The Stone Chamber by Kate Ellis

The Stone Chamber by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

On a summer evening, Robert and Greta Gerdner are shot dead at their home in the Devon countryside.

DI Wesley Peterson suspects the execution-style murders might be linked to Robert’s past police career – until Robert’s name is found on a list of people who’ve been sent tickets anonymously for a tour of Darkhole Grange, a former asylum on Dartmoor.

Wesley discovers that other names on the list have also died in mysterious circumstances and, as he is drawn into the chilling history of the asylum, he becomes convinced that it holds the key to the case.

When his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, finds the skeleton of a woman buried in a sealed chamber dating back to the fifteenth century at his nearby dig, Wesley wonders whether there might be a connection between the ancient cell and the tragic events at Darkhole Grange.

With the clock ticking, Wesley must solve the puzzle, before the next person on the list meets a terrible end . . .

DI Wesley Peterson and his team are called in to investigate when Robert and Greta Gerdner are shot point blank in their Devon country home. Wesley suspects the execution like murder has ties back to Robert’s previous career in the Met – but Wesley and his team find Robert’s name along with others who have suffered from mysterious deaths all linked to a ghost tour of Darkhole Grange. Can Wesley and his team find what’s really going on?

I have been enjoying Ellis’ Wesley Peterson and Neil Watson’s Archaeology/British police procedural crossover books for over a year now. While there are nearly 30 books in the series, I feel that the writing and plotting is still going strong – and best of all this book definitely can be read as a standalone mystery/archaeology story. While there are things happening in the secondary character’s lives – Wesley’s colleague Rachel and with his son, Michael – these sub-plots can be easily picked up and understood and really no prior books need to be read to thoroughly enjoy this story.

I also really enjoyed the fact that the Archaeological side of the story with Neil and his newest excavation linked in strongly to Wesley and the murder mystery. Often these two parts to the book run side by side and don’t necessarily overlap or really link together. While I don’t mind this – I did find myself highly enjoying the fact that this time the two stories were solidly woven together and interacted a lot more strongly than I recall in the last few books.

I definitely feel readers should feel comfortable with picking up this book to see if they like Ellis’ writing style or if they want to see if the series would interest them. Like any long-running series individual books rise and fall – but I feel this is one of the stronger plotted and written books and would be a good place to dip your toe into the long series if you’re not certain and didn’t want to necessarily go right back to the start to have a go.

With an interesting murder mystery plot well woven around an archaeological dig and a strong historical plotline this is a different and interesting book that I enjoyed.