Clara’s Verdict
The Victorian murder mystery is one of the more crowded corners of popular fiction, and entering it requires either a compelling gimmick or a compelling character – ideally both. Murder in the Crypt, Book 1 of Irina Shapiro’s Redmond and Haze Mysteries series, has a premise just unusual enough to distinguish it: a body stuffed inside the tomb of a medieval knight in a quiet English village, and an American Civil War veteran who becomes not the killer but the detective’s most capable and unexpected ally. Wendy Wolfson narrates. The result is an enjoyable, slightly imperfect entry to a series that has genuine room to develop – and for readers who want an uncomplicated period mystery without baroque literary pretensions, it delivers reliably on its promise.
About the Audiobook
Parish Constable Daniel Haze is assigned his first solo murder case when a young man’s body is found concealed in the tomb of a medieval knight in Birch Hill. The most obvious suspect – the only stranger to arrive in the village before the crime – turns out to be American captain Jason Redmond, a former soldier and surgeon who has recently arrived in England having unexpectedly inherited an aristocratic title, accompanied by an orphan boy he has adopted. Rather than a suspect, Redmond becomes an asset: experienced, resourceful, and willing to risk his own safety to help Haze apprehend the killer.
The partnership between the cautious, inexperienced Haze and the capable, unconventional Redmond is the engine of the narrative, and Shapiro gives both men enough backstory – Redmond in particular carries the trauma of the American Civil War and a complicated personal history – to make their dynamic interesting beyond the mechanics of the case. Duration: 8 hours and 49 minutes.
Shapiro is an American author writing British Victorian fiction, which accounts for some of the anachronisms that British reviewers have identified. It is a distinction worth making: the book is not failing on its own terms so much as operating with different assumptions about what period accuracy requires. For readers primarily interested in the mystery and the character dynamic rather than historical authenticity, this distinction matters less than it might suggest.
The Narration
Wendy Wolfson’s narration is clear and characterful, handling the ensemble cast with reasonable distinction. The one consistent criticism from British reviewers concerns the accents – specifically the working-class London voices, which several listeners described as closer to stage cockney than period authenticity. It is a fair criticism and worth noting; the accents are the weakest element of an otherwise capable performance, and they grate on listeners with a sharp ear for the period. The anachronistic dialogue noted by some reviewers is a writing issue rather than a narration one, though Wolfson cannot entirely rescue lines that feel misplaced. Elsewhere the performance is solid and keeps the pacing appropriately brisk.
What Readers Say
With a rating of 4.4 from 8 reviews, the book occupies an interesting middle ground in its reader response. “Excellent – completely engrossed from start to finish; one of the most unforgettable books I have read in a long time,” wrote one enthusiast, who described waiting impatiently for the second in the series. “Enjoyable despite some flaws” – anachronisms, occasionally modern dialogue, questionable historical detail – but concluded the series worth continuing. A British reader was pointed about the accents and the use of ‘guv,’ but conceded that the characters eventually won them over and produced “a bit of a ripping yarn.” The consensus: flawed but genuinely enjoyable, with a partnership dynamic that grows more appealing as the story develops.
The fact that the most critical responses are measured rather than dismissive – finding the book enjoyable despite its imperfections, noting that the characters grew on them, expressing willingness to continue with the series – suggests that Shapiro has got the fundamentals right even where the surface details are imperfect. A partnership mystery lives or dies by the chemistry between its central duo, and on that evidence, Redmond and Haze work.
The small review count – eight at time of writing – limits the confidence with which one can generalise, but the range of responses covers enough of the realistic reader experience to be useful. The most enthusiastic reviews come from readers who take period mystery fiction on its own terms; the more critical come from those with a sharper eye for historical accuracy. Both audiences are responding to the same book and finding, broadly, what it is there to offer.
Who Should Listen?
For fans of historical crime fiction who enjoy a partnership dynamic and are not troubled by imperfect period accuracy – the pleasure here is primarily in the characters and the puzzle rather than the historical atmosphere. Readers who enjoy M.C. Beaton’s cosy village mysteries or lighter historical crime fiction will find themselves at home. Those who demand the rigorous period texture of C.J. Sansom or Andrew Martin’s work may find it a less comfortable fit. As an opening to a series, Book 1 establishes the Redmond and Haze partnership with enough warmth and enough unanswered questions to sustain subsequent instalments – which is exactly what a first volume should do.
Listen to Murder in the Crypt on Audible UK – also available on Kobo, Scribd, and Storytel.
