The Royal Baths Murder

Written by J. R. Ellis

Narrated by Michael Page

A murdered crime writer. An idyllic Yorkshire town. Can DCI Oldroyd separate fact from fiction?

A famous writer is found murdered at the Victorian baths in the Yorkshire town of Harrogate. In a crime worthy of one of his novels, Damian Penrose, who was appearing at the town’s crime writing festival, has been ruthlessly strangled. But with no trace of the murderer and no apparent means of escape, how did the killer simply vanish from the scene of the crime?

There’s only one mind capable of unlocking this mystery: DCI Jim Oldroyd. But as he and his team quickly discover, while Penrose was popular with the reading public, he had made plenty of enemies. Feuds over money, accusations of plagiarism, a string of affairs…His route to the top left a trail of embittered rivals—and suspects. But which of them was willing to commit murder?

When Penrose’s shocking death proves to be just the first of many, it becomes clear to Oldroyd that he is dealing with a calculating criminal hell-bent on revenge. He must find and bring them to justice. Before the truth becomes more chilling than fiction…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781799748878

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 Royal Baths Murder

[Pamela Child · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book I have read in this series. I find the mysteries interesting but Oldroyd just a bit over done and his peculiar ability to be present at some of the murders odd. I’m not sure if the reader doesn’t cause the dialogue to be stilted or if the authors need to over explain the thinking is the issue but I sometimes feel that the most mundane conversations are distracting. The mystery is good but I wish the story was more focused and crisper.

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

This book is incredible!! The solution is probably beyond mist people’s grasps, but the story itself is an intricate mystery derived by a truly psychopathic personality! Great to the last syllable! I’m going to read the next one now!!

[Dax · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wish I could listen, but the childish, patronizing morality stuff a bore.

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

A great story and really well read and produced. Well worth the time

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am thoroughly enjoying this cozy series. Regretfully I only have one title to go.I was fascinated because this story is set at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, and there are several threads woven together. I have attended crime fiction literary events and so this scenario rang many bells - but there has never been an actual murder at one, that I am aware of.Damian Penrose is an author of some note, not particularly popular amongst fellow writers, but certainly a draw card at the festival.It appears that Penrose in the past has used his masculine charms to lure female writers in particular into relationships, but also to convince them to let him read their work. He was often cutting about their writing, but later on they discovered he had stolen their ideas.Back at HQ. one of Olroyd's team, DC Steph Johnson, is being sexually harrassed by a male colleague and she finds that she is not his only victim. In addition she is convinced he is using his position as a DI corruptly, coming to an agreement with people accused of deception and dropping charges that should be pursued.We get more glimpses of Jim Olroyd's personal life as he decides, at his daughters' prompting, to look for someone to go out with, through a dating agency.So I found this a well constructed novel with lots to keep me interested. It filled in some gaps between novels #3 and #5 in the series too.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The White Swan Hotel is holding its annual Crime Writing Festival. All is going well until one of the writers is discovered dead in what looks like a locked room mystery in the Victorian baths, strangled. How did the murderer get in and out without being seen. What was the motive behind the killing. DCI Oldroyd and his team investigate. Then there is another murder, will this be the last.
Meanwhile D.S Steph Johnson is unfortunately working with the obnoxious D.I. Fenton, and has her own problems to deal with.
An enjoyable well-plotted mystery story with lots of suspects. With this book I actually took to Oldroyd much more than before which made the story more interesting to read.
A NetGalley Book

[sandra_wagner8wright · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Writers at a writers’ conference can be a deadly combination, though the conflicts don’t usually include a murder. In the Royal Baths Murder, published and unpublished authors gather for a writing conference in Harrogate. Some successful authors are gracious to other writers; others less so. The murder victim in this instance is an arrogant author who meets his demise in the Royal Baths, a site that is difficult to assess as a crime scene. DCI Oldroyd is soon on the case to take the reader on another unlikely investigation.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

bookshelves: law-enforcement, England, murder-investigation, procedural, cosy-mystery *****A new favorite DCI and team!A truly devilish plot filled with interesting characters, an abundance of plot twists and misdirection, and even some solid historical tidbits complete with caveats related to prosaic license. Ever so much better than watching on screen! The publisher's blurb is pretty good and spoilers are just wrong, so just get cozy and enjoy the mystery!I requested and received a free ebook copy from Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley. Thank you!