Murder on the Moor

Rex Graves Mystery #4

by C.S. Challinor

When barrister Rex Graves invites a group of friends to Gleneagle Lodge, he doesn’t anticipate the arrival of an old flame—much less a dead body or serial killer. Rex’s houseguest and colleague Alistair, who recently made an unsuccessful attempt to convict a man for the notorious Moor Murders, now finds himself under the same roof as the killer. Rex must use his skills of intellect, observation, and logic to save Alistair’s career and bring the murderer to justice.

Praise:
“Traditional mystery fans will appreciate the retro Agatha Christie style.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Scotland, Mystery Thriller, Detective, British Literature

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

C.S. Challinor was raised and educated in Scotland (St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh) and England (Lewes Priory, Sussex; University of Kent, Canterbury: Joint Hons Latin & French). She also holds a diploma in Russian from the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. She now lives in Southwest Florida. Challinor is a member of the Authors Guild, New York, and writes the critically acclaimed Rex Graves cozy mystery series featuring Rex Graves, Scottish barrister-sleuth.

CHRISTMAS IS MURDER, the first in the series, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller List. This title is also available in large print hardcover through Thorndike Reviewer's Choice. The fifth in the series, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, was a Mystery Guild Book Club pick (hardcover) and a Top Five Books of 2011 Selection by Crime Fiction Lover. JUDGMENT OF MURDER, #8, the newest Rex Graves title from Midnight Ink, was released on November 8, 2016, to highly favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews.

Please note, the covers shown on Goodreads for MURDER IN THE RAW and PHI BETA MURDER are the old covers. These two titles have since been recovered for subsequent editions, print and digital.

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rex buys land near a loch so he can be alone with his girlfriend, but his mother forces him to invite guests over for a dinner party. A deludge occurs, and the dinner guests become overnight guests, including Rex's old flame who dumped him in a previous book.
Sometime in the night a murder occurs and Rec makes assumptions and refuses to be open and mature with his girlfriend Helen in regards to the case.
The misogyny is strong in this chapter of the series. I'm shocked a female author has such hard feelings against women. At least she was open enough to have a gay character. And only one pervert this time around. Ew.
The premise was child molestation and murder, so it was an all-time-low for a cozy novel.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads. The first-reads contest is a lot of fun. I take chances on authors I've never heard of and am frequently pleasantly surprised.

This is the 4th book in a series, but stands alone fairly well. Murder on the Moor is a relatively short mystery in a classic form, great for escapist reading on the plane. Challinor uses the classic mystery setting of a group of people cut off in a creaky old house in a remote rural setting. Someone turns up dead. How did it happen? Was it murder? Who did it? The small town police force is occupied elsewhere so Rex Graves steps in and solves the mystery.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barrister Rex Graves has been talked into a house party at the renovated hunting lodge he plans to share with his current lady, Helen d'Arcy. He just wanted a nice quiet weekend, but she thinks it would be great to have a housewarming. They invite Rex's friend Alistair Frazer, who has just come off a disappointing trial loss--he thought for sure they had nailed the villain behind a series of child murders, but the man was found not guilty; Cuthbert and Estelle Farquharson, a local laird and lady who had donated generously to a charity run by Rex's mum; the Allerdice family--Hamish, Shona, Donnie, and Flora, who run the local hotel; and a tag-along guest of the Allerdices, Rob Roy, a freelance journalist in search of Nessie's cousin who is rumored to live in the hotel's loch. Rex isn't too thrilled with his guests. Cuthbert is a trigger-happy huntsman who isn't pleased when Rex tells him he doesn't allow hunting on his property. The men make free with his liquor cabinet without so much as a by-your-leave, Rob Roy wants to start rumors about another Nessie cousin in Rex's loch (giving Rex disturbing visions of creature-hunting tourists tramping all around the lake), and Shona seems awfully furtive about something. It's shaping up to be a swell weekend...and then his slightly off-balance ex-girlfriend, Moira Wilcox, crashes the party. It's raining cats and dogs and the road is washing out, so he can't exactly send her packing. It's really going to be a swell weekend.

So, yeah. After a long evening spent with people he wished were anywhere else but at his hunting lodge, Rex heads to bed. The next morning isn't much better. The rain won't quit, the road is definitely not fit for vehicles, the landline goes out, and the working cell phones either have dead batteries and no charger or go missing altogether. The television works just fine and there's news of another young girl who's been murdered. Alastair is beating himself up over losing the case against the man he's certain is the killer.

Oh...and did I mention that Moira winds up dead? Last seen, she was heading for the shared bathroom for a soak. When disgruntled fellow guests complain about the locked door and the need for the facilities in the morning, Rex grabs a ladder and climbs up to see if Moira has had an accident....there's nobody there and there's water all over the floor. A quick search of the lodge reveals that Moira is nowhere to be found. Then Rob and Cuthbert come rowing up to shore with Moira in the boat. She had been found drowned....And Rex is pretty sure it's not an accident or suicide. That most likely means that a killer slept under his roof last night....but why would they have killed Moira? She didn't know anyone else in the party. Or did she?

Fourth book in the Rex Graves series. Props for atmosphere--it gives the isolated country house feel. Though how isolated are you if the hotel/village is within reasonable walking distance? But the rainstorm and the feeling of isolation (no matter how real) does make for a tense, desolate situation. Having a mad child killer on the loose also adds bonus tension. I enjoy Rex's character very much and I absolutely sympathize with his feelings about unwanted house guests--especially when you're going to add murder to the mix. Atmosphere and characters get a high rating. The mystery plot--is adequate. But I have to say that I knew as soon as she showed up that Moira wasn't going to make it long, though I didn't know why. I also spotted the killer fairly quickly. A bit more mystery and actual possibilities of other suspects (there really isn't much in the way of motives for any of them) would have increased the rating. But it is a good, solid cozy mystery with a closed circle mystery vibe.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Grey853 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should've been a hit with me. It has all the ingredients for a traditional manor house mystery where people show up for a Christmas, get snowbound, and someone gets murdered.

The problem is that it's far too predictable and I not only knew who would get killed first, but who the killer was nearly from the start.

So,it's not that great as a mystery. There's still atmosphere and I do like Rex quite a bit. However, that doesn't really save the story enough to rate more than two stars.

[Double M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. I borrowed the book from EPL, but I would like to have it in my collection. I read a lot, but collect only the ones I like best. So, that's my review on this one. That's how much I like it.
It is an easy read. I finished it in one evening. You don't have to struggle through it just for the sake of solving the mystery.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

It isn't the worst book I ever read...close, but not the worst. But really, it is dreadful.
"Oh my, we seem to have a killer in our living room. What fun! Shall we provoke him?"

[Janet Rosfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfectly adequate mystery set on the Scottish moors with our hero Rex Graves, a barrister opening a bed and breakfast with his new girlfriend Helen and trying to escape the clutches of his old girlfriend Moira. Add in various friends and stereotypical neighbors, the hearty, buffoonish country squire, his long-suffering wife, wilted, wet noodle of a daughter and so on and then throw in a locked bathroom murder, plus a rampaging child killer roaming the moors and there you go. The tone of the book veered from serious to funny quickly enough to give me whiplash, but it's a good way to while away a snowy evening.

[Dian Beatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rex Graves invites girlfriend Helen, a colleague who recently lost a big case, some of his mother’s friends, and a local hotelier’s family to his newly renovated hunting lodge on a remote moor. An unexpected rainstorm and a surprise guest, who ends up murdered, put a damper on the festivities.

Rex is clever as ever, but this time with a little help from Helen. Interesting characters and the fast paced story carry you through to an ending that is just a bit too hunky dory for my tastes.

[Nicholas George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, amiable mystery in the Rex Graves series. Challinor does a great job making his characters distinctive and dimensional rather than simply stock suspects in a murder mystery. The mystery itself is nicely nuanced and complex without being needlessly so. The Scottish Highlands setting is a plus. There's nothing ground-breaking here certainly but it's well worth a read.

[Visubooks (Sofia) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid mystery book with good characters and an interesting plot. It was a bit slow especially given that the books is so short which caused some issues while reading it and I didn’t really live how the story progress. But in the end it got wrapped up nicely and one is left with a completed and enjoyable mystery!

[J I · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was looking for an Agatha-Christy-type quick read (a mystery which focuses on solving a believable puzzle, without preaching or extra baggage or withholding info so it can't be solved by the reader.) Not gory or completely off-color.

Writing had to be good.

This one fit the bill pretty well -- will look for more books by C.S. Challinor

[Laura Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good read by CS Challinor. Would give it a 3.5 if I could. This is the fourth book I’ve read in the Rex Graves series. The storyline moves along quickly and this who done it keeps you guessing. reads fast and the characters are always interesting!

[Bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Rex and Helen, and this was engaging. The mystery was not resolved to my satisfaction, though. It felt as if the author suddenly realized the manuscript was due at the publishers.

[Peter Swanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's written well enough, it just did not hold my attention.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author leaves u in suspense, not giving too much away until the end similar to Agatha Christie.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read for a beach day. Good story. Great setting.

[Deborah Gaspar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good well rounded mystery without too many surprises and culturally well done.

[Pauline Mcinerney]

DNF

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

probably the best one of the series so far

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of the Rex Graves mysteries that I have read and after looking at the reviews here on GR I was excited to get started. I must be honest.....I was just a little bit disappointed. I liked it and liked the characters, it was a "cozy" in the style of the golden age writers, set in Scotland which I love......so what was wrong? I thought it was padded out with superfluous detail that filled up the pages of this very short book and didn't give enough time to the clues and situations that led the main character to the identity of the murderer. I also thought that the final solution to the drowning murder seemed crammed into the last two pages as an afterthought. Now that I have said those things, I liked it well enough to search out some other Graves mysteries. Maybe I was just having a bad day!!!

[Ira Therebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the crime series I am reading now this is the one I will definitely recommend. I am 4th book into it and really love every story. It is written in old detective style we know from Agatha Christie. Rex Graves is a great character to follow on crime solving.

This particular one was again really fun. The murder takes place at Rex Grave's housewarming party and one of the guests must be the murder. I am surprised people say it was predictable. I had many theories for pretty much every character and it had some really nice twists. I also like how she ended the story between Rex and Moira. She couldn't bring her back every book, it would get too stale. So her being the victim was a good idea. Now we also felt a bit more for the character dying and it was a nice way to say goodbye

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder on the Moor is a mixed bag of a book. It gets good marks for atmosphere, a Scottish retreat where it rains and rains. I felt the wildness and the isolation and the lochs and the mud and the hay in the stable. The choice of murder victim was middling to me; there weren’t too many viable suspects and I like to be really torn between culprits. I felt the novel fell short with its mixed bag of characters. First off, the names were too similar; I was well into the book and constantly still flipping to the front to see who was who. Also, there were too many male characters that were hard to differentiate between and they were a dull lot to begin with. Then the denoument was all talking and explaining; I wasn't satisfied at the end.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scottish barrister Rex Graves intends his new country house to be a retreat for himself and his girlfriend Helen. But politeness forces him into hosting a house party that involves a number of people he doesn't care for. When death strikes, he finds that someone has tried to isolate the house, and when he does reach the police, he learns that they are too busy with the recent killing of a child to get to him right away. That means that Rex must do the detecting. This seems like such a nice series, but the writing always seems a bit flat for my tastes.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

For readers who love the traditional mystery--if you haven't discovered the Rex Graves series, you're in for a satisfying experience. Graves, a Scottish barrister, has a knack for being present when a murder is discovered. This time he and a group of friends are at Gleneagle Lodge, his newly purchased country retreat. He and his current lady friend, are not amused when his former fiance show up unannounced, determined to make trouble.
Challinoir takes the country house murder to a level approaching the best of Christie. Absolutely super!

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rex Graves and his girlfriend, Helen D'Arcy, are preparing for a party at Gleneagle Lodge in Loch Lochy in the Scottish Highlands. Their party is upset when a surprise visitor, Moira Wilcox, Rex's former girlfriend arrives and invites herself to stay. A serial killer of young girls is on the loose on nearby Rannoch Moor. A storm strands the guests overnight and Moira is discovered drowned in the loch close to Rex's house. This was a very good book. It isn't quite a locked room mystery but the suspects are all stranded by the storm. The mystery is well developed and I enjoyed it very much.

[KayDee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scottish Barrister Rex Graves has just purchased Gleneagle Lodge, a cottage on Loch Lown. The Loch is near to Rannoch Moor, the site of several recent child murders that remain unsolved. Deciding to throw a housewarming party, Rex invites local people and his girlfriend, Helen. He is stunned when Moira, an old flame, crashes the party and insists on staying the night. He is even more stunned when Moira is found floating in the Loch, their telephones wires are cut, and their tires are all slashed. Marooned in the house, they must band together to find the killer in their midst.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder on the Moore was another excellent mystery. It seemed a little similar to the Christmas Murders book albeit in this case the weather was a bad rain storm that kept everyone at the house but still. Reading the thick Scottish accented words was a bit of a stretch at times but it gave the story a nice charm and made you feel like you were there. I must say, that Moira woman was starting to get on my nerves but it was a shame she was murdered; interesting though how her murder and another series of killings all tied together.

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barrister Rex Graves invites people to his lodge - an old flame arrives and is killed because she thinks she recognizes one of the guests from the past. Turns out he is a child rapist and murderer so he killed her. But all his found out when Rex searches the man's room and finds evidence. Short read - which was nice. But story itself not very complelling.

[Deb Novack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was so engrossing that I read it in only two sittings. Mr Rex Graves owner of the lodge and a Scottish barrister was almost as good as Hercule Poirot. The cast of characters are marvelous as is the storyline, so true to life.

I would recommend this English cozy to anyone who loves cozies.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too simplistic, too unrealistic a solution. Really? No one would climb a ladder into someone's bathroom just to talk to them, even less likely is the idea of an old flame barging in after so long; the premises are unsustainable. The Scottish-isms of language felt forced and unnatural. I was looking for a new series, but this won't be it.