The Quartet Murders (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery Book 2)

This was a much better story than the 1st book in the series. I'm happy that I gave it a read. Recommend it. Even if you just want to read it by itself. My main critique about the 1st book was too many characters, this had a lot too, but Ellis did a much better job of keeping it focused.

This Yorkshire Murder Mystery 2 is better than the 1 in many respects. The mystery was woven nicely, with lits of twists, inter connected but at the same time unrelated mystery plot. However the ending seems to be a mundane very ol formulaic love-hate-revenge plot with touch of Nazis and Stasis. But it is ok to have a few melodramas. Unfortunately, it seems Mr. Ellis has a tendency of veered off track. He keep bringing unrelated and pretty melodramatic back stories of the characters: Oldroyd's seperation, his coversations with his divorced wife, his interactions with his daughter, with his sisters all are simply distractions and pathetically emotional and completely slow down the pace of the book. Why the poluce detectives needs to be so damn emotional? I had to keep turning pages to get over these diatractions and get to the main story line. The relationship between DS Carter and Steph are also pretty distractive. How come a police force allows peraonal relations among work colleagues and how come their boss supports it? Is it really approved in UK?This is a good, complicated story. But all the distractions and emotional melodramas made this title 3 star unfortunately, otherwise it does have all the materials to be 5 star.

This (these) books remind me a lot of the TV Midsomers, not the books. Not exactly the same cast of characters, but ones that are very similar. More a cozy than a police procedural, a bit more superior officer interference, but interesting cases and a pleasant description of the location (Yorkshire-a real county this time). One of the central characters has relocated from London and thinks he’s going to miss the city, but quickly grows to love it.I’m not too far into the series yet, but so far each book can stand alone without a lot of boring catchup. Main characters are fairly well developed with room for growth. Easy reads, no weird plot tricks. I can’t say that I have been surprised by the endings or guessed the villain on page two because I don’t read that way. I don’t seem to be bothered by major howlers either so don’t assume they aren’t there.This is the type of mystery I like - a UK small town/village cozy. If this describes you, go for it.

Intelligent and thoughtful characters. Well drawn and imbued with wit and humanity. The plot hangs together as it moves from victim to motive and finally to resolution. Very impressive story telling. Bravo!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the engaging characters and background of this series. It is especially interesting how the environs, of all kinds, dominate. I look forward to the next entry - I am not yet tiring of the series (perhaps because it does not attempt to go beyond its focus).

Just started this series and enjoyed reading The Quartet Murders.Felt like the old Sherlock Holmes murder mystery stories withtwists and turns to the plot. Enjoyed!

I completely enjoy this cozy mystery series. The author is very descriptive of the countryside and weaves history into the story in a natural way. I enjoy murder that isn't too graphic and horrific, and the intellectual process of piecing together what happened, why and by whom. For the most part, we learn the clues and red herrings at the same time as the protagonist, So it pits our ability to piece things together with the police. I enjoyed the fact that I didn't arrive at all the who, how, and why before DCI Oldroyd did. This is a fun book for readers who enjoy cozy mysteries, and I will enjoy reading the other books by J.R. Ellis

A famous violinist is shot while onstage. Then his priceless violin is stolen. Are the two events connected?It's just by chance DCI Oldroyd is in the audience enjoying the internationally renowned Schubert String Quartet playing his favorite, Death and the Maiden. Before his eyes, a violinist is shot and falls, dead. Pages and pages later, Oldroyd still doesn't know why the man was killed or who the killer was.Red herrings abound, and suspects are many. Carter is sent to London to deal with questions there. Turns out the violin was stolen on the spur of the moment, but that didn't end well for the thief. Yet the question of why the violinist was shot is what Oldroyd wrestles with. He does eventually figure it out. But I wonder why the violinist wasn't shot somewhere else, somewhere where their were no witnesses.Still, I like the character of Oldroyd and look forward to the next book in this series.

This second book in the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series has our lead character DCI Oldroyd enjoying a boring string quartet concert in Halifax, when the lead violinist is shot dead. Okay, a string quartet composed by Schubert is not my choice of music but surely the bored concert goer could have simply walked out and not resorted to killing the lead violinist? Still, the police have a job to do and DCI Oldroyd is both a witness to this crime and an investigating officer.Although this is the second book in the series, I believe it can surely be read as a standalone. Many of the police team from book 1 return in this book. I like how the style and quality remains the same in both books. The Quartet Murders is more of the same and this is another cosy mystery. The private lives of the police officers give perspective to the story.The Quartet Murders has an involved plot and the police have very little to go on. There are plenty of suspects, basically anyone who gets a mention could have a motive but they appear not to have the opportunity. Still the story plods along at a comfortable pace with extra details uncovered that kept my interest to the very end. I liked how at the end the importance of all the little clues that were missed by the police and the reader at the time, were explained to solve the mystery and the later incidents. I consider The Quartet Murders to be a GOOD 4 star read.

Having lived in Yorkshire for 12 years and visited friends there regularly since, Mr Ellis's books really strike a chord with me; I feel that I met many people like his characters and I can assure those doubters that folks really do talk as he describes!I like the way he builds the plot and I feel that I almost know who "dunnit" or could have a good guess but most of all, I like the atmosphere and the feeling that I am back in Yorkshire amongst believable characters with whom I can emphasise.

This murder mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. The musical references were very interesting.

A very good murder mystery and also an unusual story lineWhich was interesting to read

I through the book was good, and I enjoyed it