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Inspector John Crow #8

A Dartmoor Murder

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Looking for a classic murder mystery from an acclaimed crime writer?

Discover Inspector Crow of Scotland Yard. Enjoy a beautifully told story from a time before smart phones and DNA testing. Full of twists and turns, this will have you gripped from start to finish.

THIS BOOK WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS “A RELATIVE DISTANCE.”

“Maintains his reputation as a star of the regional crime school.” Guardian

“A thorough, unpretentious and immensely solid piece of work with an interesting and likeable hero.” Times Literary Supplement

A BAFFLING MURDER IN THE STUNNING LANDSCAPE OF DARTMOOR

Fred Norman is found dead in a pond near the mining works of an American company which he worked for.

Detective Crow of Scotland Yard is called in and finds a local force unwilling to cooperate and a divided community.

Environmentalist groups and some local people oppose the mine. A fifteen-year-old-girl was run over in the village in a hit-and-run incident.

Suspicion soon falls upon womanising activist Jack Prince but Crow is aware that are many false trails — and too many lies.

Things become even more complicated when he learns a shocking secret about the dead girl.

A GRIPPING AND TIGHTLY TOLD STORY, SPRINKLED WITH ENOUGH RED HERRINGS TO DELIGHT THE MOST DEMANDING WHODUNIT FAN.

Set in England in the late 70s, this is the eighth book to feature Inspector John Crow. More coming soon.

DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE MYSTERY WRITER

Perfect for fans of Peter James, Ruth Rendell, P.D. James and Peter Robinson.

Roy Lewis is one of the most critically acclaimed crime writers of his generation.

PRAISE FOR ROY LEWIS MYSTERIES

Each Lewis seems to better the last. Here is an intriguing puzzle and likely police work and a fine picture of Northumbrian society and countryside” The Times

“Lots of cunning complications embracing conservation and financial fiddles” The Guardian

“A thorough, unpretentious and immensely solid piece of work with an interesting and likeable hero” Times Literary Supplement

THE DETECTIVE
Skeletally-built, mild-mannered Inspector John Crow is established in the Murder Squad in London and constantly meets hostility when he is called upon to work on murder cases in regional crime squads in Wales and the Midlands. He displays strong moral feelings, and a sensitivity which brings him into conflict with regional staff as he doggedly and successfully pursues the truth in cases where he is called in.


INSPECTOR CROW BOOKS
Book 1: A LOVER TOO MANY
Book 2: ERROR OF JUDGMENT
Book 3: THE WOODS MURDER
Book 4: MURDER FOR MONEY
Book 5: MURDER IN THE MINE
Book 6: A COTSWOLDS MURDER
Book 7: A FOX HUNTING MURDER
Book 8: A DARTMOOR MURDER

More Roy Lewis mysteries coming soon!

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1981

747 people are currently reading
80 people want to read

About the author

Roy Lewis

175 books74 followers
John Royston Lewis, who published his fiction under the name Roy Lewis, was a prominent English crime writer who wrote more than 60 novels. He was also a teacher, and he taught Law for 10 years before being appointed as One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Further & Higher Education. He lived in the north of England where many of his novels are set.

Lewis is also the author of several law texts, which he published under the name J.R. Lewis.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.




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5 stars
346 (37%)
4 stars
341 (36%)
3 stars
170 (18%)
2 stars
52 (5%)
1 star
13 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for Jenny.
2,345 reviews73 followers
July 10, 2022
A Dartmoor Murder is the 8th book in the Inspector John Crow series by Roy Lewis. Detective Inspector John Crow caught a baffling case of the murder of Fred Norman found in a pond on the beautiful Dartmoor in Devon. On arrival Detective Inspector John Crow got involved with a hit and run of a young girl and a community and local law enforcement that would not cooperate with the investigation. The readers of A Dartmoor Murder will continue to follow the twist and turns in Detective Inspector John Crow's investigation to find out what happens.

I enjoy reading books in this historical series by Roy Lewis, and A Dartmoor Murder continues my love affair with this series. Roy Lewis does an excellent job of making his characters more real by portraying them with flaws and accurate descriptions of the setting matching the 1970s. I love Roy Lewis's portrayal of his characters and their interaction with each other throughout this book. A Dartmoor Murder is well written and researched by Roy Lewis. I like Roy Lewis's description of the settings of A Dartmoor Murder, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.

The readers of A Dartmoor Murder will learn about the beautiful area of Devon called the Dartmoor in the 1970s. Also, the readers of A Dartmoor Murder will learn about the mining industry in Devon starting in 1563.

I recommend this book.
7 reviews
October 17, 2024
I appreciate that this was written in 1981, however I find many parts of the plot and writing unbelievable.

I grew up in this period, and am from Devon and know Dartmoor and the Southwest very well so several parts bothered me, from an early morning walk through Exeter, that the main character takes before breakfast, which in reality would have taken four hours to complete, to a Forensic Scientist, in those days, commuting between Plymouth and Bristol each day for work.

I also found the character of Crow and the final scene rather unbelievable. He's brought in as an outside eye to re-start an investigation from scratch yet appears to be as narrow-minded as the original Detectives. Sorry, that doesn't work.
1,057 reviews10 followers
September 16, 2019
Having read all of the books in the series, you cannot help but like the 'old-fashioned' ways of Inspector Crow which are now highlighted by his young assistant Delaval. The story line keeps a tight hold over everything which is going on and the reader is fed the clues and the red herrings gradually..... even so this one I didn't guess until the end. Part of their appeal is that this series is set in the late 1960's and into the 1970's when things were policed differently. Another good easy read.
696 reviews9 followers
June 25, 2019
Good book!

This book is a police procedural featuring Superintendant, John Crow of Scotland Yard. It involves the murder of a man in Dartmoor, Devonshire. It is intriguing and full of surprises i.e. the identity of the killer and his motive for the crime. I highly recommend it to other mystery readers.
665 reviews6 followers
September 27, 2019
A murder DCI Crow does not want to deal with

As his Commander appoints him to a murder at a mine in Dartmoor , DI Delaval accompanies him. He's to solve the murder and find out what's really going on at the business . The owner is a wealthy American with the ear of an MP. Tangled webs.
84 reviews
July 8, 2019
Pretty good!!!ķkkkkkuyiifwym,itdcbmligrdgj,oouygjkoou65 I am so glad I got to work for 3790

Royals 3inches and surrounding him with a shoulder in his back 7004nowboih with the team and surroundings and the 0 team
Profile Image for Philip Lindsay.
122 reviews
December 5, 2019
Intriguing from start to finish

From the very beginning you just couldn't work out what was happening and where was it going, but eventually piece by piece it came together.
Absorbing and intriguing
Profile Image for Eirlys.
1,763 reviews16 followers
May 20, 2019
An old fashioned detective that brings a breath of fresh air to the genre. I enjoyed this book, which introduced me to a new author. I will read more of his books now.
1,181 reviews6 followers
May 20, 2019
Another good 👍story

Another good in the Inspector Crowe series and a good choice of setting.A very good tang of characters well crafted story.
186 reviews
May 26, 2019
Really good read

I really enjoyed this book and the characters are really well written about a time gone by showing how the police used to work
4 reviews
July 2, 2020
Great book

Love all of this author’s books. Will read them all full of twists and great plots. Can’t find them in my local library
147 reviews
October 26, 2020
Another really great storyline and with a number of twists
4,417 reviews43 followers
May 2, 2019
Now know more about mining things I know nothing about than I ever wanted to AND distance is only relative. I am glad they found the truth about Freda. I did enjoy the story and recommend the book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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