Review: A Very Merry Murder

A Very Merry Murder by Kate Wells
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jude Gray runs Malvern Farm, she has rented out her land for a beloved tv show (think Countryfile meets Richard and Judy) to do a live broadcast over a week just before Christmas. However charming the husband and wife who present the show may seem on the small screen, in real life they seem to be at odds with each other, and he may be having an affair with one of the camera operators. The director is a sleaze who tries to take advantage of women on the crew, the assistant director is a bully, and there is clearly tension between the wife in the presenting couple and the rest of the crew.

While Jude is being interviewed live on the first day one of the presenters nearly dies from anaphylactic shock after being given a cup of coffee which contains peanuts. Days later the camerawoman is dead. Was the death a tragic accident? Was she the intended victim, or was she mistaken for the female lead whose caravan she was using?

This is the sixth book in the series, but the first one I have read. It was the epitome of a cosy read, with Jude working hand-in-glove with two local detectives to solve the case whilst also taking her nephew sledging in the snow and helping her sister plan her Boxing Day wedding. I'd say I guessed the murderer but TBH everyone came under suspicion one way or another so there was an open field.

Pleasant, cosy, small town murder mystery.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club: The compelling mystery series set at the dawn of the Cold War

Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club: The compelling mystery series set at the dawn of the Cold War by Mary-Jane Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Its 1948. After a war spent in the Resistance with the Secret Operations Executive, Beattie Cavendish has joined GCHQ and her first mission is to cosy up to Ashley Bowen, son of the Conservative politician and cabinet minister Ralph Bowen, because Ralph is suspected of being a communist sympathiser and could be passing secrets to Moscow.

When looking for clues in the Bowen's London house, Beattie stumbles across the body of the Bowen's young housekeeper Sofia in the study, with her throat cut.

Patrick Corrigan was special forces in the war and has the scars, a missing eye, and a limp to prove it. Now, an Irishman living in London, he's scratching a living as a private detective, following errant husbands and the like. Edwina Bowen hired Patrick to follow her husband Ralph for several nights, where he was seen to enter a club (The White Pearl Club) owned by a pair of Russians and known for prostitutes and homosexuals, then Edwina calls off the case, she no longer wants Ralph followed, turning up at the Bowen's mansion for an explanation Corrigan is narrowly stopped from being a convenient scapegoat for a detective who clearly wants to clear this up as quietly as possible.

In their own ways Beattie and Corrigan are incensed that a powerful family can just hush-up the death of an employee and are determined to uncover who killed this young Jewish woman who had escaped Nazi Germany with her younger brother while only a child herself and was trying to build a new life in England.

This started slow for me, nut it picked up speed and I enjoyed the to and fro as Beattie and Corrigan tried to understand how Sofia and the White Pearl club are connected, who is trying to hush things up, and who is trying to put them off the scent.

I would definitely be interested in reading more if this were a series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.


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Review: Stranger in the Village

Stranger in the Village by H.L. Marsay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the end of the first book (view spoiler)[the body of Lucy's husband Rupert has been found in a cave, and the local MP had been arrested for stalking and threatening Lucy. Former London detective Jo, who is desperate to get back to the Big Smoke has evidence that Lucy hit Rupert with a spade on the night he disappeared, but she and Rachel swear he was alive when she left him, he was certainly gone when Rachel went back to retrieve the spade (hide spoiler)].

Meera and Rob return from their holiday in Scotland more loved up than ever, until Meera hears that a strange man has been hanging around the school asking about her son. Meera has an unexpected visitor.

Lucy seems to be making headway with booking weddings and filming at the Hall, until she finds out about the Inheritance Tax due following Rupert's official death, and gets a nasty surprise about their expenditure and also has an unexpected visitor.

Rachel is over her crush on Lucy and is loved up with the archaeologist Sarah, unfortunately Sarah has gone to Peru for the summer on a dig, but Rachel can't leave her mother, who seems to be getting increasingly forgetful.

Jo and Jack, the local publican, are getting friendly, he definitely wants more but he is just so nice (not her usual type) and she doesn't plan to stay in Hartwell so she is keeping him at arm's length, until an unexpected visitor makes her reassess her decisions.

This is the second book in a trilogy but so much happens you don't really notice its progressing lots of stories but not necessarily resolving any of them. Almost everyone has an unexpected visitor (aka stranger), some good, some not so much, but all of which are a catalyst for change.

Very enjoyable, might have to reread the third book to find out what happens - especially the secret behind Jo's necklace.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Bookfunnel.

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Review: One More Time

One More Time by Emily S. Morris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lucy is a professor at a small town university, on track for tenure. She is in Las Vegas for her daughter's week-long wedding extravaganza. Lucy's first ex-husband (yep, there are three) is a hedge fund millionaire who has bankrolled the entire wedding - hence why Lucy and her daughter (and most of the guests) are staying in a super high-end Vegas hotel in the sort of suite usually only for the mega rich. Despite the money being thrown at the party and the hiring of a wedding planner, Lucy is juggling willy toys and trying to find her room key when she literally bumps into Nicky Broome, lead singer of global rock band Super, who also happens to be her high school crush, who ghosted her after one incredible night together. Despite it being 28 years since they last spoke, and there is a 'thing' about that, Nicky and Lucy immediately recognise each other and are just as madly in love/lust as they were when they were teenagers.

Cue lots of flashbacks to discover how Lucy and Nicky broke up and the big secret they are keeping. There is some good stuff about the 1990s (mixtapes and the like) and also a lot of references to music/musicians - which may or may not appeal to readers.

Lucy has a sassy straight-talking BFF (since high school) who likes to give her advice at every opportunity, and her daughter isn't averse to putting Lucy into awkward situations eg inviting all three ex-husbands to be at the wedding!

Nicky didn't really get any character, he was a bit of a cardboard cut-out and because of that, of course he can't have any personal growth or change of heart it all has to come from Lucy. There is a reason why Lucy has three ex-husbands but it gave me the ick. Overall, I think there were lots of things that only seemed to be in the book to make a scene/plot device work rather than being integral to the plot (eg Lucy's ex-husband being so rich).

I found my biggest bugbear with this book was it wasn't really sure what it wanted to be. The cover gave off Annabel Monaghan vibes, but Lucy wasn't like one of her heroines. It sort of went down a 1990s music nostalgia route, like Nick Hornby, then dropped it. It wasn't spicy or sweet enough to fall into one category or another. There was a lot of personality dissection as if it were women's fiction, but then it had the rockstar romance in Vegas rom-com vibe.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: One More Time

One More Time by Emily S. Morris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lucy is a professor at a small town university, on track for tenure. She is in Las Vegas for her daughter's week-long wedding extravaganza. Lucy's first ex-husband (yep, there are three) is a hedge fund millionaire who has bankrolled the entire wedding - hence why Lucy and her daughter (and most of the guests) are staying in a super high-end Vegas hotel in the sort of suite usually only for the mega rich. Despite the money being thrown at the party and the hiring of a wedding planner, Lucy is juggling willy toys and trying to find her room key when she literally bumps into Nicky Broome, lead singer of global rock band Super, who also happens to be her high school crush, who ghosted her after one incredible night together. Despite it being 28 years since they last spoke, and there is a 'thing' about that, Nicky and Lucy immediately recognise each other and are just as madly in love/lust as they were when they were teenagers.

Cue lots of flashbacks to discover how Lucy and Nicky broke up and the big secret they are keeping. There is some good stuff about the 1990s (mixtapes and the like) and also a lot of references to music/musicians - which may or may not appeal to readers.

Lucy has a sassy straight-talking BFF (since high school) who likes to give her advice at every opportunity, and her daughter isn't averse to putting Lucy into awkward situations eg inviting all three ex-husbands to be at the wedding!

Nicky didn't really get any character, he was a bit of a cardboard cut-out and because of that, of course he can't have any personal growth or change of heart it all has to come from Lucy. There is a reason why Lucy has three ex-husbands but it gave me the ick. Overall, I think there were lots of things that only seemed to be in the book to make a scene/plot device work rather than being integral to the plot (eg Lucy's ex-husband being so rich).

I found my biggest bugbear with this book was it wasn't really sure what it wanted to be. The cover gave off Annabel Monaghan vibes, but Lucy wasn't like one of her heroines. It sort of went down a 1990s music nostalgia route, like Nick Hornby, then dropped it. It wasn't spicy or sweet enough to fall into one category or another. There was a lot of personality dissection as if it were women's fiction, but then it had the rockstar romance in Vegas rom-com vibe.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Inheritance

The Inheritance by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where to start?

In a universe very similar to this one, a decade ago Earth suddenly starting spouting interdimensional breaches from which fantastical alien creatures were let loose creating havoc and killing indiscriminately. At the same time, in some kind of symbiotic yin yang situation, humans started developing new talents. They discovered that the breaches could be entered and mined for exotic minerals and plants to use against the creatures, they could also close the breach by destroying the thing which locked onto the earth.

Adaline is one of those new talented people, her marriage broke down after the first breach, her husband couldn't hack it and left her with two small children, now she works for the government, her new Talent' is that she can identify substances like metals and plants which are of use to Earth - she is one of the most valuable people who enters a breach.

But on what should have been a routine mission everything goes wrong, and the 'Tank' who was supposed to protect her with his life traps her in the breach in his haste to escape vicious creatures that kill the other team members. Alone, with only a German Shepherd puppy as company, Ada must find a way to leave the breach and get home to her children.

Meanwhile, the head of the Guild which was awarded the breach by the government must investigate how all but two team members were killed and how to recover the bodies of the other team members. They also need to understand how the Tank could have left behind the most important member of the team.

This started as a free serial on Ilona Andrews' webpage, but like everything else they do it snowballed and became a whole book, and the start of a series LOL. If you read the weekly instalments as I did then there is very little new here, but I can't wait for the next book - bet this turns into a six book series!

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Review: The Best of All

The Best of All by Karla Sorensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Zoe Valentine is an accountant, after divorcing her narcissistic lawyer husband she bought a house next door to her best friend Amie and her husband Chris. Chris and Amie have recently died in a car crash and she is looking after their two-year old daughter Mira.

Liam Davies is an Englishman playing American football. Little does he know that his best friend Chris has awarded him joint custody of Mira with Zoe in his will. Liam has never wanted a family, he hated his own father, who played football (or soccer) for a Premier League club, and hates that he looks the spitting image of his father. I notice that in this and the previous book both men have Daddy issues BTW. At first Liam refuses to have anything to do with Mira, he just wants to write Zoe a check, but eventually he agrees to help and moves into Chris and Amie's spare room.

Liam and Zoe met over a decade ago at Chris and Amie's house, Liam was instantly smitten but pulled away the minute he saw her engagement ring, then when he met her fiancé he instantly realised the guy was a tool and made some very rude comments to Zoe which he couldn't walk back. Since then whenever they meet it has been antagonistic, even after her divorce, because Liam still has feelings for her.

Another belter, with a cute moppet thrown in for good measure.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: The Best Laid Plans

The Best Laid Plans by Karla Sorensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Burke Barrett was a football player for Dallas until his knee blew out. He really only played to keep his father happy and is secretly relieved that his father's death and his own injury have meant he can stop living someone else's dream. He intends to move to Florida, where he's just bought his sister and her twins a house, and figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

Then life deals him a bitter blow. His best friend, possibly his only friend, Chris and his wife Amie die in a car accident and he discovers that they have left him a dilapidated house in Michigan. The house belonged to Chris's grandparents, Burke even visited it once with Chris for his grandfather's funeral, and it had been a lifelong wish that he could buy it back for the family. Chris and his wife had embarked on a long project of renovating the house prior to their deaths.

Burke can't believe that his best friend would put him in this position, Chris knew how much Burke hated living someone else's dreams and now he is forcing Burke to put off his own plans and take on Chris' plans for the house.

Charlotte Cunningham is an expert in managing the restoration of old houses, but after Chris and Amie's deaths the money dried up and her contractor went to another job. When she hears that Burke has inherited the house she is desperate to get him on board with her passion project.

Burke might delight in pushing Charlotte's buttons at every opportunity but he can't deny the sparks that fly between them - maybe a fling with an expiry date is in order?

Loved it. Sassy romance, just the right amount of smoulder to plot balance, love a tortured man and a woman who knows what she wants.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: Murder by Firelight

Murder by Firelight by Merryn Allingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Flora and Jack are living in Lewes several days a week while he is lecturing at the college, but Flora is keen to get back to Abbeymead and her book shop, All's Well' which is being looked after in her absence by her assistant Rose. It's Bonfire Night, a very special night in Lewes where different societies compete to build effigies of current or historical characters which they place on top of floats and parade around the town before setting them alight.

However, this Bonfire Night in 1959 one of the people standing and waving on top of the floats suddenly falls off right in front of Flora and Jack, as they struggle to help him Jack discovers that the victim, Trevor French, is bleeding heavily and may have been stabbed. When Mr French dies in hospital Flora tries to distance them from the investigation. but Jack feels a certain responsibility, especially when he discovers that his friend Detective Inspector Alan Ridley is on leave and his replacement seems determined to arrest Jack's neighbour Leo Nelson, who is renting Jack's old cottage.

I have read the first two books in this series and found them pleasant, cosy, historical mysteries, I may have complained about the pair's detection being more following up notions and jumping to conclusions previously and there is some of that here, although they do both acknowledge that they got everything wrong this time. Also, last time I complained about Flora racing in to find evidence at a suspect's house and putting herself in danger - this time it's Jack who does something stupid!

Anyway, an enjoyable mystery set in a part of the world I know quite well.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.


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Review: Betrayal at the Old Hall

Betrayal at the Old Hall by H.L. Marsay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lady Lucy Hanley's errant husband Rupert went missing on the first day of the COVID lockdowns and hasn't been seen since. She's been trying to manage a crumbling stately home and her son alone ever since. Her husband's estate manager, Max, a local boy with pretensions, is helping her to find new tenants for two cottages on the estate which may help with cashflow.

Lucy's best friend is Rachel, the local primary schoolteacher and Max's sister-in-law. She's been madly in love with Lucy for years, but Lucy is oblivious.

Dr Meera Kumar and her young son move into one cottage, her husband is back in India and they have separated, although her family have trouble believing it.

The other cottage is taken by Detective Sergeant Jo Ormond, a former London detective she made a big mistake and rather than be demoted she accepted a sideways move, not realising it would send her to a small Yorkshire town where nothing much happens.

Despite their different backgrounds the four women become friends, but they each have secrets and when Rupert's body is discovered Jo has to decide between what could be her ticket back to London and her friends.

I received an ARC of the third book in the series and really enjoyed it, so when I saw that this was free (sadly no longer), I picked it up. Despite knowing what really happened the night Rupert disappeared I enjoyed the build up and seeing the characters get to know each other. On to the second book now!

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Review: Murder at Cottonwood Creek

Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two and a half stars.

Stella and Viscount 'Lyndy' Lyndhurst go to Montana to visit her mother Katherine whose husband Ned is hosting Lyndy's father, Lord Atherly on a paleoethological dig for fossils of long extinct creatures. Although theirs was a love match it can't be denied that Stella's fortune rescued Lyndy's family from the brink that his father's mismanagement of the estate had brought them, now the estate is in Lady Atherly's hands and Lord Atherly is happy as a pig in clover.

Then one night the man that was guarding the dig is found dead in a creek bed, was it an accident as the town coroner insists, or was it murder? Throw in professional rivalries with another palaeontologist, a journalist desperate for a scoop, an unscrupulous coroner who is looking to sell a parcel of land, a gold mine, and horse rustling and you've got yourself a good old fashioned cowboy mystery.

Except you haven't. This was really odd, it was as if all the interesting things happened off stage (Lord Atherly disappears twice and *bang* he's found - what was the point?). It felt like the real story was in another book. Also, I've only read two of the seven books, but their family lives are getting VERY complicated. Overall a lot of detection which led nowhere, other than red herrings, and a disappointing discovery of the murderer by chance.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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