Crook o' Lune by E.C.R. Lorac

Crook o' Lune
by E.C.R. Lorac

ISBN-13: 9781728278537
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Released: July 11, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
It all began up at High Gimmerdale with the sheep-stealing, a hateful act in the shepherding fells above the bend in the Lune River―the Crook o' Lune. Then came the fire at Aikengill house and with the leaping of the flames, death, disorder, and dangerous gossip came to the quiet moorlands. Visiting his friends, the Hoggetts, while searching for some farmland to buy up ahead of his retirement, Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald's trip becomes a busman's holiday when he is drawn to investigate the deadly blaze and the deep-rooted motives behind the rising spate of crimes.


My Review:
Crook o' Lune is a mystery set in England that was published in 1953. The author wove in a lot of interesting setting details about the hills, the house, and the people. I suspect it would have been easier to solve this puzzle mystery if I'd written down all the 'who was doing what and when' clues. They became a muddle to keep track of by memory. I still correctly guessed whodunit based on other clues, but several suspects were possibilities until all of the clues were laid out at the end. Chief Inspector MacDonald knew how to gain the local's trust and get the information he needed to solve the mystery. He asked good questions and looked at angles that the local detective hadn't looked into. The characters were varied and interesting. There were only a few uses of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I would recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.