That’s the end of this story, and I hope you enjoyed it.
There will be more adventures for Dan and Alan, so look forward to more puzzling situations, clues, red herrings and, above all, a cast of intriguing characters..
The Devonshire Mysteries are close to my heart, and the stories take a while to write, but we’ll get there in the end, and members of this site and the VIP Readers Club newsletter will always get the latest news and special offers on the next books.
In the meantime, please share the stories around with anyone who might enjoy them. I think the best place to start is with Valley of Lies.
Thanks again for taking part. I’ll be interested to read your feedback in the comments.
Bravo!
I really enjoyed the story and format. Having to wait for the next installment was both fun and frustrating at the same time. Fun because you could try to work out who the villain could be and frustrating having to wait for more clues! But as always in these mysteries, I was wayyyy off! Ha ha!! So keep on writing! Just love your work and looking forward to many more stories, in whatever form they come!
I also very much enjoyed the descriptions of the area, for me it was like another character in the story. For us Stateside, it’s helpful to imagine that beautiful part of the UK. Thanks again for sharing!
Carmen
Thank you so much. Your kind words made my day.
I can only echo others’ sentiments. The format in ‘real time’ made it very exciting, but it wouldn’t have worked without the story itself being of such a high quality. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and am in awe of your literary skills. The additional information on the location etc is also very interesting and I am very grateful for all the effort you go to for your readers. Thank you so much Mikey!
Thank you for taking part. It’s lovely to hear that you enjoyed the tale. I’d hoped it would work, and the people who’ve joined in seem to have had fun with it, so I’m happy. Thanks also for your kind words. I couldn’t do any of this without keen readers like you, so I really appreciate your support and encouragement.
Reading in short bursts like this reminds me of comic books from my youth, or the mini story pamphlets we received in Sunday School. It was intriguing and felt cozy to have just one short passage to focus on. There have to difficulties writing this way; everything has to be terribly concise and I imagine every word is weighed for effect. This was very enjoyable to read, regardless, and the end was satisfying albeit not exactly what I expected. There was something odd about Roger’s story and he seemed to be in the thick of things throughout, so I wondered about him. But Miriam seemed to be the classic scorned woman and I deeply distrusted her story… I really liked how the story culminated with Alan asking after Dan at his location. The main characters live on, and I feel like I had a chance to visit them for just a short time, traipsing behind them in wonderment and delight. What a fascinating journey that was!
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. It’s so good to hear that you enjoyed the story. Thanks for taking part.
Thank you so much, not just for another fab mystery, but also for the new reading experience! It was challenging not being able to ‘binge-read’ it (or read as much or as little as I wished in one sitting), but I loved being forced to relinquish that control, and it allowed me to experience serial storytelling! The anticipation definitely added to the experience. (And part of me wonders what we’ve lost in having quick and easy access to everything…)
If you do this again (and that would be wonderful!), it would be great to have a bit of forewarning that a particular episode would hold the reveal. That way, I might force myself to take a bit more time to puzzle over who the guilty party is. (I may not have the discipline in practice, though!)
The ending answered all my questions, as I just couldn’t figure out why no two stories were the same, or why Tina Hazel had gone so cold on Alan. It all makes sense now! Thank you again, Mikey! I downloaded the ePub version so I can read it from the beginning once more on my e-reader (something else I realised I take for granted!), but I wasn’t able to pay towards the donation. Can you let me know how I could get that $2 to you?
Thank you for taking part.
It’s lovely to hear that you enjoyed the story and the experience. I really hoped that readers would feel that way, so it’s very heartening to hear such positive feedback.
I’m especially glad that you liked the ending. It’s always a tense part of the process in writing a mystery, as the ending is such an important part of the story.
I hadn’t thought about creating another story in this way, but you never know. If an idea comes to me, it could be fun.
As for the donations, I stopped collecting them and sent off the money once the first group of readers had read the mystery. It was hard to keep track of the money when it came in dribs and drabs, so I made the ebook free. Thanks again,
Mikey
Thank you, Mikey. Like many of your other readers I thoroughly enjoyed the story and constantly checked my email for the next installment. Great characters and an intriguing story. Thanks, BMK
Thank you for taking the time to read along. I am pleased that you enjoyed it, and thanks for all your comments too.
Thank you for this fantastic story. Such fun! Like Penny I was so taken I repeatedly checked for the latest email installment. Before this story, I could go days without looking at email. I too kept this story to enjoy again later and also as a lesson in mystery writing technique from a true master.
Thank you for taking part, and for all your flattering comments. You’re very kind.
Thank you for a great story and a neat way of delivering it. I looked forward to new emails coming in each day and saved them all in one file so I could go back and check on details to try and figure out the answer. The only thing I don’t think you explained was how Dan knew that Jarvis was in a hide and didn’t need a coat when he told Alan he was trespassing. Did I miss something? Thanks again for a great story and for all the books that you write.
Thanks for your kind words. I’m so pleased you enjoyed it. The one-sided aspect of the story presented a challenge, so we didn’t really get Dan’s reasoning explained, nor were we party to any research he might have done. The fact that the man wasn’t wearing a coat suggested that he’d been sheltering somewhere, and Alan hadn’t spotted any buildings or vehicles. From that, Dan might’ve guessed at the existence of the hide. Also, we had Alan’s recording of what the man said, especially when he said he was about to start… Dan tends to work through lots of possible scenarios until he finds one that fits the facts, so I think he could’ve got there. But he wasn’t going to explain himself to Alan, because Dan was just being Dan – a bit frustrating.
All the best,
Mikey
I found this to be an exciting experience. It is not quite like reading a book because of the email in real time format; it is more akin to being there, looking over Dan’s shoulder and reading it as it happens.
Although I can see that it must have been quite a challenge to find ways of including all the needed details without loosing the ’email’ quality, in my opinion I think you nailed it.
The only drawback I can see is that, not knowing when the next email was going to come in, I spent a lot more time checking and as I only get my emails on my computer, that meant a lot of trotting back and forth. Good exercise though and not begrudged one little bit. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words. I didn’t know how it was going to be received, and you’ve described exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. Sorry to make you check your email so often! All the best, Mikey
Well done, Mikey!
In my first career I was a firefighter/paramedic in a rural area and we worked regularly with various search and rescue teams. They deserve every accolade.
Thank you for the fun experience.
Thank you very much for taking part. I’m glad you enjoyed it. And thank you for all your hard work in helping others.