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Apparently, this novel is the 6th in J R Ellis' Yorkshire Murder Mystery series. I should probably have started with novel number 1. Having said that this book stood on its own two feet and is fine to read as a standalone mystery (although I will definitely be looking at reading the rest of these).
Whitby, a Yorkshire coastal town in England's North is closely associated with Bram Stoker's Dracula and since the early 90s has hosted a music festival called the Whitby Goth Weekend twice a year. The setting of this murder is in Whitby, during the Goth Weekend, and while taking part in an Escape Room.
I have read books that have used music festivals as a setting for murder and also some Gothic-themed novels, but I've never read a book that was actually set in an Escape Room. I loved the idea and although I realized fairly early on about one thing, I totally missed a few other things so I loved finding out how everything tied together at the end.
If you enjoy murder mysteries then I really recommend this one. As a book, it is not one that deals in gory as much as the mystery side of a murder mystery and is perfect for people who love putting puzzles together.
I enjoyed reading this book as part of my Kindle Unlimited membership which I always describe as a library membership with Amazon's Kindle store.
Other reviewers who have read some (or all) of the previous novels in J R Ellis's Yorkshire Murder Mystery series have said this is the weakest in the series which means I am even more keen to read the others. I do have to agree with a few of the comments, however - the actual procedures that took place would not have been allowed to happen in real life, but it's a work of fiction so I didn't mind it!
DCI Oldroyd is the 'star' of these novels and one of the witnesses to the initial murder is his adult daughter who calls him and asks him to investigate. As far as police procedures go it wasn't on his patch and he obviously had a personal bias. I was able to put this aside and just enjoy the mystery, but if you like the procedures to be followed (like a number of the reviewers that I've read) then you might want to give it a miss. I think you'll be missing out, but ...
So I have two questions to ask you - have you ever been to an Escape Room? Also, have you ever read any of the books in this series by J R Ellis? I must admit I have been thinking about trying an Escape Room for a while, but now I will be extremely careful as to who I participate in one with!
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