Orla Metcalfe Has Run Away (Women of Old Yorkshire)

An evocative Victorian murder mystery revolving around the Metcalfe family, and a crusade for justice for their mother, Orla.

The novel richly portrays 19th century village life in Yorkshire, highlighting the close-knit yet often judgmental nature of rural communities, where gossip, secrets, and jealousy are rife.

Everybody loves Pip Metcalfe. She’s gentle, she’s kind, and the whole village felt sorry for her when her Irish mother abandoned the family.
Outsiders are not welcome in Ackley, and four years after leaving the family home, Orla is found dead. With a village full of people who hated her, the search is on to find her killer.
Inspector Jarvis Blackburn knows that tracking down the murderer is the key to promotion. This would realise his lifelong ambition to become chief inspector, emulating his late father.
Pip and Jarvis join forces, finding themselves steadily changed by the experience and begin to wonder whether finding Orla’s killer will lead them to future peace and happiness after all.
Yet love has a way of choosing the path we take, and both slowly discover they have no control over their future any longer.