Kate Shackleton is called in by New Scotland Yard to try to help them identify the body of a man found on a train carrying rhubarb from the north to London; the body is naked and there are no clues as to his identity or background, but because Scotland Yard has heard good things about her detective work, it’s thought that she might make inroads where the professionals have not. At the same time, a female shopkeeper has been found brutally murdered in her store; the orphan whom she took in is found with blood on his hands and it is convenient to believe he murdered her, although nobody who knows the individuals involved believe it. Since this murder occurred on land owned by some friends of Kate’s, landed gentry with interests in mining and the railroad, among other businesses, she thinks it will be most helpful if she stays with them while trying to suss out the land; she little knows just how much her friends might be involved…. In this, the 11th in this intriguing series set in 1920s England, we learn all about “forced rhubarb” farming and how integral mining and farming are to rural communities. There are, in addition, a number of orphans feature in this story and the descriptions of their circumstances are utterly heartbreaking; one hopes things have improved in the 100 years since then! Recommended. ( )

March 1928, London. At King's Cross railyway station a porter discovers a body on the Rhubarb Trainn from Leeds. When Scotland Yard fail to identity him Commander Woodhead employs Mrs Kate Shackleton to investigate. With the death of a shopkeeper, Mrs Helen Farrar, at the same time in the local area, Kate wonders if this is just a coincidence or part of her investigation.
An enjoyable and well-written mystery. Though I liked the story I didn't quite love it or the main characters.
A NetGalley Book ( )

This is a lively read. It's a historical murder mystery story set in 1929 mostly at Yorkshire in the English countryside. It's an excellent story with a strong plot set against the background of the then prevailing social unrest and economic hardship. Britain is stuck in the lingering malaise and austerity of the post Great War period. Coalminers' strikes and railway strikes have caused havoc.
Private Detective Kate Shackleton is hired by Scotland Yard to investigate the discovery of an unidentified body on one of the trains carrying rhubarb from Yorkshire to London. The Yard insists that she carry out her assignment in secret because of a concern that it might be a Russian Bolshevik activist stirring up labour unrest and smuggling gold into the country to finance this activity. She therefore goes undercover as a photo journalist preparing a pictorial essay about life in Yorkshire. This allows her to roam the countryside and interview people about the body. She is helped by her former policeman assistant Sykes and Mrs. Sugden, her housekeeper, both of whom carry out their own individual inquiries on her behalf. This trio of sleuths unearth a nest of corruption, which strikes close to Kate: she is put into danger in an exciting conclusion to the whodunit story when the killer is revealed. There's sharp social commentary about the landed gentry. Some of its members are portrayed as smug, arrogant and entitled, as their economic fortunes decline.
This is the 11th book in a series but it can be read as a standalone. Readers new to the series may want to go back to some of the early books to catch up on Kate's backstory.
I received an eBook advance reader's copy from Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley and the
comments are my own. ( )

Though this is the 11th Kate Shackleton mystery, it was the first I read but it definitely will not be my last. Simply outstanding historical mystery but the highlight of the book is sleuth Kate herself, as well as those who assist her.

In this case, a dead body is found amongst the rhubarb harvest sent to London by train and it is up to Kate to assist Scotland Yard as she investigates. The investigation takes place primarily during her visit to the home of a childhood friend.

Probably my favorite "new to me" series this year. Highly recommended!!

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.) ( )

greed, private-investigators, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, England, between-the-wars, historical-research

Kate is a private investigator with a motley crew of assistants and a father in area law enforcement. She is called to Scotland Yard for an assignment regarding a murdered man dumped into a train car but is hobbled by instructions of silence and basically blocked at every turn. She heads northward and arranges to stay with an old friend and becomes aware of a seemingly unconnected murder in the town. The reader also gets to learn about rhubarb growth and transport to market outside of the normal growing season, a bit about pit coal mining, and the orphanage system of the time. The book insisted that I read it all in one hot afternoon.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )