Random Things Blog Tour - The Yorkshire Dipper

 

TITLE: The Yorkshire Dipper

AUTHOR: Maria Frankland

PUBLISHER: Autonomy Press

PUBLISHING DATE:  February 3, 2021

PAGES: 336

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: How many lives will be lost before something is done?

The River Alder bodes a notorious threat. The local police are over-stretched and under-resourced.

With each life that is pulled into the river’s depths, journalist Lauren Holmes becomes more suspicious and more determined to bring the truth to the surface.

Her police sergeant fiancé is well-placed to help her. Yet he is committed to maintaining police reputation and is happy to accept each death recorded as ‘drunken misadventure.’

Can Lauren get to the bottom of the deaths without risking her own ‘accident?’

MY THOUGHTS:  It was initially the cover which drew me to The Yorkshire Dipper.  I find it super eerie and it definitely fits the tone of the book well.  Women have been turning up dead in the River Alder and since they have all been intoxicated, the police have ruled them accidental.  Lauren Holmes, who just happens to be engaged to a local detective, feels there's more the story and she starts questioning the deaths and accusing law enforcement of not doing enough.  However, Lauren's actions might have just drawn attention from someone else besides the police and can she help figure out what is going on before it's too late.

First of all I really enjoyed the format of this book. It's divided into two parts and without giving anything away, part two definitely marks a major plot twist.  There are also chapters throughout from the POVs of all the victims and really brought the reader into their worlds.  The mystery kept me turning the pages much later into the night than I expected, and even though I thought I knew the perpetrator, Frankland added another curve ball at the end.

The only real issue I had with the book was the ending.  It wasn't really open-ended, but it also wasn't completely resolved. The mystery was cleared up but the way it was written left me wanting to know more about the fallout after the reveal.  The book was long enough but I would have enjoyed an additional 50 pages or so addressing what I mentioned above. 

If you love thrillers, this one won't disappoint.  I will definitely be keeping an eye on this one in the future.

RATING: 4 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Maria Frankland's life began at 40 when she escaped an unhappy marriage and began making a living from her own writing and becoming a teacher of creative writing.

The rich tapestry of life with all its turbulent times has enabled her to pour experience, angst and lessons learned into the writing of her novels and poetry.

She recognises that the darkest places can exist within family relationships and this is reflected in the domestic thrillers she writes.

She is a 'born 'n' bred' Yorkshirewoman, a mother of two and has recently found her own 'happy ever after' after marrying again.

Still in her forties, she is now going to dedicate the rest of her working life to writing books and inspiring other writers to also achieve their dreams too!

 

Twitter @writermaria_f

https://mariafrankland.co.uk/