Murder Mystery Weekend

DI Skelgill Investigates #11

by Bruce Beckham

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #11 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."WHEN BEAUTIFUL YOUNG SOCIALITE Scarlett Liddell apparently commits suicide during a ‘Murder Mystery Weekend’, extravagantly staged at a Lakeland castle, the coroner calls in DI Skelgill to tie up the loose ends. Post mortem results, however, cast doubt upon the provisional verdict – and circumstantial evidence begins to point to one obvious suspect – the woman’s multi-millionaire husband, Will Liddell.And when Will Liddell is accused of a separate offence, it seems the noose is tightening around his neck – but as Skelgill delves beneath the surface of the wealthy couple’s exclusive circle, increasingly he realises there may be complex motives afoot.In this psychological drama Skelgill cannot so easily rely upon his roughhewn intuition. To expose the truth he must penetrate an echelon of society beyond his comfort zone, and a tangle that might almost be the plot for a murder mystery weekend itself.BRUCE BECKHAM is an award-winning author and copywriter. A resident of Great Britain, he has travelled and worked in over 60 countries. He is published in both fiction and non-fiction, and is a member of the UK Society of Authors.His series ‘Inspector Skelgill Investigates’ features the recalcitrant Cumbrian detective Daniel Skelgill, and his loyal lieutenants, long-suffering Londoner DS Leyton and local high-flyer DS Emma Jones.Set amidst the ancient landscapes of England’s Lake District, this expanding series of standalone murder mysteries has won acclaim across five continents, with over 1 million copies downloaded, from Australia to Japan and India, and from Brazil to Canada and the United States of America."Great characters. Great atmospheric locale. Great plots. What's not to like?"Amazon Reviewer, 5 Stars

Genres: Mystery, Murder Mystery, Fiction, Detective

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2019

About the author

BRUCE BECKHAM brings a lifelong love of the outdoors to the contemporary crime novel. An award-winning, Amazon best-selling writer and member of the UK Society of Authors, he pens fiendish plots, vivid wild scenes and compelling dramas.

His series 'Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates' now extends to 24 standalone murder mysteries and 8 boxsets, and sells across five continents, from Japan and India to Brazil and the United States of America. Over one million copies have been downloaded worldwide.

Murder at Blind Beck (#25) was released in May 2025 and can be ordered at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK2XQ46Z

You are welcome to contact Bruce directly through the Goodreads message system or via his publisher, at this address: lucius-ebooks@live.com

To sign up for his monthly newsletter please click the website link above, or send a friend request or click 'follow' - to receive updates of free Kindle downloads and Goodreads giveaways.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A group of well heeled friends go to a murder mystery weekend. The wife of the host of the party ends up dead. Is it suicide or murder? Fly fisherman DI Skelgill and his gang investigate, and find themselves well out of place in Edinburgh. They do persevere.

Not bad. Possibly a little too clever for its own good.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I enjoyed the eccentricities of the character, he reminds me of chaste Virgil Flowers. One minor pet peeve he does a lot of tasty eating, reading the book will make you start craving Sausage rolls and Indian food. And scone and clotted cream, and bakewell tarts and victoria sponge and bacon butties and a good ale.

This is a unique police procedural where Inspector Skelgill and his band of trust DSs will try to determine if what seems to be a stunning suicide was in fact murder. And along the way will snack, dine, eat, nosh and guzzle their way through Edinburgh and other towns and cities.

Secrets will be revealed and more crimes uncovered. It's quite enjoyable.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received this ebook in exchange for review. Thank you
This is my first Inspector Skelgill book, and when I requested the book I did not realize it was number 11 in the series. I was very pleased that this story stands alone; I also read the last page that indicates all books stand alone. Great.
The book is extremely well written. No way you want to skim as this is really a book of literature. I was also pleased to see the book was not changed to appeal to American readers. Whom ever said we do not like foreign or translated writers do not know their readership. The story is intellectual with great thought process. I loved the nuances of Scotland, and having been to both Edinburgh and London, this was great.
While someone might not like fly fishing or the reason it's in the book, I do think it has value in sussing out one of the characters.
I look forward to reading more from Mr. Beckham.
Thank you again for the opportunity to discover a new series

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skelgill is enjoying his boat on his birthday, March 21, as evidence of Spring is observed in abundance: "Dog violets raise expectant lilac faces from decayed autumn leaf litter; tench stir from winter torpor...the plaintive bleat of new lambs reaches Skelgill's keen ears...The isolated edifice of Greenmire Castle - a proper castle with towers and turrets and arrow-slit windows...serves as an exclusive country residence for hire by the well heeled."
He is soon called to the castle to investigate the death of a young woman he had seen in a boat passing by his. He and his team have quite a number of high-status folk mostly of Edinburgh, to investigate in this episode.
note: tench are fish, one of Skelgill's prime interests in life, and I do hope I have never eaten one

Even though these books involve investigations of murders and other misdeeds, reading them make me feel at peace due to the interactions between Skelgill and his team and his observations of the natural world in each and every book.

[John Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the next for me in this brilliant series.

Here a suspicious death in a Lake District castle has Skelgill and team travelling to Edinburgh and London to interview surviving members of the parties to the eponymous Weekend.

As usual the reader is treated to a brief 'teach in' and this time not only on flyfishing but also knot tying. I wish that I had the photographic memory to remember the latter when I need to use them.

There are more twists and turns to this story than I might find on one of my 'bird's nests' (fishing term !) and I doubt if anyone will solve this one unaided.
I was lead astray very early on by what must have been a clever bit of misdirection and an overactive imagination but only as far as the next bit of bait I swallowed.

I was not altogether sure how Skelgill pulled all the relevant facts and theories together but another great read.

[Linden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wealthy Will Lindell has arranged a murder mystery weekend for some of his friends and their wives. Everyone is shocked when there is an unplanned death—was it suicide or murder? Businessmen, wives, and exes are all interviewed by Skelgill and his team, and there are some disturbing revelations.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce Beckham's language skills are part and parcel of the appeal of the Inspector Skelgill books, of which this is the eleventh. The mystery itself pretty much takes a back seat to the colorful passages that Beckham uses to describe the thought processes and actions the characters take as they work through a murder investigation that leads to revelations that certain persons would like to keep hidden.

Based on what Skelgill and his team discover, in a way, the denouement is saddening, as we learn more about what actually occurred. However, justice is served, albeit not in the way that was originally intended.

This may be the 11th book, but the plotting and characterization are top notch. Well-recommended.

[Patricia Mccammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. Another good book in this series. At a Murder mystery weekend, a body is found. Is it suicide or murder? Once again DI Skelgill and his two officers have to wade through multiple clues that leave to a surprise ending.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't Believe the Next Installment is not Until January

This is rather different from the previous DI Skelgill novels , being much more indoor and conversational , than most.
It is none the worse for that and a gripping mystery .
Bruce Beckham is a master of descriptive writing.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story!! I recommend reading it. The characters are great, story line is very up to date, and Skelgill is just as brilliant as ever!

[Nancy Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder Mystery Weekend and a Beauties Suicide/Murder

Detective Skelgill investigates a potential murder of a beautiful young woman who is married to a very wealthy older man during a Murder Mystery Weekend at Greenmire Castle on the banks of one of Skelgill's beloved lakes. The husband, once divorced, pays for decades of vacations for the same group of friends and their wives. He employees these same men and have made their lives comfortable. No one has a motive and only the husband was with the victim during time of event. Clues are found to stop a sexual predator but none that help Skelgill solve his mystery. That does not stop Skelgill and his team of Detectives and at last a story comes to form.

[Karen Moe · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just barely ok.....mostly just boring

It took me 3 days to slog through this book. It would have been much faster and more enjoyable if the author hadn't swallowed a thesaurus. Luckily I have a good vocabulary or I would have been looking up words every other sentence. As it was, I easily skipped an entire chapter that droned on and on about fly fishing,the knots to use and the flies. It added nothing to the story or a character. I love finding new authors and series to enjoy.......this is NOT going to be one o them. I'm only glad I got it for free.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am getting tired of saying this but Amazon is not letting me see if this was a Goodreads giveaway or not?? i am leaning toward that ... but it says the page can not be displayed ...what a great time for it to say that ... when i am reviewing like a silly person ... totally fell behind ... i will get this task done. any who ... i saw that this is like book 11 in this series. holy moly ...that is a huge series. i will read more from Bruce. i love mysteries. always and forever ... they are my go 2 genre.

[NIGEL HAYES · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

I have read all the books in the series and enjoyed them except this one . It was slow and boring. I only kept reading to find who the murderer was and then there wasn't one. Are you running out of ideas Mr Beckham? The only good thing was I got this book on kindle unlimited I would have been seriously p****d off if I had paid a lot of money for it. Must try harder Mr Beckham.

[Amy Peck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice One

Love the Skelgill series. There’s always a well-told story that keeps you guessing, but the Cumbrian setting and language takes you away to the Lake District where you can feel how cold the water is when you dip your fingers in the lake while Skelgill is fishing. Trust me, there is so much detail that you are actually there.
Murder Mystery Weekend is no exception. Glad that DC Jones wasn’t on loan to DI Smart in this one.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been waiting excitedly for the next book in the D.I. Skelgill series all year. Sadly it was a big disappointment to me. There was much about fishing that doesn't interest me although I don't mind him doing it once in awhile. But there seemed to be too much distraction from the case and I'm not sure I understood everything that was going on. It may be my brain is getting old. I'll see what others think about it this one.

I'm still looking forward to Number 12 though. Won't give up on Beckham.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Disappointing Ending

The book was great. Lots of wonderful atmospheric descriptions, loads of colorful characters, interesting plot points and twists, several suspects, Beckham's usual pithy dialogue, more Skelgill angst and scowls, birds, fish, insects... But somehow the solution to the mystery murder didn't sit well with me or particularly add up. A bit too much conjecture, withheld information and loose ends to my taste.

[Karen Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the young wife of a successful businessman is found dead in her hotel room, Skelgill and his team are called in to investigate. Was the young woman a suicide or a murder victim? Skelgill seems to sense something is off from the get-go on this one and, of course, it's much more complicated than anyone would imagine.

So lovely to see DI Skelgill at work again! I've missed him.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so this is m 11th read in the series - obviously I'm hooked. I find these stories all to be a very fun read. Love the quirks of each character and the flow of the story. Sure they're technical when Skelgill goes off about fishing or the countryside, but that's part of the charm of the series. I just downloaded tye next one!

[Doreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner!

This is an exciting, confusing death investigation! Is it murder or suicide? Nothing is as it appears and all those involved are evasive in questioning. The finale shows a situation that has been twisted and manipulated from the beginning. Do not believe anything any witness says nor trust any seeming evidence. Excellent mystery!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder mystery weekend is being held at Greenmire Castle in the Lake District. But when a body is discovered, an apparent suicide, D.I. Skelgill and D.S. Jones investigate. Will Liddell, who arranged the weekend for his friends and wives, seems to be a suspect in the death of his wife.
An enjoyable crime story

[Sarah Nix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skelgill is certainly persistent!! He grabs an idea and never lets go! He discovers his assistant is brighter than he gave her allowance for. Very near his own sentiment, which surprises him! It was difficult to follow the vast array of characters and their role in the murder. Interesting read!

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is less about fishing and more a revenge tragedy. It is a clever, contemporary plot but takes rather a long time to establish. I also think too much of the mystery emerged from. Skelgill’s head. While much of the analysing of data and checking goes to his Sargeant, Skelgill retains control.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

good series

I really enjoy the DI Skelgill books. This one, like the others, can be a stand alone, so the reader need not worry if he’s behind. This one stunned me with the solution Skelgill, Jones, and Leyton work out. “Who’d have thunk it?”

[Rema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you !

Inspector Skelgill is the most interesting character. I have read all of this series and quite enjoy all of the stories.

[Sheila Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good murder mystery

[Geraldine R. Gaugler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read

These books always have a little twist at the end. I like the way the plot keeps you guessing. Detective Inspector Skelgill is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes.

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is ok, but the writer has an unusual style. Not at all typical of this genre.

[Cynthia Just · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping

Equally as good as all other Skelgill books. Characters remain well developed and likeable. Murderer and suspects were quite unusual.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent book , my first Bruce Beckham book. Very good read . I really enjoyed the story and believable people.
I also enjoyed the setting.