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Hennessey & Yellich #23
Gift Wrapped
A Hennessey and Yellich Mystery
When four postcards are sent anonymously to the staff of an advice centre, each with the word ‘murder’ scribbled in a foreign language and the same precise OS map reference, the police are called. DCI Hennessey of the Vale of York police and his team of detectives visit the sinister location and make a chilling the body of a professional man who had been reported missing ten years earlier. Who sent the postcards, and why so long after the crime? As Hennessey and his team investigate – uncovering more past murders, a case of local authority corruption and two manipulative wives keen to gift-wrap their husbands as murderers in order to benefit financially from their estates – they find themselves drawn into a puzzling and dangerous investigation.
When four postcards are sent anonymously to the staff of an advice centre, each with the word ‘murder’ scribbled in a foreign language and the same precise OS map reference, the police are called. DCI Hennessey of the Vale of York police and his team of detectives visit the sinister location and make a chilling the body of a professional man who had been reported missing ten years earlier. Who sent the postcards, and why so long after the crime? As Hennessey and his team investigate – uncovering more past murders, a case of local authority corruption and two manipulative wives keen to gift-wrap their husbands as murderers in order to benefit financially from their estates – they find themselves drawn into a puzzling and dangerous investigation.
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Peter Turnbull
98 books38 followersPeter Turnbull is the author of nineteen previous novels and numerous works of short fiction. He worked for many years as a social worker in Glasgow before returning to his native Yorkshire.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 3, 2018
In which James Wenlock’s private life unfolds, a woman tells her tale and Carmen Pharoah is at home to the gracious reader…
When a series of postcards of Scarborough harbour, typed and addressed to a drop-in centre in York arrive days apart, Mrs Julia Bartlem hands them in to DC Webster of the Vale of York Police. Each bears the word “murder” in a different language and all have a reference number, which Mrs Bartlem says is Ordnance Survey map coordinates. This leads the police to the remains, buried in a shallow grave under a line of trees, of missing person James Wenlock, a certified accountant who disappeared ten years earlier, leaving his wife and two sons with a large house and parcel of shares.
Thus begins another cosy murder mystery in the Hennessy and Yellich series by British author Peter Turnbull. As DCI Hennessey and his team piece together Wenlock’s life they take into custody a Hull trawlerman with a violent temper and criminal record, and uncover a murder 20 years earlier with the same modus operandi. But is it the same killer?
I enjoy this series for its intelligent writing (and a little nostalgia for an area I grew up in). Detectives Hennessey, Yelling, Webster, Pharoah and Ventnor go about their investigations quietly and without drama (no car chases or weapons here), and though each has faced loss or tragedy, they work effectively as a team without egos. There is a time-warp quality to the well-plotted story, with a red herring thrown in, as two villains skilfully “play” with the police.
An easy read, recommended to fans of British crime novels.
When a series of postcards of Scarborough harbour, typed and addressed to a drop-in centre in York arrive days apart, Mrs Julia Bartlem hands them in to DC Webster of the Vale of York Police. Each bears the word “murder” in a different language and all have a reference number, which Mrs Bartlem says is Ordnance Survey map coordinates. This leads the police to the remains, buried in a shallow grave under a line of trees, of missing person James Wenlock, a certified accountant who disappeared ten years earlier, leaving his wife and two sons with a large house and parcel of shares.
Thus begins another cosy murder mystery in the Hennessy and Yellich series by British author Peter Turnbull. As DCI Hennessey and his team piece together Wenlock’s life they take into custody a Hull trawlerman with a violent temper and criminal record, and uncover a murder 20 years earlier with the same modus operandi. But is it the same killer?
I enjoy this series for its intelligent writing (and a little nostalgia for an area I grew up in). Detectives Hennessey, Yelling, Webster, Pharoah and Ventnor go about their investigations quietly and without drama (no car chases or weapons here), and though each has faced loss or tragedy, they work effectively as a team without egos. There is a time-warp quality to the well-plotted story, with a red herring thrown in, as two villains skilfully “play” with the police.
An easy read, recommended to fans of British crime novels.
November 27, 2023
DCI George Hennessey and his team are given a puzzle to solve: a middle-class woman who volunteers at a drop-in center brings them a series of postcards, all sent from the same resort town and each including one word in various languages, that word being “murder,” along with a string of numbers that the woman helpfully suggests provide a specific geographic location. Of course they must investigate and sure enough, a skeleton is found buried at the site. The team soon ascertains the name of the deceased and starts trawling back through his life to determine who might have wanted him dead, in the process uncovering another murder, and then another…. The Hennessey and Yellich police procedurals, set in the Vale of York in Northern England, provide the reader with an enjoyable few hours as we follow along with the main characters while they go about the step by step business of unraveling crime. I do get tired of the repetition, in each book, of certain events and circumstances amongst the main characters, but the solidity of the writing and the way in which the characters interact are enough to offset that small annoyance for me. I’m pretty sure that one could jump into the series at any point (this particular book being the 23rd - the series has been going a long time!) and the reader will either appreciate Mr. Turnbull’s prose style, or not. I like it a lot, so - recommended!
November 6, 2020
I do like this series
In spite of the fact that the writing is occasionally rather childish. The stories are interesting. There is no suspense or violence...except for the initial murder which is off scene.
In spite of the fact that the writing is occasionally rather childish. The stories are interesting. There is no suspense or violence...except for the initial murder which is off scene.
December 30, 2022
he wrote about current times with the language of someone writing in the 1920's, it was too strange and weird for me.
July 24, 2015
I found it difficult to accept the outdated way in which this book was written. It reminded me of books written in the 1920s or 1930s, but it was set in modern times. Likewise there was some sloppy writing, e.g. a metal file was described as having its end filed down to a point. Well sorry, that isn't possible! Ground down on a grinding wheel yes. There were a couple of other minor errors as well. Pedantic of me? Possibly, but I do seem to pick up 'mistakes' and, for me, that takes the edge off the book. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading this, and would read the author again.
June 1, 2015
Enjoyed the read. The ending was a bit sudden and it seemed like a few 'pages' had been ripped out of my e-reader. There were a number of side dramas which went nowhere and added nothing to the storyline. The language used by everyone in the story was very formal. Still a good read and will read some more
July 16, 2013
This is a police procedural set in York. It has plenty of twist and turns and is one of my favorite books in the series.
November 14, 2013
These are fine. I always enjoy them despite the weird antiquated language "lady wife" and the like.
November 12, 2013
This is my first from this author though late in the series. I found it odd. The story is fine, but the writing harks back to earlier times, with a "dear reader" quality and much moralizing.
February 17, 2014
At first I had a hard time with the language style but I got past it and ultimately enjoyed both the style and the book.
July 13, 2014
Peter Turnbull never disappoints. Classic British mystery, set in Yorkshire. Perfect Jitney read!
August 3, 2015
This was an okay British police procedural, but Hennessy "growled" or "snarled" waaaay too much.
May 8, 2016
One of his more delightful, less predictable tales.
October 11, 2015
I
I really enjoyed this book with all its twists.
I really enjoyed this book with all its twists.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews