Death at Chateau Peveril is the third DCI McFarlane procedural mystery by Dr. Russell Wate. Released 24th Oct 2023 by Cranthorpe Millner, it's 327 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a meticulously written and developed procedural with loads of atmosphere and good characterization. The author has very good technical expertise with descriptive prose, and the dialogue is deliberate and methodical. The courtroom scenes are carefully plotted and really realistic (the author has vast experience from his decades as a major crimes investigator at a high level).

The plot is self contained to this volume, but this is the third book, so if read out of order, there will be minor spoilers for the earlier books. Despite being the third book in the series, all necessary back-story is provided in context, so it could be read as a standalone. It would also make a good binge/buddy read.

Four stars.

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

There's plenty of potential but the story is a bit too slow and the mystery takes the backseat too often.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I'm so grateful to the publishers and netgalley for providing me this book. However, unfortunately this wasn't my cup of tea. I found it quite difficult to continue reading just as I was into two chapters. Though it had the thriller elements, I felt like something important was missing. At some points, the book fails to keep the reader attentive and immersed, because a lot of irrelevant things comes in between. Although the author's language and the characters were well depicted, the story miss some very important elemants that keeps the thriller fans on edge.

This book was not really my cup of tea. The story reads like a British police procedural…this happened, then this happened, then this happened. I found the writing quite methodical and a bit boring. I did learn a bit about the British court system .

An entertaining enough story if a little on the slow side and perhaps a bit wordy but all in all not a bad read. It has it's twists and turns but the action was not really there as the different police forces ways of working seemed to cause frustration and things to drag a bit. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Viscount is found dead in his French residence. Everyone assumes it was a heart attack, but was it? A British detective sets off to Bordeaux to investigate.

So many words of so little use. We're told twice, in back to back chapters, how old the inspector's girlfriend is, and later, that his mother is pleased when the whole family goes to church on Easter. Neither of those facts has any bearing on solving the crime, nor do they contribute to character development or anything else. And these are only two of many examples. This could have been a good story with tighter, less repetitious, writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

283 pages

3 stars

This book was tedious. There was much talking, and not much action. I like my mysteries with action and attempts to move the investigation along. I didn’t get that with this novel. The writing was a little confusing as well. I was not always sure who was speaking. The reader was treated to a long description of Sandy trying to move the case along, without much progress. Perhaps Mr. Wate’s next book will be much improved.

I want to thank NetGalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, Action, intrigue, mystery, murder, revenge, a great who done it, great plot twist, and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!