Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick

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...

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: www.denzilmeyrick.com

Review

‘Murder at Holly House’ is a new direction for Denzil as its set in the 1950s in a tiny village on the North Yorks Moors! Now I am a huge fan of Denzil’s and his DCI Daley books and I was very excited to hear about this book being released. It definitely met and exceeded all my expectations. I really am hoping that there will be a follow-up as I completely loved this beginning for DI Frank Grasby.

DI Frank Grasby makes a mess out everything - this time he has lost 17 thoroughbred horses! So he is packed off to the remote village of Elderby on the North York Moors in disgrace. But when a body is found stuffed up the chimney of the local Lords house, Grasby has to work out if it was an accident or murder? Soon blizzards kick in to isolate the village even more and when the body of the local Doctor’s husband is found Grasby is at his wits end. He soon begins to realise that everybody in Elderby has something to hide!

This was such a change in direction for Denzil and I thoroughly and utterly enjoyed it! I grew up in Scarborough and many a day trip was spent investigating the local villages and hiking the moorlands, so this was a nostalgic read for me location-wise. It meant I could visualise every scene in this book and it also gave me ‘Heartbeat’ vibes as well, which was one of my favourite programmes growing up.

This was a great cast of characters, with Grasby being a brilliant protagonist! I loved all his foibles, but he may come across as being inept at times but he actually is very shrewd and determined to do the right thing. His relationship with his father was one of the highlights for me. One of the most unique characters I have read this year has got to be Hetty Gaunt - a landlady, chef, and rationer of baths! I laughed out loud when it came to her scenes and that is very rare for me. All the characters well extremely well-formed and I look forward to learning more about them.

The story grabbed me from the start and I flew through this in one sitting! The plot was immersive and the pacing was superb. There are twists and turns, secrets and lies. All you really need for a romp in the snow!

Let me know if you pick this one up!