Good to catch up with DI Oldroyd and his team in another very interesting case. What is extremely interesting is that this author manages to also give you a tour of the Yorkshire countryside. Recommended and well worth a read.

This is the second book I have read from this author. It was quite enjoyable. I sometimes found myself bogged down in all the information regarding musical instruments and the history of this particular violin, but it seems the author has an attention to detail on this subject. The relationship between Carter and Stephanie is not relevant and went from a casual flirtation in book one to an apparent serious relationship. Wonder why it is even included, as it has no bearing on the plot or information in the book. Overall, a good read for a light, clean mystery.

This book is the second in the series and I liked it as much as the first. This book focuses on the world of music. It was an easy read and again everything was brilliantly described and well thought out. This story was a pleasure to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a follow up to the Body in the Dales by J.R. Ellis. The same characters are involved in another tricky murder investigation.
A member of a Quartet is shot during a concert in front of DI Oldroyd. The investigation takes you to Halifax, London and back in time to WW2. All over a Stradivarius Violin.

Looking forward to more in this series....

Having recently read J.R. Ellis' first book I was pleased to be able to read his second which.was a very satisying and enjoyable read. The plot was steadily paced and I loved the additional information about Stradivari and his instruments,
Not only a good crime novel, a book that educates, and a writer who's work I will be sure to read more of.

The premise of the story was very intriguing. And although I had read other reviews saying that there was no interest to them of classical music and the loss of a valuable violin, I am very versed in music and appreciated all that information.

The author is very good at descriptive passages, but definitely needs improvement on dialogue. It very often doesn't sound "real". Also, There is not a whole lot of character information on the primary protagonists of this book, and what there is, is repetitive. Too many times we read of his separation from his wife, without really knowing what it was about. Too many times we read of Carter and his girlfriend, but really don't have a grasp as to who they are.

And, despite having a fascinating premise, the ending felt put together rather sloppily. All of a sudden, we find out the culprit without really seeing the logics that went behind that solution.

I requested 2 more books and I hope they are better.

The Quartet Murders is the second Yorkshire Muder Mysteries book and as thoroughly enjoyable as the first.DCI Oldroyd is enjoying an evening out in Halifax listening to a violin quartet, when suddenly one of the quartet is murdered in front of the packed audience. Simultaniously a rare Stradivarius violin is stolen from the dead musician. With DC Carter’s help the detectives begin to unravel the dark under world of priceless musical instruments. As the story unfolds so the tale twists and turns and everyone seems to have a secret to hide and a dark history to protect. J.R Ellis has once again written a fantastic murder mystery splattered with dramatic descriptions of the stark Yorkshire country side. Highly recommend this book and I look forward to to the next instalment.

I love how the whole storyline has been portrayed. The story makes sure you stay on the edge of your seat. Such a gripping, nail-biting read that will leave you wanting to turn those pages till you have devoured the entire book. It will definitely leave you wanting to one click all of this authors books. I'm going to be keeping my eye on this one for sure.

The Quartet Murders: A Yorkshire Murder Mystery
By: J. R .Ellis
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9781053903098

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Oldroyd is thoroughly enjoying a concert of chamber music in a chapel in a small Yorkshire town when one on the quartet members is shot while performing onstage by an unseen assailant and the musician’s irreplaceable Stradivarius violin goes missing. No one is seen leaving the building, yet the murderer and thief aren’t found. Is this the work of a gang of art thieves with whom some of the locals are involved? A few of the local well-heeled gentry are known for their private collections of rare and priceless musical instruments. Before long another member of the quartet is killed, and his murder linked to the stolen violin. DCI Oldroyd assists his old friend, DCI Sam Armitage of the local Halifax police force, in unraveling the knotted strings of these mysteries. The police assume the two deaths and the theft of the violin committed by the same group of criminals. But are they connector or are they separate cases?

The main characters, Armitage, Oldroyd and Oldroyd’s associate, Detective Sergeant Andy Carter, are well-defined. Armitage “was a jovial character famously renown for his unhealthy lifestyle. A heavy smoker, he was fond of lunching on pork pies laced with brown sauce and his consumption of beer outstripped Oldroyd’s.” Oldroyd is a dedicated policeman as well as a classical music lover who’s longing to reunite with his ex-wife. DS Carter, who gets on well with Oldroy, his superior, is falling in love with Yorkshire as well as one of his co-workers, DS Stephanie Johnson.

The setting is well conceived. The town, down on its heels after the closure of its textile mills, is still lively with weekly market days and Christmas decorations. The red-brick chapel where the concerts are held is an eccentric venue for classical music concerts, according to Oldroyd.

Although the characters are likable, sometimes their personal lives get in the way of the story. Oldroyd’s contact with his sister furthers the plot as they discuss the deaths and theft, but his interaction with his ex-wife and daughter does nothing except slow the plot and drop readers out of the mystery. His daughter is usually off doing her own thing, except for cadging money from Dad. His wife is a downward drag on the story because of her somewhat defeatist attitude.

The plot moves along at a slow but steady pace; one wonders why a few more modern techniques of police investigation were not used, such as checking fingerprints at the two crime scenes. Sometimes, it seemed as if Oldroyd and Armitage were just scratching their heads and ignoring subtle clues from Alison, Oldroyd’s sister, and Miss Dobson. “Have you got anything, Jim? We’re banging our heads against a brick wall with this one,” Armitage says at one point.

The Quartet Murders is the second book in a series about DCI Oldroyd. Based on the plot of this book, I might or might not read the others. The main characters were likable and believable enough to create some interest in the other books in the series. This plot, however, could have use more punch. Overall, a rating of 3.5 -4 stars for The Quartet Murders.

This is the second of J.R.Ellis Yorkshire Murder Mysteries that I've read. Some time seems to have passed since the first instalment although I'm not sure how much. I gather it is a little bit of time though, as his sergeants seem to have moved from a date to a full-on relationship.

DCI Oldroyd and DS Carter are faced with joining another local force to try and solve a seemingly impossible murder. The story covers everything from murder to international smuggling and high-value theft. I loved the story and the twists and turns that it took. I managed to work out some of the solutions, but there was so much going on that I didn't solve the whole crime.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and I enjoyed the mystery. The only slight problem was that the main solution was, I felt a little cliched. This might be unfair, but of all the solutions to murders that I've read, I've come across this one a couple of times and it's my least favourite. Despite this though, I still really enjoyed the book as a whole and am looking forward to reading more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.
I like this mystery with music being a main character here.
I loved the setting and thought the book was plotted.

An Historcal Murder Mystery.
It all begins from a commission from a very wealthy duke asking to have made nine stringed instruments and adorned with his coat of arms on the backs of each piece.
This is the story of one such piece, a violin.
Today it is priceless. It is in the hands of an exceptional musician who is murdered during a concert he is part of and the violin disappears all in front of DI Oldroyd eyes as he was in the audience.
I love a good murder mystery and it took me quite a while ( nearly to the end of the book ) to find out who the murderer was. This book was entertaining and kept me enthralled until the Last page.
A little gem.
I would like to thank the author J R Ellis, Amazon Publishing UK and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

The Quartet Murders sees the return of DCI Oldroyd and colleagues following the murder of a violinist at a performance and the subsequent theft of a very expensive and infamous violin.

The story then follows the Team's attempts to solve both mysteries and there are a number of twists and turns as you would expect.

The major downsides for me were the slightly rushed ending and the lack of prominence given to other main cast members.

Saying that it was an enjoyable read and I would hope that there' are further books in this series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Quartet Murders, the second novel to feature DCI Oldroyd and DS Carter of Harrogate police.

DCI Oldroyd is in Halifax listening to a string quartet concert when the lead violinist, Hans Müller, is shot dead. He is perplexed when no trace of the sniper can be found and further perplexed when Müller's extremely rare Stradivarius cannot be found.

I enjoyed The Quartet Murders but found it less of a good read than its predecessor, The Body in the Dales. Much of this is, I think, due to me guessing early on how it was done and getting frustrated with Oldroyd for not seeing it. I also found it frustrating that the author completely ignores modern forensics in favour of the more old fashioned method of chasing leads and theories, e.g. there is no mention of checking for fingerprints on the gun or checking the serial number but they spend a lot of time chasing potential buyers of the violin. I also fail to get excited about antiques and the urge to collect rarities. Having said all that the novel is well plotted with several good, unexpected twists, a host of suspects and a well hidden motive and the chapter headings, each with a different story about a Stradivarius and totally unconnected to the plot, are informative about this niche market.

Oldroyd is not at his best in this novel. He is depressed about his failure to win back his wife and tired with the commute between Harrogate and Halifax so he spends most his time up blind alleys and chasing his tail until a chance remark from the philistine, DS Carter, puts him on the right track.

The Quartet Murders is a good read.

4 stars

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Oldroyd is attending a concert of the Schubert Quartet that will be playing one of his favorite pieces by Schubert. At the end of the concert a shot rings out and Hans Muller is shot dead. With Hans was a priceless Munsterhaven Stradivarius. Bedlam occurs and when all is calm it is discovered that not only is Hans dead, but the Strad is missing. Oldroyd teams up with DCI Sam Armitage and Andy Cater to work the case and the interviews begin.

The interviews have barely begun, with Hans’ death just three days old, when Martin Hamilton, the cellist in the Quartet, was shot to death in his home in London. His home was ransacked and his cello is out of its case. Upon close examination, Oldroyd discovers a secret compartment in the cello case, and it’s just big enough to fit a violin in it. They are convinced that he stole the Strad and now it’s been stolen from him – after his murder.

Something is going on and Armitage, Oldroyd and Andy all think it has something to do with the missing Strad.

This novel reads like an episode of Midsomer Murders in that the reader also gets to learn about the suspects and what is going on with them. We learn their motives and actions – it’s great. We learn almost all of what is going on, but the reader doesn’t know the details. Nefarious doings are underway.

In a sting, the truth of the stolen Strad is revealed. It was a tip about a conspiracy that the police received in the nick of time. The death of Martin Hamilton was solved as well. The story of the stolen Strads gets stranger yet. But the police seem no closer to learning about the first murder. Who committed it? How did they do it?

An idle comment by Andy puts a thought into Oldroyd’s head. And he turns out to be right. The case of the murder of Hans Muller is solved. The story behind the murder is torturous and filled with pain.

This is a fine book. It is well written and plotted. I like DCI Oldroyd and DS Andy very much. They are a great team. Although Steph played a minor role in this novel, she too, is a valuable member of Oldroyd’s team. I thought that this novel was not quite as good as The Body in the Dales. However, it was still a very good read and I will continue to read J.R. Ellis’ books in the future.

I want to thank NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK/Thomas & Mercer for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read, enjoy and review.

Interesting storylines although it was a bit odd that for the 2nd book in a series the author had the characters working on someone else's patch
And the romance between two of the characters developed very quickly! From meeting in book one to being in love in book 2

So much for a quiet evening listening to a world-famous string quartet. DCI Oldroyd sees violinist Hans Muller shot dead before everyone's eyes, and his priceless violin stolen. And there are no clues as to who has done it.

A complex tale, with an ending not quite matching up to the rest of the story, but enjoyable nonetheless