Book Review: A Lethal Walk in Lakeland by Nicholas George
By Janet Webb
January 30, 2025
Welcome back former San Diego detective Rick “Chase” Chasen. Chase is an inveterate hiker and Anglophile. In the first Walk Through England Mystery, A Deadly Walk in Devon, Chase and his longtime friend Billie Mondreau joined a disparate group of keen hikers who were interested in exploring Devon’s picturesque byways. Still mourning the death of his partner Doug, Chase was looking for a change of pace and scenery. Shockingly, one of the hikers was murdered and Chase drew upon his detective skills to solve the mystery. Serendipitously, Chase met Mike Tibbets, a Devonshire coroner, and they bonded professionally and personally.
Nicholas George invites readers to join Chase’s next adventure, a challenging week-long walk through the gorgeous Lake District of England. Chase’s budding long-distance relationship needs to be fed by more than FaceTime and text messages, so understandably he is looking forward to Mike’s company while they hike “the famed Coast to Coast trail in the picturesque Lake District.” Chase receives a text from Mike when he’s on a train heading to Cumbria: disappointingly, Mike must cancel due to a professional emergency— “a food-borne contagion” that must be contained lest it spread. Chase offers to ditch the trip and join Mike in Devon but no go, Mike is slammed. At least Billie is waiting for Chase at the hotel, but his friend’s characteristic ebullience seems dimmed. Billie confides in Chase that her financial advisor has skipped town with Billie’s retirement funds in hand… but she assures Chase that she plans to enjoy every minute of their long-anticipated Lake District adventure.
Chase and Billie meet the group leader, Charlie Cross, “an exuberant chap,” and his English Springer Spaniel Ramses, as well as Joe Scarbun, a keen birder. Charlie says they’re waiting for some late arrivals, five members of the Upton family and a family friend. The Upton group hails from Texas.
Everyone’s on board the next morning. They gather at St. Bee’s Bay for the traditional “baptism of the boots,” wetting their hiking boots in the waves before embarking on their adventure. George has a deft touch at sharing just enough of the local color and traditions to make readers wish they too were following in the path of “master fellwalker” Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991): “St Bees is the start-point for Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk, the cliffs also forming part of the Cumbria Coastal Way with views across to the Isle of Man and north to Scotland if you visit on a clear day.” Charlie happily shares the traditions of the Coast to Coast walk.
“You don’t need to come all the way in,” he shouted to us, his voice barely audible above the roar of the surf. “Just dip the toe of your boot in the water, not the whole boot, as I just did. Nothing’s worse than walking in wet socks.” He walked back to the shore, where he bent to pick up a small pebble.
“And don’t forget to collect a stone,” he instructed. “You’ll be carrying it with you, to toss into Robin Hood’s Bay when our walk concludes.”
After walking alongside the wealthy Upton clan (Brock, his wife Jenna, identical twin brothers Parker and Pratt, sister Fiona, and family friend Carole), Chase is at a loss to understand why they want to discover Cumbria on foot. Rambling is not a family tradition and the family bickers and fustigates and picks at each other constantly. So much so that group leader Charlie has to say more than once that he’s quite prepared to cancel the walk across Umbria without refunding anyone’s money if the Uptons don’t settle down. The oldest son, the somewhat patriarchal Brock Upton, has a heart condition. Chase senses there’s an ulterior motive behind the Upton family’s participation. He’s already had Upton family stories shared with him, like the one about Fi (Fiona) going off a bridge with her parents, as a seven-year-old child. She survived, they didn’t. In the picturesque town of Ennerdale Bridge, all is revealed. It was in Emmerdale that Fiona and her parents had their tragic accident. The whole reason the Upton party came to the Lake District was to see if being there would dislodge important, long-hidden memories for Fiona. Financial matters back in the U.S. hinge on the manner of the Upton parents’ death. Unfortunately, Fiona is murdered, dying with her secrets and memories intact.
No spoilers but once a detective, always a detective. “It’s like déjà vu all over again,” for Chase. The local constabulary is only too glad to have his assistance in solving the mystery of Fi’s death. A small silver lining is that the local coroner is unavailable; Chase recommends his boyfriend Mike as a solution and Mike agrees to help.
The “Walk Through England” mysteries hearken back to a traditional trope: the closed country house mystery, popular in the 1920’s, the “Golden Age of Detective Fiction.” A country house is not a necessity in the modern version, only a “closed circle of suspects.” A Lethal Walk in Lakeland fits that criterion. Readers will appreciate the suspenseful denouement of the story when Chase skillfully recounts the crime(s), all the while dropping red herrings. This is a very successful sophomore addition to the “Walk Through England” mystery series—where will Chase, Billie, and Mike adventure next?