Crow is called in to consult and advise only and not run the investigation when a body is found down a mine shaft in the Rhondda Valley. A body that had been killed some months previously. Is the case as straightforward as the local police believe, especially when they get a confession, Crow thinks not.
An enjoyable and interesting read. Another good story in this series set in the 1960s/70s.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

My thanks to Joffe Books and Netgalley for providing a review copy of their eBook, "Murder in the Mine". The comments below are my own.

When a decomposed woman's body is discovered in an abandoned Welsh coal mine, the local police reluctantly call in Scotland Yard to investigate. Detective Chief Inspector John Crow is sent from London to the scene, an area called Rhondda, and an insular hamlet close to the city of Cardiff. There he is teamed up with local Detective Inspector Dewi Jones, an ex-boxer, and together they search for the killer. Once the woman's identity is confirmed Jones and Crow embark on trace her background and figure out the motive for her killing. The search takes Crow as far away as Canada, but it returns to Wales as a potential suspect is identified and quickly arrested at the insistence of the local police brass. Crow is not convinced the killer has been found and he perseveres until
he finds "whodunit".

This is a traditional police procedural murder murder mystery set in the late 1960's. While originally published in 1974, it's not glaringly out-of-date writing, although as the reader is warned, there's no modern scientific (e.g. DNA) or technology (e.g. cellphones) involved in the telling. The story is all about solving the murder mystery with little character development. Crow and Jones make for an odd couple, Jones is the less experienced of the pair in investigating a murder and makes some beginner errors. Crow carries the load of closing the case. The secluded atmosphere of rural Wales and then prevalent Victorian-like morals are aways in the background and play a role in the resolution of the mystery. This book is the fifth in the Inspector John Crow series, but can easily be read as a standalone.

It's an easy and entertaining read, with a neat conclusion that keeps the identity of the murderer hidden to the end. ( )