In 1928, a Photography Society outing to Haworth to see the opening of the new Bronte Parsonage Museum has an unexpected outcome. One of the group does not go home alive. ‘A Snapshot of Murder’ by Frances Brody is tenth in the Kate Shackleton 1920s detective series, a satisfying story about jealousy, long lost love and betrayal.
Kate’s friend Carine Murchison runs a photographic studio with her boorish husband Tobias. Derek, friend of Kate’s niece Harriet, has a theory that Tobias wants his wife dead so he can inherit the studio. But the story is so much more complicated. Throw in a long lost lover returned, the wonderfully scratchy mother and daughter landladies of Ponden Hall near Haworth where the Photography Society stays, the flamboyant Rita who dresses in Indian silks and works in a pharmacy, and a London policeman and former love of Kate who arrives to investigate the murder, and there are plenty of options for arguments, jealousy, upsets and both rejected and reciprocated love. The echoes of the Brontes are welcome too, but Brody never allows this to dominate her story.
This is a character-led crime drama. Kate’s world is created with skill by Brody, I particularly enjoyed Mrs Sugden, Mr Sykes and the addition of Sergeant Dog who plays a key role. Kate investigates with a combination of skill learned from watching her policeman father and a sense of human nature of which Miss Marple would be proud.
The shadow of the Great War hangs over the story with everyone touched in some way by the conflict. Brody twists and turns our emotions, and her reveal of the facts, so our sympathy and dislike of characters is always in flow and the true stories of victim and perpetrator are never simple.
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I liked this but I didn’t like it as much as I like some of the books in other similar series. In my head, these are similar to Maisie Dobbs, but actually it’s not quite the same - it’s a bit gentler, a bit less gritty. They’re still well written, they just don’t have the same heft as Maisie or say Dandy Gilver.

The tenth Kate Shackleton murder mystery from Frances Brody. Our amateur sleuth is taking time out to indulge her passion of photography. Needless to say, however, murder is never far away and Kate becomes embroiled in a mystery once again. An enjoyable read and a strong addition to this long running series.

This is the tenth in Frances Brody’s series set in 1920s Yorkshire and featuring Kate Shackleton, a war widow who has drifted into the world of the private investigator. It is 1928 and Haworth Parsonage is just about to be given to the nation for use as a Brontë Museum. Kate and five of her fellow photographers set off on their society’s first ever outing to record the event and to take photographs of the surrounding countryside, especially that associated with Wuthering Heights. Among the party are troubled husband and wife, Carine and Tobias Murchison. Theirs is a marriage that should never really have come about and one which has been placed under severe pressure both by his drinking and the fact that Carine has never stopped loving Edward Chester, her fiancé who failed to return from the trenches. Also among the group are Derek Blondell, a teenager besotted by Carine, and Rita Rufus, another of Carine’s admirers. The photographers stay at Ponden Hall and it soon becomes clear that Tobias has history with the family there, who have no cause to welcome him into their home. Thus, when he is stabbed in the crush of spectators gathered to witness the handing over of the parsonage, there is no shortage of potential suspects.

Aided and abetted by the ever reliable Jim Sykes, her niece Harriet and the intrepid Sergeant Dog (otherwise known as failed bloodhound number two) Kate sets out to solve yet another mystery. Despite the fact that there are some really very nasty people populating this novel, the overall tone remains that associated with crime fiction of the Golden Age rather than of contemporary examples of the genre and although I don’t really get on with the books actually written in that era, I do enjoy Brody’s work; this is one of the better books in the series.

Excellent book! Loved the characters and it was a great storyline. I would highly recommend this book.

A Snapshot of Murder

I’ve enjoyed this series of novels from the beginning. I particularly like that they are set in the past in familiar places, so that you see Leeds, Wakefield or Haworth in a different way, with past overlaying the present

I am also fond of the range of recurring character, Kate Shackleton & Harriet, Mr Sykes, Mrs Sugden. Frances Brody is very good at telling us enough about the character so that we feel we k kw and like them, but also implying they have secrets and depths not yet revealed to us.

Mrs Shackleton’s most recent adventure is a strong one, set largely in Haworth as the Parsonage is donated to the Bronte Society and the Headingley Photography Society is staying having an outing. Unlike the snapshots the photographers take, few of the characters are black and white, and the the mystery may be less of who did it and why, but how did they. I enjoyed the ambivalence of both the murderer and the detective.

The Kate Shackleton mysteries by Frances Brody are going strong – this is the tenth in the series – so I was interested what it is about them which has proved so popular. Some of it will be the nicely complicated plots, full of murder, scandal and intrigue but I suspect that some of the popularity is because of the glorious backdrop to those plots. I’m not ashamed to admit that I watch certain tv shows (like Poldark, Death in Paradise or Midsomer Murders) because they are shot in beautiful settings – if the plot drags or becomes too far-fetched I’ve something pretty to look at – so I can understand why this could be the case with these books. The settings are all very definitely ‘Yorkshire’ but also varied: they range from Harrogate to the mill villages of West Yorkshire and from the Dales to the Yorkshire coast – anyone who knows Yorkshire will recognise scenes; those who have yet had the joy of visiting ‘God’s own county’ will find plenty of ideas for an itinerary.

A Snapshot of Murder opens in Headingley, Leeds, which isn’t a place I know hugely well apart from the area around St Michael’s Church and the Skyrack pub. Oddly enough, this is just where Kate Shackleton lives. The bulk of the book is then set in Howarth and Stanbury – villages I know well as they are just a few miles from my own home and popular tourist destinations because of their connection to the Brontë sisters – so I followed this story with particular interest. I also enjoy a bit of photography myself so the photography group plot was interesting – looking through a lens does certainly make you focus quite differently. The plot centres around Carine Murchison, a friend of Kate’s, and her fairly obnoxious husband Tobias: while the group are visiting Haworth (on the very weekend that the Parsonage first opened as a visitor attraction in August 1928) he is murdered. No-one will miss him but who killed him? Most of the group, and their hosts at Ponden Hall, have reason to want the man dead and we join Kate Shackleton as she delves deeper into their motives. Secrets are revealed about the realities of the Murchison’s marriage and their pasts and many suspects have to be eliminated from enquiries, including Kate’s young niece Harriet. Because we see all the angles (which are only gradually revealed to Kate) we are sure fairly early on who the killer is but, like a good episode of Columbo, this doesn’t distract from the telling of a good story.

Thank you Net Galley. A delightful cozy mystery from Ms. Brody. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading more by her, especially the early ones.

Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK for the review copy in exchange for honest review.

Kate has her work cut out for her this time. Away from home with a hostile environment and terrain makes for compelling reading. Love this series, will be lifetime fan.

Despite coming to this historical crime series relatively late they have become a firm fixture in my autumnal reading with something so appealing in going back to seemingly less complicated times but of course not neglecting the fact that some people are always going to be bumped off! The bonus with this series is that the murder is more or less of page and the reader can enjoy the mystery without needing to get themselves overly anxious about the killing bit. And so it is for A Snapshot of Murder, the tenth in the Kate Shackleton series.

The year is 1928 and the Brontës are becoming big business, so much so that a museum is opening in Haworth and it’s big news. Back at home Kate is indulging in her other passion than sleuthing as a member of The Headingley Photographic Society. The young lad Derek proposes a group outing and although, as always when a committee is involved, there is plenty of huffing and puffing about the donation to be made and the location to be visited they eventually set off for the opening of the museum with the hope that they will capture some fantastic pictures in the bargain. One thing to say for these novels is that Frances Brody really knows how to lay the groundwork for book and luring you into a time and place.

As might be expected no sooner have they arrived in the picturesque location than there is a murder! As it happens the victim happens to be the most disagreeable male character so we can swiftly move on with nary a tear shed. Even better there is an instant mystery as his wife Carine, also a member of the photographic society, has just discovered that her fiancé a man she believed to have died in WWI is actually alive and well and returned ‘home.’ It also hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that while Tobias Murchison was busy being disagreeable and boorish, young Derek had provided a bit of solace to Carine. The motives are stacked up, the opportunities catalogued and the local police predictably a little bit confused and so our intrepid sleuth Kate Shackleton is roped into the investigation.

As always with these books the chief protagonist comes over as a very capable woman. The setting may be many years ago but she is fairly modern in her outlook and not inclined to faints or vapours, or to be fair constantly underlining how difficult it is for women in society at the time. In fact I think I’d get on very well with Kate Shackleton who seems to have an abundance of intelligence and a fairly bright outlook on life when you take into consideration that she investigates the worst humanity can do to each other.

The settings are brilliantly done, with the link to the Brontë family and Wuthering Heights in particular the photographic theme lends itself so well to really setting the scene thereby conjuring up the much-loved book as well as setting the scene for murder in 1928!

As this is a series we meet some past characters including Kate’s bubbly niece Harriet but somehow unlike many other crime fiction series all the characters except those that take centre stage are more or less backdrops, so while it is nice to meet them the book really is focussed on the main players in the mystery itself.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to the publishers Little Brown Book Group, and the author Frances Brody for a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable trip to Brontë land in A Snapshot of Murder!

A snapshot of murder

Set in 1920’s Yorkshire, Mrs Kate Shackleton is known as an investigator in this murder mystery. She is off on a photography society trip to Haworth, the home of the Bronte’s. There during the trip, Mr Tobias Murchison, Carine’s boorish husband dies from a stab wound to the heart.

Here begins an investigation, was it Edward? Carine’s, back from the dead husband to be or Derek the young besotted photographer? Or one of the many suspects in this engrossing tale.

The first few chapters set the scene, giving background information on the characters, the area and the general way of life in the 20’s. The writing is very descriptive and you get a real feel of the lives of all concerned. Kate is a likeable character, calm and steady during all the turmoil and emotional scenes. I look forward to reading more in this series.



I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

This is book number ten in the ever popular Kate Shackleton murder mystery series. It is a nice gentle book featuring the amateur sleuth who investigates crimes and assists the police in some cases. Here the local photographic group, including Kate and her niece Harriet, take a trip to Bronte country to see the opening of the Bronte museum and hopefully take some momentous pictures. When one of their number is murdered suspicion falls on both the rest of the group and also some locals who had had dealings with the deceased in the past. The book is well written although a little slow in places, and the plot is easy to follow. There are lovely descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside, the characters are well formed and there is plenty of historical detail. Even though it was not difficult to guess the culprit there were plenty of suspects and false leads, and a few surprises at the end. Also included at the end of the book is a short story entitled "Kate Shackleton's First Case" which was also very enjoyable. Recommended!

I'm two minds about this book as I cannot decide whether I liked it or not.
I was expecting a historical mystery but this is a well written and entertaining historical fiction novel.
I really like Kate and description of the Yorkshire countryside.
The book is well written even if it's a bit slow. The cast of characters was interesting and the characters are well described.
The mystery part was a bit flat, it was not hard to understand who the culprit was.
It was the first book I read in this series and I'm curious to read the others to have a better understandment of the heroine and some references to the past.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for this ARC

I only discover Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton series recently, so I haven't been waiting too long for A Snapshot of Murder. I enjoyed it very much, although I'm not sure I would describe it as a murder mystery. It seemed fairly obvious very early on who the murderer was. I don't say that to criticise, however, as it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. Frances Brody's descriptive writing was excellent and I could clearly picture the Yorkshire countryside. Most of the characters were well-rounded too and the established ones fill out with each book. I say most because I am still irritated by Marcus Charles who makes another appearance in this novel. I'm not irritated by him as a character so much as by him as a creation. He rarely comes off the page for me and his acquaintanceship/friendship/relationship with Kate seems to be incidental to the development arc of the series. I'd really like some reason for his appearances.

A novel set at the time of the opening of the Bronte museum? The characters from a local photography society who want to see it, and take pictures of the area made famous in the Bronte novels? Well that was me sold.

The setting and era is the star of the show as everything takes place fully immersed in this literary landscape. The Bronte parsonage opens its doors and we see the excitement of what that meant at the time, what a big deal it was.

And now to the murder case of course! - why should seven photographers end up at in Bronte country, only to find that six return? It’s a good mystery from the start and even though I guessed the reveal, it’s more about the journey in the characters and of course Kate Shackleton our famous detective, getting there. A bit like Columbo in many respects and I loved it all the more for that.

What with the interest in the photography group, the wild moors directly from Wuthering Heights and the historical intrigue from the start, this is a fine mystery with a particularly apt title.

There’s a whole cast of characters to enjoy and hearing their POVs added to Kate’s voice and narration. They’re always so colorful in Frances’ books and I can always picture them in my mind.

A jaunt around the Bronte countryside, looking at Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall brought the opening of the Bronte parsonage to life. It makes you realise how important this place is not just for readers but historians and also for photographers.

A snapshot of murder has many tones, shades and mysteries making up the big picture.

Cosy historical mysteries are back in fashion, and my goodness, does that make me happy. I love the classics of 1930s crime — Dorothy Sayers and Ngaio Marsh are my favourites — and I went into raptures a couple of years back when publishers began reprinting other books of that era.

The cosy historical was, I suppose, the next logical step, and I can’t get too many of them. A Snapshot of Murder is the tenth in the Kate Shackleton series by Frances Brody, and it’s the second I’ve read. (You don’t need to read them in order, which is fine by me.) Set in the 1920s, the books feature war widow Kate Shackleton, who runs an investigative agency.

In A Snapshot of Murder, members of the local camera club (Kate lives in Leeds) set off to Haworth, for the opening of the Bronte Parsonage Museum…but one of them doesn’t make it home alive. It’s difficult to review crime novels without giving spoilers, so I won’t say any more, other than that there were twists and turns aplenty and a satisfying conclusion (though there was one loose end left untied, which still troubles me a little).

There was a huge amount to love about the book. In particular, I adored the settings and the historical detail. I don’t know the Haworth area well, I’ve been there recently enough to recognise many of the places, but even if I hadn’t the description would have given me a clear idea of what it’s like. And the author used real locations, too, so that I could follow the action on the map. (Yes, I like to do that when I’m reading.)

I mostly liked the characterisation, though I did have a problem wth Kate herself — odd, because although there are several points of view, she’s the only one in first person. This ought to make her more accessible, but somehow it doesn’t. As in the previous book I read, I found myself failing to warm to her, or sense any emotional engagement, even when she looked at photographs of her late husband, or came face-to-face with the man whose marriage proposal she had previously turned down.

I like to live the story with my protagonist, especially if they’re written in first person, and I felt that I was always looking at Kate from the outside. I suspect that may be what the author intends, because scenes from the point of view of others — unhappy wife Carine, for example, and Kate’s uber-enthusiastic niece Harriet — were much more engaging. But I wish I’d warmed to Kate rather more than I did.

I think it was this, together with the short sentences which gave the whole book a slightly clipped tone, that hold me back from raving about it. That’s a personal view, of course, and in all other ways it was a terrific, clever and engaging book. I’ll certainly be reading more of the series.

This book seriously disappointed me due to the fact that mostly is not well written, it seems to me in serious need of a good editing. The story is flat and boring and the culprit was pretty clear to me since the beginning, also because the introduction lasts fast half of the story if not more....I do not know what happened because I really like Kate but this novel is a failure.

Questo libro mi ha proprio deluso, prima di tutto perchè scritto male e sembra aver decisamente bisogno di un buon editing, inoltre la storia é piatta e noiosa, il colpevole chiaro dall'inizio e l'introduzione dura quasi metá del libro se non di piú....Non so bene cosa sia successo, anche perché di solito le storie di Kate mi piacciono molto, ma questo libro é un totale fallimento.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for an advance copy of A Snapshot of Murder, the tenth novel to feature private detective Kate Shackleton, set in 1928.

The Headingley Photographic Society decides on an outing to Haworth to celebrate the opening of the Brontë museum. A group of seven stay at nearby Ponden Hall but only six survive the celebration. Kate is soon on the case but with the murder victim, Tobias Murchison, being most unlikeable there is no shortage of suspects or motives.

I enjoyed A Snapshot of Murder which is a twisted tale of murder, deceit, lies, betrayal and most other emotions. I don’t think that the perpetrator is any big secret given events early in the novel so the mystery lies more in why and how and the interest in the tangled emotions and secrets gradually uncovered as the novel progresses. The novel is mostly told from Kate’s first person point of view with third person descriptions of other characters’ actions. On the whole this approach works well although it can be repetitive as Kate interprets and digests what the reader already knows. I like the pacing of the novel with the first few chapters devoted to a thorough scene setting which makes sure the reader is well informed of the situation before the murder and thus able to be surprised by the steady flow of unexpected reveals which follows.

I like Kate Shackleton as a protagonist. She is smart, sensible and level headed and, in this novel, an oasis of calm in a sea of turbulent emotions. She appears to have had a difficult past but having only read one previous novel in the series I’m not equipped to expand on this. It does not, however, seem to affect her in any serious way. The other characters are developed as much as required for the plot with some being more convincing than others.

I can’t say that I got a good sense of the era from the novel apart from a few details of the prevailing fashion. Ms Brody is much stronger on the location. I don’t know the area and have to admit to it being over 40 years since I read Wuthering Heights but the wildness and desolation come over loud and clear.

A Snapshot of Murder is a good read.