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Wesley Peterson #7
The Skeleton Room
When workmen converting former girls' boarding school, Chadleigh Hall, into a luxury hotel discover a skeleton in a sealed room, DI Wesley Peterson and his boss, Gerry Heffernan are called in to investigate. But within minutes they have a second suspicious death on their hands: a team of marine archaeologists working on a nearby shipwreck have dragged a woman's body from the sea. And it becomes clear that her death was no accident. The dead woman's husband may be linked with a brutal robbery of computer equipment but Wesley soon discovers that the victim had secrets of her own. As he investigates Chadleigh Hall's past and the woman's violent death, both trails lead in surprising directions and matters are further complicated when a man wanted for a murder in London appears on the scene, a man who may know more about Wesley's cases than he admits
374 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2003
128 people are currently reading
537 people want to read
About the author
Kate Ellis
119 books603 followersKate Ellis was born and brought up in Liverpool and she studied drama in Manchester. She worked in teaching, marketing and accountancy before first enjoying writing success as a winner of the North West Playwrights competition. Crime and mystery stories have always fascinated her, as have medieval history and archaeology which she likes to incorporate in her books. She is married with two grown up sons and she lives in North Cheshire, England, with her husband. Kate was awarded the CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY award in 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
July 16, 2019
Have enjoyed all the books so far in the series. This is my favorite so far. I like police procedural character driven books set in England. There are always at least two mysteries-one set in the past with an archaeology history theme mixed with another crime in current times. This book had history of ship wreckers, a skeleton in a sealed room, stolen computers and a victim who was laying at the bottom of the cliff.
The best of all is the characters who one feels you get to know more in each progressive book. As a reader, I want to catch up with their lives. This book had a lot going for it in the plotting. It had substance. Looking forward to reading the next book soon.
The best of all is the characters who one feels you get to know more in each progressive book. As a reader, I want to catch up with their lives. This book had a lot going for it in the plotting. It had substance. Looking forward to reading the next book soon.
February 22, 2021
A very satisfying police procedural/murder mystery involving crimes of old as well as current. The action alternates between tracking new crime and tying it together with crimes of another era. Wesley's friend Neil is on site working on salvaging/investigating an old wreck along the Devon Coast. There seems to be a great deal of crime going on in what appears on the surface to be a quiet coastal area, but then humans live there.
The skeleton of the title dates back to the time of the wreck and is found in a building under renovation being developed into a health spa. Its last use had been a school for girls, one Wesley's mother-in-law had attended. Wesley is the key person to untangle the deaths occurring every year of people being pushed off cliffs and I do appreciate his key role. As a man of color, something I have not mentioned in my reviews of books from this series, it provides just another good reason to read this rather unique series. Police Procedural/archeological features/rare multi-racial feature.
Loan from Friend - Thank You!
The skeleton of the title dates back to the time of the wreck and is found in a building under renovation being developed into a health spa. Its last use had been a school for girls, one Wesley's mother-in-law had attended. Wesley is the key person to untangle the deaths occurring every year of people being pushed off cliffs and I do appreciate his key role. As a man of color, something I have not mentioned in my reviews of books from this series, it provides just another good reason to read this rather unique series. Police Procedural/archeological features/rare multi-racial feature.
Loan from Friend - Thank You!
December 26, 2014
5 Words: History, greed, murder, revenge, family.
This is definitely one of the better Wesley Peterson books I've read.
More than ever this book touches upon the family relationships between the pages and how these relationships can be so different.
I loved the blend of history and modern mystery and crime fighting and how there's always a little bit of a link. The masterful mix of the times is definitely the best part of this series.
I'm not sure what I think of the way Rachel seems to be thinking - it's changing her. I'm not sure I like it.
I can't wait to read on! Love this series so much.
This is definitely one of the better Wesley Peterson books I've read.
More than ever this book touches upon the family relationships between the pages and how these relationships can be so different.
I loved the blend of history and modern mystery and crime fighting and how there's always a little bit of a link. The masterful mix of the times is definitely the best part of this series.
I'm not sure what I think of the way Rachel seems to be thinking - it's changing her. I'm not sure I like it.
I can't wait to read on! Love this series so much.
September 30, 2020
The entire series is slow going but the rewards are fairly good if you just stick with it. One thing we... (we’re reading this series as a group read on LibraryThing)... have found out is that the solution always relates to a modern police case handled by DI Peterson of Tradmouth and draws parallels with an archeology dig handled by his friend Neil Watson. The older story is usually just a paragraph or two at the beginning of the chapters and doesn’t take long to read but sometimes is harder to remember the important facts. There are a lot of characters to sort out and we have a skeleton tied to a chair in a walled up portion of a renovated schoolroom to add into them. If you enjoy a mystery that is generally a complicated tale of good and evil with a satisfying end…although you have to wait for…then Kate Ellis is for you.
May 25, 2024
I want to read the first 6 books in this series a bit faster than her Joe Plantagenet series still a British Police Procedural in this the 7th book DI Wesley Peterson and his boss Gerry Heffernan search for a killer who seems to strike every year in July They also get called to a new build for some bones found in a walled in room tied to a chair....if the bones are within 70 years old a murder investigation has to be launched.....an old frenemy is back on their patch looking for a killer as well and prejudices run high with him Wes' wife Pam is given a locket by one of her students that belongs to a woman who has been murdered...and....a load of stolen computers rounds out the busy day and weeks ahead. Just another day at the Nick for the hard working coppers on duty there.
June 5, 2018
I enjoy the Wesley Peterson series and, although this one started very, very slowly, in the end it didn't disappoint.
Set in Devon, it weaves an 18th century story about ship wreckers with a modern mystery of a woman's body found in the sea near the ship wreck. I did find it heavy going as Ellis is meticulous in setting scenes, explaining possible avenues, adding subplots, enlarging on her characters' lives: so much so that I feel she could cut 50 pages and still have a cracking good plot.
It says a lot for her as a storyteller then, that I didn't just flip to the last chapter as I hit page 150 and it seemed that the strands of the mystery would never knit together. However I know from reading her previous books that she buries important clues in the last 100 pages and reading the end robs the reader of a lot of pleasure in those last 100 pages.
Set in Devon, it weaves an 18th century story about ship wreckers with a modern mystery of a woman's body found in the sea near the ship wreck. I did find it heavy going as Ellis is meticulous in setting scenes, explaining possible avenues, adding subplots, enlarging on her characters' lives: so much so that I feel she could cut 50 pages and still have a cracking good plot.
It says a lot for her as a storyteller then, that I didn't just flip to the last chapter as I hit page 150 and it seemed that the strands of the mystery would never knit together. However I know from reading her previous books that she buries important clues in the last 100 pages and reading the end robs the reader of a lot of pleasure in those last 100 pages.
June 5, 2018
First of this series I have read and I enjoyed it...meaning I won't be averse to reading others in this series...it involves a modern murder mystery alongside a historical one..in many ways the historical one seems more of a aside but it does lend character to the book and offers some parallels.
In many ways this reads as a gripping detective tale and does seem very filmable..I wouldn't be surprised if rights are snapped up at some points as it was equal to some detective drama.
In many ways this reads as a gripping detective tale and does seem very filmable..I wouldn't be surprised if rights are snapped up at some points as it was equal to some detective drama.
August 26, 2020
In the beginning, I wasn't overly impressed with the way the story was reading. Though as I started to get into the meat of the book, I found it had me trying to figure out who done it. Overall a good read.
January 1, 2025
A body is found in a sealed room at a former girl's school. So many links to local land owners and smugglers. Somehow interlinked are the 'random' murders along the coast each year. Compelling read 9/10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2020
3.5 stars
January 5, 2011
First Sentence: 20 July – The woman in the red T-shirt lay on the sharp gray rocks far below; distant and tiny, like a small fish caught in the teeth of some gigantic sea creature.
Murder past and present. In renovating Chadleigh Hall, a former girl’s boarding school, a secret room has been found holding a secret of its own; the skeletal remains of a woman tied to a chair. Was the murder related to the school or older and associated with the town’s history of causing ships to wreck on its coast, murdering survivors and plundering the ships contents? And how, if at all, does this relate to the woman’s body dragged from the sea who had been pushed from a nearby cliff?
In a few words, Ellis conveys the horror the victim would have experienced of being walled in a room and left to die. Ellis’ descriptions, whether of such terror or of living in a village where most everyone could walk to work, is part of her appeal. She is a wonderfully visual writer, whether it is of places, situations or people.
Regarding people, she has created a diverse and interesting cast of principal characters. Gerry Heffernan, the boss, is somewhat old-fashioned in his views on women and technology while being an experienced cop who leads his team. Wesley Peterson is the intellect, somewhat put down for his education, dealing with racism due to his color, but respected by his boss. In every ointment comes a fly in the shape of DC Steve Carstairs who is bigoted, sexist, lazy and not overly bright. He is offset by Rachael and Trish, the very capable women on the force. It’s the wonderful, diverse ensemble cast rounded out with non-police characters which gives a very real feeling to the story.
And what a good story it is. The plot is very well done. There are several threads which intersect, and very effective plot twists which never feel contrived. With each thread, I wanted to know more while being unable to predict where the story was going and certainly didn’t predict the resolutions presented. I did enjoy the nod to the movie “Charade.”
Ellis has become a favorite author of mine. Her books have never disappointed me, and “The Skeleton Room” stands well among them. They are more than a standard police procedural, blending the personal lives of the characters, archeology, English history and murder.
THE SKELETON ROOM (Pol Proc-Peterson/Heffernan-England-Cont) - VG
Ellis, Kate – 7th in series
Piatkus, ©2003, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 0749906200
Murder past and present. In renovating Chadleigh Hall, a former girl’s boarding school, a secret room has been found holding a secret of its own; the skeletal remains of a woman tied to a chair. Was the murder related to the school or older and associated with the town’s history of causing ships to wreck on its coast, murdering survivors and plundering the ships contents? And how, if at all, does this relate to the woman’s body dragged from the sea who had been pushed from a nearby cliff?
In a few words, Ellis conveys the horror the victim would have experienced of being walled in a room and left to die. Ellis’ descriptions, whether of such terror or of living in a village where most everyone could walk to work, is part of her appeal. She is a wonderfully visual writer, whether it is of places, situations or people.
Regarding people, she has created a diverse and interesting cast of principal characters. Gerry Heffernan, the boss, is somewhat old-fashioned in his views on women and technology while being an experienced cop who leads his team. Wesley Peterson is the intellect, somewhat put down for his education, dealing with racism due to his color, but respected by his boss. In every ointment comes a fly in the shape of DC Steve Carstairs who is bigoted, sexist, lazy and not overly bright. He is offset by Rachael and Trish, the very capable women on the force. It’s the wonderful, diverse ensemble cast rounded out with non-police characters which gives a very real feeling to the story.
And what a good story it is. The plot is very well done. There are several threads which intersect, and very effective plot twists which never feel contrived. With each thread, I wanted to know more while being unable to predict where the story was going and certainly didn’t predict the resolutions presented. I did enjoy the nod to the movie “Charade.”
Ellis has become a favorite author of mine. Her books have never disappointed me, and “The Skeleton Room” stands well among them. They are more than a standard police procedural, blending the personal lives of the characters, archeology, English history and murder.
THE SKELETON ROOM (Pol Proc-Peterson/Heffernan-England-Cont) - VG
Ellis, Kate – 7th in series
Piatkus, ©2003, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 0749906200
September 29, 2024
This is one of the best Wesley Petersons I've read so far! I haven't read them all in correct order, because each can stand on its own and you don't really need to read them in order.
After a brief introduction indicating that a serial killer is at work, this one weaves an historical tale about ship-wreckers with the mysterious death, soon found to be murder, of a woman whose body is discovered by marine archaeologists. Concurrently, workmen converting a former girls' school, Chadleigh Hall, into a modern hotel, discover a sealed room containing a skeleton - apparently that of someone deliberately tied to a chair and left to die. At first, they don't know if this is a recent death or one from the more distant past, so Wesley needs to be kept up to date on it.
Of course Wesley Peterson's friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, is involved, as Wesley delves into the history of Chadleigh Hall as part of his investigation and the horrifying history of the wreckers is gradually revealed as a parallel to the current events. What amazed me, however, was the surprising motive of the killer. I would never have guessed this diabolical scheme! Can't say too much for fear of spoiling it - except that the scheme itself sounds great, if you've got a stomach for heartless acts of deception and gruesome killings! A great read.
After a brief introduction indicating that a serial killer is at work, this one weaves an historical tale about ship-wreckers with the mysterious death, soon found to be murder, of a woman whose body is discovered by marine archaeologists. Concurrently, workmen converting a former girls' school, Chadleigh Hall, into a modern hotel, discover a sealed room containing a skeleton - apparently that of someone deliberately tied to a chair and left to die. At first, they don't know if this is a recent death or one from the more distant past, so Wesley needs to be kept up to date on it.
Of course Wesley Peterson's friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, is involved, as Wesley delves into the history of Chadleigh Hall as part of his investigation and the horrifying history of the wreckers is gradually revealed as a parallel to the current events. What amazed me, however, was the surprising motive of the killer. I would never have guessed this diabolical scheme! Can't say too much for fear of spoiling it - except that the scheme itself sounds great, if you've got a stomach for heartless acts of deception and gruesome killings! A great read.
December 2, 2023
Sigh. I have been enjoying Kate Ellis's Wesley Peterson crime series, but this one was really a bit of a disappointment. The plot never seems to gel and the two main plot elements never seemed to get off the ground. All crime novels require the reader to suspend a certain amount of disbelief, but really, in this book Ellis makes this notion do an awful lot of work - eg: almost every character seemed, even in a tangential way, to be connected to the crimes, the suspects or the killer, and far too many
coincidences (even for a crime novel). The mystery of the skeleton room starts off well, but is never really explored and doesn't end up as all that important in the end. Finally, I wish Ellis would allow some of the other police characters to shine a bit - eg: Heffernam, the chief inspector, does far too much running around interviewing routine suspects and barking random orders. Not one of her best.
Ⓒ Koplowitz 2022
coincidences (even for a crime novel). The mystery of the skeleton room starts off well, but is never really explored and doesn't end up as all that important in the end. Finally, I wish Ellis would allow some of the other police characters to shine a bit - eg: Heffernam, the chief inspector, does far too much running around interviewing routine suspects and barking random orders. Not one of her best.
Ⓒ Koplowitz 2022
March 2, 2018
I would recommend putting some time aside to read the first 80ish pages - there are a lot of stories and characters interwoven that although work well in the end, take some commitment at the beginning to place
I enjoyed the book - first one I remember reading by the author but what I would say is there are lots of twists and turns which keep the story interesting but you must remember reading it it is a story and suspense your belief for a while ‘cos it’s a bit far fetched at times!
I enjoyed the book - first one I remember reading by the author but what I would say is there are lots of twists and turns which keep the story interesting but you must remember reading it it is a story and suspense your belief for a while ‘cos it’s a bit far fetched at times!
November 1, 2022
I just love the Wesley Peterson Series from this great author. This is the 7th in the series and to me they just get better.
Wesley's archaeologist friend Neil is currently diving under a shipwreck at the request of a local business man, who believes that the centuries old wreck set sail laden with valuable treasure.
Wesley and his fabulous boss Gerry (my favourite character) are investigating the murder of a young lady, who's body has been found at the bottom of a cliff on monks island.
Meanwhile a team of builders find the skeleton of a young lady, whilst they are renovating a grand hall. The skeleton has been sealed up in a small room and appears to have been tied to the chair. But how old is the skeleton? The old hall was used as a girls boarding school in the 60's, so Wesley and co fear that it may have to be investigated on top of the latest murder case.
It's all very exciting and as usual the cases from each decade reflect each other. The book keeps you guessing right to the end, which makes it a real page turner! I am so looking forward to starting the 8th book and wait with anticipation to see if the devoted Wesley gives in to the lovely Rachel Tracey!
Wesley's archaeologist friend Neil is currently diving under a shipwreck at the request of a local business man, who believes that the centuries old wreck set sail laden with valuable treasure.
Wesley and his fabulous boss Gerry (my favourite character) are investigating the murder of a young lady, who's body has been found at the bottom of a cliff on monks island.
Meanwhile a team of builders find the skeleton of a young lady, whilst they are renovating a grand hall. The skeleton has been sealed up in a small room and appears to have been tied to the chair. But how old is the skeleton? The old hall was used as a girls boarding school in the 60's, so Wesley and co fear that it may have to be investigated on top of the latest murder case.
It's all very exciting and as usual the cases from each decade reflect each other. The book keeps you guessing right to the end, which makes it a real page turner! I am so looking forward to starting the 8th book and wait with anticipation to see if the devoted Wesley gives in to the lovely Rachel Tracey!
December 3, 2022
I think I've mentioned before that I found this author long after she started writing the series so I've just been picking books at random to read. In this case I got it for 99cents on Amazon and, after perusing several of the library books I had on hand, decided that I wasn't in the mood for any of them. So I chose this. As always I enjoyed it. It's from 2003 and Pam is pregnant with their second child and Wesley Peterson is, as always, hip deep in murder. He is relieved when a body at a a construction site isn't a current murder but one from the 18th century. It's an interesting mystery on it's own, but it's not the main mystery. When a woman is found dead at the bottom of a steep cliff it soon becomes apparent she was murdered. Then someone mentions that falling off the cliff seems to happen on a regular basis every summer. I enjoy this series because of the mix of archaeology and murder. It's interesting to learn about some of the lesser known historic facts about England.
July 19, 2017
Glad I found this series. I like mysteries that weave modern day with history. This time Wesley and his archaelogist friend Neil Watson are involved with a sunken ship that might hold treasures and a skeleton found in a walled off room of an old house. And neither of those story lines is the main murder action!
This is only the 2d one I have read and enjoyed the characters and their personalities. I liked the chapter by chapter revelations on the wreckers of the past. The modern murders were so tangled that it was hard to decide who killed who. Characters with little relationship to each other ended up providing seemingly random tidbits that linked together to lead to solving the mystery. Enjoyed the book and will be reading more!
This is only the 2d one I have read and enjoyed the characters and their personalities. I liked the chapter by chapter revelations on the wreckers of the past. The modern murders were so tangled that it was hard to decide who killed who. Characters with little relationship to each other ended up providing seemingly random tidbits that linked together to lead to solving the mystery. Enjoyed the book and will be reading more!
December 5, 2024
This was a tough one for me. This series is different in that there is an extra historical story going on. It made it a bit tougher for me in that the current whodunit was two, plus the historical.
And, as mentioned before, keeping up with multiple characteers in side stories is difficult for me.
And I got confused a few times, but guess the primary whodunit - for no paricular reason, but thought the logic of it all really worked.
This is a good police procedural, but certainly driven by the main characters - plodding along, asking questions, finding evidence.
It all flowed quite well, was an easy read, unless you wished to keep track of everyone, not a lot of twists and turns but kept driving to the end. Looking forward to #8
And, as mentioned before, keeping up with multiple characteers in side stories is difficult for me.
And I got confused a few times, but guess the primary whodunit - for no paricular reason, but thought the logic of it all really worked.
This is a good police procedural, but certainly driven by the main characters - plodding along, asking questions, finding evidence.
It all flowed quite well, was an easy read, unless you wished to keep track of everyone, not a lot of twists and turns but kept driving to the end. Looking forward to #8
December 4, 2017
I picked this up at a book fair about 3 months ago and only just got around to reading it. I loved it!
Detective Inspector Wesley Peterson is faced with several interesting crimes - a dead woman at the bottom of a cliff, a mysterious skeleton in a sealed room, and a missing murder suspect. Some how, it all comes together, with more twists than a left handed corkscrew.
This is the first book by Kate Ellis that I have read and it won't be the last. My library has 19 of her books, so I am looking forward to months of delicious mysteries with an historical spin to them.
Highly recommended.
Detective Inspector Wesley Peterson is faced with several interesting crimes - a dead woman at the bottom of a cliff, a mysterious skeleton in a sealed room, and a missing murder suspect. Some how, it all comes together, with more twists than a left handed corkscrew.
This is the first book by Kate Ellis that I have read and it won't be the last. My library has 19 of her books, so I am looking forward to months of delicious mysteries with an historical spin to them.
Highly recommended.
September 17, 2023
Like all Wesley Peterson mysteries, Wesley must deal with his mother-in-law Della, his wife Pam, and their son Michael, his crazy coworkers in the police force, and his college friend who is an archeologist.
This time a three hundred year old home, built by a trading shipping boat captain, has also been a home for his descendants, a girls school and is currently being restored as a hotel. A dead body is found in an enclosed wall. A body has also washed up on shore and Wesley must solve both “murders”. Interesting, and the story kept me awake…way past my bedtime.
This time a three hundred year old home, built by a trading shipping boat captain, has also been a home for his descendants, a girls school and is currently being restored as a hotel. A dead body is found in an enclosed wall. A body has also washed up on shore and Wesley must solve both “murders”. Interesting, and the story kept me awake…way past my bedtime.
October 19, 2023
Excellent offering in this great crime series. The title of this book refers to a skeleton that is found near an archaeological dig that Wes's friend Neil is working on. The skeleton of a young woman is found in a locked room - but is this a case of recent murder. Whilst Wes is investigating he is also called to investigate the death of a woman whose body is found in the sea nearby. Whilst as first it seems she may have fallen from a nearby cliff, it soon becomes clear that this is not an accidental death.
Wes and his colleagues have their hands full investigating these two cases alongside a violent robbery from a truck full of computers and the hunt for a missing man wanted in another case.
The pace is very good in this story, and I honestly didn't see the end coming
Wes and his colleagues have their hands full investigating these two cases alongside a violent robbery from a truck full of computers and the hunt for a missing man wanted in another case.
The pace is very good in this story, and I honestly didn't see the end coming
December 20, 2023
Well that was a rollercoaster , and one of the more enjoyable ones. I liked the idea of a skeleton in a room probably being a former pupil. I actually had a break in this series because I wanted to read more winter or Christmas books in December. That didn't last long, I read A Christmas Carol and tried "Antarctica" and some Christmas murder mystery but got so bored that I had to come back to Ellis.
I would never have guessed the culprit here, I had my suspicions on someone more obvious. And this taught me about "wreckings" which I'd never heard of being so heinous before.
I would never have guessed the culprit here, I had my suspicions on someone more obvious. And this taught me about "wreckings" which I'd never heard of being so heinous before.
August 5, 2025
This has a decent spread of crimes, from a historic walled up room with a skeleton - at a posh girls' school - to a series of computer thefts. There's also a body dragged in from the sea.
The police seem reassuringly normal and there isn't too much extraneous violence. I don't like the cleaning woman taking money for 'extras' and then getting pressured into enabling theft. There is a lot of unpleasant people but some ordinary folks to balance the story.
I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
The police seem reassuringly normal and there isn't too much extraneous violence. I don't like the cleaning woman taking money for 'extras' and then getting pressured into enabling theft. There is a lot of unpleasant people but some ordinary folks to balance the story.
I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
July 26, 2020
Initially, I gave a one star rating because it was not easy to get through chapter 1. There are a multitude of characters, several story threads that start and discontinue abruptly together with side details that disrupted my concentration. But after getting through that, the story is actually very good. The writing is reasonably focused although I skimmed and skipped a little now and then. All the threads come together very well. Yes, I recommend this book. Fully deserves a 5 star.
March 10, 2022
This was my first Kate Ellis and my first Wesley Peterson, even though it's actually 7th in the series.
I really enjoyed the way Kate unravels mysteries set both in a modern time frame and historically all at once. The way the stories intertwine and come to their conclusions had me hooked from the very beginning. Nothing was as I thought and no one was really who I thought they were. I was pleasantly bamboozled.
Can't wait to pick up another. Maybe even #1 this time!
I really enjoyed the way Kate unravels mysteries set both in a modern time frame and historically all at once. The way the stories intertwine and come to their conclusions had me hooked from the very beginning. Nothing was as I thought and no one was really who I thought they were. I was pleasantly bamboozled.
Can't wait to pick up another. Maybe even #1 this time!
October 31, 2023
I like this series and how the author flips between a present day crime and a historical one (complete with historical source!). However I also find the “telling not showing” writing style a bit grating. I wish Kate Ellis would demonstrate how characters feel through their actions instead of always narrating every little bit of their inner lives. It’s a lazy way to creat tension in a plot and I find myself rolling my eyes when I see it. Hoping it gets better in later books.
March 12, 2020
The plot of this novel was the most tangled of the series so far. Crimes and events from the 1770s, 1960s and the present day are all intertwined - shipwrecks, sealed rooms, cliff top murders - and all the characters are connected too. It's all quite complicated but everything is pleasingly untangled by the end and a very clever and cold-hearted 'modus operandi' is revealed.... Onto the next one!
April 4, 2020
Unclassico giallo molto gradevole. Seguamo le indagini di un "commissariato" di provincia Inglese alle prese con un furo , il ritrovamento di uno scheletro in una stanza murata ed un incidente/assassinio che si scoprirà essere solo uno di una lunga serie. Storie e personagi che si intrecciano in una trama interessante.
October 4, 2020
7th book in the series. A woman’s skeleton is found during renovation of Chadleigh Hall in Devon. Wesley’s archaeologist friend, Neil, is investigating a ship wreck from 1772. I love how the historical story ties into the present day story in the end. The question is: how old is the skeleton? Interesting characters and plot line. Looking forward to next book. Recommend to mystery lovers.
February 12, 2021
I am a little surprised that Kate Ellis is able to keep turning out good stories within the limits of her formula. As in the earlier books, there are contemporary murders and ones that happened centuries earlier. These crimes have similar motivations and methods. Insurance fraud sounds a little boring, but Kate Ellis builds interlocking complex stores around multiple frauds.
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