Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody
From the title, cover and blurb, this looks like a cosy mystery set in the inter-war years in Yorkshire. But that undersells just how good this book is.
I don't normally read historical fiction, even when it involves murder, but Mrs MM discovered the Kate Shackleton series while we were on a charity shop book crawl. She read this one super quick and is now speeding through the rest of the series. At her recommendation, I picked up Dying in the Wool and was hooked from the first chapter.
Kate Shackleton is asked by a friend to track down her father, Joshua Braithwaite, who has gone missing in strange circumstances. Braithwaite ran the local mill, so Kate travels to the town to meet his family and his mill workers. As the story unfolds, we learn about the darker side of life in a mill town and the vivid contrast with the surrounding landscape.
Told in the first person by Kate, we get a direct insight into her personality, family and her own tragedies. This storytelling approach is a major reason why the book is such a great read.
The level of detail the author has woven into the story is superb. Frances Brody has a brilliant skill of sharing just enough of the setting so you conjure up the rest in your mind. I'm not a visual thinker, but with this book, I had a clear image of every scene.
It's also refreshing that Kate doesn't fall into a Downton Abbey/Upstairs Downstairs cliche. She's a strong, independent woman who's confident in her own skin and happy talking with mill workers as well as the landed gentry. During an amusing cameo by Arthur Conan Doyle, she refuses to get drawn into his spiritualist obsession and tells him what she thinks of it.
The other characters have depth and their own tones of voice, which makes the story more authentic. Kate's professional relationship with Mr Sykes evolves during the book and I look forward to seeing how this develops later in the series.
The mystery is revealed through the book at an even pace. You're given lots of clues to consider as Kate discovers them, but there are still a few twists that'll surprise you before the end.
Dying in the Wool has more grit than you might expect. But the story will have you hooked and you'll want to read more about Kate Shackleton.
