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Preview
  • Date with Death

  • Dales Detective Agency, Book 1
  • By: Julia Chapman
  • Narrated by: Elizabeth Bower
  • Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (358 ratings)

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Date with Death

By: Julia Chapman
Narrated by: Elizabeth Bower
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Summary

Meet two sleuths from a sleepy Yorkshire village as they investigate murders and discover the secrets behind the twitching curtains. Date with Death is the first cosy crime novel in Julia Chapman's Dales Detective series, perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and M.C. Beaton.

Samson O'Brien has been dismissed from the police force, and returns to his hometown of Bruncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales to set up the Dales Detective Agency. However, the villagers aren't that welcoming to a man they see as trouble.

Delilah Metcalfe is struggling to keep her business, the Dales Dating Agency, afloat as well as trying to control her wayward Weimaraner dog, Tolpuddle, when Samson's first case – a supposed suicide – takes an unexpected turn, and a trail of deaths lead back to the door of Delilah's agency.

With suspicion hanging over someone they both care for, the two feuding neighbours soon realize that they need to work together to solve the mystery of the dating deaths. But working together is easier said than done . . .

Full of wit, warmth and characters you'll care about, continue the murder mystery series with Date with Malice.

©2016 Julia Chapman (P)2016 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
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Critic reviews

A classic whodunit set in the spectacular landscape of the Yorkshire Dales, written with affection for the area and its people. A satisfying read riddled with dry Yorkshire humour (and dry stone walls) (Cath Staincliffe, author of the Scott & Bailey series)

Great fun! (Carol Drinkwater)

What listeners say about Date with Death

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Loved it immensely

story is both entertaining and great listening,. It is worth both time relaxing and total escapism.

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2 people found this helpful

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Completely wonderful!!

Such a fab story, wonderfully narrated and very engaging. I enjoyed it a great deal.

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1 person found this helpful

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Enjoyable listen.

Good story, well read, suspenseful & funny with interesting characters about whom there is obviously more to learn in future books. Looking forward to the next one "Date With Malice "

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable read

A cosy crime story with well-drawn characters. It moves along at a good pace to keep the reader engaged. Moving on to Book 2.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great!

This is a great light hearted crime book. It has equal measures of laughter and suspense.
It kept me guessing right until the end.
If you enjoy Agatha Raisin books you'll love this!

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4 people found this helpful

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A good listen

well narrated, easy flowing story and engaging characters. I will continue to follow the series

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A new series to look forward to

Two interesting main characters and a wonderful dog. A good mystery that kept me guessing to the end.
Lovely description of the countryside, evoking a realistic village community .
The background plot is something that is obviously going to run and run.
Highly recommended. Good narration.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An excellent series of books

This is my second time listening to this series. I am eagerly awaiting publication of the 7th in the series, in a couple of weeks time, and have decided to start again at the beginning, while I wait.

I first discovered these in late 2020 and listened to the first 5 back to back and loved them all. The 6th book was just as good when published a year ago.

I have just loved revisiting the start of the series, and will now move through the rest. The warmth of the characters and the excellent characterisation by Eluzabeth Bower make them well worth a listen, or even a second listen!

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great community of characters

I really loved this first book, as it introduced such a wealth of amazing characters and had a good paced story too. A classic whodunnit but with a modern twist, set against the quaint backdrop of a small town where everybody knows your business.
I came across this series when there was about 6 books available on Audible and I quickly bought the rest on the back of such a strong start.
Loved the voice acting/ narration too. I found it so easy to visualise the people of Bruncliffe through the vocalisation of each character.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

good plot dales flavoured murder mystery

took a while to warm to the characters but it was a good story with a good ending and a seperate underlying mystery that i presume will be resolved in the next book. all that with a touch of romance makes this book well worth a read/listen.

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10 people found this helpful