The Murder Book

Henry Johnstone Mystery #1

by Jane A. Adams

"Adams delivers more than one surprise en route to the satisfying ending"
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Introducing Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone in the first of a brand-new historical mystery series.
Lincolnshire, England. June, 1928. When three freshly-buried bodies are unearthed in the front yard of a rented cottage, DCI Henry Johnstone, a specialist murder detective from London, is summoned to investigate. Two of the victims are identified as Mary Fields, known to have worked as a prostitute, and her seven-year-old daughter Ruby. But who is the third victim and what was he doing at the cottage?

Johnstone is determined to do things by the book, but his use of forensic science and other modern methods of detection soon ruffles feathers. Frustrated by the unhelpful attitude of the local constabulary, Johnstone fears the investigation is heading nowhere. Then he's called out to another murder . . .

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, British Literature, Mystery Thriller, 20th Century

240 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Some of her early books were published under the name of Jane Adams. This should not be confused with this Jane Adams who is a different author.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sounded so good. After all, I love detective stories set in the early 20th century, what with the new-fangled forensics techniques (like preserving the integrity of the crime scene) and all, but this story just did not live up to the promise of the subtitle. There is a decent rendering of time and place, but the murder mysteries and their solutions (or lack thereof) just felt flat, as did the characters.

Also, the titular Murder Book is really nothing but a journal kept by the lead detective, and only contains information we already know. Luckily, the excerpts from it are few and far between.

So disappointing.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

On to #2…. Good period mystery with smart police.

[John Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

good plot. not much to like about Henry Johnstone. I found him to be wooden. Otherwise, a fine novel

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first in the Inspector Henry Johnstone mystery series. Henry is a gaunt man who is introverted. He doesn't always know how to interact tactfully with people. He relies on his sergeant, Mickey, who helps not only in the investigations, but in how to navigate dealing with people. This book is set in 1926 on the coast of England. The country is still healing from the wounds of WWI. Henry keeps a diary, a book he calls the murder book, where he records his thoughts on crime and newly minted forensic methods. In this book a woman, Mary, who prostitutes herself in the small town is found murdered along with her 7 year old daughter and her husband's 19 year old cousin. Her husband works on ships and is gone for months at a time. Mary didn't street walk, but she made herself available for men to call on her at her home. A parallel story involves local families in conflict. A woman who has been unofficially promised to a man for marriage falls in love with a local laborer. The local laborer also visited Mary the prostitute, but that seems to be his only connection to the murder crime. We watch as he is more and more drawn to his lover, but that causes a violent encounter with wealthy land owner's son. The two stories seem unrelated and mostly they are. But as Henry and Mickey interview men who knew Mary, Henry ruffles the feathers of the wealthy and the local Inspector who doesn't want Scotland Yard rocking the boat. Henry persists and uncovers the real murderer while trying to find the young man who has run off, making himself look even more guilty. The ending was unfinished - not everything wrapped up and presented with a bow. Some of the guilty have gotten away. Some of the issues are unresolved.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting seemed all wrong. It was written in the style of the 19th century, and it wasn't until 25 pages in that a date was finally mentioned; 1928. Too late; in my mind the setting was still the 1890s or so as far as I was concerned.

This book fell flat for me, perhaps because the characters seemed 2-dimensional.

On another note, that book cover! Just awful. Is that a telescope or a door knob? Either way, it has nothing to do with the title or the basis of the book.

Something tells me that this book started out as one thing, and ended up something else entirely different... in all ways.

[scherzo♫ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Portrayal of characters is twisted to suit plot points.

Historical attitudes turned upside down and inconsistent.
At the end of the book, the main character writes of the man he erroneously suspects of murdering a rich man's son, "... there is a small part of me that is glad he escaped the hangman." Earlier, he insisted that the murderer of a prostitute should face justice.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, the book is not as exciting as one might expect from the blurb. Instead, it's a rather straightforward police procedural, albeit set in 1928. It's been about 20 years since the law was made that allowed local constabularies to call in Scotland Yard. And when the bodies are found in the construction yard, they do just that.

Henry Johnstone and his sergeant, Mickey Hitchens are dispatched. They've known each other since the war and one senses Mickey came through it better. Or it may just be personality. Johnstone is stiffer, more aloof; Mickey is better at putting people at ease. They do work well together, united against locals scandalized by their attempts to keep crime scenes intact so as to be able to gather all the evidence.

To start, the book was a bit confusing. Each chapter was from a different POV. I recommend to read through at least 4 or 5 chapters at first sitting 'cause if you leave off after one or two you'll probably be a bit confused when you pick it back up. It does get easier to follow after that I'd say, but, sadly, doesn't move much. They have pretty much hit on the perpetrator by about 2/3 of the way through and the rest is just confirming evidence and putting pressure on the guy. And a separate tangential killing is addressed but then pretty much ignored. Felt out of place.

Bottom line: I liked it well enough to try book 2, but it's certainly not a priority.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

England, 1928: Mary Fields and her daughter Ruby are dead. There is a third person murdered as well; his unknown identity is presented as the focus of the story in the front cover of the dust jacket.

I’m generally not a fan of the police prodecural mystery, which might explain my impatience with the book’s slow pace (this could have been a short story). Others might enjoy the details, but I skimmed most of the text after page 40 or so.

My 2.5 star rating is related to the story rather than the pace. The blurb on the dust jacket is misleading (the identity of the third body is irrelevant and anticlimactic), some of the dialogue is awkward, and there isn’t really a story arc at all. The narrative just ends, with no surprises.

The author did make an effort to slightly flesh out the Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone and his more compassionate sergeant, Mickey Hitchens. There are excerpts from Johnstone’s journal, which is why this first installment is called “The Murder Book.”

Avid police procedural devotees may enjoy The Murder Book, but it wasn’t my cup of English tea.
(I chose this book as part of my 2022 initiative to read one book from each shelf of the mystery section in my local library; that book will ideally be the first book in a series, as this book was.)

[Vivien Teasdale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a time when forensics were just beginning to be explored, the murder book itself is actually just the journal which one of the main characters writes up with his observations.
Within the first ten pages, fourteen characters are introduced, in three different settings making it difficult to keep track of who belongs where and what they are doing to whom!
The story was quite interesting and brings out the ramifications of different actions and how the repercussions spread throughout the families and levels of society involved, but few of the characters are actually likeable and I didn't feel much interest in their lives. The setting didn't feel like the late 1920s but more like the 1890s.
I can't say I'd rush off to read another one in this series, but if I came across one and nothing else was available, it would pass an hour or so in a reasonably pleasant way.

[Becky Tatar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to think about this. First book in a series, but it felt as if in the story you should have known the characters. This takes place in 1928, in the early days when forensic science was being developed. A small town murder brings DCI Henry Johnstone, specialist murder detective from London, along with his sergeant Mickey Hitchens. While there, they run into the distrust of the local police, the people in the area, along with the idea that the locals can take care of any problems, and don't need the Londoners coming around. Johnstone reminds me of Gus Grissom on CSI - not concerned with people's feelings, just wanting to get the information.

[ME · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not actually sure why I liked this. It was a bit plodding, and in the end there was one whole aspect of the story left unresolved (for me, anyway) that seemed to belie everything we learned about our protagonist. I'm also not sure how the two story-lines fit together really except to provide a social commentary by comparison, or maybe because the first story-line was so thin it couldn't really be made very interesting if it stood alone. The secondary story-line was by far the more interesting, and could have been developed more fully in my opinion. Still, something about it was satisfying and I'll like pick up the next one just to see how the author continues to develop the series.

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories going on simultaneously make this book confusing at times. I kept waiting for them to merge, but although Chief Inspector Johnstone is involved in both, that seems to be the only real connection between them. The “police procedural” regarding the murders of Mary, Ruby and Walter is wrapped up nicely by the end of the book, but the romance involving Helen and Ethan, and Ethan’s subsequent flight, did not have conclusion that was satisfying to me. Johnstone is not a very engaging character; his side-kick Mickey is more interesting.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this didn't inspire interest. It switches and is also confusing to placement or character until you read several pages into the section. It doesn't flow for continuity either. I nearly gave it a 2 for the dead end Ethan lust factor.

It was ok for a beginning effort. But I do not recommend. Henry seems rather mediocre and I as a reader didn't feel/grasp his core personality- just his job. He needs more for a series.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

DCI Henry Johnstone keeps a journal of his murder cases. This case is included. Set in 1928, this English countryside murder is a bit awkward and unfriendly, much like the detective. A quick read for those who like British mysteries.

[Edward Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice country police procedural. Evokes the turn of the century post world war 1 environment. Have a new author on my list.

As an aside I loved the font and paper used. Nice clean look and good readability.

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had read this one before Death Scene, I might not have given this series another chance. Here Henry Johnstone isn't very likable, and the ending isn't really satisfying. (Saying more about it would be a spoiler.) The second book is better, and I hope there will be a third.

[Wiebke Kuhn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure yet if I want to read another one in this series - the setting and characters were good, but the conclusion did not really work for me. The concept of the Murder Book is interesting, though, the notebook where we learn the thoughts of our main detective about the cases.

[Doug Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I look forward to more in this series. This book sees a country multi murder solved, amidst other local tragedy.

[Erica Payne · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of characters to keep straight and a dissatisfying conclusion.

[Ted Cartier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Jane Adams Rina Martin series so thought I would give her Henry Johnstone series a try. While still a good read, I found the pace slow and the characters lacking appeal.

[Kay Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adequate.

[Michael Dunn · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is two novellas, and a pretty uninteresting mystery.
The whole gypsy sub plot was nauseationg and totally not relavant.

[Louine Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

.

[Irvina Buchanan]

Very readable. I enjoyed it.

[Tarasimone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple easy to read. A little disappointed at one aspect of the story. Wonder if it all come up in following books. Guess I’ll have to read them rip find out.

[Mary Rankin]

For some reason, it put me right off it in the 2nd chapter. Didn't go further so didn't rate.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Jane Adams does an excellent job of portraying life in the small villages and farms of England during the Depression. Her depiction brought me right into the story. Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone is an extremely goal-oriented man who, thankfully, has Detective Sergeant Mickey Hitchens with him to bring in the personal touch that makes the natives more cooperative.

The writing style of The Murder Book reminded me of Jack Webb's portrayal of Sergeant Joe Friday in Dragnet-- just the facts, ma'am. This type of delivery kept the pace moving right along even though it kept me at a distance-- and I'm the type of reader who likes being in the middle of the action. I didn't let that keep me from enjoying the mystery; however, because this is a convoluted investigation whose resolution only becomes clear due to Johnstone and Hitchens' sheer, dogged determination.

I only had one real disappointment in this book, and it's what gives The Murder Book poignancy-- my favorite character was seven-year-old Ruby. What a marvelous little girl, and she was killed in the prologue! As a reader, it made me even more determined to learn the identity of the killer.

Those of you who like everything neatly tied up by the time the last page is turned may not like the fact that one case Johnstone is working on is not concluded by book's end. It was unclear to me whether the author was going to leave it as is, or if Johnstone would resume working on the investigation at a later date. I shall have to find out....

[Dutchbaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written mystery, but I couldn't warm up to the inspector.

[Francine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the setting but found the story just a bit dragging by places. Loved the characters.

[Sandybear76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

New author for me, and a new series for the author