Dead Reckoning: A Yorkshire Mystery

Ackroyd and Thackeray #10

by Patricia Hall

Earnshaw's Mill, one of last remaining foundations of Bradfield's industrial heritage, harkening back to Yorkshire's glorious past, has seen better days. As the times have changed, the future of the Earnshaw mill has become even more uncertain. With impending staff cuts necessary to keep the mill alive, the union is unhappy and the workers are threatening to strike. Racial tensions are already high enough in Bradfield's Muslim community, so with the possibility of large unemployment in town looming, trouble is in the air.

When one of the Earnshaw children turns up dead, DCI Michael Thackeray heads up the investigation into his death. The victim, a major shareholder in the company, has left no will and the future of the mill has become even more unclear.

In the meantime, Thackeray's girlfriend, reporter Laura Ackroyd, is researching a story on the racial tensions in the Muslim community. After witnessing a hostile race-related mishap on the street, she wanted to take a closer look at the circumstances underlying Bradfield's racial problems. Then she learns about the case of Saira Khan, a gifted student from a Muslim family who has gone missing and her story takes off, plunging her right into the middle of an escalating crisis. As both industrial and race relations reach the boiling point, Patricia Hall is at the top of her game in this gripping and emotional novel.

Genres: Mystery

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Patricia Hall is the pen-name of journalist Maureen O'Connor. She was born and brought up in West Yorkshire, which is where she has chosen to set her acclaimed series of novels featuring reporter Laura Ackroyd and DCI Michael Thackeray. She is married, with two grown-up sons, and now lives in Oxford.

Reviews

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13266555

Well, another British writer to investigate further!

The novel takes place in a small village in Yorkshire, England. DCI Michael Thackery is called in when one of the family owners of the Earnshaw Mill is found dead. Meanwhile, Thackery's SO, reporter Laura Ackroyd, is investigating the racial unrest in the area, unrest that also appears to center on the mill.

Coming from different directions, the two investigate an overlapping story. At times the discoveries seem coincidental, too coincidental, given that there is no deliberate coordination between the two. I enjoyed the writing, the sense of place, the characters, and look forward to reading more about them. I am especially fond of books about remote areas with low populations, like this area.

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 2 out of 5]

My local library's crime section has tons of books by Patricia Hall and I keep passing them up. Last time I was in there I picked one up and it sounded ok, so I brought it home. This is from the middle of a long running series set in "Bradfield", a poorish city a short hop from Leeds - that's a very thinly disguised Bradford then. It's a male cop and girl reporter setup but so are some of my favourite crime series.

In the beginning I wasn't very into it, but it grew on me. There are some good in depth characters, some rather stereotyped ones, but no really cardboardy ones. The plot worked out ok - lots of race relations, worries about terrorism and failing textile mills - it rang pretty true to me.

A quick read, nothing very special but I'll probably pick another in the series up another time.

[Laurel]

I added this book to the "Whodunit? Murder, Misogyny, and Mayhem" syllabus because Hall does such a stellar job at depicting the racial prejudice/racism and sexism of every community depicted in the book. In addition, she shows how the clash of cultures intensifies when the economy worsens. Although some of my students are tempted to see only the repressive elements of the Pakistani-British community in the book, Hall's presentation of a town in conflict is much more nuanced than that. This book has launched good discussions on sexism in the workplace, covering, the (in)ability of a batterer to change, and honor killings. Personally, I am chagrined that each new book in this compelling series is not issued simultaneously in the U.K. and the U.S.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a mystery which I picked because it supposedly had stuff about striking workers. It did have that, but it was a minor plot line. The thing I liked about this book was the accents of the people, from what I assume is northern England. (I don't know my geography!) There was also stuff in the plot about Pakistani culture in the midst of British culture and how values may clash.

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book continues in the rather depressing vein of the last few books. If you are going to write about murder all the time your books need to have a few positives in the continuing characters lives. I can't see what the title has to do with the story, either.

[Linda Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

English mystery. Inspector Thackery and journalist Ackroyd solve the murder of a millowner's son.