Murder at the Altar (The Ellie Quicke Mysteries)

I found the story too thinly written and felt I needed to know more that I was being told. The 'errand boy' was particularly irritating. Detail was sketchy at times, and I wanted to get to the end of the mystery before Ellie took me there.

I'm really not sure that I will read the second book in the series but then she can only get better.


An enjoyable, satisfying read combining wit and humour.   January 24, 2001
linda.roland@btinternet.com (London)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Veronica Heley is the author of numerous novels, here, unusually she has turned her pen to adult crime. The engaging central character is Ellie Quicke, a lady struggling to re-establish her life after her husband`s death. Meanwhile a brutal murder takes place in the church opposite. The police suspect a neighbour.Ellie is not sure that she saw anything that night and she is anyway enveloped in her own troubles. A key theme is the way Ellie learns to become more astute and capable. A great strength of the book is the way the author draws out the personality and inner life of the main character. The various strands of the plot are well handled, the tension and suspense maintained to the end. Heley writes simply but with descriptive talent and a measure of humour. An enjoyable read.