Date with Death (The Dales Detective Series, 1)

Product Information

Meet two sleuths from a sleepy Yorkshire village as they investigate murders and discover the secrets behind the twitching curtains. Date with Death is the first cosy crime novel in Julia Chapman’s Dales Detective series, perfect for fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club and M. C. Beaton. Cozy Case Files Volume 16 (By: Carolyn Haines,Donna Andrews,Diane Kelly,Elizabeth Penney,Mindy Quigley,Korina Moss,M. C. Beaton)

It should just be straightforward, however things in Bruncliffe so rarely are. Especially when Matty insists that Delilah, with her own wealth of local knowledge, works with Samson on this sensitive investigation. Oblivious to his impending date with fate, Samson is busy juggling a number of cases at the Dales Detective Agency. Too busy, in fact, to notice his partner behaving oddly. Date With Danger” is the fifth novel in the “Dales Detectives” series and was released in the year 2019. This time around, Delilah and Samson are on the trail of a sheep rustler turned murderer. Once there he joins forces with Delilah Metcalfe, owner of the Dales Dating Agency, to solve a series of local crimes, supported by the eccentric cast of characters who live in Bruncliffe and Delilah’s adorable Weimaraner, Tolpuddle.

This item contains adult content

In the seventh novel in Julia Chapman’s Dales Detective series, Date with Betrayal, betrayal is rife in the idyllic Yorkshire Dales as Samson O’Brien, owner of the Dales Detective Agency, is targeted by a hitman. Can Bruncliffe save him? A brilliantly engaging and witty mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club and M. C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series. But in each book we get a glimpse to the end game, so if you are going to start this series I recommend book one!

Described by publisher Pan McMillan as a “combination of beguiling charm and witty ingenuity” the first seven titles in the series have sold in excess of 200,000 copies throughout the world in the English language and have also been translated into French, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Estonian. From stolen washing to inheritance investigations, Bruncliffe’s Dales Detective Agency is being inundated with cases. There were a few minor disappointments: fiction in general seems to miss out on proofreading and the text has several typos. As usual, the use of strings of 'someone doing or having done something' phrases impeded the flow: a little variation in sentence structure would make the stories read even better. And I was surprised by the characters' slowness to note that 'steward' could be 'Stuart'...!What a charming, lovely novel! I do love a cosy crime mystery and with a soft spot for all things Yorkshire, this was just my cup of Yorkshire Tea. There is a mystery at the heart of it, but the comings and goings of the villagers and the secrets behind those twitchy curtains got me! It’s an easy read and a charming one with a dose of Grantchester and a dollop of Agatha Raisin brewed together. Julia Chapman is an author living north of England. It also happens to be a pen name used by the real life human being known as Julia Stagg. Cozy Case Files Volume 14 (By: Diane Kelly,Gigi Pandian,Ellie Alexander,Paige Shelton,Mindy Quigley,Korina Moss) Cozy Case Files Volume 4 (With: Parnell Hall,Shari Randall,Ellen Hart,Ellie Alexander,Frances Brody,Tessa Arlen,Vivien Chien,Paige Shelton,Jane K. Cleland,Mindy Quigley)

We left the town at the end of the last instalment with Samson’s name cleared and (nearly) everyone safe after the entire town was involved in a showdown with corrupt coppers, eastern European mafia and money launderers. However, now Samson is free to return to his job in the Met. Will he leave Deliah and Bruncliffe? And have they rid the town they love from the evil within? Or did the roots go much further? Date With Malice” is the second novel in the “Dales Detectives” series and was released in the year 2017. When Mrs. Shepherd shows up at the Dales Detective Agency one morning in December, convinced that somebody is trying to kill her, and Samson dismisses all her fears as only the ramblings of one confused old lady. After a sequence of disturbing incidents at Fellside Court retirement home, he starts to wonder if there could be something to these claims that she is making after all.

Publication Order of Cozy Case Files Mystery Sampler Books

The plot is fun. It could be called outrageously over the top with all sorts of shenanigans, including murder, kidnapping and fire bombs, but that is just the tip of the iceberg and that’s the point, so much action and crime in a small town. It is an entertaining read with never a dull moment. It held my attention throughout.

Great pace, great finish to so many stories, this feels like it could be a very satisfying end to my time in Bruncliffe with Samson and Delilah, but I don't want it to be, and right there is a mark of the success of this 8th instalment. I can't really comment too much on the plot because it ties up so many loose ends, and a fair amount of motive and villain identity is known before this book even startsThey first meet each other when she decides to take on a tenant and figures he would be as good as any other.