This review is relatively spoiler-free.

"Then she was on the floor. And at some time between the fourth and the eleventh blow, Evelyn Maud Roberts, the housemaid of the Reverend Thomas Mellor and his wife Ivy Mellor, died."

Reading The Wickham Market Murder by Iain Maitland during a storm felt very appropriate. Much like the "Night of the Great Storm" mentioned at the beginning of the novella, the wind was howling and rain was pouring outside of my window - making it a great time to read a thrilling murder mystery.

This Edwardian murder mystery follows police officers William Palmer and John Bloomfield in Wickham Market as they piece together what happened to Evelyn Roberts and who her killer is.

The beauty of this novella is that it gets straight to the point. Descriptions of characters and settings are incredibly concise and clear, making it an easy and digestible read for readers of all types.

What I also appreciated was the fact that it's setting was in Wickham Market, a place I am not too familiar with, but it did not include location-specific references which may alienate a reader not from the Wickham Market area.

Each chapter is split up into dates and times in which the action of the chapter takes place, mimicking police reports. This has the dual effect of inviting the reader to investigate alongside the officers and also to break down the narrative into digestible chunks.

The first chapter being from the mysterious murderer's point of view is a perfect hook to entice the reader to continue reading. It invites you to read along and investigate alongside Palmer and Bloomfield as they unravel the mystery.

His use of genre conventions allowed me, as the reader, to become mediated witnesses through identifying with the various characters' statements.

The atmosphere of the novella is very immersive. Pathetic fallacy was employed effectively and consistently throughout, through the use of the storm during the scene of the murder, which added to the dark and suspenseful murder mystery genre.

Maitland creates a whole host of characters which are believable and nuanced. William Parker has other motivations outside of his detective work, including domestic issues with his sweetheart Alice regarding a potential move to Ipswich. John Bloomfield also has PTSD from his experiences in the Boer War.

This level of detail regarding these characters makes them more well-rounded rather than a two-dimensional agent purely there to move the plot along.

Additionally, this level of detail leaves room for more to find out about the main characters and explore more of their past in subsequent novellas - we become interested in the characters and not just the plot.

This book is perfect for murder mystery fans or wannabe detectives who want a quick and satisfying read.

Felixstowe author Iain Maitland's new book, The Wickham Market Murder, is out on Kindle this week; and is available in paperback in two weeks, published by Sharpe Books.

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