Murder-in-Law

Ellie Quicke #21

by Veronica Heley

While Ellie's away, murder will play . . . Is the death of Ellie's son-in-law really the result of a burglary gone wrong?

Ellie's absence abroad is disastrous for her daughter, Diana - when her husband is attacked by intruders and left for dead one night, it falls to Ellie's next-door neighbour, Susan, to reluctantly pick up the pieces and take in Diana's children.

Is Evan's death really the result of a burglary gone wrong? Joining forces with her aunt, police officer Lesley Millard, Susan discovers that Diana lied to the police about her movements on the night of the murder, and soon finds herself grappling with betrayal, shady business dealings and her own distrust of Diana as she attempts to solve a chilling conundrum: could Ellie's daughter be a cold-blooded killer?

Genres: Mystery

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2021

About the author

Veronica Heley has published more than fifty books, including crime fiction, historical, and children's titles. She is currently involved in the Ellie Quicke series of crime stories and a variety of other projects. A full-time writer, she has been married to a London probation officer since 1964, and has one musician daughter.

AKA Veronica Thorne

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan's next door neighbor is abroad and not expected back for another week or so. Unfortunately, Ellie's son-in-law is attacked by home invaders and left for dead.

Ellie's daughter, Diana, pounds on Susan's door, and unceremoniously dumps her two children at Susan's expecting her to take care of them. Susan already has two children of her own, and adding two more in their small home is a problem.

Eventually she finds herself also taking in Diana's nanny ... who acts suspicious. Did she have something to do with Evan's death? Was it really a home invasion? When Susan finds that Diana lied to the police about where she was that night, Susan wonders if Diana murdered her own husband?

She soon finds herself grappling with betrayal, shady business dealings and her own distrust of Diana.

Although well written, I felt there was little credibility. A mom with two children of her own...and pregnant ... and taking care of two other children and a nanny ... and trying to solve a crime where the police presence leaves a lot of be desired .. it left a few questions. I did like most of the characters ... Diana was not one of those. There's a lot of action ... when someone tries to kidnap the children ... when her house is broken into ... when the police ignore her pleas for protection. Overall, it was an okay read.

Although the 21st in this series, it was easily read as a stand alone. I have not read any of the previous books, maybe I would have liked this one better if I had. My recommendation is to read them in order for a better reading experience.

Many thanks to the author / Canongate Books / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Sally Parker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up in our mobile library together with its successor Murder For Profit. I appreciate that there are many earlier books in the Ellie Quicke series, but I'd never come across them, and found this type of 'Cosy Crime' really hard going ! The actual crime is so lost among endless tedious domestic detail regarding child care and food preparation that I found it difficult to keep the facts of the crime in mind as I ploughed on towards the end ! Ellie Quicke herself was absent from the activity, being on holiday in North America, and the 'heroine' of this story was her neighbour Susan. Most of the characters seemed caricatures, particularly Ellie's extremely unpleasant daughter Diana. I hope I never meet anyone quite as nasty as she is ! I intend to read the next book as it's unfair to judge a whole series on one example, but this story did nothing for me.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie is still away from home, in North America, when catastrophe hits her daughter Diana. Ellie's trusted helper, Susan and her family have just moved into the other half of Ellie's large house. So their very first morning, Diana appears at the front door, demanding to see her mother. When told she wasn't home, Diana thrusted her two year old daughter Jennie into Susan's arms and took off. Come to find out, Diana's husband has just been brutally murdered.

Ellie Quick mysteries always are frenetic, because so much goes on in a very short time. This one isn't any different. Diana always manages to bring chaos wherever she goes. Susan steps nicely into Ellie's role, being equally a doormat. But along the way, Susan begins to trust in God to help her through. That's one thing I like about these books.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

OMG couldn’t finish this drivel. It was so choppy and ridiculous. This author needs ritalin when sh is writing . I was ready to throw something against the wall after a few chapters of over dramatic garbage. Incompetent Susan had trouble handling a couple of kids, Lucia was a wimp that was on deaths door from walking in the rain with a preschooler, the preschooler was exhausted walking in the rain, Fifi spontaneously decides she no longer wants to breastfeed…..and this is the chaos from the few chapters I read. I cannot picture Susan solving any mystery. No more V Heley for me. I have no idea how this even got published.

[Nancy RN · Rating 2 out of 5]

annoyed

I am annoyed at how the FMC is portrayed. As either a helpless “damsel in distress”, a panicky, loving mother who believes if the wind shifts her daughter’s going to be emotionally damaged, a bit c yellow in her thoughts about the other children, or as this intuitive amateur detective who the. Proceeds to repeatedly not tell her husband she is pregnant. And, how about going to A&E, getting pain pills with results that are similar to a narcotic pain reliever and never mentioning you are pregnant!!! Not interested in reading any further in this series.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's possibly the worst book I've read. The characters were thin, the plot was unbelievable, the references to police procedures were wildly inaccurate, etc.

I hate giving a book 1 star because I know that writing and publishing a book is no small effort, but I just couldn't get past the awfulness of this one.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, quick read. I am addicted to this series because my mother would have loved Diana, the Wicked Witch of the North. Lots of improbable action and characters -- and a lot of wishful daydreaming -- I would love to have the money and the houses. All good natured and revenge is sweet themes.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan saves the day!

I missed Ellie and Thomas but quickly became engaged with Susan and Rafael. I do wish Ellie's dreadful daughter completely gone from the next story. This was an exciting adventure. Great to see Ellie finally knows exactly what her daughter is!

[Anne Herbison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just to change it up, Ellie and Thomas are away in Canada in this book. Susan and Rafael are in charge of the house and Susan has unexpected responsibilities thrust upon her. The author describes children very well - as she has shown in previous books in the series.

[RITA SMITH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best series ever

Have read this series from the beginning. Each one better than the last one. Please give me more. Start from the beginning "Murder at the Alter". It's worth the effort.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Cozy mystery.

[Diane Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not interest me at all. Didn’t get past first chapter.

[Beverly Bellevue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read even without Ellie.

[Mr Stephen Haunts · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Something very uncanny valley about the writing. Couldn’t get on with it. Stopped at 50%

[Denise Bonham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping loved this book. Had not read one from this crime series before.

[Lois Carkhuff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not unputdownable but worth the read

I think it got a bit too drawn out in places but I kept reading. The good news is that the end surprised me and ups my rating.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 in my opinion ⭐️ I really liked the book but it got a little boring in the middle but the ending was great! 🎀

[Christine Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read but missed Ellie in this one and the horrible Diane not demanding as much as I know it’s a fictional character but I want to slap her so much and I’m not a violent person

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but totally unbelievable the way Diana gets through life bullying others to pay her bills.

[Leanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Annoying book. The story was actually sort of slightly ok but I found the constant repetitive explanation of her life as a mum super dull.