The Yorkshire Murder Mysteries
About the series: I have been intrigued by mysteries of all kinds since childhood. I remember watching old Sherlock Holmes films
with Basil Rathbone as the great detective and then devouring Conan Doyle's stories. Later I watched Francis Durbridge dramatisations
followed by Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Poirot.
I loved magic shows with David Nixon and Robert Harbin and pondered on how the illusions were done. They seemed
impossible but I yearned to know the answer! The BBC TV series Jonathan Creek, combined detective work with illusions in a
way I'd never seen before and then I discovered a sub genre of detective fiction which flourished between about 1930 - 1960. Writers such
as John Dickson Carr, Clayton Rawson, Ellery Queen and Edward Hoch competed with each other to write the best Locked Room Mysteries
or Impossible Crimes in which the circumstances of the crime are utterly perplexing.
I decided to incorporate this extra element of mystery into my crime stories: a how dunnit as well as a who dunnit. It makes the
construction of the plot that bit more challenging but hopefully more entertaining to read.
My other ambition has been to set my stories in the landscapes of Yorkshire, thereby highlighting the astonishingly varied beauty of
God's Own Country and to include the colourful history, dialect and eccentricity in which the county abounds.
The Body in the Dales
ISBN 978-1503903111
A body is discovered deep in a cave system beneath the Yorkshire Dales in strange circumstances.. Leading the investigation into the mysterious death is DCI Jim Oldroyd and his new DS from London Andy Carter. There seems to be no shortage of suspects in the Yorkshire Dales village of Burnthwaite but how did the body get to where it was discovered and how did it apparently disappear and reappear later? Solving the puzzle involves unusual historical research, a dramatic exploration of the caves and a hectic pursuit of the killers.
The Quartet Murders
ISBN 978-1503903098
When DCI Oldroyd witnesses the murder of a violin player at the Red Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax, the killer appears to vanish from the building. Motives seem to surround possession of the priceless Stradivarius violin played by the victim. Oldroyd and DS Carter's investigations take them into the ruthless world of wealthy instrument collectors, but as they start to unravel the mystery, they discover connections with dark events in the past.
The Murder at Redmire Hall
ISBN 978-1503904941
DCI Oldroyd and DS Stephanie Johnson witness a famous locked room illusion at Redmire Hall in Yorkshire which goes horribly wrong. In this classic English stately home mystery who, amongst Lord Redmire's family and former friends and lovers, had the most to gain from his death? Oldroyd soon discovers that the problems of identifying the killers and solving the perplexing puzzle of the locked room are linked together
The Royal Baths Murder
ISBN 978-1542015424
A famous writer is found murdered at the Victorian spa baths in Harrogate. Damian Penrose has been strangled, but in a twist worthy of one of his novels, the murderer has vanished from the scene despite there being no apparent means of escape. DCI Oldroyd and his team discover that Penrose had many enemies and further murders indicate that they are on the trail of a clever and ruthless killer who must be brought to justice before truth becomes stranger than fiction.
The Nidderdale Murders
ISBN 978-1542017435
A retired judge is shot dead outside the Dog and Gun inn in the remote Yorkshire village of Niddersgill. There’s a witness who saw everything so the case should be open-and-shut for DCI Jim Oldroyd. But the murderer had no motive for wanting Sandy Fraser dead and he has disappeared. Fraser wasn’t without enemies, but none of them were at the scene of the murder. After a second attack, it’s clear that these killings are not random but what connects them?
Surrounded by the dramatic beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, Oldroyd struggles to make sense of the puzzle before someone else is killed.
The Whitby Murders
ISBN 978-1542017466
DCI Jim Oldroyd's daughter is in Whitby with some friends for the goth festival. Their visit to an escape room ends in horror when one of the group stabs his girlfriend to death and flees from the scene. Oldroyd and his team help the local detective to investigate the case which is apparently straightforward. But Louise, and increasingly her father, are sceptical that what the witnesses saw was the truth of what was really happening. In the spooky atmosphere of Hallowe'en Whitby, a deadly plot is slowly revealed. Oldroyd must protect Louise and find the identity of the killer before it is too late.
Murder at St.Anne's
ISBN 978-1542030175
In the chilly depths of a Yorkshire winter in the medieval town of Knaresborough, a popular rector is bludgeoned to death in her own church. With no sign of a murder weapon, local superstition pins the blame on the ghost of a medieval monk believed to haunt the building. DCI Oldroyd and his assistant DS Andy Carter investigate a baffling case in spooky surroundings hampered by deepening snow. Is this a ghost story or is there a deadly killer at large whose work is not completed?
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The Railway Murders
ISBN 978-1542031363
A film shoot on Wharfedale's vintage railway turns into a grisly and puzzling crime scene. One of the film's stars has been shot inside a train carriage while the train was moving but no-one else went in or came out. DCI Oldroyd is called in by his old colleague Inspector Craven. The victim's dodgy past supplies a number of suspects, and a second murder lends extra urgency to the search. Oldroyd's partner Deborah joins him for a break in the beautiful countryside with unexpected and shocking results. How was the railway murder committed and who is responsible? Suddenly Oldroyd's search becomes personal and a matter of life and death.
The Brewery Murders
ISBN 978-1542031394
The Lower Wensleydale town of Markham boasts two family owned breweries locked in rivalry. A notorious local character returns to the town claiming to have a copy of the recipe of a famous local beer and asking for money. When his body is found in the fermentation tank of one of the breweries, DCI Oldroyd and his assistant DS Andy Carter have a number of suspects to question, but Oldroyd senses that something is wrong and that things are not a straightforward as they appear. The seemingly quiet town is racked by addiction, homophobia and misogyny and Oldroyd must find his way through it all to the answer.
