Dark Secrets

Hennessey & Yellich #6

by Peter Turnbull

A drunkard stumbles into Mickelgate Bar police station in the ancient city of York and reports having recovered the memory of witnessing a murder being committed. The police, initially sceptical, investigate the man's claim and discover the body of a young woman in a shallow grave.

Genres: Mystery

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Peter 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.

Reviews

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with this series (this is book 6) is that it really isn't a series. There is no character development and the background of each character is repeated almost word for word in each book. This includes Hennessey's boss who has had no real part in the series that I recall. So at least so far, it doesn't matter where you start in the series or which order you read it in.

[Alison C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A drunk comes to the Mickelgate Bar Police Station in York with a tale from 20 years ago that he has just recalled: he witnessed the murder of a young woman on a piece of waste land, and after all this time he can still tell the police exactly where to look. They do, and indeed the man’s memory was correct; not only that, but there are three other skeletons found in the same vicinity, matching perhaps four missing young women from 20 years past. One skeleton had an odd object in its mouth, an object that is the only lead DCI Hennessey and DS Yellich have…. This is the sixth Hennessey and Yellich novel, and like the ones preceding it, the story is tightly plotted and the characters are very well drawn. The attentive reader doesn’t really learn anything new about the two main characters because their most salient points have already been established in the earlier books, but enough information is given in the text here that a newcomer to the series would have no difficulty understanding their circumstances. I really love this series, but am having a hard time finding the books in sequence - it appears that e-book editions begin with something like the 20th book in the series, so finding the earlier ones is a matter of scouring library book sales, used bookstores and the like. However, I will persevere in my quest to find them all, because the stories are beautifully told and the characters fully-realized human beings on the page; recommended!

[M. O'Gannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark Secrets – A Hennessey and Yellich Mystery – Published 2002 - *** - A person comes to the police and reports a murder from twenty years ago, and we are off and running. A promotional pen is the clue that starts the investigation rolling. Interesting police procedural that leads through micro trail to a huge picture. But ---- the characters are lifeless and the taste is very dry. Okay if you like that kind of read. Not for me.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sort of liked this book. An alcoholic, crazy man comes in and confesses to seeing a murder of a girl on an open field. No one believes him, but it turns out he’s correct, plus there are a lot of other young girls there across many years. There’s a believable plot, and the clues actually make sense as Turnbull does good policing, including tracking down some red herrings.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a comfy mystery, not thriller and I liked the characters and the pace of the book.

[Linda Underwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hennessey and Yellich solve the twnety year old mystery of the killer of four young girls found buried. Good.