Another fun whodunit romp in Yorkshire with Jim Oldroyd and his quirky team. This one deals with an objectionable upper class family following the murder of their patriarch lord during a crazy magic stunt, and gives Oldroyd plenty of opportunity to stretch his Sherlock Holmes/Hercules Poirot muscles. As always, an easy read with no small amount of social commentary. This is the third of the series that I've read and the only element of it that I have any concern is the lack of depth to the main police characters; they all appear as inveterate good-guys with no shadowy side hustle. Maybe I've read too much James Patterson/Lee Child...

I really enjoyed this story. In fact, I loved the characters so much, I immediately read the previous two in the series - what a great discovery of JR Ellis! The characters were well done, and the plot complex enough to hold my interest. I'm looking forward to more!

Another great case for DI Oldroyd and his team. A story well told by JR Ellis all of the Oldroyd books have been a great read and possibly someone in TV should be looking at DI Oldroyd regarding a TV series.

This book, like so many these days, screams out for an editor. The author starts out with a fairly interesting idea but the the constant repititions bludgeon the reader's interest. I lost count, but I think there were 6 times when each character and his/her circumstance and relation to the victim is recounted and dissected as to why they should or could be considered the murderer.

Furthermore, there are so many extra "filler" pages that don't add anything to the story, advance the plot or give new insight into the characters..

The book is way too long and so much of it needed to be edited out. Consequently the reader never feels any tension or interest to know what comes next and how this dilemma will be solved. Every time I started to vaguely get involved, I ran into pages and pages of non information.

The sad part is that this is a kind of imitation of Agatha Christie's novels but without the characterizations, the tension and the mystery. I was watching a film on Agatha Christie and in it the narrator read the first sentence of the very first short story she ever wrote, when very young, and yet, that opening line was crackling with mystery and intrigue, something that was sadly missing in this novel.

An enjoyable read. The mystery was well done (and I'm pleased I at least suspected one of the murderers!) as were the characters. It was good as a standalone, so I am looking forward to reading the rest in the series to be able to see how the MCs developed.

A good mystery, entertaining and fascinating. I loved the classic whodunnit structure and look forward to reading other instalment in this series.
Many thanks to The Murder at Redmire Hall and Netgalley for this ARC

DCI Oldroyd returns in The Murder at Redmire Hall which is the third in the series by J R Ellis.

The story is a twist on a locked room mystery with a nod to the golden age authors like Agatha Christie

Oldroyd and his assistant Steph are faced with finding the murderer of a Lord of the Manor who had a number of enemies within his own family.

The story is well written with a number of twists and turns and kept me hooked throughout.

This is an excellent addition to the series.

Thoroughly recommended

I so adored this book! It has brilliant main characters, an excellent plot and it kept me engrossed all the way through. I would highly recommend this book.

This book starts off in the past, with a seemingly closed room trick that goes off without a hitch, and then fast forwards to present day, where the same trick is be repeated by a son of the original illusionist. But unlike the first time, all does not go well. As the bodies start piling up, Oldroyd and Johnson know that they have more than simple murder, but one that was planned and those aware of it, are being shuttered, permanently. There are a few red herrings to make the reader wonder if they really know who the culprit is, and some rapid reading at the end will show the reader they might just have been wrong! It's an interesting case, and as my introduction to the series (it;s Book 3), quite a satisfying one!

The Murder at Redmire Hall is the third of the Yorkshire Murder Mystery novels. DCI Jim Oldroyd has been invited to Redmire Hall as a special guest to view a lock-door illusion. The present Lord Redmire is a gambling addict and has run up a large amount of debt and needs to find a way to increase revenue at his stately home in order to pay off his debtors. The stately home, the eccentric Lord, the hard done by younger brother, the spoilt daughter, the divine ex-lover and the sophisticated ex-wife. We all these wonderful characters a murder takes place and once again DCI Oldroyd has a front seat.

J R Ellis's style of writing is so smooth and gentle that the reader finds themselves hooked from the first page. The beautiful descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside and the little snippets of local history all add realistic depth to these wonderful tales. The story may seem familiar and you might think you were in the middle of an Agatha Christie novel or a game of Cluedo, but there is nothing formulaic or steriotypical of this novel and as the plot thickens and bodies mount up you realise the clever way the author has guided you to the end of the novel.
I will definitely be looking forward to the next Yorkshire Murder Mystery.

I was immediately drawn to The Murder at Redmire Hall for two reasons.  First, the murder takes place not only in a locked room - it takes place during a magic trick where the victim first disappears from the locked room, then reappears in that same locked room.(and DCI Oldroyd is present) Second, The Murder at Redmire Hall is a modern form of the classic manor house mystery - certain to delight the eccentric DCI Oldroyd and readers alike.


Lord Redmire is a womanizer and a gambler with many debts.  By recreating his father’s famous illusion, he hopes to attract revenue.  Instead he ends up with a knife in his back. Lord Redmire was far from well liked, and his family viewed him alternately as a source for funds and a source of embarrassment.  Not only do DCI Oldroyd and DS Steph Johnson have to discover how the trick was performed, and thus who would have the opportunity. They also have to uncover which of the staff or overly entitled family members killed Lord Redmire - particularly since the consensus is the estate is better off without the late Lord Redmire.


The Murder at Redmire Hall is a wonderful British police procedural in the vein of Midsomer Murders or A Touch of Frost.  DCI Oldroyd is charmingly eccentric, and very knowledgeable about Yorkshire history and customs. As much as I enjoy the mystery, I also enjoy the rich and colorful setting.  If you enjoy light British police procedurals with plenty of local color and quirky characters, you will enjoy The Murder at Redmire Hall.


5 / 5


I received a copy of The Murder at Redmire Hall from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

After enjoying the previous books by this author I found the plot line a bit convoluted and far fetched.
But the way the author unwraps the story is as good as ever and there is always some twist awaiting you in the next chapter

Thank you NetGalley for my free copy

So very British story takes place in an estate of a Lord. In front of family and friends the lord is murdered. I had binge watched documentaries on how families keep these historic estates making money. So I found this book very interesting. Strapped for cash and a gambling addiction the lord has looked for ways to make money. So he revisits a magic trick his father had performed. I found the family and their significant others rather awful. They all have their hands out for a financial handout. So many suspects! Sure did not see the end coming at all.

A wonderful book that just was a joy to read, the characters were just enjoyable and the mystery keeps one turning the pages till the end. Most will work out the trick before the final reveal, but its not the whole mystery. A golden age style mystery that leaves you wanting to read more books by Mr JR Ellis.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Mercer for the eARC.
This locked room mystery sees the murder of Lord Redmire as he performs the magic trick of being locked in a room, disappearing, then returning. This trick was successfully performed by his late father and remained a mystery all this time. Unfortunately, on this occasion, Lord Redmire returns...dead, with a knife in his back. Since the whole family was at Redmire Hall to watch the spectable, they as well as the staff form an extensive list of suspects. Lord Redmire was a serial adulterer who gambled away much of the family money, much disliked by many. DCI Oldroyd and DCS Steph
Johnson had front row seats while TV cameras filmed the event. Now they have to solve one of the most baffling cases of their careers. Neither of them find the family members at all sympathetic; they are truly a group of overindulged, arrogant aristocrats who are entitled to only the best while doing the least. Following 2 more murders, Oldroyd and Johnson have a tough case in their hands.
The locked room trick was an ingenious one and the identity of the murderer(s) quite a surprise, but I had difficulty connecting with any of the characters and found I was struggling at times to feel invested in the story. It was a pleasant read, but it wasn't enough to make me want to read the others in the series.

A great third outing in the Yorkshire mystery series.

I get a certain frisson being in a gothic manor house in the English countryside ensconced in a locked room mystery. I may not be as brave if I were there in real life, but in a novel, well I lap it up and this was a great mystery which I really enjoyed.

The premise was exciting from the off – a trick once performed in a locked room is going to be recreated on the television. Well you know what’s going to happen here, but it’s what happens next that is the real treat. Who killed the victim and why? How?

There’s not many books you get to see the how and why unravel already knowing the who. It’s like the literary equivalent of a columbo episode and kudos to the author for recreating the whole feel and essence of the country manor in a more modern time than most country manor set novels are generally set.

DCI Jim Oldroyd of the Harrogate police is a great character and I feel he and the rest of the cast need their own TV show. The investigation is taunt and exciting as the number of suspects grows, the plot thickens with twists and turns aplenty. The clues are there but I didn’t spot many at all which I was very pleased about. Even you guess some of them, the ending is more than satisfactory and very clever!

Those Carstairs are a wild and weird bunch!

Grab yourself a cup of Yorkshire tea and a fat rascal ( a very hard scone with spices sold at Betty’s tea room, not a character in the novel) and settle down for a darn good read.

Yes, this is another great book by J. R. Ellis with our favorite detective DCI Oldroy. This time there is magic and intrigue involved. Lord Redmire needs money because he has a gambling problem. He decides to perform a magic trick in a locked room. However, the trick is on him because a knife is found in his back. Ther are many questions that need answers. Can Oldroy figure it out in time? In a way that only Ellis can, he writes with such passion and develops characters that only enhance his storyline. His descriptive qualities are beyond what we see in other writers. Maybe I am partial because I do love this POV and have enjoyed the other books tremendously. I would recommend this to anyone who loves thrillers of the whodunnit genre.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.


5+++ stars ⭐️ out of 5

Another good story from J.R. Ellis..... I would say this is like a classic who done it... Lots of possibilities and a couple of twists and turns.
Loving this series of books...

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Murder at Redmire Hall, the third novel to feature DCI Jim Oldroyd of the Harrogate police.

When debt ridden Freddy Carstairs, Lord Redmire decides to revive his father's locked room illusion to raise much needed funds he invites DCI Jim Oldroyd to witness it on live TV, but nothing goes to plan and when the room is unlocked Freddy is found stabbed to death. Freddy wasn't a nice man, being a compulsive gambler and womaniser so all the invited friends and family had a motive but no means as they were all filmed watching the illusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Murder at Redmire Hall which is an intricately plotted novel with some excellent misdirection and sleight of hand. The plot has two mysteries - how and who, both of which have ingenious solutions. I must admit that the technicalities of the how rather passed over my head (not being of a technical bent) but I can admire the idea behind it which is very clever. As the explanation is short it didn't impinge on my reading pleasure. The who is much more to my taste. I didn't have a clue and spent the whole novel trying to work out who among the many suspects had the strongest desire to see Freddy dead. In retrospect many of the clues are there but I failed to put it together. It's very well done and had me turning the pages furiously.

With a limited cast of suspects characterisation is more important than in many whodunits. The Carstairs family, led by the loathsome Freddy, are not a likeable bunch so each one of them is a viable suspect. Oldroyd has a fun time offending their aristocratic sensibilities because being in that environment brings out his inner socialist. He is still battling loneliness after his wife left him and nurturing false hope of a reconciliation without changing his workaholic ways which is why she left him in the first place.

The Murder at Redmire Hall is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.