The Murder at Redmire Hall, by J.R. Ellis is part of his Yorkshire Murder Mystery series. It is a classic 'locked room' mystery this time involving magic. Years ago Lord Redmire's father performed the trick once, and only once. It's the one where a person walks into a small room, which has been inspected for any escape routes, the door closes and opens, he is gone, the door closes and opens and he is back. It is never explained how it is done. Many years later, in the hope of raising some funds (the current Redmire is a gambler) the trick is performed again (he has found out the 'how'), only this time, when he reappears, he is dead. Once again DCI Oldroyd is present at the time of death and leads the investigation. I actually figured part of this one out before the end, see if you can, too. :-)

The Thursday Murder Club is the debut novel for Richard Osman, and what a wild ride it was! Set in a rather posh retirement facility, there is a group that meets every week (you can guess which day, I'm sure) to discuss old, cold cases. (one retiree was a cop). When a real murder occurs, they are eager to help. With a wide variety of talents they actually do help ... and the police, if somewhat reluctant at first, do include them in the investigation. Great characters (watch out for Elizabeth!), nice bits of humor, and lots of twists and turns, this was a great read for a rainy weekend.

Reading Hermit With Dog