As you probably know by now, I love a good murder mystery and am particularly fond of a British murder mystery; somehow there is nothing better than murder in a quaint little English town, and I am pleased to say this fits the bill!  The fact that this book is the first in a series is like icing on the cake.

Having read many murder mysteries, it is hard to come across something with a different slant. I was excited to find that in this story, the dead body is discovered at the bottom of a deep cave.  What makes this even better is that the area in Britain actually exists and so does the cave! (Make sure you take a minute and check out the fabulous photos of the area and the caves on the internet.)

The setting is Yorkshire England with all of the flowing dales and numerous caves under them surrounding the towns of Harrogate, Ripon and West Riding  This is a hot spot for caving enthusiasts. When a body is found by some explorers at the bottom of a deep cave it is easy to see that this was no accident but indeed the act of a killer.  I have never been a cave explorer, opting instead for the tourist level of pay the fee and walk through a well lit, cement floor cave so it was fascinating to read all the information about the subject in the book.

I also enjoyed not knowing whodunit until the end.  The process by which the killer is discovered is fun and DCI Oldroyd is a delightful quirky character who encourages his investigative team to think outside the box as he does.  This is a great weekend or rainy day read!

Thanks to NetGalley.com for providing the book!