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A Murder Inside

The first mystery in a brand new classic crime series

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About this listen

 'Has a charm, and mystery, all of its own' THE TIMES

'Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers' DAILY MAIL

The first historical mystery in a new classic crime series from bestselling author Frances Brody. This is the perfect locked room page-turner for fans of Agatha Christie and Jacqueline Winspear.
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1969. A job in the Prison Service is not for everyone. The training is hard, the cells are bleak and a thick skin is needed. But for Nell Lewis, helping prisoners is something she cares about deeply, and when she's promoted into a new post as governor of HMP Brackerley in Yorkshire, she's tasked with transforming the renowned run-down facility into a modern, open prison for women.

Just as Nell is settling into her new role, events take a dark turn when a man's body is discovered in the prison grounds. The mystery deepens still when one of their female inmates goes missing, ensuing a search across the country.

Can Nell resolve the sinister happenings at HMP Brackerley, before anyone else is put in danger?
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What readers are saying about Frances Brody:

'Witty, acerbic and very, very perceptive' Ann Cleeves

'A splendid heroine' Ann Granger

'An engagingly forthright and indefatigable investigator' Irish Times

'Frances Brody matches a heroine of free and independent spirit with a vivid evocation of time and place . . . a novel to cherish' Barry Turner, Daily Mail

'The series is right up there with Miss Marple' Sunday Sport

'Delightful' People's Friend

'Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs in a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and were matured by their wartime experiences' Literary Review

'Brody's excellent mystery splendidly captures the conflicts and attitudes of the time with well-developed characters' RT Book Reviews

'In Yorkshire we are proud to have such a first-rate crime novelist in our county' Yorkshire Gazette & Herald©2021 Frances McNeil Cosy Historical Mystery Traditional Detectives Women Sleuths Fiction Crime

Critic reviews

Has a charm, and mystery, all of its own
An intriguing and heart-warming story
With a competent, dynamic and likeable heroine, and an environment packed with stories great and small, it's hard to see how this series would fail
Praise for Frances Brody:
Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers
Brody's writing is like her central character Kate Shackleton: witty, acerbic and very, very perceptive (Ann Cleeves)
Kate Shackleton is a splendid heroine (Ann Granger)
Delightful
Frances Brody matches a heroine of free and independent spirit with a vivid evocation of time and place . . . a novel to cherish (Barry Turner)
Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs in a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and were matured by their wartime experiences. As self-reliant women in a society that still regards them a second-class citizens, they make excellent heroines
I really adore this series and Kate is such a strong, level-headed character
All stars
Most relevant
After her Kate Shackleton series, this feels like a promising start to what will hopefully be another good solid set of stories from Frances Brody. Beautifully narrated by Penelope Freeman, whose characterisations are both well nuanced and convincing, I am already looking forward to the next Brackerley Prison story.

A good listen

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Well written story and characters. I cannot wait for next book. Sure, it is not Kate Shackleton series, but it’s superb book too.

Loved it

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I really enjoyed this book another good read from Francis Brody. Excellent narration too.

A murder inside.

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I tried very hard to like what I heard of this book, but it has nothing on the Kate Shackleton series and gave up part way through.
None of the characters are particularly likeable, so I had no interest in what they did or who may have been the culprit.

It is thinly written and rather confusing. It lacks robust descriptions, and the characters are hard to picture. You need to be invested in the characters to be interested in why one dies, and why another finished them off.

Feels like it was penned many years before the well rounded and beautifully written Kate Shackleton series. I really can not get over the vast difference between the two.



Love Kate Shackleton, Hated This

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Had to give up on this story and return, poor narration making it hard to follow didn't help.

Returned

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