Unnatural Ends is a well written historical locked room murder mystery by Christopher Huang. Due out 20th June 2023 from Inkshares, it's 402 pages and will be available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.
This is a terrifically creepy and atmospheric locked room murder mystery set in the early interwar period in Yorkshire. Three siblings are drawn home from far away to attend their father's funeral after his bludgeoning murder. The family estate is isolated and the attendant village obsequious but the whole setup is odd and off-kilter.
To add to the bizarre situation, the deceased man has left a will saying "In
the event that my death should be due to unnatural causes, I charge my children with the task of identifying my killer.". Thus follows alternating chapters of narrative from the PoV of the principal players.
The pacing in the first half of the book is glacial, and is noteworthy for the deliciously lyrical (but unrelentingly creepy) writing. The tension ratchets up and it takes a while before readers have more than the vaguest glimpse of anything happening under the surface. The book does move along much more quickly in the second half and there's quite a lot of psychological horror involved in the denouement and resolution.
Quite a significant portion of the mystery is way out there. Readers should bring a healthy suspension of disbelief. That being said, however, the prose is luminous and quite often sublime.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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