A gripping crime mystery with a sinister twist (Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates Book 1)

Liked the character of Dectective Inspector Skelgill. Very good metaphoric use of lake fishing and finding clues to solve murder.
I also enjoyed the settings of Edinburgh, London, and Lake District. Makes me want to return and trace steps of characters.
Those Brits! Enjoyed this mystery.

I rarely write negative reviews having sympathy for the efforts of every author, but write this one with the hope it will benefit the author with his next work.
There are two glaring errors in format which make the book unreadable for me. These are the use of the present tense and constant editorialising commentaries: the whole resembling a theatre scrip and not a novel.
Perhaps the author thinks this is "clever" or "experimental" but it severely conflicts with all that is taught by successful authors.

Dithery detective who rushes about Britain with no apparent idea what he is doing! I didn't find him particularly effective, ihs female assistant is marginally more intelligent but with some ridiculous answers/suggestions of help. Plot not very robust, but plenty of suspects are provided.
Solving the case was a bit anticlimactic.

I found this one trite and rather boring. Maybe a kid who hasn't read many mysteries and finds the colloquialism of old England interesting, might like it. I didn't particularly. I don't care for Agatha Christy novels either, which always strike me like a game of "Clue".

I am on the fence about this particular Brit although devoted to many past and present fellow country-'persons' who have given us novels starring official and unofficial detectives of the Realm. The hero and his feminine 'sidekick' might, in the five other books now available in the series, be an appealing pair. This remains the only book about them that I have read to date. Since fishing and cricket are among the truly boring pursuits I can imagine reading about, my somewhat negative reaction can be understood and dismissed by those who do not share the biases. The story is conventional enough though I found the road to the ultimate conclusion occasionally tedious. There is such a thing as creating too crooked a path to the ending while trying to sustain the mystery until the master detectives ultimate revelation. At any rate, if the price is right (I am not going to check to see what the cost of further reading in the series would be) I would be willing to see how the author develops his central characters in further cases. On balance, therefore, my only advice can be that if available at a reasonable price when you are buying ( I am reading it as my monthly Prime loan), it could be the doorway to a satisfying series (which stands at six books at the moment). If you, too, are a Prime member, it is a pretty good choice for the month.

I struggled to finish this book, not because it was poorly-written but because of the unfamiliar British slang and setting. I disliked the present tense narrative. Although I was caught up in the story rather quickly, my interest soon waned. The writing style was too cumbersome for my taste, and I could only read a bit at a time. Reading it so slowly made it impossible for me keep all the suspects and the facts of the investigation firmly fixed in my mind and by the time I finally trudged over the finish line I not only had no idea who had done what or why, but I really didn't care. I just wanted to finish the book and move on to something more to my liking.

I would, however, recommend the book to other mystery readers, so long as they're comfortable with the setting and style. I won't be reading any more of the author's mysteries, but again, that's only because of personal taste. This just wasn't my "cup of tea".

Thought this was rather good, for a "first book." Once I got past the jarring present simple tense, I found the characters well-defined, and the murder mystery, while fairly straightforward, came to a satisfactory end -- although Skelgill's explanation might have stretched credulity a bit.

Didn't have any issues with the inspector's interest in the females in the story -- seemed quite true to life, actually -- nor the "British Speak," especially regarding the description of the cricket game -- American sports have their colloquialisms, too. It made me want to figure out what they all meant. One other point on this theme -- did no one but me catch the significance of TW&TS and WNKR as names for the other advertising firms? No? I've obviously read too many British bobby mysteries, then. A wee nod to the author's sense of humor -- or should I say humour.

I've downloaded the others in the series and look forward to reading them.

I thought the story line interesting. And enjoyed reading about Scotland and London via Detective Skelgill and DC Jones' investigation travels. I gave it 3 stars because I thought the ending a bit over-done and mostly because I couldn't believe how often the word 'Guv' was used in this story. I almost didn't finish the book due to the use of that word. IMO I'm sure there are other ways for the author to let the reader know DC Jones was talking to Skelgill.

Detective Skelgill is the absolute die-hard fisherman in the District....that is until his morning ritual is disturbed by a murder to solve.

This time is it sex or is it money...or perhaps a little of both when a millionaire businessman is found dead in a hotel room by his wife and the black panties at the bottom of the bed aren't hers!

We have a possibly perturbed, sacked employee, a wanna-be social climbing Financial Director, and pretty young things all in a row at this fine establishment. Throw in some African relics, cheesecake, and kukri knives for spice and Inspector Skelgill and DS Jones have got a cracker to solve.

Great smooth read with action that keeps the tension going. Perfect for that late night or reading on the train. Tea and biscuits anyone?

And Jones, and even Leyton. I love the lake district. The prose tends to purplish - antipodal provenance = he's an Aussie. Beckham writes in the present tense, with occasional stage direction, that gives the impression that the book is precursor to the movie or television series, but you can get used to it. Fans of Peter Grainger's D.C. Smith will love this series, and vice versa.

I'm definitely an Anglophile and this threw me some slang I was unfamiliar with, but none of the characters or events kept me riveted. There weren't any shocking developments or "didn't see that coming " moments. The author does have the occasional clever turn of phrase, such as a "pneumatic blonde," however, so maybe I'll have to keep reading to see if the writing gets better.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book and the only reason for the 4+ star rating is because it was one of the first British Authors I have read and it took me longer than normal to read it because I had to look up so many words in the dictionary to fully understand the gist of what was being said. It really does not change the story. I liked the development of the story and the Characters. It is definitively a seriws that I want to continue reading. Great story telling and I highly recommend this author , Bruce Beckham.

I love British police procedural books so I was pleased to find this one with Detective Inspector Skelgill and Detective Sergeant Jones. The detective is an original who loves fishing and is a great bowler at Cricket. I know little about about either, but didn't mind learning about them because they are part of this fascinating book. The mystery has many characters and sometimes the language can be difficult, but I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I read Murder in School first and liked it better...for me the writers style is such a treat! The simple honesty and genuine character of Skelgill provides insight into a man's mind. Helps me understand my boss! I become so absorbed in the descriptive scenery despite not having traveled to England. I will keep reading Mr Beckham!

I am a sucker for a well written British detective mystery. DI Skelgill is an interesting character. He seems to plod along and then suddenly pulls it all together and solves the mystery. Good plot! I already bought the next one in the series.

A murder mystery without excessive blood and gore. Several interesting characters with solid, believable interplay. Some humor and sarcasm flavors the stew, and you get the feeling these are people you want to- and will- get to know better. Engaging story.

DI Skelgill and his colleagues comprise an excellent set of well-developed characters, the plots are involved and engaging, and I feel that I've learned a lot about the Lakes area. Thank you, Bruce Beckham, for your DI Skelgill series. I've enjoyed reading the series so far and can't wait for the next book.

I liked the relationship between the two main characters. I can usually figure out who the killer is. but was surprised when the killer was not who I thought it was. The descriptions of the country made me want to go there. I give it four stars

I have fallen for Bruce Beckham's Inspector Skelgill and crew. A different and interesting part of the world for me. It's great to learn about the fells, fishing, and the local language. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Well paced mystery with nice twists and turns. I'd have liked a little more translation of the Gaelic phrases. It felt like we we were missing some of the humor. In all I would read, another of his books.

I was looking forward to reading this whole series, but was turned off by the use of present tense in every sentence. Disorienting and uncomfortably un-cozy. Couldn't make it past the first chapter and won't be reading any more of these books.