The Graveyard Shift: The Dacre Dilemma By Rebecca Tope

This novel opens in the Henderson household, the everyday ‘chitchat’ establishing the ‘cosy’ genre. Who knew that a small florist’s business in the Lake District could be so busy, but Simmy is rushed off her feet. Husband, Christopher, is just as busy at his auction house in Keswick and between them, they juggle the care of their only son, Robin, who is two. Simmy is also pregnant and having lost one baby, there is additional pressure.

It all seems so very normal, however, until Simmy has to make a special delivery to Eleanor Padgett, an acquaintance Christopher seems to hold in special esteem. Eleanor takes Simmy and Robin to see the stone bears, a local point of interest to be found in the graveyard, and that is where Eleanor and Simmy discover a dead body. Of course, a graveyard is where you expect to find dead bodies but in this case, the young man is recently deceased and clearly the victim of a bloody attack! And that is how Simmy finds herself embroiled once more in murder as she and her friends try to determine ‘whodunnit’.

Bonnie works with Simmy in the flower shop and Ben works at the auction house with Christopher and together they make a diverse team. DI Moxon, with whom they have previously had dealings, provides the long arm of the law and is happy for them to contribute their two penn’orth.

The big reveal, when it comes, is more of a whimper than a bang and it’s left to the reader to decide who will feel the after-effects most.It appears Ben knew the victim, Oscar, who was by all accounts a little strange: loved, hated or tolerated by those around. He had an extraordinary brain but being different, the locals struggled to comprehend him. Eleanor Padgett is a strange old dear, currently living in a camper van and fascinated by old tapestries and embroideries, and the reader wonders what her part in all this really is. Simmy is convinced she is holding something back and the police have her as the prime suspect; after all, she led Simmy to the graveyard and didn’t seem that surprised at what they found.

The novel is narrative driven and at times, a little parochial and pedestrian; the characters all seem a little distant. It progresses slowly, somewhat mundanely but progress it does. Domestic details sustain the air of authenticity and reality: Sunday lunch, Robin’s naps, dog walks, a car accident and the clear depth of feeling between Simmy and Christopher, along with frequent references to the geographical location which provide signposts, all occur naturally; solving a murder simply has to fit in to the everyday.

The big reveal, when it comes, is more of a whimper than a bang and it’s left to the reader to decide who will feel the after-effects most. The residents of the tight-knit community try to protect their own but murder is murder and someone has to be brought to account.

Tope is now a well-established author with over forty novels to her name and a loyal following so is clearly doing something right! This is one of her Lake District Murders and there are repeated, somewhat obscure, references to previous cases in the series which can be frustrating to the reader and unnecessary, given that this novel works as a standalone. The relationship with DI Moxon is tenuous and the narrative could be left to simply unravel itself. I’m quite sure Tope will be providing more mysteries to come, however, and there will be a keen audience to read them.



The Dacre Dilemma is published by Allison & Busby Ltd