This is a good police procedural set in a small village in England. I didn't realize it was part of a series, but had no problem picking this book up and enjoying it, it is a standalone mystery. I plan to read more from this series; I enjoyed the detectives and the writing style.

Murder at St. Anne's was a solid murder mystery, however, my rating was based on the characters and the flow of the story.

Characters:
The characters fell flat for me. I was not cheering for or against them and was extremely indifferent to them. I am a reader that needs to connect with the characters in some way regardless of who they are written to be. I love a really good villian, so the character does not necessarily have to be pleasant for me to appreciate them. The characters in Murder at St. Anne's were dull and very two dimensional. The conversations between them were mundain and seemed to be more of an inconvenience between characters as opposed to a growth or relationship development opportunity. Conversations between "old friends" seemed forced and not genuine in any way. Even news of a death did not seem to phase other characters which is something I need to feel in characters that I am reading.

Story Flow:
J.R. Ellis provided a good environment for this murder mystery. I appreciated the references to the scenery and the details in the churches. The paragraph flow was not as smooth and easy to read. I would sometimes lose focus during character conversations because the characters themselves did not seem invested in the conversations so why should I? The conversations also felt forced throughout the book, the characters did not seem like they wanted to be in the novel which made the story drag on. Again, the murder mystery aspect of the story was interesting enough, but I felt no connection to the events occuring and the transition from one sceen to another was sudden and did not transition nicely.

Overview:
I wanted to love this book, it seemed like a light and fun winter murder mystery, but the story seemed more religious to me than an actual story. I hope that makes sense. The religious aspect and the setting were more developed than the characters were. I felt like the focus could have been a little more balanced and a little more focus on the development of characters instead of short insights into their past woud have made things flow a little better for me.

A mystery that kept me reading and thinking

I enjoyed this book as I have the previous 6. Ellis provides food for thought as he develops the story and its characters. A group of church goers all in the frame yet who could have committed such a heinous act?
I enjoy Oldroyd’s genial yet astute nature and his relationships with his junior officers, partner and sister.
It’s always pleasant to visit Yorkshire again with the authors description of the picturesque scenery adding a delightful background to the story.
Bring on the next Oldroyd mystery!

I'm afraid I have to admit that I didn't get to the half before I decided to quit altogether. This has very little to do with the writing in itself, although I must say that characters were a bit flat, and especially dialogues were rather clunky.
I did not finish it because of the themes: the whole story revolves around the church and the misogyny and homophobia that still are very present with the congregation - at least in this book. As I'm not a churchgoer, I wouldn't know how it is in reality, but here I found it too affronting.

Another issue that I had was the very detailed descriptions of the hierarchy that are instilled in the church. I don't like it when procedurals emphasize the hierarchy structure of the police force, especially when full names and acronyms are used all the time, and police officers seem to think that their structure and person are above the "members of the public". The exact same sense of egotism is found here, as leaders of faith are feeling above their "flock". Let's just say that this pushes my buttons, and I just don't like being rattled all the time.

All in all, probably a very nice addition to the series, just not for me.
A sincere thanks to NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Murder at St Anne's - J. R. Ellis

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Winter, snow, murder—and a centuries-dead suspect.

In the chilly depths of a Yorkshire winter, a well-liked rector is found bludgeoned to death in her own church. With no sign of a murder weapon, local superstition quickly pins the blame on the ghost of a medieval monk believed to haunt the building…

This is the third book I have read in the series and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It really helps that these are set in my local area so I can picture the towns Ellis describes. Once again the plot is plagued with red herrings to mislead the reader right up to big reveal at the end.

Each book is an isolated case so it is possible to read this series in any order. With a slow plot, this book is an easy mystery to get lost in. Fans of mysteries should enjoy this series.

Rating: 4/5

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Murder at St Anne's is the 7th Yorkshire mystery featuring DCI Oldroyd by J. R. Ellis. Released 7th Dec 2021 on Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint, it's 284 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book and the rest of the series are currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This series, along with the ensemble cast of Oldroyd, his colleagues, and family as well as the countryside and settings in Yorkshire and environs are always solidly, dependably, engaging reads. In addition to the well constructed puzzles of the actual mysteries, the author has salient points to make about the nature of humanity (with all our foibles). Lead character Oldroyd himself is quietly intelligent and competent. I enjoy seeing his interactions with his colleagues and his family. His sister Alison features prominently in this installment, and it's always enlightening to see the interplay between the detective and his sister.

There's a convoluted and technical puzzle to the "locked room" aspect of the first murder since there are massive injuries not consistent with a hand-held blunt instrument and Oldroyd has to figure out the physics involved in the crime. Some of the descriptions were difficult for me to envision and I had to re-read the salient passages a couple times to sort of understand what was going on. I'm still not sure I buy it entirely, but fair play on the author, it is cleverly done and I'd never have thought of it in a million years.

Although this is the 7th book in the series, all of the individual mysteries are self contained and can reasonably be read in any order.

Four stars. Well written and worthwhile. Definitely a series for fans of modern British procedurals. This is also a good weekend-binge-worthy series with solid plotting, good characterizations, and satisfying denouements and resolutions.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Are there ghostly dealings afoot? On a cold snowy night, Clare is viciously murdered as others have been before at this age-old churchyard. While there are those who claim that a phantom is exacting his revenge for his own murder, the detectives on the case know that the killer is all too human. Who could possibly want the esteemed vicar dead?

I couldn't believe how quickly I was drawn into this book. Though it is the seventh in the series, this is the first Yorkshire Murder Mysteries story that I've read. And I have really been missing out. I can't tell you if it's the plotting, the characters themselves or the setting because they seamlessly form the ingredients to a book that fully captivates. All the elements combine to form a riveting story. Beyond the tale itself, is a thought-provoking study of prejudice and discrimination.

Although this is first and foremost a police procedural, it is not passionless or empty of emotion. The officers are thoughtful, caring people who are devoted to solving this crime. The reader gets a nice glimpse into their home lives as well as their interactions with each other. Their pool of suspects is a lively bunch of individuals, all with their own recognisable traits and personalities. It is this talent for sketching men and women that brings this book to life.

Highly recommended. Both fanciers of cosy mysteries and police procedurals will love Murder at St Anne's.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this Advance Reader Copy. As always, my opinions are my own - true and freely given.