Lead Review (The Borrowdale Body)

• Book: The Borrowdale Body
• Location: Borrowdale
• Author: Rebecca Tope

Review Author: tripfiction

The author is well known for her crime mysteries set not only in the Cotswolds but also in The Lake District. The Borrowdale Body is no. 13 and is firmly set in and around Borrowdale, with plenty of local colour to transport the reader to the area, from Castle Crag to Lodore Falls and over to Hartsop, where the main characters, Simmy (Persimon) and Christopher live in a converted barn, together with their son Robin and their dog. In the Author’s Note, Tope states: “…the story is set in real places but High Gates House is an invention”. There is a small map as the book opens to help locate the various places mentioned.

High Gates House is a rambling house, built of dark Lakeland stone and it is filled with all kinds of interesting antiques (you will, for example, discover what a veilleuse is!). Christopher is an auctioneer and has been tasked with selling off the estate, and the author wonderfully conjures up the sense of grandeur and interest, as well as Christopher’s growing attachment to the wonders within. Jennifer Reade, the sole heir to the estate, has been tracked down and serendipitously the two meet, just as Christopher is signing off on the project, having moved all the contents over to Keswick, where he has his auction house.

Together they take a turn around the building and in the cellar, they are confronted by a body. Jennifer is quite a character and persuades him to ‘overlook’ the rank, decomposing corpse for now, in order to keep the sale on track; against his better judgement, he agrees…. Of course, the ramifications of this decision are significant and when another body turns up, mayhem ensues.

The author puts together a decent, well-told story, set against the colourful backdrop of the Lake District.

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