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Crook o' Lune

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It all began with sheep-stealing. A hateful act among the shepherds of the fells, and yet not a matter of life and death. Then came arson and with the leaping of the flames, death and disorder reached the peaceful moors. Holidaying with his friends the Hoggetts in High Gimmerdale while on a trip to find some farmland for his retirement, Robert Macdonald agrees to help in investigating the identity of the sheep-stealers, before being dragged into a case requiring his full experience as Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard.

Lorac spins a tale portraying the natural beauty, cosy quiet and more brutal elements of country living in this classic rural mystery first published in 1953.

©1953, 2022 The Estate of E.C.R. Lorac, Volume Copyright The British Library Board; Introduction Martin Edwards (P)2022 Soundings Mystery Traditional Detectives Detective Fiction Suspense
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This story is as much about a lost way of Lancashire rural life as it is about the mystery of a dead housekeeper and stolen sheep. It is set in the vast area of the Trough and Forest of Bowland, where the author spent much of her life. As a consequence, the characters have depth and feel very real. The heart of the mystery is about families with a very strong attachment to the land they farm and live on and about the history of their title to that land. It is not fast paced, but it is intriguing. And of course, the investigator is Inspector MacDonald, who features in so many of ECR Lorac's crime novels. I really like him as a character - his honesty and integrity, his emotional intelligence and ability to empathise with people on the margins of their communities and his willingness to take strong, sometimes ruthless action, when the need arises. David Thorpe is very good as the narrator, coping well with reproducing Lancashire accents, but he does come adrift in voicing one character, the pompous vicar, who sounds like a bad recreation of Charlie's Aunt.

A simple but very satisfying story

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Just couldn’t get into this story at all. Tried several times but found it very long winded. The reader is very good no problem there just the story.

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