This feature is in association with NetGalley.
The Body in the Dales, J R Ellis
Thanks to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Body in the Dales by J R Ellis.
I really enjoyed the setting of this novel. As an adopted Yorkshire lass, I have some idea how DS Carter feels, moving to the county from a big city.
The topic appealed to me too. I’ve always had an armchair interest in potholing, so this story enabled me to experience the subject in greater depth – albeit still from the comfort of my own home.
I found the story to be quite repetitive. Whatever the team found out was repeated every time someone new was brought in. And I wanted to skim-read these parts. I almost gave up reading, too, at once point. but I’m glad I soldiered on.
Another thing that bothered me was the character confusion. There were so many characters with similar sounding names – Alan, Alice, Amy, Andy, Angela, Anne … there’s a Carter and a Cartwright and there’s a Watson and a Watkins. We also had a Tom and a Tim and a Jim! And also, the same character was using different names for the same other character – for example, Oldroyd refers to the DS as both Andy and Carter, so it wasn’t always clear who he was referring to.
And finally, there was too much head-hopping for me, too many viewpoint changes – within the same paragraph at times.
But it’s a good tale, even if there are so many crimes wrapped up right at the end.
PS When I logged on to NetGalley to retrieve this book for review, I discovered I’ve been awarded a new badge! Top reviewer! Not bad, eh? 😉
