Yorkshire copper DCI Jim Oldroyd gets caught up in the mystery of a body found down a well-known cave. There’s certainly no shortage of suspects as he tries to unravel a complex web of lies and distrust.
The Body in the Dales, first published in 2017 as The Body in Jingling Pot, is a whodunit featuring caves and cavers throughout. The author, a Yorkshire man himself, commences his tale with the accidental discovery of a body deep in Jingling Pot (not the Kingsdale one, simply a name chosen as the author liked it) on the slopes of Wharfedale. DCI James Oldroyd and London newcomer DS Andrew Carter are called to investigate and find that the deceased, a local man known to – and disliked by – most nearby villagers, was dressed in a T-shirt, jeans and trainers. How he came to be at the bottom of an arduous cave system was a mystery.
Given that the dead man was well known as a philanderer and con man (and caver), suspected culprits were plentiful, and during the course of inquiries, it emerged that many of these were, or had been, keen potholers, quite a few also members of the Wharfedale Cave Rescue Team who recovered the body. A diligent investigation subsequently reveals all manner of complicated relationships, the dead man having carried on affairs with quite a few wives in the local village of Burnthwaite. The police pursue research into potholing history to help them resolve the mystery, and there is a pleasing touch that each chapter is prefaced with a quote in the vernacular from poems about well-known local potholes by a 19th century Dalesman Joseph Haverthwaite. Although these are given as dating from 1851-2, I was unable to trace whether Haverthwaite actually existed or is a creation of the author. Either way, they are delightful poems and stand-alone very well. They are also reproduced in full at the rear of the book.
The author acknowledges assistance from members of Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue but clearly pursues his own train of thought regarding the morphology of Jingling Pot and its relationship to nearby systems. It is suspected a trip down Valley Entrance in Kingsdale might have contributed to the author’s understanding of how caves develop.
J.R. Ellis has written several other stories about DCI Oldroyd featuring nefarious goings-on in the Dales. The occasional un-necessary admixture of fact and fiction gives cavers something to pick holes in (for instance the Mossdale tragedy of 1967 is transmuted into Blackfell Caverns, 1976 whereas Alum Pot features as itself, but that notwithstanding, the charming flavour of Dales culture throughout the book makes this an excellent read and one well worth seeking out.
Reviewed by Alan Jeffreys
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 9 August 2018
Paperback: £8.99
Pages: 319
ISBN-103: 1978-1503958111
