This is a compelling mystery starting with a return from the dead and filled with twists and surprises. Mystery lovers will enjoy this latest in the Herbert Reardon series. I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

An intriguing mystery set between the two world wars in a small English town. A man, presumed killed in the last days of the Great War, returns home to his family over a decade after the war's end. Where has he been? Why hadn't he let anyone know he was alive? After the prodigal sibling/parent turns up dead in the river days later, these are just two of the many questions the local detective must answer. Suspects abound, all with secrets, and all unwilling to be truthful when the detective comes to call. Terrific for lovers of Downtown Abbey.

I love traditional mystery and this is an engrossing and entertaining historical mystery with a fascinating story and a great cast of characters.
It's the first I read by this author and won't surely be the last because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The mystery is solid, full of twists and turns, and I liked the vivid historical background.
The plot flows and it kept me guessing and turning pages.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Severn House for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “Darkness Beyond.” All opinions are my own.

A long-lost sibling comes home from the dead in “Darkness Beyond,” latest in the Inspector Herbert Reardon mystery series set in 30’s-era Folbury, near Birmingham. Paul Millar has shown back up after not returning from WWI. He’s got a lot to explain, but what that is may never be known, because very soon he’s dead, drowned in the river that flows like a silver ribbon through the town.

The book offers readers many different points of view, scenarios that give insight into what has happened -- along with motives for murder. This is the fifth book in the series; our author, Marjorie Eccles knows that the Inspector is an old hand at this, and is doggedly persistent in his investigation. But it’s a tangled web, that’s for sure.

There’s lots of description of people and places, and reminders of the toil that the war took upon everyone. Fourteen years may have gone by, but scars are deep. The book is heavy on characterization, too, like the one that Reardon has with his wife.

The author sets up lots of secrets, family and otherwise. There’s means, motive and opportunity, the backbone of everything crime-related. “Darkness Beyond” is no exception – Inspector Reardon tells us that himself.

Mysteries that make us think are very satisfying, and this story certainly does that. Do enjoy the twists and turns, in “Darkness Beyond.”

I wanted to like this book, so I set out liking it. What a great idea! Missing for decades prodigal son returns and the chaos and upset and intrigue that ensues! Unfortunately this is so poorly written GRAMATICALLY that I hated it. Reading it was a chore. I read poorly written things all day, everyday and have mastered (or so I thought) the art of setting the diabolical abuse of the language aside. This book taught me differently. Page long paragraphs consisting of only a single sentence followed by incomplete sentences made this book pure torture. I realize this sounds petty. Normally, I would agree. However, the overwhelming weight of the author's love of words (if she were narrating instead of writing I would say she was in love with the sound of her own voice) makes moving past the horribleness of it impossible. I am so incredibly disappointed because I really wanted to love this book.

DI Herbert Reardon has a real mystery on his hands when Paul Millar is found dead in a canal two weeks after returning to town. He went missing and was presumed dead in WWI but, as it turns out, he had a new life which echoes down to 1933. Why did he come back at all? HIs siblings Thea and Teddy have secrets too. I'd not read this series before but this was fine as a standalone. While its mostly told from Reardon's perspective, there are other POVs as well. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good one for fans of historical procedurals.

1933 Paul Millar turns up at his family home, at Folbury, fourteen years after being presumed dead when he did not return home from the war. His siblings are now prosperous property builders, but what of his son Matthaeus. But two weeks later he is found dead. Detective Inspector Herbert Reardon and his team investigates. But it seems everyone has their secrets.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery, with its likeable main characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Traditional Vein....
The fifth Herbert Reardon mystery finds Herbert faced with the mystery of a man seemingly returned from the dead. Perfectly atmospheric, compelling mystery in traditional vein with a clever and engaging storyline and a well crafted cast of characters. Wholly enjoyable reading.

The unexpected return of a soldier presumed killed at war 13 years after the end of WWI and its devastating consequences upon his family and friends in a small town in the West Midlands during the Depression Era is at the centre of Ms Eccles' darkly menacing and utterly engrossing murder mystery. A new & worthy addition to the Herbert Reardon Historical Mysteries, Darkness Beyond is a stunning fictional journey into a world of festering wounds, family lies, sibling rivalries and murderous grudges as we follow Detective Reardon's painstaking efforts to sort through all the murky shenanigans brought upon a family and an entire community by Paul Millar's return from the dead and his murder early on in the novel. A delightful and old fashioned whodunit full of great historical details and a captivating read from start to finish!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Canongate Books for this wonderful ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of Darkness Beyond, the fifth novel to feature DI Herbert Reardon, set in the fictional Midlands town of Folsbury in 1933.

When Paul Millar walks into the family home his brother and sister are astonished because they believed that he died fourteen years earlier in WWI. When he is found dead two weeks later Inspector Reardon is sure that the answers lie in the past and why he refused to return to Folsbury.

I have not read this series before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Darkness Beyond is an enjoyable, old fashioned murder mystery whose tone and style are reminiscent of the era it is set in. It is straightforward in its approach with Inspector Reardon gradually building a case through interviews and research. I like the way he investigates and while I could perhaps quibble about the timing of witness reveals it would be churlish as the novel is organised to keep the reader in suspense and guessing until the denouement. I had a vague idea but nothing concrete to base it on or convince myself that I was on the right track. It’s clever.

The novel is mostly told from Reardon’s point of view with other characters chiming in as necessary, but there is one unusual element to the voices. A few times the narrative switches to the first person as an interviewee reviews what they did and didn’t tell Reardon. I found it slightly unnerving the first time as initially I had no idea who the “I” was, but it serves to further cloud the investigation for the reader as the hints these people drop are not what they seem.

Darkness Beyond held my attention throughout due to the strength of the plot, so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.