Dying in the Wool

A Kate Shackleton Mystery, Book 1

By: Frances Brody

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Bridgestead is a peaceful spot: a babbling brook, rolling hills, and a working mill at its heart. Pretty and remote, nothing exceptional happens...until the day that Master of the Mill Joshua Braithwaite goes missing under dramatic circumstances, never to be heard of again. Now Joshua's daughter is getting married and wants to make one last attempt at finding her father. Has he run off with his mistress? Or was he murdered for his mounting coffers?

Kate Shackleton has always loved solving puzzles. So who better to get to the bottom of Joshua's mysterious disappearance? But as Kate taps into the lives of the Bridgestead dwellers, she opens cracks that some would kill to keep closed.

©2012 Frances Brody (P)2012 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"The first in a planned series introduces a refreshingly complex heroine and adds a fine feeling for the postwar period." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Not much to go on

There were a lot of words, and when you strung them together, they didn’t make a lot of sense. Just nothing engaging. Disappointing.

1920s British Gal Sleuth

Kate Shackleton is a WWI war widow, who also served in the British Red Cross during the war and is now back home, restless and planning to keep herself busy . . . and what better way than helping a friend find her long lost father before her wedding? Tabitha Braithwaithe, a fellow Red Cross volunteer during the war, does not believe that her father is dead, although he hasn’t been seen or heard from in almost seven years. She wants him to be found and for him to walk her down the isle. Tabitha’s fiancé who is ten years younger than she is just happened to be with her father the day he disappeared. Much mystery surrounds his disappearance. Joshua Braithwaite was a wealthy man and the owner of the woolen mill in town which employed many of the citizens. Getting anyone to divulge information is difficult . . . and knowing what is truth and what are lies is a chore. But Kate sticks it out. This is not a fast paced story, but a good one, full of atmospheric details, which I appreciate. I like Kate . . . a lot. I like her father, who convinced her to hire a male assistant. He turned out to be a big help. Great listen and resolution.

New series--another post WWI female sleuth!

Would you listen to Dying in the Wool again? Why?

Probably not--but I don't often re-read mysteries.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not edge of seat--but it moved rather well and kept my interest. This is the story of a young woman who would like to have someone (Kate, her friend--who is becoming an investigator) find her father, long missing, before her impending marriage. Kate has to stop to consider because this would be her first paid case, and she recognizes this will herald a change in her status from just finding missing persons for family members (usually men who did not return from the war) to doing it professionally.

At first she does not think there will be very much to uncover in this situation, but she quickly realizes that there is far more to this disappearance than she at first thought--and it's implications reach to more than the simple suicide the community has long accepted.

The characters are very well drawn (for the most part)--the dialogue is very good, and there is a good, steady story line that leads the listener through the story. The narrator is also excellent--bringing good energy to the reading.

Any additional comments?

This is a good first book in a new series. Kate Shackleton is a "modern" woman (just after WWI)--who has considerably more independence than women had just a decade before. She is a widow, has her own car--and can get about on her own. She is the daughter of a policeman, and she hires his friend, an ex-policeman, to assist her in finding the clues for this mystery.

She reminds me somewhat of the Maisie Dobbs and Daisey Dalrymple series (both young women of this era who launch themselves as either professional or amateur sleuths). In many ways, Kate Shackleton seems the best (most realistic) so far of the three. Highly recommend as a light, but engaging, read!

This book dragged.

The premise was good. The setting was good. The info about satanic mills was educational. The characters were so so. And oh! I thought the story would never end! I skipped from chapter 7 to 4 from the end, and still it seemed too long. The reader was ok, though. I shan't be reading/listening to any more by this author. Sorry to be so negative!

Dreadful

Dreadful accents and mispronouncing place names like Keighley. Couldn’t bear it. Old fashioned condescending attitudes. Awful.

Fluff & Nonsense

This book "Disney-izes" post WWI Britain in a way that I never dreamt possible for the historic fiction/mystery genre. The daffy-est "Polly-Anna" sleuth I have met yet. I just hated it.

Sooo disappointed

Based on the reviews, I thought this was going to be somewhat like "Maisie Dobbs", a series that I enjoyed very much. I must admit that it bears a resemblance. The time period is the same, and the main character, Kate, resembles Maisie. I was happily listening to and enjoying the book for 5 hours until I came upon a sex scene. I must admit, I do not know how far the situation went - sometimes an author will start a scene such as this just to titillate, but I didn't want to know. Since I wasn't reading a printed page, I have no way of knowing. I pushed the "forward" button, and continued listening, but I totally lost interest. The whole experience was soured. I know some folks consider this prudish, but, after all, I am the one who paid the money for the book, hoping to have an enjoyable listening experience. If you're like me, and you enjoyed Maisie Dobbs, I'd advise you to pass this one up.