A picturesque Yorkshire village.  The usual pub with characters and good food.  There are people here like everywhere.  Some think they are entitled because of their money or past and some want nothing more than to prove to them otherwise.  One such is a retired judge who holds grouse shoots.  He’s not well-liked, but is that a reason for murder?  Strangely, the murderer makes sure to be seen.  Highly unusual.
DCI Jim Oldroyd, along with his team, are told to wrap this up ASAP.  Oldroyd has a reputation for thinking outside of the box and into the psychology of the killer.  It looks like he’s mired in a lot of people who may have a reason to want to see the judge gone, but not enough to point to motive.  On top of that, what happened to the killer?  Everyone knew him, he’s disappeared.
Then the local shop keeper is killed; same circumstances, but what’s the connection?  While you follow DCI Oldroyd’s investigation and thought process, you will meet some interesting people, some suspects, some witnesses.  You are also treated to descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside which the author makes you want to go and see for yourself.  I have not read this series until this book but it makes me want to get into another one.  Author, John Ellis, brings personality to each character.  I enjoyed the investigation as it made me think right along with the DCI and his team.

Book setting makes you feel like you are there. Great visual details to transport you to the area. Good mystery with a great twist!

Having now finished The Nidderdale Murders, I've discovered that it is the fifth book in a series; however, it reads perfectly as a stand-alone.  I would put this one in the category of cozy mystery.  It takes place in a Yorkshire village where a group has gathered for a grouse hunting holiday on the estate of Alexander "Sandy" Fraser.  After a lavish dinner at a local inn, Sandy leaves for home but is stopped outside the inn and shot!  There's not much mystery about the 'who' because a barmaid witnesses the whole thing from a window in the inn.  The murderer is identified as Alan Green, a local handyman and gardener, but no one can figure out why he would have shot Fraser.  No one liked Fraser, but Alan Green appeared to have no real ties to the man.  Then again, Alan Green seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth.  The case is being investigated by DCI Jim Oldroyd and his team of two detective sergeants.  The three interview virtually everyone in the town, but still can't make sense of the crime.  Then, a local shopkeeper is murdered outside his shop.  Again the crime is witnessed by a local woman, and she quickly identifies the shooter.  Once again, the murder makes no sense to anyone in town who know both the victim and murderer, and once again, the murderer disappears completely.   Of course, Oldroyd eventually figures it all out with the help of William Shakespeare and Arthur Conan Doyle.  It's a crazy, but satisfying conclusion.

I would recommend The Nidderdale Murders to readers who enjoy British cozy mysteries.  For me, I found it slow reading.  It's not really my genre.  It is atmospheric and the characters are well developed.  It is also well written, but it felt too old-timey for me to really enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

I got in late in this series, this being my first book. It was written in a way that it was a great stand alone and I didn’t feel lost. The setting was beautifully described and I really enjoyed the cast of interesting characters. I will definitely be going back to the beginning of the series. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

This was a great book to read. I found myself in the setting (which was so beautifully described) and the characters' lives. Loved the banter 
and I didn't see the ending coming at all. Recommended! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this.

THE NIDDERDALE MURDERS takes readers to a small Yorkshire village where the shooting death of a former judge with a plethora of enemies brings DCI Jim Oldroyd and his team to investigate.  There is an eyewitness to the shooting but the culprit appears to have disappeared into thin air. A short time later another shotgun murder occurs and once again there is an eyewitness who can identify the assassin and once again, even with dogged and time consuming investigation, the culprit is nowhere to be found. 

It is a pleasure to see a mystery cracked through dogged investigative work and this smart police procedural more than delivers on this.  J. R. Ellis has provided an addictive, ferociously clever and well plotted tome encompassing all the best elements of the genre (wit, clues, twists, engaging characters and of course—murder). The final solution is one most readers will not see coming.

DCI Oldroyd and his investigators, the towns of Nidderdale and Niddergill and their residents are all characters who live on long after the book is closed.

Alexander “Sandy” Fraser is a prominent judge that moves from a big city to the small town of Nidderdale upon his retirement. His new property is expansive enough to hold grouse shooting events that are very popular with some but raises the ire of activists who wish to protect the birds and the environment.  After each day of grouse hunting Sandy hosts a gathering for the event participants at the local inn.  After one such outing as Sandy leaves from the inn he is shot in the chest and killed. His murder is witnessed and the killer is clearly identified but cannot be found. 
While Sandy is a rather pompous and unpleasant person that is behind on his payments to the inn, has run-ins with his neighbors, berates his employees at every turn and is generally disliked by all, no one seems to have a strong enough motive to kill him. When a local shop owner is murdered in almost the same manner a few days later authorities begin to suspect that the murders are not random and must have something in common. The investigation takes frequent twists and turns with so many characters that at times are difficult to keep straight. A good “who done it” mystery that will keep you guessing.

Murder in an English Village

It’s grouse hunting season and retired judge Sandy Fraser is running large, boisterous hunts on his grouse moor. Fraser is not well liked in the village of Nidderdale, but since he provides jobs and uses the local inn to cater the lunches and dinners during the hunt, the people put up with him. Then after one hunt, leaving the dinner at the Dog and Gun, the local inn, he’s shot in the parking lot. 

One of the inn employees peering out the window sees the shooting. The gunman looks directly at her and she recognizes the local handyman, Alan Green. It seems like an open and shut case, but the locals call in DCI Oldroyd. Since Fraser was a retired judge, they want the best man on the case. The case becomes problematic when Green can’t be found. Then another murder of a local shop owner happens with the same elements including the disappearance of the gunman. Now it’s become a case worthy of Oldroyd’s talents. 

I enjoyed this police procedural. Oldroyd is a likable character with all his quirks. His subordinates like him too which makes for happy reading. The setting is beautifully described. The author takes pains to bring you into the town and the surrounding area. It made me want to visit. 

The mystery is full of twists. It seems simple, but there are a myriad of suspects and minor characters. It makes it challenging to figure out the plot. If you enjoy English mysteries, this is a good one. 

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

This was a very enjoyable read. I found myself immersed in the setting (which was so beautifully described) and the characters' lives. Loved the banter between the detectives. The mystery was engrossing and I didn't see the ending coming at all. Recommended! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this.

The Nidderdale Murders is a murder mystery that’s filled with interesting characters and settings. J.R. Ellis created such a great escape in this book. The moorlands and sumptuous meals at the inn are so different to my way of life, and I felt completely transported. I had to look up some words. Happily, I dearly love to learn about new words, places, and professions. Jeroboams, sabs, and beaters? Sign me up! The side characters were a special treat, I could tell Ellis took great care crafting them.

After a day of recreational shooting gends with murder, Detective Chief Inspector is out on the case. It seems like an open and shut case, but of course there are twists.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries in the manner of the great Agatha Christie.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is actually the 5th book in a series, but the first of which I've read in that series, and absolutely loved it! I didn't feel as if I was missing anything between characters or plot, and I am already planning to grab the first of the previous books. 

In The Nidderdale Murders, Detective Oldroyd is sent to investigate an apparently open and shut case where a prominent local man was murdered, and there was even an eye witness! We follow Oldroyd and his fellow detectives as they try and to piece together this mystery -why did the main suspect potentially murder the victim, and where did they go? 

This one is more of a slow burn, but such a fun read. The author's ability to describe the scenes and portray the character's personalities keeps this moving along so well, all while giving us time to piece the mystery together.

I jumped into the middle of this series because I was selected to read it early from Netgalley. Now, I want to go back to the beginning of the series and start reading them.

I enjoyed all the characters in this book. Ellis had many red herrings, as anyone in the village could have committed the murders. All the characters had good motives to do the murders, and you really couldn't blame them if one of them was responsible for it.

Ellis wrote in a way that transported me to Yorkshire. I'm American and some of the language at first was hard to understand, as it was Yorkshire, but I got the hang of it. I could tell with reading this book that Ellis knows the Yorkshire area well. I could just tell as his description of the area literally made me feel as though I was walking along with the characters of the village.

I recommend this book. If you are like me and have never read this series, reading this out of order, really want matter. I think you will just want to start this series, as I do.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Kindle Version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the first that I’ve read n this series. I’ll be looking up the others. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. It reads like an old fashioned English murder mystery.

I really liked the mystery in this book. The story was slow-paced and very descriptive, which perhaps for a new reader in this series it stood out -  but a seasoned reader of this author would've appreciated. The plot got really interesting in the second half, and like most mystery novels, the climax and ending were more fast-paced than the whole rest of the book. This is greatly annoying because it takes me forever to start a new book because despite knowing what the story is about, it takes a lot to have to learn new characters and keep them straight in your head. Like I said, a lot of what I disliked in this book can be blamed on me reading this book first in the whole series and this was the 5th book. I really appreciated the main character, Jim Oldroyd, as he seems quite human in his perspective and experiences, not superior to all other cops in the world like how other authors choose to portray their main detectives in murder mysteries. Although those can be quite exciting and thrilling to read about as well. As a superhero fan, I can say with the utmost truth, Aloysius Pendergast is no less a superhero than any other. 
I really really liked what the mystery turn out to be as well. It was amazing the level of thinking and planning that went into this revenge plot that Wilson had cooked up, creating three distinct identities is no easy feat that's for sure. The fact that the MET had not informed the officers and detectives working on the Fraser murder case about their secret mission is quite reflective of real-life politics in the law enforcement agencies all around the world. The fact that Oldroyd said that there was no space for anyone's ego in law, just the determination to get the real criminals was so 4th wall that it seemed to echo the author's mind more than just a dialogue of a character; one that I agree wholeheartedly.
I really enjoyed the second half of the book, and if it had been on paper, I think I would have enjoyed it even more, but that's just personal taste and I'm grateful I got to read this ARC edition of this amazing book in this series!

Well, first the negative:  There were SO many characters, I kept getting them mixed up.  Also, I had a little trouble with the English jargon (even with as many times as I've been there), and that is certainly no fault of the author.

Positive: It was a good plot, great writing, and I liked the ending!

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for a review.

When a local man is murdered, there is an eyewitness to the shooting, however the shooter is not to be found. The inspectors look into it, and then it happens again. In each case, it was almost like the shooter wanted to be seen.
I had difficulty with this one at first. The language and topics are foreign to me, and made it difficult to get into the story. As it went on, it wasn't as confusing, and I was able to enjoy the story.

The Nidderdale Murders is the fifth of the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series but does very well as a stand-alone.  The characters are well-drawn with sufficient backstory for those of us who have come to the series at this point, but not overmuch so that long time readers will be bored.  I liked the interplay between the three police officers, who all seemed to be normal human beings unlike the current trend towards those who are self-destructive, or have addictive personalities.  And I think I’ve met some of the villagers – they all felt real.  The description of the village and dales was nicely done as well - its been many years since I was in that part of the world, but the details all seemed right and evocative of the place.  Since this is a police procedural, there are some bodies, of course, but no graphic violence or bloodletting.   A pleasant, easy read with enough twists and turns to keep you interested throughout.  I did object slightly to relying on a bit too much coincidence, but such things do happen, I suppose.  I enjoyed the book enough to consider reading more in the series.

Thanks to NetGallery, the publisher and author for a complimentary copy of this book to review

I have to give the author props in that I wasn't quite expecting the outcome. However, despite not being a very long book, it felt like it dragged at times. There were bits that felt long winded and almost rambling. The amount of references back to prior books was almost distracting. I get it. Another book dealt with caves. I also found it difficult to follow the story at times because there were so many characters. I couldn't keep them straight. All in all, it wasn't a bad story though.

Having just read the latest Kelly Porter story, I thought I'd like to stay in the North of England. Nidderdale in the Yorkshire Dales is the setting for this enjoyable mystery. After a grouse shoot & celebration dinner the owner of the grouse moor & retired judge is shot outside the hotel. The shooting is witnessed by an employee at the hotel, she saw the shooter clearly & can identify him. This should make things easy for  DCI Jim Oldroyd & his two other officers but things do not seem to be as clear cut as they seem.

This is part of a series but it is not one I'm familiar with, nor did it spoil my enjoyment of the story. The setting of the story was almost an extra character & I really liked Oldroyd. There were enough twists to make things interesting but not make it too confusing. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. It was a satisfying read.

This is the first book I have read from AuthorJ.R. Ellis and it most definitely will not be my last. I was drawn in to the amazing mystery from the beginning! Filled with murder and mystery, this exceptional novel is a guaranteed page turner! I am looking forward to reading more from this fabulous author!