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The Secret Garden Murders

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The Secret Garden Murders

By: J. R. Ellis
Narrated by: Colin R. Campbell
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A murder in a locked garden. A village full of secrets. Can DCI Oldroyd find a killer who has vanished into thin air?

When a woman is found strangled in the locked garden of historic Bishop Hewick Hall in Yorkshire, DCI Jim Oldroyd needs to solve a seemingly impossible murder. The only door was bolted from the inside and the kitchen garden walls are too high to climb. If no one could enter or leave, how did the killer commit the crime and escape?

As Oldroyd and his team investigate the victim’s past, they discover Clarissa Morden wasn’t the kind elderly woman she appeared. Instead, she was a ruthless blackmailer who kept coded records of her neighbours’ darkest secrets. Her list included a local cabinet maker, the Bishop Hewick Hall manager and even her next-door neighbour—suddenly it seems as if half the village has a motive for murder.

When a second body is discovered in the local river, it seems this quiet corner of Yorkshire may never be the same again. Can Oldroyd unlock the secret of the impossible locked garden murder and find the culprit? Or will the killer strike again in this tranquil village to keep their secrets hidden…

© 2026 by J. R. Ellis. ℗ 2026 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

 Cosy Crime Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedurals Suspense Thriller & Suspense Murder England Village
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The Skipton Murders By: J. R. Ellis
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I listened to this on Audible with Kindle Unlimited and initially was a little surprised as we have a new narrator for this book, which isn't a positive or a negative, just different and it took a little while to get used to the differences in the characters.
We have previously had a locked room mystery with Jim, this one is a locked garden and whilst it stumps his team, it doesn't stump Jim.
A great mystery once I got past the "new voice"

Secrets and blackmail

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Loses so much, compared to earlier titles in the series, without Michael Page’s masterful & characterful narration!

Disappointing compared to earlier titles!

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Love these stories - I live in York so know all the places written about. Shame about the new narrator, it was hard to tell the difference between character speech at times whereas the previous narrator really brought the characters to life. Oldroyd is supposed to have a Yorkshire accent but this was not apparent.

Good story but bring back the previous narrator!

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Not a bad story, but found the change of the narrator in this series tricky to get used to and he wasn’t as good as the previous one in my opinion. Perhaps if you hadn’t listened to the books before you’d have a different view.

Good plot

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I’ve listened to all J R Ellis books and enjoy the tone and caricature from John Paige voice. The new reader has a bland and monotone voice, all the people sound the same. If anymore Ellis books come out I’ll check who is reading. Very disappointed.

Poor Narrative

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