Murder in the Mill-Race

British Library Crime Classic

By: E.C.R. Lorac

Narrated by: David Thorpe

When Dr Raymond Ferens moves to a practice at Milham in the Moor in north Devon, he and his wife are enchanted with the beautiful hilltop village lying so close to moor and sky. At first they see only its charm, but soon they begin to uncover its secrets - envy, hatred and malice. Everyone says that Sister Monica, warden of a children's home, is a saint - but is she?

A few months after the Ferens' arrival her body is found drowned in the mill-race. Chief Inspector Macdonald faces one of his most difficult cases in a village determined not to betray its dark secrets to a stranger.

©1952 The Estate of E. C. R. Lorac (P)2020 Soundings

Dandy murder in Mil-race

This is an amazing murder investigation on the Devonshire moor. It has so many twists that I had trouble keeping up with them. I thoroughly enjoyed Ins. MacDonald and the people of this town. Highly recommend.

Good for passing the time

As per another review, I skipped the first four chapters feeling I hadn't missed anything. Once MacDonald comes on the scene it's an interesting story. Great narration.

great ending

Beautiful performance enhanced Lorac's Gothic tale of hypocrisy, blackmail and murder in a remote village. Recommended

Delightful

You can skip the first 4 chapters as that is all about the new dr and his wife moving to the village and settling into their new home. Chapter 2 does introduce characters and set the stage. The death happens I. Chapter 4. I skipped chapter 3 entirely after getting weary of furniture placement in new home.

The death of Nurse and the investigations into the villagers is riveting. It was a very enjoyable book and the narrator, David Thorpe gave an outstanding performance.

Not a fan of narration

I encourage you to listen to a sample of this narrator before buying - I wish I had :-(. Story was ok, though largely missing the enjoyable trail of clues that makes good mysteries, enabling the reader to try to guess the solution along with the detective. However a different narrator, more tuned in to the actual text, might have made the book a lot more enjoyable for me.