It took me a little bit to get into this book as the writing style is pretty different than other books I've been reading more recently. After time it reminded me very much of the Agatha Christie/miss Marple style and as the cast of characters and story unfolded I was sucked in.

The story begins with a hiring of a detective, but without a clear mystery. Through the story there are several mysteries that come up and are solved a different paces. The list of characters includes a colorful assortment of townspeople, brewery workers, and sundry others. As a mystery lover I enjoy being fooled by red herrings and this story delivered several. Several shady characters end up being on interesting to the plot, well folks who seem above reproach end up with doubt thrown upon their character.

This is my first Kate Shackleton mystery and I'm definitely interested to go back and read others in the series. ( )

Kate Shackleton has an appointment with William Lofthouse, a brewer with a much young artist wife and an errant nephew who is to be his heir; there have been some minor financial problems with the business and William would like Kate - or rather, her male associate Jim Sykes - to delve into the accounts so that he can be sure that everything is ship-shape for his nephew to take over. Kate is happy to oblige, but soon the problems multiply, including the sudden death of William’s treasured secretary, who is struck by a car while riding her bicycle. Since the secretary had been quite desperate to talk to William about something, and been prevented from doing so by this accident, Kate is immediately suspicious and, of course, her suspicions are well-founded…. This is the 12th and most recent of the Kate Shackleton series and like the others is well-researched, this time diving into the intricacies of brewing beer, the problem of homelessness in the late 1920s and the rise of beauty contests to dub a “queen” for a given product, a young woman who serves as a walking advertisement for the product. I felt that the initial mystery was given rather short shrift in this one, in that the killer is named early on and the matter is then dropped for the rest of the book; aside from that misstep, though, there is plenty here to keep a reader’s interest. I’ve read the whole series over the past month or so, and will look forward to its next entry (due to be published in 2022); in the meantime, I would recommend the series to anyone who is interested in 1920s rural England, or who just likes a good mystery! ( )

This enjoyable 12th installment in the Kate Shackleton mystery series presents, yet again, an outstanding cast of characters in an engaging 1930 mystery, this time, at a North Yorkshire brewery.

Lots of twists and turns in this excellent historical mystery. I've now read the two most recent books in the series and would love to start at the beginning and see how these characters have developed.

Highly recommended to those who enjoy historical mysteries.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.) ( )

‘Death and the Brewery Queen’, twelfth in the Kate Shackleton 1930s detective series by Frances Brody, is a story of two halves and two murders. As always, sensible Kate is on hand to bring calm and control to a messy situation.
Kate and her sidekick Jim Sykes are employed by a brewery owner to sort out some business irregularities at Barleycorn Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire. Is it a matter of employee pilfering, aggressive competitors, inefficiency or fraud? This is a low-key beginning, a gentle start which allows Brody to establish a wide cast of characters. The portrayal of the brewery and the town is the foundation for the series of linked crimes that follow. Threaded throughout the book is the story of Barleycorn’s wages clerk, Ruth Parnaby, and her quest to be crowned Northern Breweries’ beauty queen. The story is told in multiple viewpoints – Kate’s voice is first person, but in the voices of Mr Sykes, Harriet and Ruth we gather information that Kate doesn’t know. It does seem rather a long wait for the first death, after which the story speeds up and the false clues and connections begin to make sense.
Kate is a memorable, admirable heroine. She is firm and managerial when she needs to be, determined and unafraid of confronting male officialdom but also well-connected which helps break down barriers and find information possibly quite difficult to confirm quickly at that time. And she’s not afraid to take risks. She also proves empathetic to the struggles of the grindingly poor people involved in the outer circles of the story. Kate, a widow, has her own close family – niece Harriet, employee Mr Sykes, housekeeper Mrs Sugden, and of course her bloodhound Sergeant Dog – who each bring different but essential skills when on the hunt for a murderer.
This is a stop-start read, in contrast to the previous Kate Shackleton books I’ve read, but enjoyable nonetheless. Brody excels at drawing her 1920s and 1930s settings, so realistic and believable. A special mention for the scenes in Scarborough’s Grand Hotel, which I visited as an awestruck child.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

Problems at a Brewery: a secretary murdered, a drayman dead, a kidnapping... Kate Shackleton & Mr Sykes have their hands full, and not just with one guilty party.

This was an easy read, although I did skim several places that held no relevant information. I was disappointed that the first murder was not connected to the other or any other malfeasance; it happened and then it was over and no mention of it or the perpetrator again, but on to the next death which was totally unrelated.

So, I didn't not like the book, but then again I didn't really like it either. ( )