4 Stars from me
This was my first foray into the books of Ian McFadyen and I can see he has quite the back catalogue as The Corpse Bell is the 11th book in the DCI Carmichael series (which began with Little White Lies back in 2008)!
The initial story set up gave me Midsummer Murders vibes with the wife of the DCI just happening to begin a new hobby that sat squarely in the middle of the murder and mayhem. As a long time fan of MM this immediately made me feel at home in the story.
In addition to the police team who I assume are central to the series, The Corpse Bell contains a cast of interesting and quirky characters, all of whom helped bring the book to life. As the story progressed I enjoyed the bulleted lists that gave insight into the police’s efforts to tracker down their killer. I found this drew me into the investigation.
Overall this was an engaging but simple to read whodunnit with an enjoyable police team and an interesting puzzle to unravel to find the murderer.
My thanks to the author @ianmcfadyen1, and @rararesources for my place on this blog tour.
Blurb: The last thing Penny Carmichael expected when she joined the local bellringing group was for her debut to be thwarted by the discovery of a body just yards from the belfry door. As her husband and his loyal team painstakingly sift through the evidence and delve deep into the dead man’s past, it’s clear that solving Peter Mackenzie’s murder may prove a challenge, even for someone with DCI Carmichael’s renowned detective prowess.
What was a man who’d lived for decades in North London doing in Moulton Bank? Was his chequered past a factor?
And what about the other members of Penny’s bellringing group. Did any of them have a reason to do Peter harm?
As the case unfolds, DCI Carmicheal and his trusty team seek answers to a complex puzzle which leads them along various paths and, at times, way outside the comfort zone of their rural Lancashire surroundings.
This fast-paced, cleverly crafted whodunit is the eleventh murder mystery in the gripping Carmichael series from the pen of Ian McFadyen.
Read and Rated 