York Police, set in December 1952.

Due to an unfortunate event, the latest of several, Grasby is sent to Elderby on the North York Moors to investigate the theft of farm equipment from Lord Damnish’s estate. No sooner does he get to Holly House to start his investigation when he discovers a body in the chimney. Then the local doctor’s husband is murdered and Grasby soon realises that everyone has secrets in Elderby.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder at Holly House, which is a fun read that had me laughing most of my way through. It has a bonkers plot that is really quite clever and an apparently inept protagonist, who turns out to have more mettle that one would guess, so it’s a glorious romp through rural Yorkshire and the politics of the time. I have read many of the DCI Daly books and they are no herald to this novel and it’s fun absurdity.

I like the format which is that of a younger relative editing and publishing Grasby’s memoirs annotated with police reports and communications. Most of the novel, therefore, is told from Grasby’s first person perspective and, boy, does he have a voice. Grasby is a former soldier turned police detective and part time hedonist, well hedonist for his era with a love of drink, women and gambling on the horses. He also has a sort of laissez faire attitude to policing, so is no stranger to a carpeting. He is quite annoying at the start of the novel, but to know him is to love him and he really grew on me.

As I said, the plot is bonkers. There is something going on in Elderby, but it takes a while for Grasby to cotton on, even after a couple of attacks on his person and a warning from the intelligence community. I can’t say more without spoilers, but it’s a fun read, made so by Grasby’s narrative and an author with a fertile, inventive mind.

Murder at Holly House is a fun read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

A lovely, cosy mystery, filled with intriguing characters and surprising twists. Having never read a Denzil Meyrick novel before, it was the synopsis that drew me in and the fun, quirky style of narrative that kept my attention page after page. Meyrick paints a superb picture of a small, supposedly quiet village in a time where people are still recovering from the war, which plays into the larger story in more ways than one, and speculative comments from the narrator about the future had me laughing more than once!

Due for release in November, the perfect time for a cosy read like this, it is definitely a book I would recommend to any fans of the cosy mystery genre, and I'll be looking out for any future additions in the world of DI Grasby.

I am a huge fan of Denzil Meyrick’s DCI Daley series set in Kinloch, Scotland so I was eager to read his latest offering, Murder at Holly House. From the cover artwork and the blurb, I was (disappointingly) expecting a cosy little locked door type murder mystery set in a big house at Christmas in the 50’s. Oh how wrong I was! Yes, there is a murder at Holly House, but that is only a very small part of the strange happenings in the North Yorkshire village of Elderby. The characters are superb, they felt like old friends by the end of the book. The story is actually quite complex, with many twists and turns. It has a bit of everything - murder, mystery, romance, thriller, humour, action and an International conspiracy. The book was a delight to read, very enjoyable and left me wanting to catch up with all the characters again.

I found this to be such a cosy little mystery! Based in North Yorkshire in the 50s around Christmas time. I got a little lost toward the end as it was hard to keep track of the suspects but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment! Get a blanket , get your favourite hot drink, get cosy & take yourself back to the 50s !

This book is a departure from the excellent DCI Daley series, as the action takes place in 1950's North Yorkshire. Our new hero is DI Grasby who has blotted his copybook when investigating a case and so is exiled to Elderby, just before Christmas 1952. He arrives in the snow capped quiet village, on the wrong road, to discover mysterious things happening. Grasby is summoned to Holly House by Lord Damnish and discovers a dead body lodged in the chimney. This the start of a series of murders and DI Grasby doesn't know who to trust.

This is a fun story as DI Grasby is a particularly hapless protagonist and provides a comic twist to this gruesome tale. I hope there will be more in this series as it was an hilarious read and although Grasby is always getting things wrong he is very likeable. Thanks to Netgalley for a prepublication copy of this book.

This story is set at Christmastime in the 1950s. Inspector Grasby is sent to Elderby on a temporary basis and gets thrown in at the deep end. A body is found stuffed up the chimney at Holly House and an investigation ensues. This was well-written with great descriptions throughout. There are twists and turns but ultimately this is a cosy crime novel that could be enjoyed in wintertime with a mug of hot chocolate.

Solid 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and the very best of luck to the author in their future career.

I have mixed feelings about the book, which makes me think I am not necessarily the right audience for it. Which is absolutely fine, of course.

Now, the book starts out quite interestingly. Mysterious things are afoot in this small village, and we have a Inspector Clouseau-like protagonist who is bumbling around trying to get to the bottom of things. Which is all fun and games, until the truly sinister characters turn up.

The book lost me in the second half of the book. Every character was equally suspicious and it was quite hard to keep track of who was acting on what motive at which point in time. Which also meant that we didn't really see much of the characters' true selves, and they felt like caricatures (and not in the good way like Grasby) And the ending definitely felt rushed, in my opinion.

Rating: 3/5

Denzil Meyrick's characters are usually to be found round Kinloch,but we are introduced here to Grasby, an engaging police Inspector , who finds himself caught up in a post war plot for a fascist rebellion. Grasby channels both Bertie Wooster and John Hannay and his less than perfect deductive skills lead him into, what he might describe as, some rum old times before he eventually prevails.
There are twists and turns aplenty in this tale and it is certainly a page turner. Nobody seems to be quite what they seem and Grasby is wise, finally, to decide to trust no one but himself I am sure we will hear more of his exploits and I, for one, shall look forward to them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an eARC of this title in exchange for this honest review.

Being an avid fan of police procedurals, it took me a while to get into this book. To me it seemed more of a P.G. Wodehouse farce rather than a compelling mystery. I kept expecting Jeeves and Bertie Wooster to pop up. If this is to your taste, read it, you’ll love it. Well written with fully developed characters, I have no complaints regarding the author’s talents, it just wasn’t my usual type and not at all what I was anticipating.
I am sure that I am in the minority and reading the other reviews, I imagine this book will be very popular.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

It's the 1950s and it's Christmas. This is where a body is found stuffed up the chimney at Holly House. This book was interesting as it was told in third person, instead of the prospective of inspector Grasby. This is a cosy little crime and I felt like I was missing toasted marshmallows reading this

I read this in one day stopping only for comfort breaks and tea! I’ve read all the Daley books so know that it will be a good story. Without giving too much away, a policeman is ‘exiled’ to the wilds of Yorkshire to a village not unlike Brigadoon. He soon becomes embroiled in a situation he never expected. The year is 1952 - so the reader needs to remember that the war is over only a short time, that many were still distrustful of strangers, everyone knew their place in the structure of society and there is no technology. Everything is done ‘old school’. Trust no one is the theme here. I loved the comments which referred to what may or may not happen in the future. ( Particularly, the comment about all the world’s knowledge will be available on a screen!) I really hope there will be more stories from Frank Grasby et Al. Thank you NetGalley for a prepublication ebook.

What a fantastic book!! Set in the 50's at Christmas...a body is found up the chimney at Holly House, which is in a remote town on the York Moors. Inspector Grasby is sent to get to the bottom of the mystery. Such a fantastic plot and so many twist and turns the quirky characters are brilliant as are the descriptions of the landscape, as the snow starts to fall and they are cut off, Grasby discovers more mysteries and secrets!!! Will he get to discover what is going on? Funny in parts too...... I think this would make a good title for a book group especially in the lead up to the festive season. As ever you would expect nothing less with an author of Denzil Meyrick's standard...fantastic!!

This started off as a cosy mystery, set in Yorkshire. Unusually, it's told from the perspective of the Detective Inspector,rather than in the third person and that in itself was interesting.

Shortly after Christmas, Grasby id relegated to a far-flung part of the county, in disgrace, to look into some thefts for the local nobility. Soon after his arrival, thefts become deaths and then stranger things start to happen.

By halfway through the book we are swept up in a storyline that brought to mind The 39 Steps by John Buchan. It was a great surprise and a terrific story.

An entertaining book, with a strong 1950s period setting. Frank is a flawed and interesting lead character, trying to investigate a murder in a rural Yorkshire village. Although events take place just before Christmas, this isn’t particularly a Christmas novel, though the Winter weather plays a part. The plot gathers pace towards the end of the book, finishing with an action packed final chapter. I haven’t read others in this series (yet) so it works well as a stand alone book.