The Whitby Murders
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- Create Date：2021-05-14 00:51:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：J.R. Ellis
- ISBN：1542017467
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Vanessa Powell
，
Another great read， although I did find it slow in parts。 You can read this as part 6 of the series or on its own if you haven’t read the previous ones。
Isabel
，
During the Goth festival in Whitby a group of friends visit a Dracula themed escape room that ends in one of the friends stabbing his girlfriend。 A crime of passion。 With three witnesses。 But Louise Oldroyd isn't convinced it's that simple and neither is her father DCI Jim Oldroyd。 As the investigation progresses， the more complex the web of deceit appears but Oldroyd is determined to get to the truth。。。I was drawn to this book by the plot and the fact that it is set in Whitby， somewhere I'm sli During the Goth festival in Whitby a group of friends visit a Dracula themed escape room that ends in one of the friends stabbing his girlfriend。 A crime of passion。 With three witnesses。 But Louise Oldroyd isn't convinced it's that simple and neither is her father DCI Jim Oldroyd。 As the investigation progresses， the more complex the web of deceit appears but Oldroyd is determined to get to the truth。。。I was drawn to this book by the plot and the fact that it is set in Whitby， somewhere I'm slightly familiar with。 I've not read any of the previous books in this series but I didn't feel that I needed to， it was still easy to follow。I was immediately hooked by the intricate case and that it was not as simple as it would first appear。 I had my suspicions of 'who' but no the 'why' so it was still a very enjoyable read， especially the last 30% when everything started to come together。 I did occasionally feel like there was a lot of detail and extras happening that I was struggling to connect or drew away from the plot。 But it ended up being a solution that made sense and didn't feel like it was out of the blue， you start to see the clues that were there throughout the book。 I would highly recommend。 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for a review。 。。。more
Michael Smith
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I had read the first two of Ellis’s “Yorkshire Murder Mystery” series， and they were pretty good， especially for a first-time novelist。 But this is the sixth one installment， which came as an ARE， so I’ve skipped three books -- and I honestly don’t quite know what to make of it。 By the time an author gets this far into a continuing series， one expects a smoother style， the result of experience， right？ But he had that already with his first book。 And in certain ways， this one reads like it might I had read the first two of Ellis’s “Yorkshire Murder Mystery” series， and they were pretty good， especially for a first-time novelist。 But this is the sixth one installment， which came as an ARE， so I’ve skipped three books -- and I honestly don’t quite know what to make of it。 By the time an author gets this far into a continuing series， one expects a smoother style， the result of experience， right？ But he had that already with his first book。 And in certain ways， this one reads like it might have been his debut work。The story this time is set in Whitby， the small， ancient port town in north Yorkshire， which is famous both for its 7th Century abbey and as the location of much of the action in Bram Stoker’s Dracula。 In fact， a number of British literary figures spent time in Whitby， and the town has capitalized on his fame in that regard by hosting the Whitby Goth Weekend twice every year， where aficionados of Goth and steampunk culture come to dress up and do their thing。 And that’s the background for the murder witnessed by Louise， daughter of DCI Jim Oldroyd， head of CID at Harrogate， as one of her best friends stabs another of her best friends in a local “escape room。”It all seems very straightforward to the rest of the shocked group of young people， all of whom have come up from London for the festivities， and also to Defective Inspector Granger of Whitby。 But something it all feels wrong to Louise， so she calls Dad and begs him to come over to Whitby and look into things， even though it’s decidedly not his patch。 Granger， however， had be trained by Oldroyd and is delighted to be able to work with him again， so Dad is there like a shot。 And the plot thickens， and thickens， and thickens again， with more than a few herrings strewn redly about。It’s not the plot that’s the problem， though。 It’s the way DCI Oldroyd， who has vast experience and a sterling reputation， seems to nearly lose it at numerous pints in the investigation。 He’s practically in tears every time he thinks about his （grown） daughter involved in a murder case。 That sort of reaction is simply not credible for a senior copper。 He would have developed a much tougher shell than that， even when family is involved， or he would never have risen so high。There are also assorted problems with the author’s narrative choices， as when， during the “knocking on doors and talking to people” phase of the investigation， he describes what each of Oldroyd’s team is doing -- and then has them repeat， in detail， to their boss what they’ve found out （and which the reader has just read a few pages earlier） -- and then has them repeat it all again as they compare notes among themselves。 That’s a classic novice’s error， and one Ellis avoided in his first two books。 So why does he commit it now？ It’s a puzzle。 This is a pretty good story with a nicely constructed plot， but the author is in need of a sit-down with his editor。 。。。more
Kirsty
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The Whitby Murders - J。 R。 EllisI was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Amazon Publishing and Netgalley。 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 The Whitby Murders - J。 R。 EllisI was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Amazon Publishing and Netgalley。 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。The Whitby Murders has an intricate plot with a lot of misdirection。 After reading， the Nidderdale Murders （Book 5 in the series） I thought that I would be able to determine the murderer this time， I was wrong！This is a fast-paced mystery， with a very easy to follow plot。 If you are new to the series， there is not much character development as this is done over the series but I don’t think that this detracts from the plot。Rating 4/5 。。。more
Scilla
，
Louise Oldroyd is in Whitby with four friends for the Whitby Goth weekend。 They were wearing costumes as they went to a locked room place。 They make it out of the first room into the second， and hear Andrea shout "How dare you！" to her boyfriend Dom。 He produces a knife， lunges at her， and runs out the emergency exit。 Louise's frien Ben runs to help Andrea as Louise follows Dom and can't see where he disappeared to。 They call 911， but Andrea is dead before the police come。Louise calls her father Louise Oldroyd is in Whitby with four friends for the Whitby Goth weekend。 They were wearing costumes as they went to a locked room place。 They make it out of the first room into the second， and hear Andrea shout "How dare you！" to her boyfriend Dom。 He produces a knife， lunges at her， and runs out the emergency exit。 Louise's frien Ben runs to help Andrea as Louise follows Dom and can't see where he disappeared to。 They call 911， but Andrea is dead before the police come。Louise calls her father， DCI Jim Oldroyd， saying that something doesn't seem to be the way it looks。 Oldroyd comes to Whitby with DCS Steph Walker。 They go to work with the local Chief， Alice Granger， who trained with Oldroyd and is happy to have their help。 。。。more
Gaynor Williams
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Thanks to #NetGalley the publisher Amazon Publishing UK and the author J R Ellis for providing me with a digital ARC #TheWhitbyMurders in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way。 This is the first book by J R Ellis that I have read and I look forward to reading more by this author。 This book is the 6th in a series and we follow DCI Oldroyd to Whitby where his daughter and her friends are in an Escape Room and see one of their group murdered。 This book Thanks to #NetGalley the publisher Amazon Publishing UK and the author J R Ellis for providing me with a digital ARC #TheWhitbyMurders in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way。 This is the first book by J R Ellis that I have read and I look forward to reading more by this author。 This book is the 6th in a series and we follow DCI Oldroyd to Whitby where his daughter and her friends are in an Escape Room and see one of their group murdered。 This book comes highly recommended。 。。。more
Jackie M
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The Whitby Murders by J。 R。 Ellis。 Yorkshire Murder Mystery #6。 Amazon Publishing UK， 2021。Friday evening plans for Louise and her London friends， in Whitby for Goth Weekend， include dressing in Dracula-related costumes and solving escape room puzzles。 When one runs off after stabbing his girlfriend in front of the others， she asks her DCI father to help。This book is my first experience with the DCI Oldfield and the Yorkshire Murder series， perhaps why I found character development insufficient The Whitby Murders by J。 R。 Ellis。 Yorkshire Murder Mystery #6。 Amazon Publishing UK， 2021。Friday evening plans for Louise and her London friends， in Whitby for Goth Weekend， include dressing in Dracula-related costumes and solving escape room puzzles。 When one runs off after stabbing his girlfriend in front of the others， she asks her DCI father to help。This book is my first experience with the DCI Oldfield and the Yorkshire Murder series， perhaps why I found character development insufficient to really get to know and engage with any of them。 At times I found the writing awkward。 Overall， I enjoyed the story。 The Whitby location and Goth Weekend setting is perfect and well described。 The plot’s red herrings fooled me along the way to an ending that I did not see coming。 Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Whitby Murders for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 #TheWhitbyMurders #NetGalley 。。。more
zoe Hitchen
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An enjoyable， quick read！ I am a fan of the DCI Oldroyd series and this book doesn’t disappoint。The story is set in Whitby ， and the murders take place during the famous Goth weekend。DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise is visiting Whitby with a group of friends and they visit an escape room。 During their visit the group witness one of their friends seemingly stab and kill his girlfriend。 It is seems a clear cut case， or is it as straightforward as it appears ？ I enjoy J。R Ellis’ style of writing i An enjoyable， quick read！ I am a fan of the DCI Oldroyd series and this book doesn’t disappoint。The story is set in Whitby ， and the murders take place during the famous Goth weekend。DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise is visiting Whitby with a group of friends and they visit an escape room。 During their visit the group witness one of their friends seemingly stab and kill his girlfriend。 It is seems a clear cut case， or is it as straightforward as it appears ？ I enjoy J。R Ellis’ style of writing it’s easy to follow and and entertaining。 The characters are affable and genuine in their nature， the book is a sound police procedural and the Whitby setting finishes it off perfectly 。 Highly recommended。！Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK。 。。。more
Tori Cretton
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The synopsis of this book caught my attention as I'm an escape room lover myself。 However， I was not a huge fan of this book。 I felt like whenever I sat down to read it I had to force myself to keep going， that it has to get better。 For me the writing style was what I disliked the most。 The constant changing of perspectives， often times 1-3 times on a page， kept me rereading and backtracking to see who's perspective I was reading about again。 I also struggled reading it because some things just The synopsis of this book caught my attention as I'm an escape room lover myself。 However， I was not a huge fan of this book。 I felt like whenever I sat down to read it I had to force myself to keep going， that it has to get better。 For me the writing style was what I disliked the most。 The constant changing of perspectives， often times 1-3 times on a page， kept me rereading and backtracking to see who's perspective I was reading about again。 I also struggled reading it because some things just seemed way to far fetched。 Maybe because I'm USA based and not UK， but the police work they conducted would not fly here。 In the US there are jurisdictions for a reason， and a detective that is also a father to a witness would not be allowed to conduct any business in an investigation。 I also believe this book was a little dramatic， and I get it- it's fiction， but still。 From the beginning， I had my suspicions and they came from some of the unbelievable acts alluding me to have an idea who the perpetrator was。 In hindsight， it's interesting to me how I caught on as some people/details seem to be left out often throughout scenes。 This could be a flaw of the book， or just my 'catching on' from reading a lot of books。 I give the author a round of the applause， because sometimes we just can't believe what is right in front of our faces。 And even more， do we really know who our friends， or even significant others are？ However， I will rate this book a 2 because sadly it was just too slow going， a little dramatic/unbelievable， and over all a little hard to get in to。 When I read a book I like I have a hard time putting it down， and I found myself putting this one down a lot。 。。。more
Elisa
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I’m a big fan of this series。 The cases are always original and the characters and suspects quirky enough to make the plots entertaining and suspenseful。 This time， Oldroyd’s daughter Louise witnesses a murder in an escape room during a Halloween goth festival in Whitby （which I had forgotten is the setting of a large part of Stoker’s Dracula）。 So many elements right in my wheelhouse。 And yet， I figured out the twist early on， so it was just a question of who was behind it。 I enjoyed the novel， I’m a big fan of this series。 The cases are always original and the characters and suspects quirky enough to make the plots entertaining and suspenseful。 This time， Oldroyd’s daughter Louise witnesses a murder in an escape room during a Halloween goth festival in Whitby （which I had forgotten is the setting of a large part of Stoker’s Dracula）。 So many elements right in my wheelhouse。 And yet， I figured out the twist early on， so it was just a question of who was behind it。 I enjoyed the novel， as usual， even if it probably won’t become one of my favorites。 I liked the character of Louise before but in this book she does something so incredibly， irredeemably stupid， that I stopped rooting for her and I worry it will affect future novels。 The rest of the book is suspenseful and entertaining， the Gothic atmosphere is skillfully depicted and the references to Dracula just add to its charm。 I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased。 Thank you， NetGalley/Amazon Publishing UK！ 。。。more
Margot Frye
，
I received this ARC with the promise to review。 This story is a satisfying true locked room mystery set in an escape room。 It is mostly in Whitby in the UK - a spot famous for Dracula。 It is extremely atmospheric and creepy and the mystery is twisty and difficult to solve。 I really enjoyed the detectives as they worked to figure out the puzzle。 I totally recommend this lovely British mystery with delightful characters。
Susan
，
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 hone 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。 。。。more
Elaine Tomasso
，
I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of The Whitby Murders， the sixth novel to feature DCI Jim Oldroyd of the Harrogate Police。Oldroyd’s daughter， Louise， and her friends are in Whitby for the Goth Weekend and to kick things off they visit the local escape room。 Once there things don’t as planned when their friend， Dominic， stabs his girlfriend， Andrea， and runs off。 With three witnesses and CCTV the case seems cut and dried， but Louise has doubts and asks I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of The Whitby Murders， the sixth novel to feature DCI Jim Oldroyd of the Harrogate Police。Oldroyd’s daughter， Louise， and her friends are in Whitby for the Goth Weekend and to kick things off they visit the local escape room。 Once there things don’t as planned when their friend， Dominic， stabs his girlfriend， Andrea， and runs off。 With three witnesses and CCTV the case seems cut and dried， but Louise has doubts and asks her dad to investigate。I thoroughly enjoyed The Whitby Murders， which has an intricate plot with plenty of misdirection。 I must admit that I guessed some of how it was done， probably a first for me in this series， but I had no idea about the perpetrator or the motive。I like this series for the plots as they are real brain teasers， offering ingenious and sometimes convoluted solutions to seemingly impossible crimes。 This novel is slightly different with its immediate suspect and eye witness accounts， although as any true crime aficionado knows eye witnesses are notoriously unreliable， and is more a question of unravelling what exactly happened and why。 It is fun trying to outwit a devious killer and I found the mystery gripping and compulsive。It must be said that the plot is the only thing in this novel worth raving about。 The characters are rather one dimensional and the dialogue rather saccharine with all the praise and mutual support going on。 I lie， this novel has given me a strong urge to visit Whitby， although maybe not on Goth Weekend （I left that kind of thing behind in the 80s and feel too old to revisit）。 It sounds like a lovely part of the country with an interesting history。The Whitby Murders is a good read that I can recommend。 。。。more
Charlotte Pawson
，
Goth weekend in Whitby。 DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise has come with her friends from London。 A weekend of dressing up starts with a visit to an Escape Room。 When they come out a death will have occurred and 1 will be on the run。 This story will show can you really believe your own eyes？ Do you really know your friends？ A great fast paced mystery with good solid police work leading to a not so straightforward case。 You really fall in love with the setting of this mystery。 Whitby has so much m Goth weekend in Whitby。 DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise has come with her friends from London。 A weekend of dressing up starts with a visit to an Escape Room。 When they come out a death will have occurred and 1 will be on the run。 This story will show can you really believe your own eyes？ Do you really know your friends？ A great fast paced mystery with good solid police work leading to a not so straightforward case。 You really fall in love with the setting of this mystery。 Whitby has so much more to offer including Dracula。I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Poptart19 （ren）
，
2 stars Clunky writing & a convoluted plot dampen what could otherwise be a fun murder mystery。 The Dracula theme was still fun in a kitschy way。[What I liked:]•The twists in this mystery were more confusing than they were building up to an intriguing climax， but once the details were all laid out at the very end I could appreciate the murder & how it was pulled off。 Still not very believable， but creative。[What I didn’t like as much:]•Clunky dialogue， & the writing is odd。 There is a lot of s 2 stars Clunky writing & a convoluted plot dampen what could otherwise be a fun murder mystery。 The Dracula theme was still fun in a kitschy way。[What I liked:]•The twists in this mystery were more confusing than they were building up to an intriguing climax， but once the details were all laid out at the very end I could appreciate the murder & how it was pulled off。 Still not very believable， but creative。[What I didn’t like as much:]•Clunky dialogue， & the writing is odd。 There is a lot of summary， but it often happens mid-scene even at key moments。 It kept pulling me out of the story。 Also lots of info-dumping。•The MC has a family emergency & asks for a few days off work， okay; so his boss assigns his coworker to be his chauffeur & emotional support while he’s on leave？ Very odd。 That wouldn’t fly in the US。 Or maybe I’m misunderstanding what happened there。•The crime was a bit convoluted， but it was the murderer’s motivations that were really over the top。 When they revealed their hand， it felt very melodramatic。•The women characters in this are super controlling， treating their partners like kids & rationing sweets & booze。 It’s weird。 CW: murder， physical assault， suicide[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。 Thank you for the book！] 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Whitby Murders
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Whitby Murders&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Whitby Murders&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0