The Royal Baths Murder cover art

The Royal Baths Murder

A Yorkshire Murder Mystery, Book 4

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The Royal Baths Murder

By: J. R. Ellis
Narrated by: Michael Page
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About this listen

A murdered crime writer. An idyllic Yorkshire town. Can DCI Oldroyd separate fact from fiction?

A famous writer is found murdered at the Victorian baths in the Yorkshire town of Harrogate. In a crime worthy of one of his novels, Damian Penrose, who was appearing at the town’s crime writing festival, has been ruthlessly strangled. But with no trace of the murderer and no apparent means of escape, how did the killer simply vanish from the scene of the crime?

There’s only one mind capable of unlocking this mystery: DCI Jim Oldroyd. But as he and his team quickly discover, while Penrose was popular with the reading public, he had made plenty of enemies. Feuds over money, accusations of plagiarism, a string of affairs.... His route to the top left a trail of embittered rivals - and suspects. But which of them was willing to commit murder?

When Penrose’s shocking death proves to be just the first of many, it becomes clear to Oldroyd that he is dealing with a calculating criminal hell-bent on revenge. He must find and bring them to justice. Before the truth becomes more chilling than fiction....

©2019 J. R. Ellis (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Cosy Crime Crime Thrillers Fiction Murder Mystery Police Procedural Thriller Thriller & Suspense
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This is the first time I’ve listened to a narrative written by this author and it won’t be the last! There were many twists and turns before it became possible to eliminate some of the many suspects. However, I never had a clue regarding the perpetrator who masterminded so many downfalls. In the end, every piece fitted leaving me to think that being an armchair detective was a safer option than working on a real life case. You’ll be in for a surprise or two if you listen but that’s always part of the journey.

Thank goodness I don’t know any authors like that one who received a well deserved ending.

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I very much enjoy J R Ellis's crime novels, and the story to this one was also a good one. However, I was greatly distracted by the voice of the narrator, as it was extra loud overall and just about every voice/accent sounded pompous! Also the women's dialogue sounded like it was being read by a female impersonator in a Christmas pantomime, also, still quite pompous....I tried not to let this affect my reception of the story itself, but it was impossible to ignore. Maybe it's just me, but I am used to much mellower narration, better suited to the scenario. Nothing personal, Michael Page, but I just don't think you were the right person for this story!

Narrator a distraction

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I really enjoyed listening to this book.
I hate the fact that one has to write a designated number of words in order to give a response.

Very good

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Not one of the best books I have listened to but
able to listen to the end story line ok. narration was good.

average

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As an old Harrogatonian I enjoyed the story very much. The characters are well described and the nostalgia was good to hear .
I can’t imagine Harrogate ever being the seat of as much drama, but I was hooked from the first few lines . Well done to J R on a well written storyline

Incidentally, Masham is pronounced Massem , not Mashem

Arc celebris fontibus

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Most enjoyable and addictive . I want to heat all the books in this series now

The Royal Baths Murder

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I enjoyed the setting and premise of this mystery - a mystery writers’ conference in Harrogate where Agatha Christie hid out during her infamous disappearance. And the notion of art imitating reality, and its reverse, was well done. However, if you like mysteries which focus on the crime and its solution, this novel may not be for you. It contains a lot of extraneous material, for example, about discrimination against women in the police force. A serious topic no doubt but one that does not add to the mystery and the novel’s entertainment value overall. Much of the dialogue is turgid, way too many words and too much statement of the obvious. Michael Page is an excellent narrator, but in this series his reading style is too loud, affected and unconvincing.

A promising mystery

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Sadly I don't think this narrator's skills are suited to audio books. He had a shouty style & the gravelly voice characteristics he gave some characters were physically unpleasant to listen to. This is not the best crafted story & I did get tired if the 'bloody hells'. However it may have been more enjoyable with a different narrator.

An Exercise in Endurance

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Not sure why I like this series it’s very old fashioned and at times dreadfully beige. Still I can listen to it while reading my Facebook pages.

Average

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