Dying in the Wool

Excellent 1920s murder mystery, set in my neck of the woods. Guilty of judging the book by its cover, I was tempted to read this while processing a reference copy ('local author') for the library where I work. The quaint illustration by Helen Chapman really says it all - mill town, rural setting, figure in a cloche hat snapping a picture - and the story itself does not disappoint.

The year is 1922, and Kate Shackleton is one of the 'surplus women' widowed by the Great War, an all too common heartache for a generation of lonely women left behind when their loved ones were killed on the battlefield. Of course, this also means that Kate is now an independent woman living comfortably by herself, although she hasn't quite given up the ghost show more of her surgeon husband, who has the intelligence and initiative to put her spare time to use helping others. After a couple of 'amateur' investigations helping to trace missing people for friends, Kate receives her first paying case - find the father of a wartime acquaintance. Joshua Braitwaite, wealthy mill owner from 'Worstedopolis' (the area around Bradford and Leeds), disappeared from home in 1916, after apparently attempting to commit suicide. Now his daughter wants answers - is he still alive, and if so, why did he leave? Or did he suceed in taking his own life, broken over the death of his son in France? Kate sets to work, finding skeletons in the Braithwaite closet.

I really enjoyed this mystery, not least the local history, and can't wait to read Brody's next Kate Shackleton novel. Kate has all the markings of a famous literary detective - connections, curiosity and a sidekick - but she is also a winsome and amusing narrator, at times vulnerable and motivated by her own loss, but always honest and determined. The era is also perfect, allowing a measure of independence for women emboldened by war work and forced to survive on their wits, yet still unwelcome in a man's world of crime investigation. Kate even has her own car, which is shocking in itself! Frances Brody gets the time and place just right, flavouring a neat mystery with historical detail and Yorkshire humour. show less

Like so many other Englishwomen in the 1920s, 31-year-old Kate Shackleton is a war widow. She is living on her own and has had some success in tracking down missing men for friends - sometimes the men died in the War, sometimes they just left their former life to start anew. She is excited, if nervous, to take her first paying case - a fellow Voluntary Aid Detachment woman, Tabitha, asks her to see if she can locate her father, who went missing in 1916, so that he can walk her down the aisle at her upcoming wedding. The family owns a wool mill and is very prominent in their region, but the general consensus is that the man, distraught over the death of his son, killed himself; Kate, however, soon finds that nothing is quite as it show more appears and that the gap of six years since his disappearance has only served to further muddy the waters…. This is the first novel in a series, and it’s got all the things I like in a cozy: interesting historical period, characters who leap off the page as fully-realized people, a complicated plot and settings that come to life in the author’s hands. I’ve read some cozies in which it’s painfully obvious that the author did minimal research, if any, but that is not the case at all here - I now know more about the manufacturing of wool than I ever will need to know (and I mean that in a good way). I’m looking forward to spending more time with Kate and with Mr. Sykes (Jim, not Bill), her sort-of sidekick, and am pleased to see that there are a dozen more books to read; recommended! show less

I was attracted by the setting of Yorkshire textile mills in 1922 with a war widow taking up a new career as a private detective after some success as an amateur, however, it turned out to be disappointing. There was some interesting information about the textile industry and the time frame was well done but the characters were flat and uninspired, the sleuthing was tedious, and the plot far-fetched. Skip this one.

Kate Shackleton is asked by Tabitha Brathwaite, a friend from her VAD days, to find her father who has been missing since the days of the war. He owned a textile mill but had been accused of attempting suicide. He made an escape from the hospital where he was being held until his court date. Tabitha's mother appeared to be waiting for his death declaration after a seven year absence. Tabitha wanted her father present at her wedding. Kate investigates. Some reviewers liken this series to Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series. The main similarity is both series feature female British protagonists involved in nursing during World War I who become detectives. I felt the main character was underdeveloped, and I never connected with any show more of the characters. Kate's assistant Sykes,recommended to her by her father, may be the most interesting character, but the author marginalized him. I found myself wishing Sykes were the detective for the series. His background seems to be more suitable to detecting. I doubt I'll continue the series. show less

Having successfully tracked down missing soldiers for their families after WWI, Kate Shackleton is asked by a friend from when they were both in the VAD to turn professional and find her father, a mill owner who went missing in 1916.

Interesting background, but I think I spotted a slip with regard to Kate's family (admittedly not the real focus of the story) which an editor should have caught.

First Line: My name's Kate Shackleton.

Normally a peaceful Yorkshire mill town, the only exceptional thing to have happened in Bridgestead is when mill owner Joshua Braithwaite went missing and was never heard from again. Now Braithwaite's daughter Tabitha is getting married, and she wants to try one last time to find her father.

She turns to Kate Shackleton, a friend since their Voluntary Aid Detachment days during World War I. Kate's husband was listed as missing in action/ presumed dead during the war, and since the Armistice, she has been having a bit of success finding missing husbands for local women. But once Kate turns her skill to the puzzle of the missing mill owner, she discovers that someone is willing to kill to keep the show more secret.

This first book in the Kate Shackleton series takes place during the 1920s in the Bradford and Leeds area of Yorkshire. This area was the heart of the cloth trade in England, and I loved the fact that each chapter began with a textile term. I had no idea that so many words and phrases from the manufacture of cloth had made their way into everyday speech.

Kate Shackleton is young and independent, thinks nothing of driving herself anywhere she wants to go, and asking questions wherever she thinks they should be asked. Being advised that she needs help with some of her investigative work, Kate hires former policeman Jim Sykes, and it's fun to watch the two of them get used to working with each other; Kate not being used to having an employee, and Jim not used to such a Modern Woman. The person suggesting that Kate get help was wise because this case developed into a very complicated one that kept me guessing at every twist and turn.

I really liked the time period, the setting, and the plot of Dying in the Wool, but the characters didn't quite come to life as I'd hoped they would. Kate, Jim and Tabitha seemed to have extra measures of British reserve that kept me at a distance the entire time I was reading. Even so, this is a good, solid mystery, and I will be visiting Kate Shackleton again to see if she's warmed up to visitors. show less

I picked this up not expecting too much, so I was quite surprised. 1920s British mysteries with feisty young female heroines seems to be quite a popular genre lately and I've enjoyed a few. Brody, however, manages to stand out from the crowd with more sophisticated narrative technique (sections viewed through various characters' viewpoints), keeping the "period details" to a minimum and constructing a plausible and interesting mystery. Definitely the best of the type that I've read so far.