Hello! Welcome to JuliaPalooza for my stop on the Blog Tour for Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick which was published on 9 November 2023
About the book
A village of secrets
It’s December 1952, and a dead stranger has been found lodged up the chimney of Holly House in the remote town of Elderby. Is he a simple thief, or a would-be killer? Either way, he wasn’t on anyone’s Christmas wish list.A mystery that can’t be solved
Inspector Frank Grasby is ordered to investigate. The victim of some unfortunate misunderstandings, he hopes this case will help clear his name. But as is often the way for Grasby, things most certainly don’t go according to plan.A Christmas to remember
Soon blizzards hit the North York Moors, cutting off the village from help, and the local doctor’s husband is found murdered. Grasby begins to realise that everyone in Elderby is hiding something – and if he can’t uncover the truth soon, the whole country will pay a dreadful price…
Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones
Next up in my seasonal reading is Murder at Holly House, a fun, snow-capped romp round the North Yorkshire moors. With two deaths to investigate, Frank Grasby also has to contend with two useless constables, a sergeant with narcolepsy and interference from the Secret Service.
I liked the set up of the book being a found manuscript and that it is very much written in the style of the time with an old-fashioned turn of phrase. Frank is a sardonic and irreverent narrator, with many a wry aside, particularly in his assumptions about what the future will or will not hold, that we, with the benefit of more recent knowledge can smile about (everybody having a screen that holds the wisdom of the ages will never catch on…!)
The book is very atmospheric, and Denzil Meyrick vividly brings to life the cold, bleak moors and the realities of a small northern village in the 1950s. Despite the name and the cover, the book isn’t particularly festive, although the snow and heavy weather play a prominent role in proceedings. The cast of supporting characters is well drawn and I was fond of both the determined Miss Daisy Dean and Frank’s intimidating landlady.
I did not guess where the story would go and I was pleased to see the door is left open for further extracts from Frank’s memoirs. Thank you to the publisher for my copy of Murder at Holly House and to Random Things Tours for my spot on the tour.
If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book:
Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones
About the author
Denzil Meyrick is from Campbeltown on the Kintyre Peninsula in Argyll. After studying politics, he enjoyed a varied career as a police officer, distillery manager, and director of several companies. He is the No.1 bestselling author of the DCI Daley series and is now an executive producer of a major TV adaptation of his books.
Denzil lives on Loch Lomondside in Scotland with his wife Fiona and cats. You can find him on Twitter @Lochlomonden, Facebook @DenzilMeyrickAuthor, or on his website: http://www.denzilmeyrick.com
About the Blog Tour
Please check out the rest of the great posts on the tour for Murder at Holly House:
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