A Snapshot of Murder: A Kate Shackleton Mystery

A Snapshot of Murder: A Kate Shackleton Mystery

Frances Brody

Pub Date: 19 April 2019 

Book Blurb:

Critically acclaimed author Frances Brody is back with the tenth installment in her Kate Shackleton series, perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Nicola Upson.

Seven keen amateur photographers gather for the most popular openings of the decade. Only six will return.

Yorkshire, 1928. Indomitable sleuth Kate Shackleton is taking a well-deserved break from her detective work and indulging in her other passion: photography. When her local Photographic Society proposes an outing to the opening of the Bronte Museum, Kate jumps at the chance to visit the setting of Wuthering Heights. But the setting proves to be even more sinister than the dreary classic when a member of their party is found murdered.

The event is one of the most popular of the decade, and each of the seven photographers were there to capture the perfect shot of a lifetime. But Tobias, the deceased, was known for being loud-mouthed and didn’t care to curb his demeanor. Kate deduces that he must have had several enemies. But soon, she begins to suspect that perhaps the murderer is amongst them. And before they shrink to just a group of five, Kate must pick back up her magnifying glass and sleuthing cap to crack the case in A Snapshot of Murder, Frances Brody’s tenth brilliant Kate Shackleton mystery.

I was disappointed in this book.  Based on some previous reviews, I thought it was more of a classic-Golden Age novel, like something from Christie or even Sayers; it wasn't.  The point of view kept switching between third person omniscient and first person, and one character made some personal revelations to the protagonist that felt inappropriate for the time period.  Even worse, based on some events that happened early in the book, I thought Character A was going to kill Character B.  I was hoping there'd be a twist - maybe Character A or Character C would be killed instead, but nope - A killed B.  It was more of a 'how done it' rather than a 'who done it' - again, something that felt out of place from Christie.  It felt like a modern novel set in the 1920's rather than a book from one of the Golden Age writers.

It wasn't necessary a bad book - the characters, events, and settings were interesting - but when one is expecting tea, and gets coffee instead, it's hard to appreciate the coffee even if it's excellent.  I am planning on picking up another book by Ms. Brody with a different mindset, see if I like it better, but this one, based on my preconceived notions, just wasn't for me.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.