Another excellent classic crime novel from E. C. R. Lorac. The setting of a claustrophobic Devon moorland village is excellently conveyed, and the sinister Sister Monica is a compelling creation. There is a welcome return for Lorac's detective MacDonald too.

I’ve been enjoying these reissued classic crime books. They seem popular with library customers too. I hope this continues.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC to review. I'm loving all the books being republished. Finding so many great hidden jems. Looking forward to reading and collecting them all.

I really enjoyed this...*mild exclamation of surprise*. After all, I hadn't been overwhelmed by my previous experiences with Lorac and the first few chapters of the book didn't make me think that this time would be different. We follow a young couple - Raymond and Anne - who has just moved to Devon because he's a doctor and wants to take over the practice of the old village doctor who is about to retire. They meet the other inhabitants of the village, including Sister Monica who oversees the local children's home and we're immediately informed that they don't like Sister Monica. They talk to each other about how little they like her. Anne meets Sister Monica again, they have a conversation and while they have this conversation we're again told how little Anne likes her. After that she talks to her husband again about...you know. It got boring, especially because we only got to see Sister Monica being somewhat annoying but nothing that seemed to justify the level of hatred aimed at her.

Well, unsurprisingly Sister Monica gets killed and the focus shifts from other people talking about how horrible she was to Inspector MacDonald trying to figure out who killed her (and admittedly, discovering that enough people had reason to do so, so Anne's initial assessment wasn't exactly wrong). And the investigation is again good and solid crime novel fare, admittedly not terribly exciting but I enjoyed the backdrop of the small Devon village a lot. I have already mentioned that I think Lorac is very good at describing the settings and anchoring the crime story firmly in those and this is no exception. In many mysteries set in small villages, those places are described as really cozy and charming but this one really focusses on the claustrophobia that comes with the everyone knows everyone and everybody's buisness which I definitely prefer. So, after a slow start, I really enjoyed this one.

The story of the sudden death of Miss Monica Torrington, a.k.a. Sister Monica, is already well advanced before Scotland Yard detectives MacDonald and Reeves appear on the scene. The local police in the English hill-top town of Milham in the Moor have been stonewalled by the local populace in their investigation. "They're pretending to be stupider than they are" and therefore it's concluded the deft hand of an outside investigator is needed to sort out the situation. Chief Inspector MacDonald adopts an investigative style that is described as "pleasantly persistent" by Martin Edwards in his Introduction to this book. He and his able assistant, Inspector Reeves, blanket the town, interviewing the townsfolk and the "quality", another name for the local gentry, resulting in what today would be called a disruption. Their activity smokes out the killer, who is revealed in an explosive conclusion .

Set in the post WW2 English countryside, this is a classic police procedural whodunnit. The story is full of colloquial English from the time, so it's good to have a dictionary close at hand as you read it. The English countryside is described in glowing terms and a claustrophobic atmosphere is created from the beginning of the story --- Milham in the Moor is an isolated town desperately hoping for the ever-changing modern outside world to pass it by. The story is well-plotted and there's good pacing in the story-telling. The characters are sufficiently developed to tell the story, but it is the detectives that stand out, especially Inspector Pete Reeves. It's recommended as an entertaining light read.

I received an advance reader's copy of this book from Poisoned Pen Press, via Netgalley. The comments are my own.

Great Read!!! Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in return for an honest review, and thanks to the publisher who is bringing us novels from the Great Era of British mysteries. There is a death in Milham in the Moor, and Sister Monica (the head of the local children’s home) is found dead at the bottom of the mill-race which is the waterway that supplies power to the villages mill. Was it an accident, suicide or murder? And how did Sister Monica get that mysteries bump on the back of her head. After a local Constable investigates the case is turned over to Inspector MacDonald from London and when he arrives his fresh set of eyes turns everything around. Was Sister Monica the saint everyone proclaims or a wicked person which many think in private. The investigation puts the entire village under investigation and he unearths facts that have laid quiet and dormant for years. A wonderful book by an author I never hear of until I received this book. Fast paced, with a grand plot and it keeps us guessing as to what happened until the very end. E.C.R. Lorac was a prolific author, alleged not quite in the top category of British mystery writers, but I find I like this book better than many others by more prominent authors. This is one of 46 books in the Inspector MacDonald series and I hope I receive more!!!

Sister Monica is a pillar of the community – such a stalwart pillar that no one dares cross her, even in death. But under her secular but nun-like attire, she is a sneaky, conniving woman of a style not really seen today.

I have read several of the British Library Crime Classic series but this is the first I have seen by E.C.R Lorac. It's an enjoyable book of the slow-paced village murder type.

Classic, vintage crime at it's best. Well plotted - nothing superfluous and everything counts -red herrings aplenty, atmospheric and a relatively small but credible cast. The village location is perfectly portrayed and Lorac has created an exceptionally well suited investigative duo in Macdonald and Reeves. An excellent read with the usual top notch introduction from Martin Edwards. Highly recommended.

Written in 1952, Murder in the Mill-Race is another entry in the British Library reprint of classic mysteries. Sister Monica, the woman who runs a home for orphaned children, is found dead in the mill-race. The village locals in Milham in the Moor accept the story that the woman probably fell by accident. The police from the neighboring town and the new doctor have serious doubts so the case is assigned to Chief Inspector Macdonald.

Macdonald soon discovers that the dead woman was not necessarily the picture of Christian virtue she presented to the world. As the local midwife and nurse for many years she knew just too many secrets. The inspector, with the help of Dr. Ferens who as an outsider carries no preconceived notions about Sister Monica, realizes that the solution to her death is buried in the past. Which of the elderly residents hated the woman enough to murder her?

This mystery is nostalgic, even in 1952. The villagers want to remain isolated and maintain a lifestyle more appropriate to pre WWII. The doctor has left a city practice for the slower pace of a country practice. Escape from a rapidly changing world sounds like a wonderful idea. It is a leisurely story with a glimpse into a rapidly disappearing way of life.

trigger warning
<spoiler>domestic abuse
mental illnesses
alcohol abuse</spoiler>

A married couple moves to the countryside, because he is in danger of working himself to death in the city. He is a doctor, and will be replacing the one that has tended to the ills and secrets of the people there for decades.
They've been there for three months when a body is found.

Step further for Agatha Christie vibes. If you were to spend a day in the village, you'd think nothing is amiss, because village decency codes dictates that you have to hide your corpses in the cellar, and everyone else's besides. Yes, of course, people get weird when they get old, and then you have the gentry.
In this case, matters are even worse than usual, as the village is situated on the moor and cut off from the rest of the world - which leads to the appearance of two guys from Scotland Yard, because the police officer from the next village can't get a foot down, despite sensing that something is fishy.

I like that you get the married couples' first impression on the villagers before the plot thickens. They haven't known anybody beforehands, and moved there because a village practise can be taken over, the pay is good and accomodations are to be had for a reasonable price. Also, nobody seems to be badly ill, the Lord next door has asthma, but apart from that, there will only be the usual cases of the 'flu, maybe an accident or two.
Thought he and then there is a body in the mill race. Oops.

So, I've never heard about E.C.R. Lorac before, but I liked this one quite much. It's just my cup of tea, and if you're into cozy village crimes, this one is for you.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The British Classic Crime series is a style apart from the myriad excellent mystery/murder/thrillers which abound. There is a sort of slowness and a quiet deduction, which has its own attraction.

Dr Raymond Ferens is taking over a practice by a doctor who lived in the village for decades. It will be a very long time, however good Ferens is , to be totally accepted by the village as one of their own. There are several fixtures of village life from the gossipy post mistress, to the lady of the manor who seems to rule everyone with her ways, and then there is the spinster caretaker of the local orphanage who is strict, gives no quarter, but not a single word will be spoken against her.

When she is found dead, drowned in a nearby stream the consensus is determinedly that she slipped and fell despite the local Constable having his suspicions of it being a murder. He is not merely shut up, but to the extent that he calls on higher powers that be because he realises very early on that the village has decided to gang up against him and not give him any clues as to what really went on.

The story takes on from there and slowly the plot unravels. Very little will surprise me when dealing with villagers in England or otherwise. Human beings are all complicated and this story illustrates this in full measure.

An entertaining golden-age mystery, with a gorgeous setting I immediately want to visit. Minus the murdery part, of course.

Murder in the Mill-Race was first published in 1952. Although it’s described as a Golden Age mystery, the GA heyday was the 1920s and 30s. It’s reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s novels because we have a doctor (Dr Ferens) and his wife moving into a big house. There are also servants. However, Dr & Mrs Ferens only take the ground floor of the house, thus saving money. They have no servants although one local lady helps to clean the house on the day they move in – and makes no further appearance in the book. The “servants” are staff at the local orphanage - Nurse, Cook and three maids – rather than domestic staff working for a couple. I would say this is a sign of the old pre-WWII world transitioning to the modern world we know. There are dark strands to the plot as evidenced by the back-story of some characters. I’m not sure we would have had those strands laid so bare in many pre-war novels.

The plot revolves around the death of Sister Monica, the Warden of the local orphanage. That’s not a plot spoiler as she dies in Chapter Four. What is strange, with hindsight, is that we get barely a page of dialogue from her. She is described as evil, a domineering personality and a liar – yet we just don’t see enough of her to decide for ourselves: we have to rely upon others’ views. Dr and Mrs Ferens decide they don’t like her on the basis of two minutes’ conversation and that’s it. That’s where the book disappointed me – there was no nuance; no subsequent discovery to suggest maybe they’d jumped to conclusions prematurely; no presentation of a different perspective.

I enjoyed the writing and I didn’t identify the murderer, but I felt it was all a bit crude. Lorac doesn’t present a number of suspects in turn before showing how they couldn’t have done it after all. Her series character, Chief Inspector Macdonald and his assistant, Detective Inspector Reeves, are well-drawn and interesting, discussing the psychology of how to tackle the villagers and then being very assertive in their dealings with them. There’s no deference to the “quality” here – the police are in charge and they let people know it.

Although it was crude, I will look out for more ECR Lorac. She may have been a second-division author based upon this novel, but still interesting and worth reading. I'd give it 3.5 stars

#MurderInTheMillRace
#NetGalley

Murder in the Mill-Race is a re-release of a classic golden age mystery by E.C.R. Lorac published in the British Library Crime Classics series by Poisoned Pen Press. Originally released in 1952 as Speak Justly of the Dead , this is the 36th book featuring Chief Inspector Robert MacDonald. Reformatted and re-released 6th August 2019, it's 256 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. Many (most?) of these re-printings include an erudite and thoughtful introduction by mystery maven Martin Edwards and this one is no exception. It's always worth the price of admission to read Mr. Edwards' background information and context notes for these volumes.

This is a classic post WW2 mystery set in in an isolated small village in Devon. The sudden death of the fearsome and draconian do-gooder who's the local matron of the orphan charity school necessitates the intervention of the police and Reeves and MacDonald are called in to solve the case. There are hidden motives and interrelationships among the residents which come to light gradually over time.

The author was remarkably talented at descriptive prose and the sense of setting, the moors, the village, the people, are all finely drawn. The local accents can be a bit over the top, but they are faithfully rendered. It's nice to read about a married couple, the young doctor and his wife who move into the village, who are genuinely fond of one another. I enjoyed reading their interactions with one another.

This is a solidly entertaining mystery and it wears its age (65+ years) surprisingly well.

Four stars.

Dr Raymond Ferens and his wife Anne move to Milham, North Devon, mainly for his health. But all is not tranquil and calm as first appears, and Ferens has his suspicions why. Not too many months later Sister Monica, warden of the children's home called Gramarye is found dead, presumably drowned. When the local police make no headway, Scotland Yard is called in, and Chief Inspector Macdonald and D.I. Reeves arrive.
Although the detectives appears in other books by this author this is a standalone story.
An enjoyable well-written mystery, another by this author, with some well-devloped characters.
Originally written in 1952.

This was my first Inspector MacDonald mystery, and I enjoyed this vintage novel set in post-Warld War II England. A young doctor and his wife move to a very small, peaceful & isolated village in Devon. There are the usual small town grudges and prejudices but the townspeople also stick together. It isn't long before the body of the local woman who runs the orphanage is found in the creek. The victim was widely admired but it's soon clear that she was not liked and that she had a hidden dark side.

The interplay between the Inspector and his next in command is enjoyable and often darkly humorous. The doctor and his wife are appealing characters and the novel is intelligently written and moves well.

I am happy that the British Library Crime Classics series is re-visiting this author. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a well-crafted mystery with a likeable Scottish Chief Inspector. I especially enjoyed the luminous descriptions of the beautiful Devon countryside and Lorac's ability to sum characters up in a few words. I will be reading more books by Lorac.

Anne and Dr Raymond Ferens want to escape the city and decide to live in a remote hillside village in Devon. The village overlooking Exmoor is very pretty but the villagers keep to themselves. The Ferens find Sister Monica especially odd. A pseudo-nun, she is a malicious gossip and a domineering woman left in charge of the orphanage. Everyone is suspicious about an employee of this woman who was either murdered or killed herself.

When Sister Monica also dies in strange circumstances, the local police can't get anywhere with the villagers. Scotland Yard has to be called in. McDonald, helped by Reeves, soon finds out the truth with his quiet but astute interviewing skills and his knowledge of character.

This was a bit dry at times, although creepy, but I enjoyed it.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

Even if Ms Lorac is not one of the Queen of Mystery I think that she was a very good writer and her mysteries are always excellent.
I like this book even if it's not the best amongst Ms Lorac works it's a an excellent mystery, full of twists and turns.
I loved the setting, the observation on the life in a village and I think that the village itself is the main characters.
The plot was full of twists and turns and the solution came as a surprise.
The cast of characters is well written and I found the Sister Monica a fascinating and complex characters although extremely unlikeable.
Books in British Library Crime Classic are always good and look forward to reading the next instalment and the next book by Ms Lorac.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Originally published in 1952, Murder in the Mill-Race is being reprinted for the British Library Crime Classics series. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery, and I did not guess who committed the crime until very close to the reveal. I loved the methodical investigation led by the detectives, and although the book is relatively short, I came to care for the members of the village, particularly Dr. Raymond Ferens and his wife, Anne. Perhaps my favorite parts of the book were the lush descriptions of the moors and the surrounding countryside.

Milham in the Moor is a quiet little village where everybody knows everybody else's business but no one will talk to an outsider. When a second murder, in a matter of months, occurs the village finds it harder and harder to keep quiet. Someone has upset the balance and Inspector Macdonald and Dr. Ferens are determined to find out who. My favorite characters in this story are Dr. Ferens and his wife. The author has created a loving young couple who want to make their life in this little village and they are just delightful to read about. I also really enjoyed Inspector Macdonald. He comes into the village looking for answers but is not heavy-handed about it. He respects the solidarity of the village but he will not stop looking and eventually he gets the breakthrough that he needs as the pieces of the puzzle slowly start to come together. I think the story moved along at a really good pace with lots of clues that I, as the reader, didn't anticipate. The ending came as a surprise as well. I continue to enjoy this author from the "Golden Age of Mystery" and I'm really glad these books are being made available again. Fans of mysteries in historical settings should really enjoy this one.