A Cursed Inheritance by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The brutal massacre of the Harford family at Potwoolstan Hall in 1985 shocked the country and passed into local folklore. Now, twenty years later, a journalist researching the case has been murdered and the horror is reawakened.

DI Wesley Peterson is drawn into the dark history of Potwoolstan Hall as he begins to investigate the murder. The sixteenth-century hall, which is now a New Age healing centre, is reputed to be cursed because of the crimes of its builder and it seems that this inheritance of evil lives on.

As more people start to die in violent circumstances, DI Wesley Peterson is faced with his most disturbing case yet.

DI Wesley Peterson and his team are investigating the murder of a journalist killed while researching a book about a twenty year old massacre at an old stately family home. The murders had been seemingly solved those two decades ago, but with the death of this journalist new questions are being asked and there seems to be more than a few holes in the original investigation. When more people connected to this old case begin to die, Wesley will have his work cut out for him.

I found this to be an interesting and at times gripping police procedural set in rural England. While it is well into the series I feel the book stands well on its own and readers can fairly easily pick it up and thoroughly enjoy it. There are a number of connections between Wesley and his team members, as well as his archaeologist friend, Neil. While Neil is overseas on a dig and doesn’t have quite his usual equal shine in the spotlight, I didn’t mind Neil taking a slight back seat in this one story.

While the plot was complicated and quite well woven, I did manage to guess one of the major plot twists fairly early on which I frequently can’t do. There was still plenty left unanswered to me though and this didn’t spoil any of the really big reveals.

While I did enjoy the plot and the complexities there, I didn’t really like how there was some drama with Wesley in his marriage. While this tension between Welsey and his wife, Pam, has been slowly percolating in the background for a few books – along with Wesley’s unspoken but seemingly ever-present minor feelings for a co-worker – I did get the impression that these more complicated romantic aspects to the overall plot might be coming to a head sometime soon. There seemed in particular a steadily growing romance between Pam and Wesley’s good friend Neil and I have a strong suspicion this might grow murky – or even disastrous – in the coming few books.

Since this is primarily a mystery/suspense style of story with strong historical/archaeology overtones I don’t really read it wanting or expecting romance or marriage/affair woes and so I’ve been trying to skim over this, but it really does appear to be taking more of a front seat. I’m hoping this all blows over soon and the full focus can return to the mystery and archaeology.

Overall, this is a highly enjoyable British police procedural mystery novel and the series as a whole I really do enjoy. The mystery in this book is quite well written but the relationship drama soured me a little for this particular book so I’m glad it’s well into the series and isn’t enough to put me off too much. An enjoyable read but I certainly don’t feel it’s the best so far that I’ve read by this author.

The Marriage Hearse by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A young woman is found strangled hours before her wedding. DI Wesley Peterson discovers that Kirsten Harbourn was being pursued by an obsessed stalker and had dark secrets her fiancé knew nothing about.

But Kirsten’s wasn’t the only wedding planned to take place that day in South Devon. A couple made their wedding vows at Morbary registry office and a few days later the groom is found dead in a seaside hotel.

As Wesley examines the links between the cases, the skeleton of a young bride is discovered in a field once owned by the family of an Elizabethan playwright. Ralph Strong’s play, The Fair Wife of Padua, is soon to be performed for the first time in four hundred years.

Is the bloodthirsty drama a confession to the historic murder? And can it reveal anything about the recent killings Wesley must solve?

When a young woman is found brutally strangled on the morning of her wedding day, DI Wesley Peterson and his team immediately begin to investigate the tragic crime. But soon a link is found between the victim and another murder – but is it the same murderer or is something else linking these crimes? Can Wesley and his team solve how these puzzles are connected.

I found this to be an interesting and well written British police procedural. As always there is a strong link to Wes’ best friend – archaeologist Dr Neil Watson – but I was pleased that this time the bones they had uncovered were hundreds of years old. I really enjoyed how the two modern crimes were clearly linked but it wasn’t a simple matter to work out how or why, this gave the puzzles a depth of complexity that I quite enjoyed without making it seem impossible.

There is quite a bit of character development in this book. For the last two or three books there has been a brewing situation with Wesley’s wife, Pam, that I haven’t been enjoying and that has finally come to a head in this book. I admit the development has really seriously soured me on Pam’s character – but it has been brewing and forecast for such a long time now I can’t really feel it should come as a surprise to any of the readers. That didn’t make me like the development – nor do I feel even a small bit of empathy for Pam at all. I have a feeling for the rest of the series it will be difficult for me to enjoy her character like I used to – regardless of how the consequences of this action play out. Other readers might be a lot more forgiving and empathetic, but speaking personally I’m not sure I’ll be able to overlook this from her character.

Aside from that development, the rest of the cast continue along their merry way. I am delighted that Neil is finally maturing a little bit but still managing to keep his slightly rootless wanderings. I also am cautiously optimistic about DCI Heffernan dipping a toe back into the dating pool once again.

I feel readers who pick this up fresh should thoroughly enjoy the murder mystery as well as the historical/archaeological parts to the plot. I do feel that some of the finer elements of the various character developments and interactions might not have as much meaning to readers who haven’t read a few of the previous books in this series – but I do strongly feel the book can still be greatly enjoyed even without any prior knowledge of the characters.

A well plotted and interesting British police procedural book with a strong dollop of archaeology to it.

A Painted Doom by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Teenager Lewis Hoxworthy discovers a disturbing painting in a medieval barn; a find which excites archaeologist Neil Watson, who is excavating an ancient manor house nearby.

But when a man is found shot through the head in Lewis’s father’s field and Lewis himself goes missing, it is Neil’s friend, Detective Inspector Wesley Peterson, who faces one of his most intriguing cases yet.

It seems that the Devon village of Derenham is full of secrets, both ancient and modern. As Neil uncovers the story of Derenham’s medieval past, it becomes clear that the Doom, a 500-year-old painting of hell and judgement, holds the key to the mystery. And as events reach a terrifying climax, Wesley has to act swiftly if he is to save a young life . . .

Newly promoted DI Wesley Peterson is enjoying a rare slow period, relishing the chance to catch his breath before the tourist season begins once again. Only the peace is shattered when ex-rock star Jonny Shellmer is found shot in the head in a farmers field. When a local teenage boy disappears – the son of the farmer whose field the rocker was found dead in Wesley and his team need to sort out what might really be going on in the small village.

This is the sixth book in the DI Wesley Peterson series and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the British mystery series. While the plot and mystery can certainly be easily read as a stand alone – and there is no cliffhanger or dangling threads to deter readers picking this book up by itself – I must admit some of the relationships between the police team, and Wesley and his wife, does have some aspect of history to it and so readers should be aware they might miss a few of the smaller points in these respects.

That said I felt the plot itself was very well handled and I really enjoyed it. Complicated enough I didn’t guess what was happening straight away, but not so convoluted I got lost, I felt he author had a really good balance in this book. I admit some of the archaeology took a bit of a back seat this time around in the story but that didn’t bother me because the mystery part to the plot really was larger in this book and so it didn’t feel like anything was being padded out or embellished a little too much.

A really strong series and a great British police procedural this is a great book and an author I am definitely addicted to.