Very obviously the author’s debut, this novel was originally self-published under a different title; in the six years since, a total of eight titles in the series have been released, with the ninth coming out tomorrow.

The central character is one James Oldroyd, a very respected Detective Chief Inspector at a fictional police station in Yorkshire, and his team, Detective Sargents Stephanie Johnson and Andrew Carter, with local inspector Robert Craven and various other constables assisting as needed.

The story is narrated in omniscient third person, past tense, and mostly from the point of view of the police officers involved in the investigation, with occasional snippets from other characters (both known suspects and not), in a manner that harkens back to many stories published during the so-called Golden Age of detective fiction (1920s and 1930s).

The author is obviously well educated, and has chosen to make his main character an educated man as well, someone who enjoys classical music to relax at home, and comfortably drops historical and literary references in regular conversation with his team; some of these are pretty obvious (Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, fiction crime conventions, etc), others less so (at least for someone who’s never lived in the U.K., let alone Yorkshire).

The prologue is excellent; short, sweet, to the point, and establishes the location of the body as one of the most important aspects of the crime, as well as the basic character of the person who finds it.

The setting of the novel is almost a character itself; not just the caves, but Yorkshire’s landscape and the rural communities that dot it; I am not sure whether the homage to Chief Inspector Barnaby and/or Midsomer Murders is deliberate or not, but it’s impossible not to notice the similarities, or the love of the author for the land itself..

Speaking of characterization, none of it goes very deep; despite spending some time inside the heads of the main character and those who are likely to be his main sidekicks/series regulars, and despite some backstory infodumping for the three of them, they all feel a bit flat.

The characterization of women in particular feels awkward and unfinished, most notably regarding DS Stephanie Johnson; probably because she’s the one in which we spend some time. Those passages really feel tacked on, as if there was a note somewhere reading, “give this character a backstory” and a list of characteristics.

In the same vein, Carter’s London friend Jason is a character that exists only to provide fodder for Carter’s ruminations about his age, his life goals, his career, and his growing maturity (he’s 28, I think?), and to conclude that life in a smallish city in Yorkshire, working for a rural Criminal Investigations Department, is much superior to the ‘artificial’ life of London.

For the purposes of the mystery, this doesn’t really matter; although there’s a concerted effort to humanize the “good cops” (that is, the rank and file, as opposed to the power-hungry politician upper management), as well as a hint of a beginning relationship between the two Detective Sargents–something I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules in most police departments.

And while crime fiction is full to bursting with “smarter than everyone else” sleuths, I wasn’t enamored of Oldroyd thinking it to himself; this trope generally works better for me when said superior intellect is evident from the narrative itself (Lord Peter Wimsey, say) or when it’s remarked from someone else’s perspective (Watson, even Hastings).

The transitions between scenes are a bit clunky, though I could see this book working well as a cop show (à la Columbo, say, or indeed, Midsommer Murders); however, this is not a novel in the tradition of the fair play mysteries of the Golden Age mentioned above.

It’s clear from the start that Oldroyd knows things he’s not sharing with his sidekicks (indeed, this reticence is part of his idiosyncratic persona), and later on there are other things revealed to the team, either via forensic reports or local history, that are not shared with the reader until after the climax, so the identity of the murderers do come out a bit out of left field.

On balance, however, it was an interesting read, and while I’m not likely to hunt every new release obsessively, I will read more in the series.

The Body in the Dales gets a 7.50 out of 10

This is the 2nd Yorkshire mystery book that I’ve read (appreciate it should have been the first) so I was familiar with the characters. Good storyline however I felt it could have been slightly more concise to ensure the reader’s attention is held

I was sent this e-book, free-of-charge (yay!) by NetGalley, in return for an honest review. However it was yonks ago and I completely forgot to review it. Although it’s so long ago I can hardly remember it, I still feel I should do my duty and write a review. So here it is. From what I can remember I liked the characters, and found them believable, especially the relationships between the new “guy on the block” and the older Yorkshire bred police officers.

It had a slowish start, and I did rather keep glancing down to see what percentage of the book I’d read, but I was engaged by about 20%, I think. That may also have been because I was reading it when I wasn’t in full health and so was tired. The central mystery of how the body got to where it was found was quite intruiging, and I was happy that I got to the answer before the police did!! The motive for the murder was — do you know, I can’t remember! I think it was believable (which isn’t always the case!)

Sorry I can’t say much more, but I find I downloaded this – and presumably read it – over a year ago. Shame on me!! I will give it 3.5 stars, but have to round it up for Net Galley. I do wish it had a slightly less prosaic title though. It’s like those Ronseal adverts: It does exactly what it says on the tin. Well, this was about what it said in the title. There was a body. In the Dales.

Lots to like in this book! Great interesting location, peopled by lots of interesting characters and a unique mystery with a decidedly unusual twist. The two protagonists—the experienced old local cop and the new fresh-from-the-city detective—make a good team and an interesting dynamic. I had a little bit of a hard time at first keeping all the characters straight, but really liked learning about the wild location —the fells and caves of Yorkshire—and a mystery that added a unique and unusual twist to the usual. Offers something both familiar and new for fans of not-so-dark/traditional, but contemporary, English mysteries. Went on a bit, but I’d definitely read another in this series, and look forward to seeing more of these characters and the unusual environment they live in.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Body in the Dales by J R Ellis.

I really enjoyed the setting of this novel. As an adopted Yorkshire lass, I have some idea how DS Carter feels, moving to the county from a big city.

The topic appealed to me too. I've always had an armchair interest in potholing, so this story enabled me to experience the subject in greater depth - albeit still from the comfort of my own home.

I found the story to be quite repetitive. Whatever the team found out was repeated every time someone new was brought in. And I wanted to skim-read these parts. I almost gave up reading, too, at once point. but I'm glad I soldiered on.

Another thing that bothered me was the character confusion. There were so many characters with similar sounding names - Alan, Alice, Amy, Andy, Angela, Anne ... there's a Carter and a Cartwright and there's a Watson and a Watkins. We also had a Tom and a Tim and a Jim! And also, the same character was using different names for the same other character - for example, Oldroyd refers to the DS as both Andy and Carter, so it wasn't always clear who he was referring to.

And finally, there was too much head-hopping for me, too many viewpoint changes - within the same paragraph at times.

But it's a good tale, even if there are so many crimes wrapped up right at the end.

Loved it! Great story, easy to read and follow through. What I especially enjoyed was the fact that Oldroyd welcomed the new detective, Carter, into his squad without any name calling, bitterness or back stabbing. In fact, all the Yorkshire police officers we met in the book accepted the new London born and bred Carter without any issue. That's a rare treat in today's police novels, when officers are so hateful to each other that it detracts from the story. Pot holing is my idea of hell, and this book certainly hasn't made it seem any more inviting. But despite the murder and mayhem, the description of the Yorkshire Dales is so wonderful it should be used by the Yorkshire tourist board. I definitely will be visiting certain parts of Yorkshire on my next holiday. A great story with believable characters and an investigative team who I took to my heart. Can't wait to read more by J R Ellis.

This was a good mystery. Chief Inspector Oldroyd is a believable character. The story moves with good supporting characters. I especially liked the descriptions of the caves as part of the mystery. I always enjoy when an author educates as well as tells a tale. This particular author allows you to see all the clues as the main character sees them so you get a sense of being part of the team solving the crime. I will read more of this author.

As with many traditional mystery stories, the novel opens with the discovery of a body. The man was found deep in a cave called "The Jingling Pot". He was not equipped with caving gear, and since there had been a team of cavers in that location just a few days previously, it was a mystery why they had not found him sooner. He had been dead for over a week. The victim is identified as Dave Atkins, a local rogue and financial speculator. He was an unpleasant man who was not liked by many - a fact that leaves the police with no shortage of viable suspects.

Tasked with solving this puzzling murder are the West Riding Police team of DCI Jim Oldroyd (an experienced local man), DS Andrew Carter (in his late twenties, who has been newly transferred to Yorkshire from the Met in London), and DS Stephanie Johnson (a local girl with a traumatic background).

This case is specially perplexing as Atkins' body was found some two hours into the cave system, parts of which were extremely narrow. It would be VERY difficult to transport a body through the cave. Also, it would have been near impossible for one person to do this on their own.

Many of the suspects they encounter in their investigations are experienced cavers, some of them are even on the cave rescue team. It would seem that local knowledge is the key to solving the case. Motives are many, but HOW and by WHOM was Atkins murdered?

MY THOUGHTS

The police team in this novel were very engaging. The older, experienced DCI Oldroyd, the younger city man, Andrew Carter, and the attractive though troubled local girl, Stephanie Johnson. I enjoyed their interactions, and thought their characters were well-rounded. They came across as very 'real' people.

As I mentioned earlier, the setting is one of my favourites. The Yorkshire Dales holds an endless fascination for me. The plotting was reminiscent of the traditional mysteries of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, etc. This made a nice change from the more convoluted thriller plots I've been reading recently. Written like a perplexing puzzle, the novel appealed on that level as well - I can never ignore a good puzzle.

The ending of this whodunit was tied up neatly. Nothing far-fetched, just believable, sound police work. The coppers displayed keen observational skills and some astute knowledge of human nature.

To my knowledge, there are three novels featuring this police team and I intend to read them all. Recommended!

Riveting and addictive! A thrill ride from beginning to end!

#TheBodyInTheDales #NetGalley

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Amazon Publishing UK in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

Pot holing is my idea of a nightmare, so a body in a cave system is doubly horrifying. I loved the setting of this novel, and the detective is very old-school. - not much blood and gore, but plenty of solid police work. Looking forward to the other books in the series.

DNF at 46%. I enjoyed the scenes between the three police detectives but otherwise there are too many characters for me to keep track of. So much so that I can't even remember which people have been killed, who is a suspect, who is part of the investigative team, etc. And the story is just not compelling enough to keep me going (I tried for about 2 weeks). So, thank you to Amazon Publishing UK for a digital ARC copy of this in exchange for an honest review, but I just could not complete the book. (I did not give a rating on Goodreads, I simply marked it as "did not finish.")

The title of this book has now changed to The Body in the Dales. Personally, I think the Jiggling Pot was a catchier title. It's book 1 in the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series.

I don't read a whole lot of police procedural books but this was interesting. I loved the setting and descriptions of Yorkshire. Definitely learned a lot of info on caves. A few times, I was getting characters mixed up but it was an enjoyable read. It was for me a hard mystery to solve considering the whole town disliked the dead man!

* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.

A "locked room" detective drama, set in the Yorkshire Dales. The scenery is vividly described but it's a shame the book was re-named as it's original title, The Body in Jingling Pot, is more apt and more fun. The characters have just enough back story to make them interesting, though I don't want to know any more about the Londoner Jason!

A body has been found in a cave system in Yorkshire. The victim, Dave Atkins, is from the local village and wasn’t particularly liked - he had a reputation as a womaniser and had had affairs with several women in the area. Detective Inspector Jim Oldroyd is investigating and his team has a new member - Detective Sergeant Andy Carter has transferred from the Met in London. Then another person in the village is killed - John Baxter had just phoned Oldroyd to say he had some information about the murder. A really enjoyable book to read - looking forward to reading number two in the series now.

Thanks to Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer and J R Ellis for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Previously self-published as The Body in Jingling Pot in Great Britain in 2017. I received this book from netgalley to review and I have to say I loved it! Colorful characters, a tough mystery to unfold, and all in a beautiful landscape..

The first installment of murder mysteries set in picturesque Yorkshire dales, The Body in The Dales was an interesting read, on many levels.
Firstly, this was a book about intelligent Oxford-graduated detective who likes classical music and knows a lot of big words. Secondly, Oldroyd (detective) story and stories of the most characters are very human and ‘bodily’ warm. Thirdly, the setting is amazing. Yeah, I’d love to see the Dales for myself.
Author did a great job of creating a setting, a place, an atmosphere. The mystery and suspense was even more alien, out of place, horrific and worrying because it happened in such a beautiful, restful and friendly place.
A guy hated by all is found dead at the bottom of the cave. A new detective is in town. An old detective finds himself married to his job way more than he was married to his wife. By the end of the book a lot of knots get untangled. Some to be untangled in the next installments.
J.R.Ellis need to be congratulated for writing a murder-mystery in such a way that every step on the road of solving the mystery is even more interesting than the actual ‘whodunit’.
I am already reading the second installment. And, by the way, I found all the Schubert’s pieces Oldroyd listens to… worth a read and a listen.

The first in a new series. DCI Jim Oldroyd , assisted by DS Carter (a newcomer from London) looks into a suspicious death when a body is found in a cave. The deceased is an unpopular local man and his murder is swiftly followed by that of someone who had information.

The plot is intriguing with plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested and the descriptions of the dales give a lovely sense of place. You also learn about the characters personal lives which adds another dimension.

I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

The first in the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series is imaginative, puzzling, complex, and frightening!
This is a debut?
You have my attention, Mr. Ellis! </b>


'Unless tha’s careful on thi ways,
Providence Pot will end thi days.

Deep under the Yorkshire Dales, cavers were scrambling along dark passageways. Apart from the eerie echoing of their voices, the only sounds came from water dripping on to their heads and gurgling down the shallow streams. There was the distant roar of an underground river. The dancing lights from their helmets illuminated the rocky walls and cast huge shadows into the heights above them. They were walking through a strange underground world of rock, mud and slime where the temperature remained at the same chilly level throughout the year and intricate systems of interconnecting tunnels plunged hundreds of feet below the surface. The slow action of water dissolving limestone over thousands of years had sculpted shapes like the cave art of a strange subterranean civilisation: long fingers of stalactites hung from the cavern roofs and stalagmites thrust in opposition from the floor. The cavers were still only halfway through the system. They were entering a long and fairly straight passage with a shallow stream in the bottom, about twenty feet high with rocky, uneven walls.
The leader called back, ‘Easy bit here. We’ll stop for a rest soon.’ Echoing replies reached him in his forward position. As he splashed down the tunnel, he calculated the time and distance. Two and a half hours to get here, stop for food, another two and a half hours to get through to the end. It was a big responsibility, leading an inexperienced party like this. So many things could go wrong. People fell and broke limbs and it was hours before Cave Rescue could reach them. Reckless amateurs got lost in the labyrinth of passages and sometimes died of exhaustion and hypothermia. Suddenly his foot struck something and he tripped forward. His first thought was how stupid he’d been to allow himself to get distracted. He’d be the one who broke his ankle, and then they’d all be in serious difficulties. Whatever he’d stumbled against had moved and seemed soft. He looked down to illuminate the object and staggered back in shock. His lamp was shining on to a human head. The body of a man lay across the floor of the passage. Congealed blood covered the matted hair and the skull was smashed at the back. Two facts immediately struck the caver. First: the dead man was not wearing any caving gear.
Second: he knew who it was.'

******
The Body in the Dales by J.R. Ellis is the first in the Yorkshire Murder Mystery Series.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the characters as I was drawn to them immediately. By the end of the book, DCI Jim Oldroyd, DI Andrew, 'Andy' Carter, and DS Stephanie 'Steph' Johnson are firmly in my mind and I can't wait to see what they come up against next!

The storyline is rich and creative, flowing briskly and fluidity with many interesting leads cropping up as the case progresses. There are a number of well placed twists and turns, creating difficult questions and making the puzzle of the case even more complex and even harder to solve. I enjoyed the entire storyline with it's mix of genuine and warm characters and the unique murder mystery.

The story is set in the small village of Harrogate in the Yorkshire Dales, a beautiful place with many interesting and magnificent landscapes. The caves, known as potholes, with their stalactites, eerie darkness, and unpredictable dangers make for an ingenious, fresh and unique backdrop for a creepy murder scene!
The Yorkshire Dales are also the home of the famous veterinarian James Harriet which gave me a warm glow as they are some of my favorite books.

I was given all three books in this series by NetGally, the third one will be available for purchase in just a few days on the 13th of September. I started this book during breakfast and I just couldn't put it down, finishing it the same day!
⁣I'm reading book two right after this one, followed by book three, hopefully before the release date. It's truly a fantastic and addictive series!!

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer, and J. R. Ellis for giving me all three books in the <i>Yorkshire Murder Mystery </I> series for me to read in return for my honest review.
In a nutshell, I love this series and I can't wait until book number four comes out!!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas and Mercer, and the author J. R. Ellis for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Body In The Dales in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I found the book to be well written. It was a good, quick read with likeable characters. I also liked the descriptive nature of the setting.
Well worth a read. 3.5 stars.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Murder mystery set in Yorkshire and a beginning of a new series with DI Oldroyd, I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait until I start the second one.