Blackstone Fell set in Yorkshire – Martin Edwards

Submitted: 5th September 2022

Yorkshire historical fiction

1930. Nell Fagan is a journalist on the trail of a bizarre mystery: in 1606, a man vanished from a locked gatehouse in a remote Yorkshire village, and 300 years later, it happened again. Nell confides in judge’s daughter Rachel Savernake. She sets about investigating the mystery.

A week later Nell disappears…….

BookTrail Travel to Blackstone Fell

Boarding Pass Information: Blackstone Fell

Destination : Yorkshire

Author guide: Martin Edwards

Genre: historical fiction

Food and drink to accompany: Pie and mash

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Blackstone Fell – A fictional setting in Yorkshire

BookTrail Travel to Blackstone Fell

Setting is key here. Blackstone Fell might be fictional but goodness me, you will soon be there in mind, body and spirit. The book does contain a map but it’s the one in your mind that will really capture your imagination.

Blackstone Fell is a small village where Blackstone Lodge stands. People are going missing from this lodge and this forms the central part of the mystery. There are more gothic overtones than you can shake a stick at, a medium, poison pen letters, dark financial dealings and darkness in all its forms. All of this in a remote Yorkshire Lodge surrounded by trees and the dark abyss and you have a heck of a setting.

BookTrail Travel to Blackstone Fell

This is the third case for Rachel Savernake but if you haven’t met her before, never fear as she is fearless and will soon become part of your reading mindset. This time Martin sends her to a remote Yorkshire lodge to solve a locked-room mystery…..

I’ve met her before in Gallows Court and Mortmain Hall and she is already a favourite character. Think Agatha Christie with a mix of Sherlock Holmes. Even if you haven’t met her before, wait until you hear the other characters talk about her – the tension rises – and then Rachel herself appears on the page.

BookTrail Travel to Blackstone Fell

Rachel is one of the most interesting characters I have ever met. She loves puzzles, mysteries and all that goes with them. In Blackstone Fell, she is confronted with spiritualism and the danger of the new science of eugenics. It is very interesting to read about issues of the time and what people thought of them.

The writing is just perfect. Agatha Christie would be proud. There’s that classic moment at the end where Rachel gathers the suspects together and the villain is revealed. What a thrill to read a novel like this, that harks back to the heart of Golden Age fiction. When you’ve finished reading, don’t forget to head to the back of the book to find the Clue finder. This is like a map of the novel which reveals the clues you missed along the way. This used to be all the rage apparently in the Golden Age itself. Genius of the author to have brought this back to life!

Love this series. If it came to TV, that would make my day.