What I enjoyed about Fell Murder. A Lancashire Mystery by E. C Lorac
Edith Caroline Rivett (6 May 1894 – 2 July 1958) was a British crime writer, who wrote under the pseudonyms E. C. R. Lorac, Carol Carnac and Mary Le Bourne during the golden age of detective fiction. The British Library have republished thirteen of her Crime Mysteries and I have now read, and thoroughly most of them.
There are three though that stand out for me as they are both based in Lancashire - Fell Murder, Theft of the Iron Dogs and Crook O'Lune.
I have just re-read Fell Murder - First published in 1944 it's a great read and “presents a fascinating turn ‘return of the prodigal sone’ mystery set in the later stages of the Second World War amidst the close-knit farming community of Lancashire's lovely Lune Valley”, (Martin Edwards in his introduction)
I love it because of the way E.C. Lorac describes the countryside ‘in real time’. It's a part of England that was close to her heart as well as her elder sister and they both lived in Aughton, in Lonsdale, Lancashire up until her death in 1958. You really feel like you are in the northern hills as her investigator Chief Inspector Macdonald tries to connect with local families who are naturally suspicious of a chap coming up from London; a man who wants to find the truth behind the death of Robert Garth; a local farmer and land owner of some standing. Having worked on several farms myself, E.C. Loracs description of farming folk and their beasts really resonated with me and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants to try her novels.
So if you like the sound of this and fancy reading something different, then please come and visit us in our shop, where you will find this one and several others from the British Library Crime Classics. If you want to find out more about E.C. Lorac and her work then visit one my favourite podcaster's - Caroline Crampton and her hugely informative website www.shedunnitshow.com.
You can also find her podcasts on BBC Sounds.
Find out more about the British Library Crime Classics at
https://shop.bl.uk/collections/crime-classics
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