Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick (Review #54)

Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick

Blurb

A village of secrets

It’s December 1952, and a dead stranger has been found lodged up the chimney of Holly House in the remote town of Elderby. Is he a simple thief, or a would-be killer? Either way, he wasn’t on anyone’s Christmas wish list.

A mystery that can’t be solved  

Inspector Frank Grasby is ordered to investigate. The victim of some unfortunate misunderstandings, he hopes this case will help clear his name. But as is often the way for Grasby, things most certainly don’t go according to plan.

A Christmas to remember 

Soon blizzards hit the North York Moors, cutting off the village from help, and the local doctor’s husband is found murdered. Grasby begins to realise that everyone in Elderby is hiding something – and if he can’t uncover the truth soon, the whole country will pay a dreadful price…

Review

This is my first Denzil Meyrick book and I must admit it was the cover that first attracted me to this book. This is my first festive read of the season and I was not disappointed. There wasn’t as much Christmas as I was expecting in this book but that didn’t detract from the story. 

The thing I loved about this book was the hilarious characters that were in it. Inspector Frank Grasby was a laugh a minute. He definitely has a bit of a chip on his shoulder and he can be quite a prat at times but his heart is in the right place. He has also had quite a few disasters in his career and his latest one has landed him in some hot water that has left him investigating farm thefts in Elderby. However, things soon start to get interesting when people start getting murdered. 

The story was a little bit predictable but still highly enjoyable. The setting in a sleepy village in the 1950’s with rationing still in place was perfect and of course once everyone was snowed in it really added to the atmosphere. Grasby soon begins to realise that everyone is Elderby has a secret they want to keep hidden. 

I loved how this book is written as Grasby’s memoirs because it makes you as the reader privy to all his internal musings and thoughts even the ridiculous ones. I really enjoyed the humour in this book and it made the book a light and fast paced murder mystery. I will definitely read more books by Meyrick soon. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons. 

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About the author

Denzil Meyrick was educated in Argyll, then after studying politics, joined Strathclyde Police, serving in Glasgow. After being injured and developing back problems, he entered the business world, and has operated in many diverse roles, including director of a large engineering company and distillery manager, as well as owning a number of his own companies, such as a public bar and sales and marketing company. D.A. Meyrick has also worked as a freelance journalist in both print and on radio. His first novel, Whisky from Small Glasses, was published by Ringwood in 2012.

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