The Corfe Castle Murders is book one in the Dorset Crime series by Rachel Mclean. After recovering from an accident DCI Lesley Clarke, supervisor, recommend time away from London in the beautiful Dorset countryside. However, before DCI Lesley Clarke started her new job, she caught the case of murder at Corfe Castle. On top of learning how Dorset law enforcement works, she encountered disrespect from her colleagues. The readers of The Corfe Castle Murders will continue to follow DCI Lesley Clarke to find out what happens. I really enjoyed the clean clear prose and the well-paced storytelling. It was like watching someone make a Japanese line drawing: confident, elegant, efficient and clear.

Samantha Henderson murder: Fiance Dominic Isom jailed - BBC Samantha Henderson murder: Fiance Dominic Isom jailed - BBC

Lesley has to resolve a murder mystery before a killer strieks again, even as she has to deal with teh politics of a smaller team in which she a less welcome even if bigger fish. I've loved Rachel McLean's books in the past so I'm disappointed not to have felt the same way about The Corfe Castle Murders. That's not to say this is a bad book - it's not and I have no doubt that many readers will thoroughly enjoy it.The charity novella The Riverside Murder (a shorter book written to support Ukraine, you don’t need to read this to follow the series but this is where it fits) Siding with the Cavaliers against the Roundheads was to turn out into a fateful decision for the castle. It is impossible to warm to the bigoted supposed heroine as she is totally self possessed and treats the locals as bumpkins. It is a wonder that she does not describe them with straw in their mouths.

The Corfe Castle Murders, by Rachel McLean - loopyloulaura The Corfe Castle Murders, by Rachel McLean - loopyloulaura

The Corfe Castle Murders is a compelling, character-driven mystery perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, LJ Ross and Elly Griffiths. 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. Before she’s even started her new job, Lesley is dragged into investigating a murder at one of England’s most iconic landmarks, the imposing Corfe Castle.The Corfe Castle Murders’ is the first book in the new Dorset Crime series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Lesley Clarke. I have been a fan of Rachel’s work for a while now and when I heard that she was due to release a new series, I knew that I had to read the first book as soon as I possibly could. I read the synopsis and it sounded so interesting that I just couldn’t resist jumping straight in. So without further ado, I grabbed my Kindle, grabbed a cup of tea and settled down for an interesting afternoon of reading.