Review: Murder in a Mill Town

Murder in a Mill Town by Helen Cox
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two and a half stars.

There is a bizarre murder at a museum in tourist village Andaby, near Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. DS Charley Banks is officially on leave just prior to her forthcoming wedding, but the murder coincides rather uncomfortably with her older brother Ewan's release from prison for a murder he committed whilst in his early twenties. Obviously she can't be on the case but she can't stand not knowing so she turns to Kitt Hartley and Grace Edwards, of Hartley and Edwards Investigations for help. While the police investigate more recent reasons why the victim might have been murdered in such a violent way, Kitt, Charley, and Grace look further back in the past, spurred on by a fibre at the murder scene which looks suspiciously like the colour of the sash the victim' graduating class wore at school, over twenty years ago.

This is the seventh book in a series, as a mystery it can be read as a standalone very easily, however in terms of the characters and their relationships, this could leave you cold if (like me) this is your first encounter with the series. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, many of whom felt like they were stock characters included for their diversity or 'kooky' characteristics like the Scooby Doo gang or Buffy's team.

What rescued this was the crime and the criminal, but I had to wade through pages and pages of Charley's waffle about not trusting Ewan, and tedious navel gazing about relationships and marriage. I don't think I will be requesting any more books in this series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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