Murder on the Moor

Murder on the Moor by Julianna Deering

A Drew Farthering Mystery

This is the 5th in the Drew Farthering Mystery series but is a stand alone book that I really enjoyed without needing to read the other books.  There is an enchantingly haunting, but not scary, feel to this book as the hero and his wife wanders the moors and ruins to find the reason behind murders that seem unlinked but must have the same source in the remote village in England.
The book presents a loving husband and wife of two years who dote on each other with their rather piquerist version of marriage, as contrasted by everyone else in the book who seems to have made a rather poor match...making everyone seem guilty and worthy of having some sort of motive, if not a poor one, in the murder on the moor.
The foggy moor and dog footprints make this book seem to have more than one mirror image to Sherlock Holmes as well as the Bronte sister's writings. This is not lost in the book as the characters comment and even quote from these books as well as other classics.
The author does a tactful job using similar cases from other novels to build up suspicion but also adding surprising twists and turns to the book.
It is a pleasant book that brings God into mysteries but doesn't preach at the reader. Characters struggle with worldly issues but nothing too vulgar and Drew always remains upright even when he may suspect some characters because of his past. He confronts the real reason for his harsh judgment, his pride, and deals with it even as he questions the motives behind a person's willingness to commit murder.
The plot thickens as more people become murder suspects and even people thought to be innocent are found to have motives. But who did it and what was the real reason to kill? Is it money or perhaps poor marriage choices?


This book was provided by Bethany House for this review. The opinions are my own.