Date with Malice
Series: The Dales Detective Series Book #2
Author: Julia Chapman
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Page Count: 389
My Rating:
Book Summary
Date with Malice is the second cosy crime novel in Julia Chapman’s Dales Detective series.Its dark in the Dales this winter… When Mrs Shepherd arrives at the Dales Detective Agency on a December morning, quite convinced that someone is trying to kill her, Samson O’ Brien dismisses her fears as the ramblings of a confused elderly lady. But after a series of disturbing incidents at Fellside Court retirement home, he begins to wonder if there is something to her claims after all…
With Christmas around the corner, Samson is thrown into a complex investigation. One that will require him to regain the trust of the Dales community he turned his back on so long ago. Faced with no choice, he enlists the help of a local the tempestuous Delilah Metcalfe. Against the backdrop of a Yorkshire winter, Samson and Delilah must work together once again if they are to uncover the malevolence threatening the elderly residents of Bruncliffe. Could the danger be perilously close to home?
More Facts for Readers about our Sleuths & Setting:
Main Sleuths: Delilah Metcalfe and Samson O’Brien
Best friend/Sidekick: They have each other
Physical Descriptions: Delilah is possibly 25, a white female, active (a runner), dark blonde hair, 5’3″ in height, English. Samson is possibly 31, a white male, tall, physically built (also a runner), former cop (great body), shoulder-length black hair, bright/light blue eyes, English of mixed English/Irish parentage.
Location: Bruncliffe (fictional) in the Yorkshire Dales in England
Business: Delilah owns the Dales Dating Agency (D.D.A), Samson owns the Dales Detective Agency (D.D.A.)
Time of Year: December, Books end right on Christmas
Pet: Grey Weimaraner (dog) named Tolpuddle (belongs to Delilah)
Love Interest: Possibly each other, although there’s still nothing concrete for either in this book. Delilah is divorced and single. Samson is single and never married. They clearly have the hots for each other, though neither has acted on anything, nor voiced anything to each other.
Family: Delilah is the youngest with 5 older brothers (one deceased). She has a mom, dad, at least 2 sister-in-laws, and 3 nieces/nephews. Samson’s mom passed when he was 8 years old, he still has his Dad, no siblings.
Diversity? Still none that was mentioned in this book. It’s a very tight-knit community of folks who’ve mostly grown-up with each other and have families that have married into one another BUT it was interesting in this book because there is a Bulgarian (later discovered to be Serbian) character and there was mention of ‘racists’ who I guess are English but are weary of ‘foreigners’. As an American myself racism looks different, so this was interesting to look into but at the end of the day everyone was ‘white’ so if you’re looking for more physical diversity within the set of characters, this book didn’t have any. Just FYI!
My Review
Just like with Book 1 in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed and loved ‘Date with Malice’, Book 2 in The Dales Detective Agency series by Julia Chapman, and also just like last time, I’m looking forward to Book 3. Before I delve into the book content can I just say how much I LOVE the original English covers for these books. The illustrations are excellent! There are new editions with different art, which are nice, don’t get me wrong, but not nearly as charming as these original covers. I adore when covers have little whimsical details or depictions from within the story and it bums me out when they’re modernized and simplified… and for who? I guess I can’t speak for all cozy readers but I’d assume that others would feel the same as I do.
So here we go into the book itself… there is a mystery in this book aside from the actual murder mystery and they entwine in a really pleasing way. I’ve seen this technique not pan out for other authors in the past, where the second mystery is more of an annoying distraction from the actual murder mystery component – but it works like a dream in this one. It pulls in the interactions with more town characters without dragging everyone in town into the actual murder, because let’s be honest how annoying would that get book after book if everyone is constantly being dragged into murder-y shenanigans. Instead, we get one cast of regular characters helping with something relatively ‘calm’ and another set of regular characters actually helping with the murder element. That particular set of characters happens to be the older folks up at ‘Fellside Court’ the 55+ community in this Bruncliffe.
The author really does everyone a good turn by including all of the folks in this community. Yes, our main sleuths are pretty young but we have this great older cast that’s equally valued and pulled into the storylines. It’s not all younger persons running around with an inheritance or two to just draw off of while they run a fluff business that they can seemingly duck out of any time, any day (not that I mind that in cozies). It’s just refreshing for an author to go another route! The older characters are insightful and very much ‘fleshed out’ with snippets about their backgrounds and family dynamics. They are equal parts a little sad, a little inspiring (we alll hope to retire comfortably some day) and a lot of fun.
On another note, I am SO loving the slow burn between Delilah and Samson. Ever a romantic, I’m hoping they get together. I like a side of romance to murder mystery. I suppose it’s the eternal optimist inside of me. It lightens things when you’re reading. It can’t all be doom and gloom – can it? The characters have barely admitted their attraction toward the other to themselves, and definitely have not said anything out loud to each other or anyone else. I have no idea if they’ll actually act on anything in future books, but well, then the author has done an excellent ob because dammit I want to read the next book and maybe find out!
The murder mystery was compelling and certainly kept me guessing. I don’t want to give anything anyway, but this book is a 5 star from me. Packed with cozy settings, delightful characters, and a touch of Christmas, it’s a highly recommended read!
