Book review: Philly Barker and The Murder at Deverell Grange by Joanne Tracey

The weirdest thing that came to mind when reading Philly Barker and The Murder at Deverell Grange by Joanne Tracey was that… “This is a real book and the author is a friend.” I thought the same thing when reading Jo’s first novel in the Clementine Carter series. Though I enjoyed her earlier books, it feels like there’s a new sophistication (maturity / evolution) or something in her writing* that makes me feel like I’m reading something by a very well-known long-time author – who’s able to grab my attention with engaging characters, a complex and beguiling plot and not release me until the very end.

The last thing antiques dealer Philomena Barker expects to find when she’s invited to a secluded sixteenth-century manor house in the Yorkshire Dales is a dead body.

Fortunately, retired Detective Inspector Robbie Dawkins has accompanied her. Less fortunate is the unexpected snowstorm that has trapped them in the house with a murderer and a cast of suspects.

Everyone, it seems, has a motive for wanting Orlando Stark dead. But with no sign of the murder weapon, their only evidence is a mysterious card with a witch’s mark.

As Philly and Robbie delve deeper into the investigation, connections to Robbie’s first unsolved case emerge. Could the disappearance of a woman forty years before somehow be linked to Orlando’s death?

Or does the story of a “witch” who was executed for the murder of Lord Deverell’s ancestor centuries ago hold clues?

This is the third book in the Philly Barker series and the main characters now feel familiar. We see less of Philly’s fellow stall-holders from Chipwell Barn Antiques this time around though, as she and Robbie (platonic friend and now retired cop) accompany friends to Deverell Grange. Philly’s motivation is an attic full of antiques and Robbie’s that it’s the site of his first (still unsolved) case forty years earlier.

As usual Tracey’s (switching to surname now I’m in reviewer mode) adoration of english country life is evident with casual reference to the landscape, cuisine and old-school aristocracy and its idiosyncrasies. Not to mention very detailed references to old artefacts and architecture – here in the form of a ‘witches ledger’ – in fact more akin to a diary about a former resident of the Grange – whose ancestor’s disappearance was the subject of Robbie’s first case at the house.

This cosy crime also features the quintessential locked-room mystery in that the snowstorm shuts the Grange off from the outside world, limiting the suspect pool and trapping a killer in the house. Both Philly and Robbie believe the murder in the present is linked to the events of the past, though the victim wasn’t short of enemies.

Initially the ‘actual’ police – Robbie’s former boss (also Philly’s first husband) and Robbie’s replacement are dismissive of that suggestion, but so many of the same players are around it’s hard to ignore the coincidence. It also means there’s an opportunity to dig into the past, uncovering new evidence.

I initially struggled with the who’s who of the characters here as we meet several couples all also staying at the Grange and there’s a mix of money and titles, much younger wives and history of infidelity. Not to mention potentially blackmail relating to old secrets.

Tracey’s writing is again excellent with an informal and often-snarky tone to the narration – certainly warranted here given some of the arrogance on offer.

This book felt really balanced. A good mix of mystery, bad behaviour, the inclusion of detail and groundedness through antiquities and history of the Grange as well as some personal stories being edged along… Philly learning a bit more about Robbie’s family and the death of his wife.

This could have been become a little convoluted towards the end with a lot unravelling at once, but Tracey reins it in and times the ‘reveals’ well offering up several twists as well as a satisfying resolution.

Philly Barker and The Murder at Deverell Grange by Joanne Tracey is available via Amazon or one of these suppliers.

* And yes, I realise I sound like a patronising wanker, but I can’t think how else to describe that sensation of forgetting ‘who’ wrote it and just get absorbed into this cosy crime novel.