After having read The Hunted Hare, I was eager to get my hands on Death on Lindisfarne. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Our hero and professional photographer, Aidan Davison, and his precocious 8 year old daughter, Melangell, are off on their first holiday week together since the passing of his wife and her mother. His emotions are still raw and his daughter appears to have adjusted somewhat and keeps her mother close in heart and soul. They're visiting the Isle of Lindisfarne for a spiritual retreat and historical overview led by Lucy, a new to the collar, Methodist minister (former police officer). The group of attendees comes from rather disparate backgrounds, each with a different expectation of the week's course. Sure enough, one of the attendees winds up dead and the police investigation commences. Was it suicide or was something more sinister at work here?

Enjoyed all the historical background material on Celtic Christian leaders, kings and princesses of the 7th and 8th centuries, deftly woven into the story. Lindisfarne has now been added to my travel bucket list. Thank you Gay Sampson! ( )

Death on Lindisfarne by Fay Sampson is a good book but it took me while to get into the British style of writing. There was very little humor in the story but I did get a good laugh at the author calling the clerical collar a dog collar. Aidan has been a widower for six months when he decides to take his eight year old daughter, Melangell, to Lindisfarne to show her all the places that her mother loved and wrote about in her books. They were there for a week long retreat and were joined by eight other people in addition to Lucy, a Methodist minister, who was leading the retreat. Lucy is trying to help Rachel, a young girl who is working to overcome her drug addiction, and not too far into the story, Rachel’s body is found on the beach. At this point the suspense of the story begins to happen. Did Rachel commit suicide or was she murdered and if murdered who is the guilty person? There are also several less important questions that add to the suspense of the story. Aidan lets the group assume that he and his wife, Jenny are separated. Lucy has things in her past that she does not want to reveal such as why she left the police department four years ago. James, a minister, staggers into the house dripping blood from a cut on the head and cannot tell the group how he was injured. Sue is at the retreat with James as his assistant and she seems to worship the ground he walks on but he treats her with complete disdain. David and Frances are a very different couple and seem to constantly find something to complain about. Elspeth is a professor at Oxford and a most disagreeable woman. Valerie, her companion, is the complete opposite and is always doing her best to keep Elspeth from antagonizing the rest of the group.

The author did an excellent job in making all the characters come to life. Some were loveable and some were completely unlikeable. Scene descriptions were very well done and in my mind I could picture myself in the action right along with the characters in the story. There were several twist and turns to the plot and several mysteries to be solved. The author had me guessing until almost the end of the book exactly who had murdered Rachel and why. From the very first I wanted to know how to pronounce the name of the spunky little eight year old Melangell. She was my favorite character for she was about the only one who had no secrets to hide and was completely honest in everything she said. In fact, most of the time she appeared to be more mature than the adults. I have to be honest and say that I really did not care all that much for the history of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and the Northumbrian saints that were included in the book. I would have enjoyed the book much more if it had just been about the group at the retreat.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a book with a lot of suspense and who also likes British history.

Kregel Publications provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

Title: Death on Lindisfarne (The Aidan Mysteries)
Author: Fay Sampson
Pages: 255
Year: 2013
Publisher: Lion Hudson
Death on Lindisfarne is a contemporary mystery that follows the journey of Aidan Davison and his daughter, Melangell. They are visiting some of the favorite spots of saints and/or holy places of Aidan’s deceased wife. She wrote many books on Celtic saints and Aidan was the photographer for her books. For this trip, the two are part of a small group that has signed up for a tour guided by a Methodist minister, Lucy. The other characters signed up for the tour are a supporting cast and also become a field of suspects after someone is found dead. At first, the death is thought to be a suicide, but soon that theory is rescinded and evidence of murder is discovered.
Also, part of Lucy’s past returns to haunt her. She is a former police constable who had a very manipulating and possessive partner whom she left suddenly four years ago. She came to the island of Lindisfarne to escape him. She eventually felt safe enough that she left the island to enter the ministry. She now returns to Lindisfarne when she needs to regroup. She enjoys the peace of the place. This trip she has brought a troubled teen girl who Lucy has been trying to help stay off of drugs and get her life in order. Lucy is attacked at one point of the story during the night. Is it the same person who has committed murder in their small group? Why is Lucy now a target?
Throughout the story, Aidan and Lucy come to realize their attraction for each other. Aidan, however, is still grieving for his wife and needs more time before embarking on any kind of relationship. Aidan does feel protective toward Lucy and comes to her rescue. Lucy has more suspects for the murder than she can count. Now, she is looking at some people in her little group with a different eye. Who has the potential to be a murderer? Is Lucy the next victim?
I read the first book in this series and found it to be average. I thought this book was a bit better and enjoyed the character of Melangell. She is a smart little girl, who loves her daddy very much. She keeps her head in stressful situations and is just a darling! I also liked the potential love interest for Aidan and hope to see that developed in further books. The plot seemed to flow more smoothly in this book, and the short chapters helped keep the story moving right along. I hope to see Aidan and Melangell have their characters fleshed out even more in the next novel. There is also the history of some saints and the area of Lindisfarne to learn about, which I found very interesting.
My rating is 4 stars.
Note: I received a complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. Other reviews can be read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/ . Also follow me on Twitter @lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457 ( )

Death on Lindisfarne is the second book in The Aiden Mysteries series by Fay Sampson. The novel juxtaposes a modern mystery with the ancient history of Holy Island, a sacred place of peace and rest, but also the scene of betrayal and violence. This book is a great pick for those who love a British mystery with a hint of history.

Aiden Davison and his young daughter Melangell are on holiday just 6 months following the death of Aiden’s wife, Jenny. Lindisfarne or Holy Island was the place of great joy for Aiden and Jenny, and he wants to share the memories with Melangell. Enrolled in a course on the Celtic church and saints, they join a diverse group of people with secrets. The murder comes early and there are plenty of suspects.

I really liked the way Sampson uses the historical backdrop of the island as a means to advance the story. The stories that course leader Rev. Lucy Pargeter shares are as interesting as the murder mystery. I had my suspicions early on about just whodunit, but there are enough red herrings and mysterious doings by all the characters, that I was never sure about the ending. Death on Lindisfarne is a true British mystery. I loved the different vernacular used, the very British constabulary and the remote setting employed. And while this mystery is wrapped up, there is a hint of more to come for Aiden, Melangell and Lucy. Death on Lindisfarne can also be treated as a standalone.

Recommended.

(Thanks to Kregel for a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

I read The Hunted Hare which is book 1 in The Aidan Mysteries series last year and if you remember it was a book I both liked and disliked – with Death on Lindisfarne it was completely different. I liked following Aidan and his daughter Melangell to the island of Lindisfarne, which I’ve read of in other books and enjoy reading to know more about this famed island which is cut off from the mainland each day. This book takes place 6 months after Aidan loses his wife, which is why they were on holiday in The Hunted Hare so that they could have one last family vacation before she succumbed to her cancer – Aidan is still caught up in the grief of losing his wife but hates all the pitiful looks he gets as many assume he’s a divorced, single father.

The elderly couple in the book, the Cavendishes (if I’ve misspelled their name I apologize), really rubbed me the wrong way from the get go and I found it somewhat odd that no one, including Aidan who left Melangell in their care a couple of times, picked up on the odd behavior until the very end. I don’t want to give away the whole story and spoil it for everyone else but suffice to say it ended unlike I thought it would but at the same time the suspects were who I thought they were. There were a couple cuss words in this book, however they came from the ‘bad’ character and therefore I was a bit more able to overlook them and it wasn’t taking the Lord’s name in vain – but my other issue from book 1, was non-extant in this one.

Reverend Lucy was quite a bit more liberal in her approaches to life – such as being a female ordained minister in the Methodist church and also seeming to lean toward other liberal areas whereas the other Pastor who was there for the teaching was made out to be hard hearted and mean in how he dealt with women (because he believed in the Bible’s teaching of women and pastorates) as well as other conservative leanings – it seems there were some biases to these two characters in how each was made to be perceived by the reader. Regardless I truly enjoyed this book in the series and spent just one day reading – I look forward to book 3, hopefully in the near future.

**I was given a copy of this book from Kregel in exchange for posting my honest opinion, no other compensation was given. ( )