Review: The Royal Baths Murder

The Royal Baths Murder by J.R. Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

DCI Jim Oldroyd and his team are faced with life imitating art when famous author Damian Penrose is found strangled in the empty Harrogate Royal Baths during the annual Crime Writing Festival. Penrose seemed to be universally disliked with a history of infidelity, two ex-wives, a disgruntled former business partner, allegations of plagarism (particularly from young women), and a general contempt for other people.

Suspicion falls on two other writers and a local publisher who had raised allegations in an author Q&A the previous evening and then argued with Penrose at the hotel bar afterwards, but none of them could be proved to be near the Baths at the time in question. Similarly, the employees at the Baths seemed to have no motive, although one receptionist did suggest that the murder bore a striking resemblance to the plot of another crime novel.

This was very odd, not sure what the word is maybe Meta or intertextual? A novel about a crime committed at a Crime Writing festival which mimics crimes in a fictional book written by one of the other characters?

There is also a side plot featuring the noxious DCI Fenton, Stephanie, and sexual harassment.

My gripe, I guessed the murderer very early on and had my suspicions about a key point even earlier. Also, I couldn't understand why the Baths would leave wet towels in the changing rooms overnight and remove them in the morning rather than empty the bins at the end of the day's session and send them for laundry - I thought it was a clue.

I have been trying to read these quickly because I have an ARC of the tenth book to review and I wanted to understand how the series had evolved but I fear the more I read the less I like Oldroyd who seems like a bit of a dinosaur which, considering he is probably meant to be my age (or younger!) seems a bit silly. I suspect there is an attempt to make him like Morse or Poirot but I would prefer more police procedural and less waiting for the bodies to pile up while he snatches at clues.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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