Murder at Holly House #DenzilMeyrick #MurderAtHollyHouse

By Denzil Meyrick https://denzilmeyrick.com/ @Lochlomonden

Published by Bantam, Transworld Books @TransworldBooks (a division of Penguin Random House UK https://www.penguin.co.uk/)

368 pages ISBN 9781787637184

Publication date 9 November 2023

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley in exchange for a fair review. I would like to thank Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley, and of course the Author and Publisher for granting this access.

The Cover

A cover that conjures up the ‘golden period’ of crime fiction with a cracking strap line “In a village of lies… death comes with the snow”. All quite fitting for this period piece, I like it.

My thoughts

The first point for the pedants, is it a Christmas story? Well for those of you who still question whether ‘Die Hard’ is a Christmas movie (it is) I believe it is. It is set in December 1952 during the run up to Christmas and the land is covered with a thick blanket of snow, which is good enough for me. That said it can be difficult to tell these days with the shops stocking Christmas gifts from October, and I managed to buy hot cross buns in November. It’s the 2020’s and life is all mixed up, things were more straightforward back in 1952 weren’t they?

I’ve been a fan of the author’s DCI Daley series from the beginning and so was curious to see what this novel would bring, being based in Yorkshire and historical. Through Twitter I was aware of his family links to my home City Hull so I wondered if it would be included within; I was not to be disappointed. Curious is an appropriate adjective as this very engaging novel is a bit like a Victorian cabinet of curiosities with plenty of appealing oddities.

The story only came to light when a distant cousin of Frank Grasby was sent some crates from the home of his late parents. In searching through all the paperwork enclosed he discovers the unpublished Memoirs of Inspector Frank Grasby along with several police reports, telexes and memorandum. From this the author has managed to piece together this tale…

Frank Grasby is a bit of a bumbling buffoon of a policeman working in York. He is prone to mishaps and lapses of judgement for which he has something of a reputation. After one too many cock up Superintendent Arthur Juggers decides it is time for Frank to be moved away for a short while for the benefit of everyone. Frank is chilled, he dreads being posted to Hull, and more importantly the beat down Hessle Road tackling ‘three day millionaires’ the drunken trawlermen briefly ashore between voyages. To Frank’s relief it’s not Hull but Elderby in rural North Yorkshire where he is to investigate a series of thefts from farms. Now what could possibly go wrong here? Well, he does find a body stuck up a chimney, but thankfully it’s not Santa Claus…

So, we have the spoof journal of a hapless fool who manages to get himself into The Yorkshire Post for all the wrong reasons. The start of the novel is very funny as we discover his errors and terrible attempts at excuses, not to mention the strange foibles of his character. Here is a middle-class snob who doesn’t pay respect to his seniors but expects it from subordinates. A man who is ‘all piss and wind’ at times hopelessly ineffectual but still not without some charm. A complete embarrassment but also an accidental hero we can warm to.

The characters are wonderfully drawn, as eclectic as they are colourful. Towards the end of the story, we discover that some of these characters are not who they appear to be, which results in a beautifully chaotic finale.

There is the widow Mrs Gaunt who runs the guest house which is dark and spooky (though it is spooks of another variety play a part in the tale) whose companion is Cecil, a crow who perches on her shoulder. Sergeant Bleakly is a war hero, he served in Burma with Orde Wingate in the Chindits, but he now has a condition which means he falls asleep at inopportune times. Also at the station is Daisy Dean (Dee Dee) an American intern who has the looks to turn heads. She may appear to be sweet and demure but there is steel under the surface, a woman not to be taken at face value.

The dialogue is peppered with beautifully dated language where men are good chaps or coves, and ‘oh I say there old chap’ would be considered a firm rebuke. The plot quickly transforms from simple robbery with the discovery of murder and then into a spiffing Boy’s Own story (keeping in the spirit of the novel there). All the while Frank is a couple of steps behind the action and getting hints at a mysterious past in Elderby. Why is there drawing on the wall in Frank’s room at Mrs Gaunt’s which includes a man who looks remarkably like his father the Reverend Grasby?

Overall, this novel is intended to be jolly good fun and that it certainly is. Packed with gentle humour, buffoonery, a bit of slapstick and the occasional flash of danger, it brings a sense of feel-good satisfaction. I could see this book having wide appeal and appearing in many Christmas stockings. I dare say a few copies will be intended as gifts but end up being kept once the buyer skims the first few chapters! It’s the sort of book I would come back to, and I feel sure the author will be able to piece together some more hair-raising tales from Frank’s memoirs.

Take a quirky cast of characters, liberally soak with humour and the add a dash of action, combine and bake on a medium heat and you end up with Murder at Holly House, a perfect Christmas mystery that can be enjoyed anytime.

Murder at Holly House can be purchased direct from the customer here

The author

Denzil Meyrick was born in Glasgow and brought up in Campbeltown. After studying politics, he pursued a varied career including time spent as a police officer, freelance journalist, and director of several companies.

Beginning with Whisky from Small Glasses, then The Last Witness, Dark Suits and Sad Songs, The Rat Stone Serenade, and Well of the Winds, the DCI Daley series have all become Scottish Crime bestsellers. Whisky from Small Glasses reached #2 in the UK Kindle store in 2016.

An anthology of short stories, One Last Dram was published in late 2017.

The Daley series to date have all been number one bestselling UK audiobooks on Audible. DCI Daley #6 The Relentless Tide and #7 A Breath on Dying Embers one of the Scotsman newspaper’s books of 2018 and 2019. A Breath On Dying Embers was longlisted for the 2019 McIlvanney Prize.

Source: Amazon profile

The Killing Song

By Lesley McEvoy https://lesleymcevoy.com/ @LesleyMcEvoy20

Narrated by Clare Corbett @LitRedCorvette

Published by Zaffre Books @ZaffreBooks (an imprint of Bonnier Books UK) https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/ @bonnierbooks_uk

414 pages (10 hours 7 minutes) ISBN 9781838776589

Publication date 9 December 2021

The Killing Song is the second novel in the Murder in Yorkshire series featuring Dr Jo McCready.

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley in exchange for a fair review.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

The cover

What could be a Yorkshire village with the moors in the background. Darkened skies and crows hint at foreboding story. A decent cover if a little bit generic.

From the blurb

“I’ve been reviewing the Leo Fielding murder case,” Jo said.
“It was one of my old cases,” DCI Callum Ferguson replied.
“That’s why I wanted to see you. Because you got it wrong.”

Two years ago, Leo Fielding was found dead in his Yorkshire home. The police never found the killer, and the case remains unsolved.

When Fielding’s desperate parents ask Forensic Psychologist Jo McCready to help find their son’s murderer, she discovers a piece of evidence that changes everything.

As she investigates, Jo gets a call from DCI Callum Ferguson about an alarming development. At a busy train station, a man has randomly and viciously attacked another passenger before fleeing the crime scene.

But Jo is convinced this is no random attack. She believes the two crimes are tangled up in the same web of deadly local secrets. Secrets that some will kill to protect . . .

The narration

A good solid performance by a very experienced narrator and an excellent choice for the subject matter and strong female leads. Demonstrated a great range of voices and handled French and South African accents well.

My thoughts

The novel starts with a damaged and unusually vulnerable Dr. Jo McCready struggling both physically and emotionally from the last case she worked work on with the police, when she suffered a serious leg injury. She has made up her mind to take a break from assisting the police, but after a combination of subtle bullying and flattery she is persuaded to do a case review, of the death of Leo Fielding, by his parents. Leo was a brilliant artist who it appears was killed by ‘misadventure’ during a homosexual BDSM encounter at his apartment. Another reason to not get involved is the case was dealt with by DCI Callum Ferguson, who Jo was previously romantically involved. Taking the case could be seen as a breach of trust and might scupper any chances of a future reconciliation with Callum. Jo is intrigued when she examines the scene and the SOC photographs and is drawn in.

Back investigating, she is asked by the police for her opinion on a very odd attack at a railway station that almost ended in a fatality. The attacker acted in a strange manner and was his intended attacker a Muslim preacher, did he think him a preacher of hate?

More problems are on the horizon as Dominique, a patient and friend of Jo, is going to be released from prison on licence. She runs an escort agency and was convicted of killing the son of prominent businessman Sir Neville Blackstone for his part in the gang rape and savage beating of her girlfriend at a ‘party’ she was supplying the girls for. Blackstone is determined to make her pay for destroying his heir and he has the wealth and contacts to make this happen whilst remaining at arms-length. A very dangerous man to cross.

A fairly complex plot as these three strands are eventually drawn together into a cogent story. There is a lot to take in and keep on top of so there is no chance of the reader getting bored, as there is plenty of incident, murder and jeopardy along the way. Expect subterfuge, false connections and an unexpected appearance in a devious finale where the facts are manipulated for the authorities. The author draws from her professional experience to provide a plausible storyline with MK Ultra embedded at its core, convincing enough to bring a sense of realism though ramped up in the name of entertainment. At this point the penny will drop for the reader and the title will make perfect sense, clever and quite chilling.

Central themes are loyalty, making difficult decisions and dealing with the aftermath of these. Jo has developed strong bonds with Dominique and determined to help her escape for Blackstone, but that will mean bending her code of ethics to breaking point. Edge the ex-armed forces business partner of Dominique will support her no matter what, he has been conditioned to make the difficult decision regardless of consequence and won’t think twice when it comes to pulling the trigger. It was love and loyalty that put Dominique into the position where she risked all for revenge, perhaps with some justification but somewhat cold blooded, action which Jo diagnosed as being that of a psychopath.

There is some great dialogue and police banter along with several memorable phrases. Edge provides the black humour, the pick when stating that he only inflicts pain for the three ‘p’s; pain, practice and pleasure ‘and this will be pleasure’ and he is only the trained killer not the psychopath! The key one is when Blackstone remarks to Jo that he doesn’t fear her because she is too much of a ‘straight player’ which immediately asserts his power over her and diminishes her feeling of self. A form of psychological bullying from a man who has psychopathic traits himself. She is a professional with a governing body and a strong moral compass to control her and her actions. This is something she agonises over throughout as she pushes to the line of what is acceptable and eventually beyond. Like many deep thinking professionals she is vulnerable to overthinking issues, thereby making further problems, rather being incisive and decisive. It takes her long-time mentor to explain to her that sometimes this is necessary to produce the desired and just result.

The Killing Song is an action packed psychologically based crime thriller with an authentic feel to it.

The Killing song can be purchased via Bookshop.org here

The author

Lesley McEvoy was born and bred in Yorkshire and has had a passion for writing in one form or another all her life. The writing took a backseat as Lesley developed her career as a Behavioural Analyst / Profiler and Psychotherapist – setting up her own Consultancy business and therapy practice. She has written and presented extensively around the world for over 25 years specialising in behavioural profiling and training, with a wide variety of organisations. The corporate world provided unexpected sources of writing material when, as Lesley said – she found more psychopaths in business than in prison! Lesley’s work in some of the UK’s toughest prisons was where she met people whose lives had been characterised by drugs and violence and whose experiences informed the themes she now writes about. Deciding in 2017 to concentrate on her writing again, Lesley produced her debut novel, The Murder Mile published by Bloodhound Books in May 2019. In December 2019, she was signed by Rogers, Coleridge and White Literary agency in London and is represented by Jon Wood.

World English Language rights in The Murder Mile, plus two further series novels, were acquired by Zaffre Books, in a three-book deal.

Ben Willis, publishing director for crime and thriller at Zaffre Books, said: ‘Lesley McEvoy is undoubtedly a future star in English crime fiction. An expert in her field, she brings unparalleled realism and insight to her unforgettable lead character Jo McCready. But it is her ability to weave this rich detail and experience into a gripping, twisty crime story that makes her so special.’

Source: Amazon author’s profile