Rick Chasen, nicknamed Chase, is a retired American police detective. A fan of walking, he has arranged to meet his friend Billie and love-interest Mike on a shortened Coast-to-Coast walking tour in the Lake District. Unfortunately, an outbreak of some mysterious illness in Mike's home county of Devon means he cannot join them (he's the local coroner). Even worse, instead of the disparate group of walkers Chase was hoping for, the remainder of the group consist of a Canadian bird watcher and six members of the Upton family from Texas.

The reasons for the family joining the trek aren't clear, none of them seem like hikers. The oldest brother appears overly familiar with his younger sister and picks on one of his twin brothers, his wife is ridiculously superstitious. One twin is gregarious and outgoing, although too fond of a quick fix. The other twin is a former soldier who seems to have psychological problems. The only sister is a recent widow, although by her on admission she cheated on her husband while he was dying of cancer. The final member of the family group is actually the sister's best friend, although she gossips incessantly about all the other family members and clearly had a crush on her friend's husband.

The tensions between the family group frequently boil over into arguments, and occasionally physical fights, at one point the tour guide even kicks them all off the tour, although he is persuaded to reconsider.

But when one of the Uptons is mysteriously poisoned at a country hotel suspicions fall on the other members of the walking group and it is up to Chase to give the local police force the benefit of his observations about the group.

I think part of the reason for my average score for the novel is that I have recently read another book about a Coast-to-Coast walking tour, You Are Here so the theme was familiar. Also, given the mention of Mike, I assumed he would play a role in the story, but he only appears towards the end. Finally, although I knew that Chase had retired I assumed he was a fifty-something retiree rather than close to seventy.

I felt that any one of the tour group could have murdered the victim, because they were all given plausible motives, and I was rather irritated that the 'evidence' of the murderer was something that the reader could not have seen (which I am pretty sure breaks one of the mystery writing rules I read recently in another novel).

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I love a good mystery, and this book did not disappoint. It is the second book in the series, but if you haven’t read the first one, you will still be okay to read this one.

Chase, a retired police detective, is returning to England from California for another walk, and to spend some time with the man he met on his last walk in England. Looking forward to getting away from Americans for a bit, he’s a bit disappointed when everyone signed up for the tour is American (with a Canadian in the mix). And not only American, but a Texas family of strong personalities!

Things take a horrifying turn when a member of their group dies. How did it happen? Who would want this to happen? It’s time for Chase to dust off his detective skills and solve another case! So much for a relaxing time with his man.

There are so many twists and turns in this book that you will be guessing who did it right up until the end, as any good mystery should be!

poisons, local-law-enforcement, contentious, unpleasant-family-members, mental-illness, mental-health-issues, bipolar, childhood-trauma, murder, murder-investigation, LGBTQ, mystery-fiction, family-drama, family-dynamics, PTSD, atmospheric, thriller, threats, grieving****

Retired San Diego police detective Rick “Chase” Chasen is a grieving gay widower who is on his second group excursion on the Coast-to-Coast walking trail in the picturesque Lake District in England. He is with his straight friend Billie Mondreau a librarian avid knitter, and fellow Anglophile. Their fellow walkers are a contentious adult family who are burdened with several mental health issues and general family drama. After an extended set-up, we get down to the first murder where things really get going. I really liked it and think that the stories will keep getting better.
I requested and received a temporary review copy from Kensington Publishing courtesy of NetGalley. Thank you! Avail Jan 21, 2025
#ALethalWalkInLakeland #NetGalley #WalkThroughEnglandMysteriesBk2

4.5 upped to 5
I'm loving this series and loving the characters. This one was slow burning and character driven.
I wasn't sure if I was going to love it but there's a moment when, BANG, everything makes sense and you start turning pages as fast as you can.
This reader had to read till the end and it was past 1 am when felt right to close the book as there were no pages left.
The mystery makes me think of some GAD mysteries that introduce the characters and their relationship. This part is usually relevant in understanding the investigation.
I was good to catch with Billie and Chase, the Upton family were a bit too over the top but also an interesting dysfunctional family.
I enjoyed the twists and surprises, liked the solution and how it was done. I also liked the romance which is well played and meaningful.
I look forward to the next one as I want to know what will happen to the characters and the next walk.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

While I enjoy the premise of Nicholas George’s series, and I like the protagonist, there’s just something off about this latest book, A Lethal Walk in Lakeland. I was just disgusted with the over-the-top behavior of the Uptons, a family of Texans on the Rovers North walk in England.

Rick “Chase” Chasen is a retired San Diego police detective who enjoys walks in the English countryside. He signed up to walk a coast-to-coast trail in the Lake District to enjoy the countryside, the walk, and to provide some time with Mike Tibbets, a coroner Chase met earlier, a man he’s attracted to. But, before Chase can even join the Rovers North walking group, he hears from Mike that he’s caught up in a case, and won’t be able to join him. He’s disappointed, but he’s still going to spend time with his close friend, Billie Mondreau, a fellow Anglophile.

Unfortunately, it’s a small group of walkers. There’s Chase, Billie, a bird watcher, and the loud and obnoxious Upton family from Texas. They always seem to be fighting amongst themselves or causing a scene. Chase keeps an eye on them because the oldest doesn’t seem healthy, and there are family members who seem to rely on one drug or another. And, they’re keeping a secret as to why this group is really on an unlikely trip. But, when one of the group is murdered, it’s not the family member Chase would have expected.

As a former detective, Chase is welcome to work with the British police detective as he investigates the death. It’s not long, though, before a witness is murdered. Now, it could be anyone in the group as the killer or the next victim.

There’s a lot that makes me uncomfortable with this book, from the Upton family to the grand reveal of the killer. While the book has a wonderful atmosphere, it seems as if it has to pack Golden Age elements into a modern mystery. I enjoy the walking atmosphere in these books, but I may be finished with the series.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This was such a good book. I really enjoyed it. More than I thought I would. I loved the writing style. This book had me hooked from page one. This is a first for me by this author but will not be my last!!

I want this series to be better than it is. It's not bad, it's just not great.

Pluses:

+ Setting! Sign me up for cozy-ish mysteries realistically set in small English towns (and countrysides).
+ A generally engaging protagonist.
+ Plenty of plausible suspects and a twisty-turny reveal.

Minuses/quibbles (I'm mixing sentences and fragments here; it's late, and I'm tired):

- I don't feel as if the author has fully grasped how to include interesting details/quirks in a fashion that's true to the character. Example: "I felt just as hollow as I did when Carlton Fisk, a popular Boston Red Sox catcher and World Series hero, left Boston to sign with the Chicago White Sox." No true Red Sox fan would think of it that way. They'd think something like "I felt just as hollow as I had when Carlton Fisk left Boston to sign with the White Sox." Sure, many readers won't know what position Carlton Fisk played—some may not even know that the reference is about baseball—but that gives us all we need.
- Inaccurate (I think) descriptions/characterizations of mental illness.
- Errors that aren't true to the character. For instance, a reference to a serial killer being arrested and then hanging himself "in his prison cell four days later." I'm pretty sure even a serial killer would be held in jail, not prison, until trial, and a former police detective would know this and make the distinction.
- Unbelievable characterization, and action that veers into slapstick—I simply don't believe that people (even brash Texans) could get away with some of the behavior that's described, while staying at a lovely English inn.
- Bouncing back and forth between tenses.
- Too many unresolved plot points at the end.

That's a lot of minuses, and I want to be clear that I did, on the whole, enjoy reading this. I just think it needed more work to be ready for prime time.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.