The Corfe Castle Murders (Dorset Crime Book 1)

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The Corfe Castle Murders was my first book by Rachel McLean. I was drawn to it because I recently spent a couple of days at Corfe Castle and I found it hard to imagine anyone getting murdered there. When I realised that the first murder victim was an archaeologist, I decided to use it for the new Dem Bones square in Halloween Bingo. They were put in the oubliette, a place where prisoners were forgotten, and it is believed up to 22 of them starved to death there. The Normans were still building timber structures but Corfe Castle was constructed using stone walls, reaffirming its importance and dominating the landscape of the defeated English. Lesley has to choose between getting some respite in a calmer locale or early retirement. Instead, she decides to take a new position in the Dorset Police Department in Major Crimes. It is not surprising that Rachel would become a very prolific author as writing is something she always loved ever since she was a child.

Dorset Crime Series by Rachel McLean - Goodreads Dorset Crime Series by Rachel McLean - Goodreads

In 1216 – the last year of his reign – John spent even more time at Corfe Castle. When he died, few mourned his passing, but his legacy lives on in the building works he carried out here, especially the magnificent gloriette. Sir Christopher HattonThis series will also feature DC Connie Williams from the Zoe Finch books and her partner Rav, who move in down the road from Freya. Freya can’t resist haranguing poor Connie for information about local crimes. Freya Garside is an octogenarian busybody living in Kings Heath, Birmingham. She finds herself at the heart of unsolved mysteries and her natural interest in people (or rather, her nosiness) helps her to solve them. DCI Lesley Calrke is in Birmingham enjoying some good times with her daughter before she’s due to start working for the Dorset Police Major Crimes Investigations Team. The Division Bell trilogy consists of three political thrillers taking place in an imagined dystopian near future. If you liked House of Cards or Bodyguard you’ll enjoy these.

The Corfe Castle Murders - Goodreads

Detective Constable Johnny Chile is suspected of providing information to Arthur which he uses to play others in his community. The case opens to Simone who works at the National Trust, being discovered dead in the Poole Harbor nature reserve.

Where is Corfe Castle?

The novella The Lochside Murder (you don’t have to read this to follow the series but this is where it fits) It's not fancy. It's not bloodthirsty. It does nothing new with form. It neither asks nor answers pressing existential questions. It just solves a murder through good police work and builds a team in the process. And it does it very well. Note: It’s best to read these after the Dorset and Zoe books, especially the Zoe books because of Mo moving to Scotland. But, as always, I’m writing them in a way that means there are no major spoilers if you do read this series first.

The Corfe Castle Murders: Dorset Crime, Book 1 (Audio

Lesley is a complex character who has a lot going on in her life. I feel that there is more to her than meets the eye and I hope this is further explored as the book series progresses. After the Roundheads (often referred to as Parliamentarians) were victorious in the English Civil War, the writing was on the wall for the castle. In the 1640s, England was in the grip of civil war and Corfe Castle found itself on the front line of conflict between Parliament and King Charles I.Most of the castles the Normans built in the early years following the conquest were wooden palisades, hastily constructed on top of an artificial mound called a motte. It’s a mark of Corfe’s importance that the natural motte of the castle mound was one of the first to be topped with stone walls. Book Blurb: Can she get along with her new partner DS Dennis Frampton, a traditionalist who doesn’t appreciate her style? How will she navigate the politics of a smaller force where she’s a bigger, and less welcome, fish? And most importantly, can she solve the murder before the killer strikes again? As the first in a series, we are drip fed details of the police team and I found that I really want to see how things develop.