Dead Man's Lane: Book 23 in the DI Wesley Peterson crime series

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I do admit that I had to smile when I learned that developers were turning the former home of a serial killer with an address on Dead Man's Lane into luxury holiday homes. Our contributors are encouraged to go forth and find distinctive visions that startle us, rural or urban, modern or prehistoric, industrial, post-industrial, fantastical, natural, political, however they come. It's wonderful to pick back up with the characters again as it feels like meeting up with old friends. With another brutal murder in a nearby village occurring, it seems almost blatant that this is the case.

I have read and liked several books from this series, and in general they are a good read, but sometimes there are also too many annoyances. An Ordnance Survey map, surveyed in 1850 and 1851, shows Deadman's Hole Lane, except it's markedly longer than it is on present-day maps. I confess that I have not read any of the previous installments of this series, and so those may have revealed more about the characters and built a more solid and interesting family. It is not essential to have read the previous books in this series but I feel you would definitely get more out of this story if you have. Although the image is an illusion created by road signs at the crossroads, it has caused quite a sensation on social media and in the press and is now available for all to see on the Internet.The central plot is intriguing and beguiling as it paints the tranquil South Devon, with a ‘bad things don’t happen here’ flavour. A series of gruesome murders in the town adds to the burden already felt by Wesley's boss, the Chief Inspector. Running concurrently through the narrative is Ellis’s trademark, a historical murder with the Great Fire of London as a backdrop.

The books featured on this site are aimed primarily at readers aged 13 or above and therefore you must be 13 years or over to sign up to our newsletter. The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal.In the late 1990s Strangefields Farm became notorious after artist Jackson Temples had lured young women there to model for disturbing works of art. It would appeal to anyone who loves the 'puzzle' kind of murder mystery or fans of authors who mix murder mysteries and archaeology, such as Elly Griffiths. Even from here, beyond the daisies scattered along the hillside, and hidden in amongst the trees of the valley, I could see Netherbury.

There is however an excavation underway at Temples former home, Strangefields Farm, where Wesley's friend, Dr Neil Watson, is in charge. Dead Man's Lane is the twenty-third instalment of this superb police procedural series featuring DI Wesley Peterson and based in the stunning Devon countryside.Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). There’s always something that triggers the initial idea for a book and in the case of Dead Man’s Lane it was a chance meeting on Bayards Cove in Dartmouth, Devon. From a previously happily married man he is now tempted by not just Rachel but now an old flame who surfaces in this story. The latest DI Wesley Peterson novels wasn't too bad, but it dodn't have me desparate to know what happened next. After the murders were discovered the other artist, Jonny Sykes, disappeared and was never found so the authorities believe that the murderer simply made him up.

I found the sub plots (Wesley's wife sulking like a teenager because he spoke to another woman, and Sergeant Rachel Tracey still mooning after him despite her pending wedding) quite exasperating, hence the lower rating. I had my suspicions as to who the murderer was and it was confirmed, but it was interesting to see how the author gets us to that conclusion. And when a local florist is found murdered in an echo of Temples' crimes, DI Wesley Peterson fears that a copy-cat killer is at large. The Wesley Peterson mysteries are always such a delight with plenty of suspects along with the intriguing historical connections. Strangefields has it's own grisly history as Wesley soon discovers when he shares information with Neil his archaeologist friend from his college days.Some areas of Derby still carry names that record the 1665 visitation such as Blagreaves Lane which was Black Graves Lane, while Dead Man's Lane speaks for itself. Then there are usually extracts from a diary or suchlike from hundreds of years ago which are supposed to tie up old threads with current ones, but in fact rarely shed any light on the matter. It is possible the remains of bodies buried in the vicinity were flushed out of the earth and the "hole" is where they washed up on the banks of the Don when the river receded. The Headless Cross, also known as the "Vinegar Stone" or "Plague Stone" at Friar Gate, Derby, England.