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The Dart Murders
Close to London, the tiny and fanciful town of Dvina is shaken by a sudden spate of homicides. The first to meet her unfortunate fate is a young woman named Jane Ferrier, murdered by a poisonous dart while walking home from work on the evening of June 15th. While on a holiday with her beau, Sarah Parker was killed in a motel room on July 15th, also the victim of a venomous dart. On August 15th, a young attorney named Michelle Pearson was found dead on a local park bench as the result of a toxic dart. As seemingly different as all three victims lived their lives, they did have something in common. In addition to having green eyes and blonde hair, the ill-fated individuals had a history of turbulent love affairs.
With Chief Inspector Patrick Campbell in charge of the case, can he and trusty colleagues Inspector Geoffrey and Constable Tim put a stop to the mysterious serial dart killings? Much to his dismay, the investigator soon discovers that the men involved in the case all have secrets of their own that, once unraveled, don’t make them as innocent as they would appear. What do the admirable Eric, suave Neil, apprehensive Jeremy, modest Wilbur, calm Philip, passionate Victor and vibrant Tony possibly have to hide?
As the murderous riddle unfolds we meet numerous intriguing characters like chatty school teacher Carla Carson, Sarah's mother Celia Parker, jovial Gladys and assistive Harold Mason.
With Patrick following a trail of leads at an alarmingly fast rate that lies in a bed of deadly twists and turns, will he finally end the trail of blood...or add to it with his own?
With Chief Inspector Patrick Campbell in charge of the case, can he and trusty colleagues Inspector Geoffrey and Constable Tim put a stop to the mysterious serial dart killings? Much to his dismay, the investigator soon discovers that the men involved in the case all have secrets of their own that, once unraveled, don’t make them as innocent as they would appear. What do the admirable Eric, suave Neil, apprehensive Jeremy, modest Wilbur, calm Philip, passionate Victor and vibrant Tony possibly have to hide?
As the murderous riddle unfolds we meet numerous intriguing characters like chatty school teacher Carla Carson, Sarah's mother Celia Parker, jovial Gladys and assistive Harold Mason.
With Patrick following a trail of leads at an alarmingly fast rate that lies in a bed of deadly twists and turns, will he finally end the trail of blood...or add to it with his own?
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 25, 2013
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439 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 22, 2014
I got through the first couple of chapters only because I thought maybe it was a joke. I couldn't believe how stilted and simplistic the writing was. Definitely more of a first attempt which could have benefitted from a serious re-write and edit. I have no idea whether the story was any good, I couldn't get past the writing style.
May 1, 2015
In an English town green eyed blonds are being killed by poisoned darts.
I got to the end of this novella but I found the writing stilted.
I got to the end of this novella but I found the writing stilted.
December 11, 2020
I have no idea how this book turns out because I just couldn't get over the appalling writing style. The initial description of the first victim were fine, then bang she's dead and we hit the most stilted pieces of outside view prose I've ever met! I persevered through the descriptions of the next two victims, again interesting, then we hit further appalling dialogue and I gave up.
January 3, 2018
An easy read
A good book. I would have liked it more if it went a little deeper into the characters lives before they were murdered. Well written, I gave it a 3 out 5 .I think if I knew a little more about the characters I might have enjoyed it more.
A good book. I would have liked it more if it went a little deeper into the characters lives before they were murdered. Well written, I gave it a 3 out 5 .I think if I knew a little more about the characters I might have enjoyed it more.
November 26, 2018
Decent plot
The plot was good and it was hard to figure it out. However, that must be because the dialogue was so very stilted and repeated often. Descriptions were lacking thus no “mood” was presented.
The plot was good and it was hard to figure it out. However, that must be because the dialogue was so very stilted and repeated often. Descriptions were lacking thus no “mood” was presented.
September 19, 2017
Felt the dialog with not smooth. Plot was interesting but so much more could have been done with it.
October 28, 2017
so basic...
all the possible culprits reacted all about the same. very stilted. don't bother
all the possible culprits reacted all about the same. very stilted. don't bother
April 4, 2018
This was a page turner. I did not know who the killer was until the very last pages of the book. I would recommend.
November 1, 2025
Poorly written
I felt as if I were reading a children’s book. The sentences were short and choppy and the language was infantile. It was a challenge to finish the book.
I felt as if I were reading a children’s book. The sentences were short and choppy and the language was infantile. It was a challenge to finish the book.
January 27, 2015
Jane Ferrier, a 25-year-old green-eyed blonde, is killed in broad daylight, felled by a poisonous dart. A month later, Sarah is killed in a similar manner. Exactly another month later, Michelle is killed, in the same way. All the girls are attractive green-eyed blondes who face trouble in their home and love lives. Police investigations fail to throw up any leads. A month from Michelle’s death, Alice is killed in a shopping mall. She too is an attractive green-eyed blonde, who has just lost her job, and has no stability in her family life or her love life. Once again the police thrash about in search of answers and clues, but fail to achieve any breakthroughs.
The book was an easy read, but that was because of the simplicity of the writing. It was too simple, the sort of thing that a first-time writer would have written. The author draws us into the story, piquing our curiosity about who might be the killer, but he doesn't succeed in sustaining our interest.
Another thing that I found hard to stomach was how all the boyfriends behaved in front of the police officers. At first they are afraid that they are going to be arrested, and then they comply in the interest of furthering the investigation.
The investigation itself begins after the third murder. We are not given any explanation as to why the police didn’t get its act together after the first murder, and there is no sensation of panic at the time and lives lost as a result. The police officers claim to feel frustrated, but we do not feel their frustration.
As readers, we feel no sense of emotional investment in the characters at all. The author has made absolutely no attempts to work towards character development. In fact, most of the male characters do not even have a surname, which makes it very difficult for us to see them as rounded characters with busy lives. There are simply too many characters and hardly any description to render them real in our eyes. The back stories, whether of the victims or their boyfriends, seem haphazardly put together.
The language is stilted. There is a sense of unreality about them. People don’t really talk the way the characters in this book do. There is nothing to distinguish the lines of one character from those of another. Everyone sounds exactly alike.
There is nothing to justify the brilliance of the Chief Inspector, and even the motivation of the killer, when it is finally revealed, does not strike us as worth killing for.
Even though the murders happen fast enough and the cover is quite gruesome looking, we don’t feel drawn into the events that pan out through the pages.
For Full and Detailed review, check out http://cynthology.blogspot.com/2015/0...
The book was an easy read, but that was because of the simplicity of the writing. It was too simple, the sort of thing that a first-time writer would have written. The author draws us into the story, piquing our curiosity about who might be the killer, but he doesn't succeed in sustaining our interest.
Another thing that I found hard to stomach was how all the boyfriends behaved in front of the police officers. At first they are afraid that they are going to be arrested, and then they comply in the interest of furthering the investigation.
The investigation itself begins after the third murder. We are not given any explanation as to why the police didn’t get its act together after the first murder, and there is no sensation of panic at the time and lives lost as a result. The police officers claim to feel frustrated, but we do not feel their frustration.
As readers, we feel no sense of emotional investment in the characters at all. The author has made absolutely no attempts to work towards character development. In fact, most of the male characters do not even have a surname, which makes it very difficult for us to see them as rounded characters with busy lives. There are simply too many characters and hardly any description to render them real in our eyes. The back stories, whether of the victims or their boyfriends, seem haphazardly put together.
The language is stilted. There is a sense of unreality about them. People don’t really talk the way the characters in this book do. There is nothing to distinguish the lines of one character from those of another. Everyone sounds exactly alike.
There is nothing to justify the brilliance of the Chief Inspector, and even the motivation of the killer, when it is finally revealed, does not strike us as worth killing for.
Even though the murders happen fast enough and the cover is quite gruesome looking, we don’t feel drawn into the events that pan out through the pages.
For Full and Detailed review, check out http://cynthology.blogspot.com/2015/0...
June 13, 2014
I downloaded this book for free in return for a review.
The story was OK - a fairly normal murder mystery with the cops trying to find the murderer before they strike again. I normally enjoy this type of book as an easy, quick escape book. They catch the bad guy in the end and everyone can get back to their lives.
The style wasn't very natural though - pretty much every suspect was interviewed in a similar way, and they all seemed to be antagonistic to the cops, which doesn't seem likely. Also, pretty much no-one had any personality - there wasn't much character development.
The writing was pretty simple. I could have gotten used to that, however the dialogue is really quite awful. Everybody in the book talks in the same way - kind of like normal written language, if that makes sense. The first few times I thought 'No-one talks like that', but then I realised that EVERYONE in the book spoke like that - even children, who would never articulate in the same way as adults write. It really was very annoying. Also, all of the people (even the victims) were spoken about using first names - talking about a dead person who you never met by saying 'I saw Jane do this …' seems unnatural to me. I'm not saying that I would do a better job, but I'm not an author. It has certainly given me more appreciation for authors who do this well and make the characters talk naturally.
I was also confused about what country/city the story was set in, but not interested enough to try to find out.
The story was OK - a fairly normal murder mystery with the cops trying to find the murderer before they strike again. I normally enjoy this type of book as an easy, quick escape book. They catch the bad guy in the end and everyone can get back to their lives.
The style wasn't very natural though - pretty much every suspect was interviewed in a similar way, and they all seemed to be antagonistic to the cops, which doesn't seem likely. Also, pretty much no-one had any personality - there wasn't much character development.
The writing was pretty simple. I could have gotten used to that, however the dialogue is really quite awful. Everybody in the book talks in the same way - kind of like normal written language, if that makes sense. The first few times I thought 'No-one talks like that', but then I realised that EVERYONE in the book spoke like that - even children, who would never articulate in the same way as adults write. It really was very annoying. Also, all of the people (even the victims) were spoken about using first names - talking about a dead person who you never met by saying 'I saw Jane do this …' seems unnatural to me. I'm not saying that I would do a better job, but I'm not an author. It has certainly given me more appreciation for authors who do this well and make the characters talk naturally.
I was also confused about what country/city the story was set in, but not interested enough to try to find out.
August 18, 2014
there were good and bad well not bad but not particularly good either parts to this . the story itself was good and interesting who dunit crime serial killer. the way it was written could definitely use some editing. for one there is way too much said in this story there should be some other words used instead of all the said for the dialogue, such as so and so replied, cried, whined, wailed, etc.
then there is the eight yr old boy being questioned by police ... not believable at all I have kids and my nine yr old wouldn't even say those words. a child would not say presently, nor I observed, or my friends are envious, the description of the body a child would not say.
the cops dialogue got boring. they repeated the same exact words to every suspect. there could have been more description itself. as for some of the dialogue descriptions not believeable people don't normally nonstop describe fully a person's look that is usually in narration.
this seemed to be more of a rough draft version than a final piece of work. there were some parts where the characters names were wrong which is a big error. whomever did the editing on this piece definitely didn't do a very good job.
decent plot but writing and wording could be a lot better.
all in all would I read this again??? probably not.
I did however enjoy finding out the clincher at the end.. that I didn't see coming. but again could have been written a lot better a re edit should be done and add some more descriptive words and narration ...clear up the dialogue would certainly improve the rating .
then there is the eight yr old boy being questioned by police ... not believable at all I have kids and my nine yr old wouldn't even say those words. a child would not say presently, nor I observed, or my friends are envious, the description of the body a child would not say.
the cops dialogue got boring. they repeated the same exact words to every suspect. there could have been more description itself. as for some of the dialogue descriptions not believeable people don't normally nonstop describe fully a person's look that is usually in narration.
this seemed to be more of a rough draft version than a final piece of work. there were some parts where the characters names were wrong which is a big error. whomever did the editing on this piece definitely didn't do a very good job.
decent plot but writing and wording could be a lot better.
all in all would I read this again??? probably not.
I did however enjoy finding out the clincher at the end.. that I didn't see coming. but again could have been written a lot better a re edit should be done and add some more descriptive words and narration ...clear up the dialogue would certainly improve the rating .
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March 12, 2014dnf after the first chapter. The writing was clunky, and the dialogue was ludicrous in places:
When the ambulance arrived, a doctor jumped down and felt her pulse. 'She has no pulse but her body is still warm, so, we'll try to revive her.'
...
The doctor in charge said, 'I suspect foul play. This is a case for the police.' He rang up the police station.
Inspector McCain of the local police station said, 'This is a case of murder, all right. The murderer seems to have used an unusual weapon, something like a poisoned dart. What information do we have on the young woman?'
Constable Jeffery who was standing beside him said, 'Her name was Jane Ferrier. She was a young woman of around 25 living in the Hilltop apartments. She had green eyes and blond hair....
It wasn't going to get any better so I stopped. I felt as if I was reading bullet points at times.
When the ambulance arrived, a doctor jumped down and felt her pulse. 'She has no pulse but her body is still warm, so, we'll try to revive her.'
...
The doctor in charge said, 'I suspect foul play. This is a case for the police.' He rang up the police station.
Inspector McCain of the local police station said, 'This is a case of murder, all right. The murderer seems to have used an unusual weapon, something like a poisoned dart. What information do we have on the young woman?'
Constable Jeffery who was standing beside him said, 'Her name was Jane Ferrier. She was a young woman of around 25 living in the Hilltop apartments. She had green eyes and blond hair....
It wasn't going to get any better so I stopped. I felt as if I was reading bullet points at times.
July 16, 2014
This was just terrible. The writing was like the first draft. Things were said that people don't say in real life, and there was a character name mistake at the end!!
1. What 6-year old says things like "I noticed my surroundings" or "all the other children envy me"?? None that I know of, but then again I didn't go to an upper class poncy school.
2. What people wouldn't want to help the police if they were a witness to a murder (or were around when the murder happened)? "I don't want to get hauled off to court... I don't want to testify... You police [grumblegrumble]... but of course I am a good citizen so I will help you..." WHO TALKS LIKE THAT???
3. Right at the end the author used the victim's name instead of the murderer's....
4. It was poorly written and it only got slightly more exciting towards the end... slightly...
1. What 6-year old says things like "I noticed my surroundings" or "all the other children envy me"?? None that I know of, but then again I didn't go to an upper class poncy school.
2. What people wouldn't want to help the police if they were a witness to a murder (or were around when the murder happened)? "I don't want to get hauled off to court... I don't want to testify... You police [grumblegrumble]... but of course I am a good citizen so I will help you..." WHO TALKS LIKE THAT???
3. Right at the end the author used the victim's name instead of the murderer's....
4. It was poorly written and it only got slightly more exciting towards the end... slightly...
May 15, 2015
Fun read!
This book reminded me of my childhood. When I was a kid, I used to get the local paper that used to always include some kind of short detective riddle with the answer being at the end, in small print and upside down.
Worry not, you won't have to flip the book (or your tablet) upside down to get the answer to this mystery. The story will take you through the murders and the vantage point of the witnesses and those close to the victims.
Awesome read, exciting and easy to get through. I read it start to finish on a flight from Atlanta to Sacramento. I should have been sleeping but I could not put it down.
Now I am going through withdrawals for more of this.
This book reminded me of my childhood. When I was a kid, I used to get the local paper that used to always include some kind of short detective riddle with the answer being at the end, in small print and upside down.
Worry not, you won't have to flip the book (or your tablet) upside down to get the answer to this mystery. The story will take you through the murders and the vantage point of the witnesses and those close to the victims.
Awesome read, exciting and easy to get through. I read it start to finish on a flight from Atlanta to Sacramento. I should have been sleeping but I could not put it down.
Now I am going through withdrawals for more of this.
February 22, 2014
This a classic British murder crime detective novel in the Who Done It style of Agatha Christie, but the criminal is a psychopath serial killer.
The plot is complex,the characters intriguing, the dialogue sophisticated and the backdrop stunning.
If you like a good mystery, then, you'll love The Dart Murders. I haven't read Kipling's other books in this genre but look forward to reading all of them on my Kindle.
The suspenseful storyline has one twist and turn after another and the ending was unexpected indeed.
The plot is complex,the characters intriguing, the dialogue sophisticated and the backdrop stunning.
If you like a good mystery, then, you'll love The Dart Murders. I haven't read Kipling's other books in this genre but look forward to reading all of them on my Kindle.
The suspenseful storyline has one twist and turn after another and the ending was unexpected indeed.
March 10, 2014
This murder mystery is one of the most intriguing true murder mysteries for kindle that I have come across recently. Author James Kipling has written another one of his exceptional serial killer fiction kindle books, this time introducing us to a cool British murder crime detective in Inspector Patrick Campbell. Inspector Campbell has his hands full in trying to solve the British detective murder case and bring justice to the murder victims. The story is a battle of wits between the Police and the psychological serial killers, with a highly unexpected ending!
August 11, 2015
This book was alright. Since we're so used to watching crime shows on TV especially American ones, crime solving seems to be a tedious process in the UK according to the book. Still it does keep you turning pages because you're not sure whose killing all those green eyed blond haired girls. It seems like Geoffrey seems to be the main investigator, in fact you could do away with Patrick completely. It does have a good description of London and its a good suspense.
April 21, 2014
Not a bad Whodunit
Good plot twists. Was hard to guess who the prep was.
Imaginative story. A few mistakes, getting character names confused, but that's ok. I'll salvage author has some talent, but needs a bit of polishing. Just seems the writing was a bit, I dunno, rough. He needs to work on his dialog and spruce up the style.
Having said that, I liked the book.
Good plot twists. Was hard to guess who the prep was.
Imaginative story. A few mistakes, getting character names confused, but that's ok. I'll salvage author has some talent, but needs a bit of polishing. Just seems the writing was a bit, I dunno, rough. He needs to work on his dialog and spruce up the style.
Having said that, I liked the book.
April 7, 2014
This book by Kipling is a good start. From reading it I think that he can and will improve hs writing over time. The plot is interesting and will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens--this is why I he will continue to write and will get better.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" and "To Whom It May Concern"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" and "To Whom It May Concern"
July 27, 2016
Intriguing Premise
Interesting start: on the 15th of the month a green eyed blonde is killed by a poison dart. Same thing happens for 3 months. The police are working on it. Will they be able to stop the killer before a fourth is killed? Pace is a little choppy but does move along. Not sure if it is a part of a series. I feel like I started in the middle of a series.
Interesting start: on the 15th of the month a green eyed blonde is killed by a poison dart. Same thing happens for 3 months. The police are working on it. Will they be able to stop the killer before a fourth is killed? Pace is a little choppy but does move along. Not sure if it is a part of a series. I feel like I started in the middle of a series.
April 11, 2014
Simple "who-done-it" murder plot
The overall plot would make a good murder mystery play. As a book, it was a bit stilted, lacking"color" to help the reader visualize places and especially the people.
The overall plot would make a good murder mystery play. As a book, it was a bit stilted, lacking"color" to help the reader visualize places and especially the people.
June 25, 2014
I greatly enjoyed the story and was completely surprised by the ending. I would never have figured it out on my own. Early on in reading, the writing seemed choppy, all of the sentences were about the same length. As I continued to read, I noticed this less and less. All in all, a great mystery.
March 11, 2014
Not very exciting serial murderer. partly police procedural without much active or very thorough investigation. very dry.
March 13, 2014
I got about 5 pages into this and had to quit. The writing was rushed and simplistic. It's rare for me to not be able to finish a book but this was awful
March 12, 2014
Hated this book. Not very imaginative. Poor dialogue. Kept thinking it would get better, but it didn't.
March 14, 2014
The writing is very stilted. Twenty percent into the book, I just began skimming the pages to quickly get to the end to see who the murderer was. A waste of my time.
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August 31, 2014I tried to read this book but couldn't get past the fourth page. The writing seem short and choppy. I feel there was a need to put in a lot of information with out adding a lot of detail.
April 4, 2014
I got this book free so it was well worth the money! Also after having a medical procedure and being slightly 'out of it', it was perfect for following with it's simple story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews