Alice Goodway has gained the gift to talk to the dead following her husband's death. She offers sittings to friends with the help of her husband's aunt who is then murdered. Sergeant Brennan is called in to find out who killed her. Threatening notes sent to Alice make it seem she's the next victim can the murderer be found before someone else dies.

This was a really good read and I didn't figure out who it was until right before the end. There are lots of brilliant twists that you don't see coming and Brennan is an interesting character. I loved constable Jaggery too.

The setting was brilliant and The attention to detail in descriptions of the surroundings was so well done. A Brilliant mystery.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Endeavour Press for a review copy of Sitting Murder, the fourth novel in the Lancashire Mystery series and the third to feature DS Michael Brennan of the Wigan Police.

In 1890s Wigan Alice Goodway has just lost her husband, Jack, in a mining accident and discovered psychic powers. She has been holding individual sittings for a few of the local bereaved with her Aunty Doris by marriage taking charge of the "administration". When they receive an anonymous poison pen letter Doris calls the police.. DS Brennan doesn't know what to think of it but he's sure her psychic powers are fake, Constable Jaggery isn't so sure. Things get more complicated when Doris is found suffocated in her bed.

I enjoyed Sitting Murder which is an old fashioned murder mystery jazzed up with the fad of the day, spiritualism. Never having read the series before it was difficult to know initially if it would have a supernatural element and this made deciding what was important and what wasn't difficult to fathom. Looking back all the clues were there but I didn't have an inkling until shortly before the dénouement. It is very well done.

The plot is deceptively simple as there is a limited number of suspects, a victim with far more enemies than is immediately apparent and a straightforward method but it soon gets complicated when grief gets involved. Some of these points were laboured and the novel sagged a bit in the middle with repetition but I loved the solution which is elegant, fitting and very well done.

As befits a period detective novel the reader doesn't learn much about Sergeant Brennan except he has a wife and son and is an able detective with a dislike of his boss. He is there to move the plot along which he does well. I like the period detail which has more to do with attitudes than everyday life.

Sitting Murder is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

When a body is discovered, Detective Sergeant Michael Brennan of the Wigan Borough Police who doesn't believe in ghosts investigates all the people who visited Alice Goodway for a seance.
This well-written mystery has quite a few suspects, with some decent rounded characters. An easy read which kept my interest right to the end.

After Alice Goodway's husband is killed in an accident she suddenly gains the ability to speak with spirts. She performs sittings for those who wish to speak to lost loved ones for a small price. When she receives a threatening letter accusing her of lies, Detective Sergeant Michael Brennan is sent to investigate. He dismisses the letter as nothing more than a disgruntled client letting off steam until someone is murdered in Alice's home. With Alice thought to be the intended target Detective Brennan must investigate her recent clients and solve the case before the killer strikes again.

This book was a fantastic historical murder mystery. This was such a great whodunit with lots of red herrings and connected plot points. This is the first novel I have read by A.J. Wright but it will not be my last. I did not want to put this one down and would highly recommend it for anyone who loves a good mystery.

Sitting Murder by A. J. Wright is the fourth book in the Lancashire Detective series. I have not read any of the previous books, but this one works perfectly as a stand-alone.

Sitting Murder is set during the late Victorian period in Wigan, a town known for its cotton mills and coal mines. When a mine accident takes the life of Alice Goodway's husband Jack, Alice's grief and sense of abandonment is intense.

But then it seems that Jack is able to communicate with Alice from beyond the grave, acting as a spirit guide. Word spreads and a number of people want Alice to contact their loved ones. Jack's abrasive aunt, moves in with Alice and persuades her to do a limited number of "sittings."

Alice views these sittings as a way to comfort those who are grieving, and along with the pat phrases offered by most purported mediums, Alice reveals information she should have no way of knowing.

Although the thoroughly detestable aunt makes sure the privilege is paid for, Alice only responds to a few of the people who are eager to commune with the dead, and most of these petitioners are comforted to feel that their loved ones are content.

Then the first threatening letter arrives, and DS Michael Brennan and Constable Jaggery are consulted. Brennan, while seriously skeptical of the whole mediumship-and-communication-with-the-dead scenario, is definitely concerned about the implied threat and tone of the letter.

Before Brennan and Jaggery can prove who wrote the letter, Alice's aunt is murdered, and Brennan suspects that the real target was Alice. As the investigation delves into the secrets of most of the those who requested sittings, Brennan and Jaggery try to keep Alice safe while narrowing down the list of suspects.

Sitting Murder was a fun historical mystery with complications that kept me guessing--and that is precisely what I want from this genre. It fit the mood of the season with the psychic/medium element, provided a solid mystery in a favorite time period, and introduced two likable characters in DS Brennan and Constable Jaggery.

NetGalley/Endeavor Ink

Historical Mystery. Oct. 12, 2017. Print length: 282 pages.