The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes – Book Review

The Expectant Detective, a cosy murder mystery by Kat Ailes was a fun and an easy read. Here is my review.

The Expectant Detectives a cosy murder mystery by Kat Ailes was a fun and an easy read due out on the 8th of June. Here is my review.

For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy Cotswold village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their unexpected first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she’ll learn to make jam. But the rural idyll they’d hoped for doesn’t quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local antenatal class and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation. With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.

Read more: The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes – Book Review

I received a copy of the book for a free and unbiased opinion.

The first person narrator, the heavily pregnant Alice, finds herself  moving to the rural Peyton with her boyfriend Joe as a result and struggling to adapt to her new neighbours. This is made worse when she is embroiled in a murderer when a man is poisoned in the middle of her antenatal class and to top it all off Joe is definitely acting a little shifty too.

There are some laugh out funny moments with Alice’s descriptions of the highs and many lows of being pregnant- something which many women will relate to. As with all cosy murder mysteries there is a cast of interesting and weird characters and suspects with many possible motives.

There are a few mysteries to be solved and while I did figure out one of them, I didn’t really guess who the murderer was.

The book was easy to read and I did finish this is one sitting but I did find the middle did drag a tiny bit ( but not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the book).

Perfect for fans of

Cosy crime

Death at Crookham Hall by Michelle Salter – Book review and Blog Tour

I’m pleased to be part of the Racheal’s Random Resources Blog Tour for Death at Crookham Hall by Michelle Salter.

A fatal jump. A missing suffragette. An inexplicable murder. 

London, 1920. When she catches news of a big story, reporter Iris Woodmore rushes to the House of Commons. But it’s a place that holds painful memories. In 1914, her mother died there when she fell into the River Thames during a daring suffragette protest. But in the shadow of Big Ben, a waterman tells Iris her mother didn’t fall – she jumped. 

Iris discovers that the suffragette with her mother that fateful day has been missing for years, disappearing just after the protest. Desperate to know the truth behind the fatal jump, Iris’s investigation leads her to Crookham Hall, an ancestral home where secrets and lies lead to murder…

Review

Death at Crookham Hall by Michelle Salter is a murder mystery set just after World War I, just after women won the right to vote (some women anyway) and were just beginning to step into a world outside of marriage and babies.

A Deadly Inheritance by Jane McParkes- Book review/Blog Tour

I’m so pleased to be part of the Random Things Blog tour for Deadly Inheritance by Jane McParkes- a murder mystery set in Cornwall.

When Olivia Wells returns to Creekside, Cornwall, intent on fulfilling her bequest of cultivating a co-working community of eco and creative entrepreneurs in a renovated railway building, she soon finds opposition, sabotage and the murdered body of her friend.She has to put her trust in an unlikely ally to help her investigate exactly who is threatening the success of her ventures, her liberty and ultimately, her life.

Review

A Deadly Inheritance by Jane McParkes is a cosy murder mystery set in a little village in Cornwall- a village on the verge of major change. A village that has to deal with very modern issues and challenges.

Death Comes to Marlowe by Robert Thorogood- Book review

I really enjoyed Death Comes to Marlowe by Robert Thorogood- cosy crime at its best

I couldn’t put Death Comes to Marlowe ,  the second instalment of Marlowe Murder club, by Robert Thorogood ,down until I found out who the murderer was- much to the annoyance of the people around me.

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion

Judith, the seven-eight-year-old crossword setter, and naked wild water swimmer is the amateur detective who finds herself with a puzzle of a death when she is invited to the pre-wedding party of Sir. Peter Bailey. But the only problem is while Judith is convinced this is murder, there isn’t any evidence to suggest the death wasn’t anything other than an accident. So of course, Judith sets out to solve the mystery with the help of Suzie, a dog walker and burgeoning radio celebrity and Becks the vicar’s wife hiding her own little secret.

This is modern cosy crime at it its best- interesting with bizarre suspects, plenty of motives and red herrings, a locked room murder, a helpful cop and of course Judith.

Judith is not Miss Marple, she is a vibrant, determined older person battling her own demons but is someone happy with her choices and her life. The subplot involving the messages in the cryptic crosswords was fascinating in itself and made me want to dip my toes in trying a few out.

The plot races along with one little revelation after another and as expected there was plenty of humour and no gore. The book also somehow manages to touch upon serious issues such as privilege and misogyny but not in a heavy-handed way.

My only tiny gripe is Becks- her unique skill is her knowledge of the ‘middle classes but for some reason, I thought that some of the things she was talking about were far beyond the means of the average middle-class household (this is of course my own subjective view which could be very wrong!).

But that is a tiny gripe and I can’t wait for the next instalment and really hope this is turned into a tv show (like Death in Paradise by the same author).

Perfect for Fans

A good murder mystery such as The Thursday Murder Club or a more modern take on Agatha Christie

Publication date : 5th of January 2023 by HarperCollins

Source Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins

Chaos at Carnegie Hall by Kelly Oliver- Book review and blog tour

I’m so pleased to be part of the Racheal Random Resources blog tour for Chaos at Carnegie Hall by Kelly Olive. Historical cosy crime perfectly described as Agatha Christie meets Downton Abbey but with added humour

​Notorious spy, Fredrick Fredricks, has invited Fiona to Carnegie Hall to hear a famous soprano. It’s an opportunity the War Office can’t turn down. Fiona and Clifford are soon on their way, but not before Fiona is saddled with chaperon duties for Captain Hall’s niece. Is Fiona a spy or a glorified babysitter?​From the minute Fiona meets the soprano aboard the RMS Adriatic it’s treble on the high C’s. Fiona sees something—or someone—thrown overboard, and then she overhears a chemist plotting in German with one of her own countrymen!​And the trouble doesn’t stop when they disembark. Soon Fiona is doing time with a group of suffragettes and investigating America’s most impressive inventor Thomas Edison.When her number one suspect turns up dead at the opera and Fredrick Fredricks is caught red-handed, it looks like it’s finally curtains for the notorious spy.​But all the evidence points to his innocence. Will Fiona change her tune and clear her nemesis’ name? Or will she do her duty? And just what is she going to do with the pesky Kitty Lane? Not to mention swoon-worthy Archie Somersby . If Fiona’s going to come out on top, she’s going to have to make the most difficult decision of her life: the choice between her head and her heart

Review

There are times when you just need a nice, light-hearted book with just enough of an edge to keep you hooked and Chaos at Carnegie Hall by Kelly Oliver fulfilled this perfectly.

A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge- book review

Here is my review of this cosy crime where Agatha Christie’s housekeeper has to solve a murder where the chief suspects are a group of crime writers. Here is my review of A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge.

Phyllida Bright, housekeeper for Agatha Christie, must uncover a killer among a throng of crime writers.
In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie  is the exception. The neighbouring village of Listleigh has also become a hub of grisly goings-on, thanks to a Murder Fête organized to benefit a local orphanage. Members of The Detection Club—a group of celebrated authors such as G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha herself—will congregate for charitable events, including a writing contest for aspiring authors. The winner gets an international publishing contract, and entrants have gathered for a cocktail party when murder strikes .
It’s a mystery too intriguing for Phyllida to resist, but one fraught with duplicity and danger, for every guest is an expert in murder—and how to get away with it.

Review

A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge was an easy to read and enjoyable cosy murder suggestive of Agatha Christie’s best mysteries.

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.

Reading this book felt like slipping on a comfy jumper. Warm and familiar- with the expected twisty murder, a range of eccentric suspects, everyone has a motive, lots of red herrings and a detective that doesn’t give up.

The mystery was complex, and I did not guess who the murderer was and the motive was ingenious.

Phyllida herself was an interesting Detective- unbending in her desire to help her employer even if it places her in danger, efficient and perhaps a touch unlikeable.

I liked how the author added diversity to the book without it being out of place for 1920s England.

I do have one very slight criticism- the use of the word cookie instead of biscuit (though I could be wrong and indeed they were eating cookies and not biscuits in the English sense).

Perfect for Fans of

Cosy crime

Death at the Manor by Katharine Schellman- book review

I enjoyed this Regency mystery featuring a locked room murder, ghosts, and touch of gothic romance. My review of Death of Romance by Katharine Schellman.

Genre: Historical crime

Series: Lily Adler Mystery #3

Publication Date :9th of August 2022

Source: NetGalley and Crooked Lane Publishers

Lily Adler is looking forward to spending some time with her Aunt Eliza with her friends Lady and Lord Carroway ( Ofelia and Ned)  but instead, she is embroiled in a strange murder that appears to be committed by a ghost at the nearby Belleford manor. Can Lily solve the murder with her friends while dealing with her feelings for Mr Spencer?

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion

Review

This is the third book in the Lily Adler Mystery series, but I was able to get into the story and the characters without having read the previous two books. The book is told from a few points of view which makes the story a lot more compelling.

 I loved the diverse range of characters in the book that naturally blended into the story and the expected prejudices are present but overall I loved how the characters in the book were able to accept Ofelia’s mixed-race descent. If anything, Ofelia’s difference from the other people in the village is her noble status.