This is the third book in the series.

Lord Redmire attempts to clear his debts by reviving his Father's old magic illusion on television. DCI Oldroyd and DS Johnson are witnesses to the locked door trick. Once the room is unlocked Freddy is dead.

Freddy is unpopular and plenty of people have a motive to kill him. it's a classic locked room mystery with the focus placed on who did it rather than the gory details.

Magic tricks are all fun and games until someone gets murdered!

******

'I have here with me the owner of Redmire Hall, and the performer of tonight’s magic trick, the Honourable Frederick Carstairs, Lord Redmire.’

Redmire stepped up, handed a rather rusty-looking key to Oldroyd , entered the room and sat at the desk. A drum roll began.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, the chief inspector will now close the door and lock it.’ Oldroyd duly did as he was told. ‘Can you hear me, Lord Redmire? Are you still there?’
‘Yes, I’m here,’ came the slightly quiet but clear reply.
‘So now I will draw this curtain for only fifteen seconds.’
As he did this, dramatic music began once again. At the end of the fifteen seconds, the music stopped and the presenter drew back the curtain. There was silence. Every member of the audience in both rooms was enthralled . Oldroyd had forgotten his embarrassment as he unlocked the door and opened it. It was empty...

‘Well, ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, Lord Redmire has completely disappeared from a locked room. But that’s not the end: he will now return. So I ask the chief inspector to close and lock the door again.’ There was a repeat of the locking, curtain-drawing and music.
‘And now, ladies and gentlemen , the chief inspector will once again open the door to this strange room and reveal . . . well, let’s see!’ When the door was opened , Redmire was again sitting at the desk. Applause and shouts of ‘Bravo!’ came from the audience, but Oldroyd had a strange feeling: something wasn’t right.
‘And there he is, ladies and gentlemen! What an amazing trick! Lord Redmire, can you—?’
The presenter’s patter stopped abruptly. Redmire had neither said anything nor moved until that moment. Then his body toppled sidewise out of the chair and the knife sticking out of his back became visible. Blood splattered on to the floor.
‘Oh, bloody hell!’ muttered Oldroyd to himself, before pandemonium broke out.</i>

*********

Murder at Redmire Hall by J. R. Ellis is the third in the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries series and the books just keep getting better and better with each installment!
The story starts out quickly and continues to gain speed and mystery as the case progresses. This is my favorite in this series so far as the storyline is compelling, intriguing, as all the books have been, but what sets this one apart is that a pinch of mischief was thrown in as the solution to the case was revealed! It's smart and amusing!

Ellis's characters are colorful and well thought, and the murders in each book are unique, fresh, interesting, and exciting. He uses an ingenuity to the storyline by seamlessly fitting in an actual puzzle of how the murderers got their victims — where they were found and/or how the murderer escaped without being seen. I've never come across this ingenious idea before and I've read hundreds of murder mysteries!

The way Ellis takes full advantage of the mysterious and diverse landscapes and the history surrounding the settings in his books which are located in and around Haarrogate in the Yorkshire Dales. It adds a bit of distinction to the stories making them more enticing, interesting, and educational. The information is added to the plot seamlessly preventing the story from being needlessly long winded or boring. I always love to travel the world through books so I always appreciate the addition of factual elements provided by author, especially when the novel is a work of fiction.

The main characters continued to grow on me with each book! In book one, The Body in the Dales, we are introduced to the three main characters in this series, DCI Jim Oldroyd, DS Andrew 'Andy' Carter, and DS Stephanie 'Steph' Johnson. Andy Carter has come from London but fits right in with his two colleges and by the end of the case they've become a very efficient team of three.
In book two, The Quartet Murders, DS Johnson is working on a separate case leaving DCI Oldroyd and DS Carter working together to solve their case.
In this book, the third in the series, DS Carter is on a brief holiday so it's up to DCI Oldroyd and DS Johnson to solve the murders at Redmire Hall.

Separating the characters in this way is a very cleaver way to allow the reader to become more acquainted with the characters without taking a lot of time away from solving the cases. It's unlike most other novels and very effective and efficient.

I'm really enjoying the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries series an
It's my hope that Mr. Ellis will continue writing more books in this series!


Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Mr. J. R. Ellis for giving me this advanced reading copy in return for my honest review.

This book was just released on September 13, 2018.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found that it flowed well. I could visualise events happening as if on a film and found this aspect fascinating. Definitely recommended.

This is from the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series. Again we are with DCI Oldroyd and DS Stephanie Johnson, The two go to a estate to watch a disappearing act when someone gets murdered. Lots of the family members can be suspects because they had reasons to want the victim dead.
I enjoy these mysteries because you cannot figure out the ending of the book. This is the third in the series and I have enjoyed all three books.

This is the third, but hopefully not the last, of the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series, featuring lonely workaholic DCI Oldroyd, who fancies himself as a modern day Poirot or Holmes. This one in particular pays homage to the Locked-Room mysteries of the Golden Age, with a large cast of aristocrats, where everyone has a motive, in a stately home.

Oldroyd and his DS Steph have been invited by Lord Redmire to witness a magical illusion, first performed forty years earlier by his father, where he will disappear from a locked room, live on TV. The performance goes ahead, in front of his assembled family and friends, but when he is due to re-appear, Redmire is found dead, with a knife in his back.
No one seems too upset about his death, and Oldroyd rapidly learns that the man was a selfish gambler and womaniser, whose spending was threatening the estate itself, but all the main suspects were in the room with him at the time, so how could they be the killer?

I have enjoyed getting to know DCI Oldroyd, and his loyal subordinates. "Some might think him a pompous mansplainer", as Steph thinks to herself, but we see his sadness at the realisation that his estranged wife is moving on, his daughter flits in and out, and his work takes most of his attention. As with the previous books, Yorkshire itself becomes a prominent character, you can tell the author has a deep love for the area, it's people and it's traditions.

The mystery was well concealed, with the right number of clues and red herrings, and a classic Poirot-style reveal. I didn't guess whodunnit, but neither did I feel cheated, as it all made sense. Hopefully there will be many more to come in this series, which should appeal to fans of Peter Robinson's DCI Banks series. It would easily be read as a standalone if you have not read the earlier books.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a voluntary honest review. The book was published on 13.09.18.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Murder at Redmire Hall, the third novel to feature DCI Jim Oldroyd of the Harrogate police.

A simple whodunit story line, very similar to the style of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. A seemingly impossible trick being performed, a murder (of a not very pleasant character) and the ensuing investigations with all the ‘suspects’ being far too obvious. This did mean that I worked out who the murderer was quite early on in the story and consequently my interest in the book waned a little. But I still enjoyed the read. The writing was good, the characters of the detectives convincing enough to make me want to read others in the series. Thanks to #netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the way it was written, the descriptions of the characters and scenery and the fact that there was more than one suspect. The writing style makes this story a pleasure to read. I found very few of the characters to be likeable but that added to the list of suspects and kept the suspense going. I hope that there are more books to come in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

DCI Oldroyd is faced with the Locked Room Mystery.
This is a captivating and murder mystery at its best. This the third book I have read in this series and I am still not disappointed.
As I expect from this author there are lots of twists and turns and red herrings.
It is beautifully written and hooks you from the start. The rapport between Oldroyd and his team is fascinating and has a lot of old world charm. The description of his beloved Yorkshire is breathtaking.
I know that when one of this series lands in my inbox I am in for a really good read.
Another gem from this author MORE PLEASE
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.

I picked this book because it sounded interesting and it's clear that the author is an Agatha Christie fan as the main detective was somewhat styled on Poirot. I thought the story was long and drawn out with some insufferable characters and while I hadn't guessed how it would end, I did realise that it would be someone that was barely mentioned in the book. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the arc to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Yorkshire Murder Mysteries #3

Lord Redmire gambling habit has placed him in serious debt. Determined to put Redmire Hall on the map, the aristocrat performs an impossible locked-room illusion on live TV. But as the cameras roll, his spectacular trick goes fatally wrong.

Lord Redmire wants to perform the locked-room trick his father used to perform to try and raise much needed funds. He has invited DCI Jim Oldroyd to witness it and it's going to be performed live on TV. But nothing goes to plan. On Lord Redmires return from the locked-room, he is dead, with the knife still in his back. With family and the staff all suspects, the list is long.

I liked the authors style in writing this book. We get snippets of local history and the descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside make you feel you are there. This is a traditional police procedural. This is the third book in the series but it is the first book that I have read. I do think it can be read as a standalone. I do enjoy these types of mysteries. A real cosy mystery.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and the author J. R. Ellis for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas and Mercer, and the author J R Ellis for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Murder At Redmire Hall.
This is the third book in the DCI Jim Oldroyd series set in the Yorkshires. I read all three books back to back. The storyline was well thought out and written. I love the central characters and the descriptive setting. I found this series to be a really good read. J R Ellis does not disappoint.
Well worth a read. 3.5 stars from me.

A fun, old school mystery that sees DCI Oldroyd trying to solve the mystery of a Lord who is murdered when a magic illusion goes wrong. Lord Redmire has gathered his family and close friends to his estate to witness the illusion, something his father did many years ago, but when the curtains are opened the Lord is found dead, yet he's been alone in a room with no way in or out except for the door he entered.
Oldroyd then has to sift through not only who murdered the Lord, but also how it was done! All the gathered relatives have some motive or other, scorned wives and mistresses, a jealous brother, a demanding daughter, old business partners that he has left in the lurch. Then we find out that Lord Redmire was consistently gambling the estates money away, so which members of his family were trying to stop him before they were left with nothing?
I got a lot of enjoyment from this mystery, trying to work out who had the most to lose, but here, nothing is as it seems. JR Ellis makes us question and second guess ourselves, right up to the final, Agatha Christie-like denouement. I recommend this book to all crime and mystery lovers.
My thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Talk about a locked room mystery! Well, a live on television locked room mystery with a loathsome victim and a list of suspects who aren't much better. There are some family secrets (the Redmires are not very nice people) and there's a second murder. Luckily, there's Jim Oldroyd and Stephanie Johnson. Although this is set in Yorkshire, you don't get much sense of place, but that's ok. It's got appropriate red herrings and a satisfying conclusion. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

CI Oldroyd is faced with The Locked Room mystery. How does one kill the occupant of a room that no-one can enter or exit. Lord Redmire is in heavy debt and decides to re-create the trick that his father had performed. To this end he invites a television crew and police to watch the performance. But it doesn't work out as he expected.
An enjoyable mystery but I didn't take to the possible suspects, or to the characters of the police.

A captivating and intriguing mystery that has an ideal storyline and great characters, bringing this book to life. DI Oldroyd and Stephanie found themselves smacked dab in an aristocratic murder mystery, filled with puzzling twist, hidden turns, and secrets a few would kill to hide, which of course they did. With detective Oldroyd going through an upheaval in his marriage and Steph being threatened with sexual harassment on the job, they were still able to be successful in solving the crime. Interesting and entertaining nicely done, a must read, one to add to your crime shelf.

This is the third entry in the Chief Inspector Oldham series. Like the previous two books, most of the violence is “off screen”, and the book is fairly clean. I found that this book moved really slowly, and that there were a lot of passages that were irrelevant to the story. However, the book started off with an unusual situation, which was enough to hook me. The mystery was convoluted enough to keep me guessing, and since the book was populated by a whole host of disagreeable people, the possibilities seemed quite broad. None of my guesses were anywhere close to the mark, so the ending, when it finally came, was a complete surprise. I still don’t really understand the technical details, but, despite that, the solution was plausible.

I kind of like the chief inspector, he’s a bit of a character, and just a little quirky. The other recurring characters haven’t really made all that much of an impression on me, and quite frankly, they are just a bit too perfect to be interesting. This could be intentional, since it does serve to highlight Oldham. Still, I hope that by the next book, Mr. Ellis somehow conceives a way to bring about some sort of resolution to the “Oldham and wife” issue.

This is a very traditional style police procedural, but it’s also a bit cozy. I have to confess to a sneaking liking for the manor house/British village mystery. I enjoyed the book, and would definitely read more by this author.

*I would like to thank J.R.Ellis, Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
This is a perfect novel for those readers who like a mystery set in a beautiful English stately homein Yorkshire, a wide range of characters and a clever policeman who knows where to look for the clues and who is assisted by an intelligent female colleague. The story begins with a trick performed by Lord Redmire in hope to cover his gambling debts but which unfortunately has tragic consequence for him. DCI Jim Oldroyd and DS Stephanie Johnson conduct investigation in the way typical of the genre and naturally uncover lots of family secrets on the way. The book reads very well and I personally enjoyed it thoroughly on my holiday.

I really enjoyed this story. In fact, I loved the characters so much, I immediately read the previous two in the series - what a great discovery of JR Ellis! The characters were well done, and the plot complex enough to hold my interest. I'm looking forward to more!

Another great case for DI Oldroyd and his team. A story well told by JR Ellis all of the Oldroyd books have been a great read and possibly someone in TV should be looking at DI Oldroyd regarding a TV series.

This book, like so many these days, screams out for an editor. The author starts out with a fairly interesting idea but the the constant repititions bludgeon the reader's interest. I lost count, but I think there were 6 times when each character and his/her circumstance and relation to the victim is recounted and dissected as to why they should or could be considered the murderer.

Furthermore, there are so many extra "filler" pages that don't add anything to the story, advance the plot or give new insight into the characters..

The book is way too long and so much of it needed to be edited out. Consequently the reader never feels any tension or interest to know what comes next and how this dilemma will be solved. Every time I started to vaguely get involved, I ran into pages and pages of non information.

The sad part is that this is a kind of imitation of Agatha Christie's novels but without the characterizations, the tension and the mystery. I was watching a film on Agatha Christie and in it the narrator read the first sentence of the very first short story she ever wrote, when very young, and yet, that opening line was crackling with mystery and intrigue, something that was sadly missing in this novel.