Quite a classic detective novel which reads like watching an episode of midsomer murders (which isn’t a bad thing. The author has a tendency to over explain things and the characters were a little too confusingly similar (I got a bit lost about Deborah and Steph etc) but I liked the story and thought it was overall a good read.

Louise Oldroyd and her friends are in Whitby for Goth Weekend. They are starting off the fun weekend with a visit to a local escape room.

Their friend Dominic, stabs his girlfriend, Andrea, while in the escape room and takes off!

Three witnesses and CCTV the case seems cut and dry! But Louise has her doubts about what really happened. She reaches out to her Dad, DCI Jim Oldroyd, to help investigate.

Can you really believe your own eyes? Can the murder be caught before it’s too late?

I really enjoyed the story line!

Although the dialogue bugged me a little bit.

Thank you J. R. Ellis, Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the advance copy to read in return for my honest review!

I received this ARC with the promise to review. This story is a satisfying true locked room mystery set in an escape room. It is mostly in Whitby in the UK - a spot famous for Dracula. It is extremely atmospheric and creepy and the mystery is twisty and difficult to solve. I really enjoyed the detectives as they worked to figure out the puzzle. I totally recommend this lovely British mystery with delightful characters.

Louise Oldroyd and her friends are attending the Whitby Goth Weekend. When experiencing an escape room puzzle one of the group stabs another. She calls on her father DCI Jim Oldroyd for help. Former colleague D.I. Alice Granger welcomes the help of his team.
I found the group of people annoying, and didn't care for the characters of the police or their interactions and dialogue. Other stories in the series have been better.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of The Whitby Murders, the sixth novel to feature DCI Jim Oldroyd of the Harrogate Police.

Oldroyd’s daughter, Louise, and her friends are in Whitby for the Goth Weekend and to kick things off they visit the local escape room. Once there things don’t as planned when their friend, Dominic, stabs his girlfriend, Andrea, and runs off. With three witnesses and CCTV the case seems cut and dried, but Louise has doubts and asks her dad to investigate.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Whitby Murders, which has an intricate plot with plenty of misdirection. I must admit that I guessed some of how it was done, probably a first for me in this series, but I had no idea about the perpetrator or the motive.

I like this series for the plots as they are real brain teasers, offering ingenious and sometimes convoluted solutions to seemingly impossible crimes. This novel is slightly different with its immediate suspect and eye witness accounts, although as any true crime aficionado knows eye witnesses are notoriously unreliable, and is more a question of unravelling what exactly happened and why. It is fun trying to outwit a devious killer and I found the mystery gripping and compulsive.

It must be said that the plot is the only thing in this novel worth raving about. The characters are rather one dimensional and the dialogue rather saccharine with all the praise and mutual support going on. I lie, this novel has given me a strong urge to visit Whitby, although maybe not on Goth Weekend (I left that kind of thing behind in the 80s and feel too old to revisit). It sounds like a lovely part of the country with an interesting history.

The Whitby Murders is a good read that I can recommend.

A murder with three witnesses. But one of them doesn’t believe what she saw. And I am not sure I believe what I read. This wasn't a bad book...it had a ton of potential but it just went off the rails and got overly complicated and confusing. Someone else described it as clunky and that's probably a good word to use. The ending was wholly unbelievable and I am not sure how the writer even got there. It was disappointing. It was also hard to find any likable characters. This part of a series so maybe I will go back and read the ones that came before this one to see if it helps but this book just didn't quite work for me. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Goth weekend in Whitby. DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise has come with her friends from London. A weekend of dressing up starts with a visit to an Escape Room. When they come out a death will have occurred and 1 will be on the run. This story will show can you really believe your own eyes? Do you really know your friends? A great fast paced mystery with good solid police work leading to a not so straightforward case. You really fall in love with the setting of this mystery. Whitby has so much more to offer including Dracula.
I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

Clunky writing & a convoluted plot dampen what could otherwise be a fun murder mystery. The Dracula theme was still fun in a kitschy way.

[What I liked:]

•The twists in this mystery were more confusing than they were building up to an intriguing climax, but once the details were all laid out at the very end I could appreciate the murder & how it was pulled off. Still not very believable, but creative.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Clunky dialogue, & the writing is odd. There is a lot of summary, but it often happens mid-scene even at key moments. It kept pulling me out of the story. Also lots of info-dumping.

•The MC has a family emergency & asks for a few days off work, okay; so his boss assigns his coworker to be his chauffeur & emotional support while he’s on leave? Very odd. That wouldn’t fly in the US. Or maybe I’m misunderstanding what happened there.

•The crime was a bit convoluted, but it was the murderer’s motivations that were really over the top. When they revealed their hand, it felt very melodramatic.

•The women characters in this are super controlling, treating their partners like kids & rationing sweets & booze. It’s weird.

CW: murder, physical assault, suicide

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Oldroyd's daughter Louise and her friends are in Whitby for the Gothic festival. While taking part in a panic room challenge, tragedy occurs.

It looks like a clear cut case, but Louise thinks something's not quite right.

So she calls her dad....

Another excellent adventure for Jim Oldroyd and his team