A Death Out of Season

DCI Sheldon Hunter #3

by Meg Elizabeth Atkins

Everyone’s got secrets. But are they worth killing for…?The residents of Clerehaven seem to enjoy the picture perfect, English village life. Although the villagers differ in age, history and social status, they all form a cheerful community where friendships are forged and support is given. That is until Jaynie Turner arrives…Beautiful, vain, and utterly self-absorbed, Jaynie is not the easiest person to make friends with. In fact, most of Clerehaven loathe her. That dislike, however, does not deter Jaynie. Recently divorced, she sets out to build a new life and a role for herself in the village. To do this, she undertakes extensive ‘research’, digging deep into Clerehaven’s history and that of the well-to-do Lynchet family, to whom she claims a tenuous connection.Unfortunately, Jaynie’s so-called ‘research’ uncovers more than an ordinary family history. And it’s not long after that Jaynie’s body is discovered. She’s been murdered.Inspector Sheldon Hunter is given the job of tracking down her killer, but it’s no easy task. Whilst Jaynie was clearly disliked by her neighbours, it is hard to see that anybody had a motive to kill her. But as Hunter and his team look further into the affairs of Clerehaven’s respectable, middle-class community, they begin to uncover a history that seethes with snobbery, loathing, and fear.The seemingly idyllic village’s past is riddled with lies and suspicious deaths. As Hunter gets closer to the horrific truth at the heart of Clerehaven, he upsets the social status quo in ways that Jaynie Turner could only have dreamed of. But can he overcome the hostility of the local community and prove who killed her?Death Out of Season is a deftly-written, fast-paced and gripping tale in the very best tradition of English village crime stories. It is also the first of Meg Elizabeth Atkins’ books to feature the charismatic Inspector Sheldon Hunter.Meg Elizabeth Atkins has won many plaudits for her fiction on both sides of the Atlantic, and reviewers have compared her to Elizabeth Bowen and Barbara Pym for the elegance of her writing. In several of her earlier novels, such as Samain, Palimpsest and Tangle, she has explored the disturbing undercurrents beneath the polite surface of English middle-class life, and in Cruel as the Grave forces erupt through the repression and containment of daily existence with violent consequences. Meg Elizabeth Atkins lives with her husband in a North Yorkshire village. She teaches creative writing and her other books include By The North Door , Cruel As The Grave and Samain .

Genres: Amazon

Hardcover

First published September 2, 2002

Reviews

[Crittermom]

There is just something about the cozy English village that makes it the perfect setting for murder. Perhaps it is because everyone knows everyone and secrets are difficult to keep. When someone goes to great lengths to not only uncover these secrets but to make everyone else aware of them, is that reason enough for their death? Death Out of Season poses this question as Jaynie Turner, a vain newcomer with a passion for genealogy and embarrassing fellow residents is discovered dead. Inspector Hunter and his team are assigned the case. The village of Clerehaven is not as charming as it appears from the outside, and it will take a great deal of effort to unravel the complicated reasons behind a not so complicated murder.

The story at the heart of Death Out of Season is a good one, but the quirky cast of characters is what makes Death Out of Season special. Inez and Dora are easy to like, amongst the few residents not uncomfortable with Inspector Hunter’s investigation. I especially liked the armadillo. This isn’t a dog book per se, but the armadillo (a dog of mixed and somewhat extraordinarily odd heritage) often steals the scene as he rips into “Things in a crinkly bag” that are given to him by each person who visits with Inez at the pub. He is a charming companion, perfect for the quirky and artistic Inez. Meg Elizabeth Atkins does an excellent job of creating characters who are unusual but believable. Even Nella, who is difficult to like and more than a little snobbish can be understood as a product of her background.

Meg Elizabeth Atkins skillful storytelling brings Clerehaven and its residents to life. Death Out of Season is an excellent example of murder in a cozy English village, a staple on the shelves of mystery lovers. I look forward to reading more of Meg Elizabeth Atkins’s novels featuring Inspector Hunter (hopefully I will get to meet the armadillo again).

4/5

I received a copy of Death Out of Season from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

—Crittermom

[Ionia]

To be completely honest, I had a real struggle trying to get into this book. It improved a little as I kept reading, but I never felt a strong connection with any of the characters. The plot chugged along somewhat slowly, and I had a difficult time paying attention to much of this book.

I think perhaps, if more had happened right away it would have been easier for me to fall into the story, but I felt that much of the beginning was just character introduction and nit much to get me interested in the rest of the story.

Just not the book for me.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Leyla Johnson]

This started off with a great story building up to a fabulous mystery with lots of twist and turns, lots of fun characters and a well developed plot. This book really kept my interest throughout and I was reading well into the night and sneaking pages whenever I could, so why the 4 rating? Because it just ended, it just left me wondering about all that wonderful character sketches just didn't follow thru. The mystery was ended, end of story, apart from that it was a really good story.
This book was provided to me in return for an honest and unbiased review

[Claire]

Death Out Of Season reminded me of a Midsomers Murder crossed with Miss Marple - police detective in a quintessential English village/town with normal community politics.

It starts quite atmospheric but settles down to become a cozy detective murder mystery. It was a little predictable as to who the culprit was but that might be down to me reading a number of murder mysteries.

The language is a bit unusual - I had to look up the meaning of "diffidence" and for the first time I've read "gonads" in a book and which it made me giggle.

It is the first book I've read by Meg Elizabeth Atkins so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's not a bad read, just a little tame and predictable for me. I would read another story by the author when I need a lighter read.

Thanks to Endeavour Press and Netgalley for my ecopy of Death Out Of Season.

[Barry Scott]

Excellent

This was my first introduction to DCI Sheldon Hunter by Meg Elizabeth Atkins and I found the novel started very slowly for my liking. I had read 20% before anything really happened but after that things certainly got a lot better. The novel revolves around the murder of a local busybody who was always trying to dig the dirt on everybody and this time she'd really struck gold. The main suspect, the sole remaining Lynchet family member is the prime suspect but trying to place her at the scene is proving difficult.

[Sans Washington]

A little confusing at first until I had all of the characters straight in my head. Short read. Traditional British whodunit. Enjoyed it very much.

[Paula R C R. C. Readman]

I enjoyed this cozy crime. I love the humour in the main character. There were a great many twist and turns with a great ending. Keep me turning the pages.

[Maggie]

What a wonderful world Meg Elizabeth Atkins creates! The small village of Clerehaven ticks along nicely. The Lynchet family have seen themselves as the local aristocracy so when Janie Turner- the rude self absorbed newcomer starts claiming a connection to them they are understandably not too pleased but it is a still a total surprise when she is murdered.

I loved the quirky characters and I would really love to see them reappear in another story. I was kept guessing as to the identity of the killer.

The only thing that stopped me from giving this book five stars was the abrupt way it ended. I felt as if a final chapter was missing.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book. I'll be looking out for more from Meg Elizabeth Atkins.

[Kathleen Gray]

A very quick read (it's quite short), this is an entertaining sort of mystery. Atkins has done a good job in creating a cast of colorful characters in a small village; oddly, the dog was my favorite. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC- I'd like to see something longer from Atkins as this felt as though it could easily have been expanded. She's got a nice writing style.

[Susan]

The secrets in the village of Clerehaven, are they worth killing for. Someone thinks so. The villagers lives start to be unsettled with the appearance of Jaynie Turner and her list of secrets. It will be up to Inspector Sheldon Hunter to find the killer
Took me a while to get into the book, but once I did I enjoyed the story and the many different characters.

[Nettie]

I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found it quite hard to get into this book and by the time I started getting interested, it was over. The characters and story line were all just average.

[LaShana]

I really tried to read this book, but something is missing. There was not enough there to hold my interest and the characters were quite boring.