The Whitby Murders

Written by J. R. Ellis

Narrated by Michael Page

A murder with three witnesses. But one of them doesn’t believe what she saw…

Halloween, Whitby. DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise is in town with friends for a goth festival. But their visit to an escape room ends in bloody murder when one of the group stabs his girlfriend and flees the scene. It’s a crime with three witnesses—but Louise refuses to take what she saw at face value.

Oldroyd and DS Carter are called in to solve the case, assisted from the sidelines by Louise. But the closer they investigate, the more complex the web of deceit appears. This is no straightforward crime of passion.

With a violent murderer on the loose, it’s only a matter of time before they strike again. And this time it’s personal. Oldroyd must expose the truth, protect his daughter and stop the horror before it’s too late.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: May 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781713594321

J. R. Ellis

John R. Ellis has lived in Yorkshire for most of his life and has spent many years exploring Yorkshire’s diverse landscapes, history, language and communities. He recently retired after a career in teaching, mostly in further education in the Leeds area. In addition to the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series, he writes poetry, ghost stories and biography. He has completed a screenplay about the last years of the poet Edward Thomas and a work of faction about the extraordinary life of his Irish mother-in-law. He is currently working on his memoirs of growing up in a working-class area of Huddersfield in the 1950s and 1960s.

Reviews for The Whitby Murders

[David Finlayson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another solid story and well produced.
Well worth the time !!!

[Karen Coad · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This one was too predictable from the outset. Others in the series have been better.

[Laurel Girard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Would have given it 5 stars but, I have to admit, it annoys me how Stephanie (a police officer) is in charge of Oldroyd’s diet, and Andrew’s alchohol consumption. Aren’t these 2responsible Police Officers capable of monitoring their own dietary consumption? Stephanie is not their boss, or for that matter, their mother. Plus, why are female employees expected to do things that any male officer could do competently?

[Cia Leest · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

For me it's hard to rate this series. The stories are boring, the characters one dimensional, the narrator makes every woman sound like a squeaking idiot. But I would absolutely recommend it to all who use audiobooks to fall asleep at night.

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As a tourist, I've always enjoyed my visits to Whitby, and this crime fiction visit evoked great memories.Bram Stoker created Dracula in the town of Whitby and apparently it has become the home of Goth Festivals.This story comes very close to home for Jim Olryd and his team when his daughter witnesses one of her friends murdered in an "escape room". Louise feels that there is something unbelievable about what she has seen, although her girlfriend is undoubtedly dead. She contacts her father and he arranges to come to Whitby to assist in the investigation. I think in reality Olroyd would seem to have a "conflict of interest" and not be allowed to be involved.Like Louise, Jim Olroyd finds the scenario hard to take at face value, particularly when the murderer is still at large.There are a number of side plots carefully woven into the story: plagiarism in university courses, deception in the jewellery business centred around Whitby jet, stolen art works, tourist activities.I did think there were a couple of unnecessarily complicated scenarios, such as the duplicate sarcophagi which I found it hard to see the point of. I also thought the author may have changed his mind about the motivation for the murders, or were they just red herrings?Overall though, I found it a very satisfying read.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Louise Oldroyd and her friends are attending the Whitby Goth Weekend. When experiencing an escape room puzzle one of the group stabs another. She calls on her father DCI Jim Oldroyd for help. Former colleague D.I. Alice Granger welcomes the help of his team.
I found the group of people annoying, and didn't care for the characters of the police or their interactions and dialogue. Other stories in the series have been better.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[jfe16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review of eBookWhen a group of friends, including Detective Chief Inspector Jim Oldroyd’s daughter, Louise, head for an escape room as part of their participation in Whitby’s Goth festival, two of the group begin arguing. Suddenly, Dominic stabs Andrea and runs away; the young woman dies in Ben’s arms while Louise and Maggie look on in horror.Why did Dom murder Andrea? And when will it become clear that, although three people witnessed a murder, nothing is as it seems?Sixth in the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries series, “The Whitby Murders” takes what, at first, appears to be a straightforward event and creates a complex murder mystery that changes everything the readers think they know about what happened in the escape room. Believable characters populate the story that is set with a unique setting in a Goth festival, giving the story an eerie feel that serves as an undercurrent throughout the narrative. The sense of uneasiness keeps the reader off-balance and adds to the captivating mystery. As the investigation takes some unexpected turns, the case becomes more and more complex, pulling the reader into the telling of the tale and keeping the pages turning. Astute readers will identify the murderer before the surprising reveal late in the story, but this will in no way detract from the intriguing tale. Readers should expect to be captivated by the unfolding mystery until they’ve turned the final page.Recommended. I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program

[sandra_wagner8wright · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Whitby Murders. The setting of Whitby Murders is one I’m very familiar with through my research on Whitby Abbey. I could literally picture myself at the sites visited by the characters. The story takes place during Goth Week, a bi-annual attraction for all activities and costumes relating to Goth. The murder seems an open and shut case. Unhappy with the police selection of the most likely suspect, DCI Oldroyd’s daughter brings her father onto the case. Enjoyable read.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

England, law-enforcement, procedural, murder, murder-investigation, red-herrings, family-dynamics, friendship, due-diligence*****Sleight of hand, but where's the proof. DCI Jim Oldroyd's daughter is present when a good friend of hers (and several others in attendance) is stabbed while at an amusement. She doesn't feel right about it and calls Oldroyd who gets permission to go outside of his patch and finds himself working with someone who has positive memories of him mentoring her. But there's a lot of inconsistencies in what appears to be an open and shut case, so there's plenty of police work to do. Great plot with very clear characters. Finest kind!I requested and received a free ebook copy from Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley. Thank you!