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Crook o' Lune

E.C.R. Lorac

Start date: April 1, 2025

Finish date: April 30, 2025

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: One of the most popular rediscovered Golden Age authors
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Nov 25, 2023 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: british, series, mystery, murder, golden-age, ecr-lorac

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Crook O’ Lune (1953) is as much a book of Lancashire’s farms and fells as it is a (murder) mystery featuring Edith Caroline Rivett or E. C. R. Lorac’s Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald, with Lorac’s wonderful powers of description bringing the place (which she herself called home) alive.

Our story open with Gilbert Woolfall making his way to Aikengill, the old stone house he has inherited after the recent death of his unc My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Crook O’ Lune (1953) is as much a book of Lancashire’s farms and fells as it is a (murder) mystery featuring Edith Caroline Rivett or E. C. R. Lorac’s Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald, with Lorac’s wonderful powers of description bringing the place (which she herself called home) alive.

Our story open with Gilbert Woolfall making his way to Aikengill, the old stone house he has inherited after the recent death of his uncle Thomas.

It was a glorious spring evening, the sun still gilding the crests of the high fells, though the valley was already in shadows. At first, the steep narrow road ran between hedgerows in which the first blackthorn was spreading a mist of white, and the willow catkins were blobs of gold, but after a couple of miles the hedgerows gave way to dry-stone walls, the arable land dropped behind and the road rose even more steeply to the open fellside. There was a cattle grid across the road at the top of the hill, in addition to the gate which used to bar the road: stone walls ran to right and left as far as the eye could see, dividing the cultivated land from the rough sheep pasture.

Gilbert is a city-man, with an established business, but visits Aikengill whenever he can, feeling a connection to the place which prevents him from simply selling it, yet well aware that on his own he is in no position to take up farming. Aikengill is looked after by the housekeeper Mrs Ramsden, she too unable to leave though she is wanted to look after an ailing relative. As we are introduced to the small village and its few inhabitants who live in a few farms spread out across the village, we see the rector Mr Tupper is not well-liked and holds a grudge against old Thomas Woolfall for not leaving any bequest for the church. Some other residents are also interested in what is to become of Aikengill, either for purchase or employment.

Meanwhile Chief Inspector Macdonald himself arrives in Lunesdale, to visit his friends the Hoggetts (Giles and Kate), with the intention of finding and purchasing a farm for himself which he can eventually retire to (we also learn that he knows his cows well). Needless to say, this dream does turn into a busman’s holiday as some strange events take place, some sheep thefts around the area for starters, and followed by arson at Aikengill. This latter is complicated by the death of poor Mrs Ramsden who was supposed to be away from Aikengill when the fire took place. Macdonald is roped in, initially just as ‘consultant’, as the local Chief Inspector Bord wishes to take advantage of his expertise, but that pretence is dropped soon and he is officially deputed to work on it.

I’ve only just begun exploring E. C. R. Lorac’s books but like the previous one I read Shroud of Darkness, her powers of description stood out in this one as well. Whether it be the countryside, beautiful (as seen from the quote above) yet unrelenting and difficult to navigate, life in the farms themselves, attractive on the one side, yet with many hardships from early days and sleepless nights to the fragile sheep and cattle, or the weather itself, the snow cutting off people from any help, and consequently, life. This is, as Martin Edwards points out in his helpful introduction, the place which Lorac made her home, and her love for it shines through, also highlighting how the loveliness and peaceful atmosphere belies the popular perceptions of ‘industrial’ Lancaster.

The mystery is a slower one in the sense that the initial developments, whether the sheep thefts or the fire at Aikengill with a death that appears accidental doesn’t follow the course of the usual murder mystery, as Macdonald begins to look into the matter and more developments take place, we begin to see how the different pieces of information, relationships and equations made known to us all through do have a bearing on the answers we get at the end (and like the usual murder mystery there are other deaths/attempts as well). The solution and explanation were nicely done, not unexpected (the person was a possible suspect) yet not one I could have worked out entirely either.

Even though this is a small village with few characters, the ones we meet are well drawn out and distinctive; there is also a good sense of the period in terms of shadows of the war and its consequences still visible.

I also enjoyed how the ‘Crook’ of the title could refer to so many things, whether that in the river which Macdonald observes, or the shepherd’s crook, or indeed the kind Macdonald deals with, as he himself notes.

A very enjoyable title by Lorac and I’m glad that the British Library Crime Classics series has brought back so many of her titles back in print, which I will be continuing to explore.

4.5 stars ...more

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Mar 22, 2025 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

E.C.R. Lorac has become a favourite Golden Age author of mine and of my fellow readers on Reading the Detectives. Sadly, not all of her books are back in print, but I have enjoyed all that I have read so far and this was no exception.

Crook o'Lune involves Robert Macdonald and is book 38 in the series, first published in 1953. Macdonald is visiting some friends he made in a previous book, The Theft of the Iron Dogs, which was published in 1946. Macdonald is planning to buy a small farm for his re ...more

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Mar 24, 2025 Susan in NC rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, audiobook, my-library, detbuddy25

Like many of Lorac’s rural Golden Age mysteries, the setting is very much part of the plot. Here, she has Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald revisiting the Lune Valley in Lancashire. The author herself lived there and her love of the area and its people shines through. The descriptions of the landscape are lyrical and evocative, and I can see why Lorac admired and respected the sheep farmers who worked hard eking out a living there.

After solving a few cases over the years in the region, Macdonald ...more

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Oct 24, 2022 Lynnie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, read-in-2022, lancashire, post-war, british-library-crime

There are many good reviews that I agree with here on GR. I can only add that I found this book totally absorbing and really hope that the British Library reprint her other two Lancashire mysteries, mentioned in the introduction - The Theft of the Iron Dogs and Still Waters.

9 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2024 Teri-K rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: youtube-rec, mystery-golden-age, wish-access-to, z-hoopla

There was a lot to enjoy in this book - especially the setting, a richly described rural landscape of fells and sheep and isolated cottages. And had I been expecting to read the story of the time Detective MacDonald spent rambling the countryside admiring the views I would have enjoyed it quite a lot. However, I was expecting a mystery, and that was sorely lacking. I'd read over half of the book when I realized only the inciting event had taken place, the rest had been conversations that covered ...more

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Nov 15, 2024 Cricket Muse rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

For those who aren’t in rush to discover the culprit and appreciate a crime set in the English farming community, then this entry into the author’s MacDonald series is just the ticket.

Though it is the #38th entry (!) it can be read as a standalone. Its languid pace and attention to detail creates a relaxed approach to a puzzling set of circumstances that involve sheep rustling, arson, and manslaughter. Think All Creatures Great and Small mashed with an Agatha Christie detective plot.

While Lorac ...more

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Jun 27, 2023 Annarella rated it it was amazing

Even if it's not one my favorite Lorac it kept me turning pages and surprising till the end.
The love of the author for the places is vivid and she creates a lot of images of hills, wood and places I would like to visit.
The mystery is complex and there's a lot of twists and the solution was unexpected.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine ...more

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