Murder at the Summer Fete - A Review

 

Murder at the
Summer Fete

by

Victoria Walters

A Review

Being a fan of BBC mysteries, I felt right at home in Dedley Endings, a small village set in the midst of the Cotswold countryside, and the scene for a new, interesting, and sufficiently complicated, cozy mystery. Though this story is set in the current day, it has its roots thirty years in the past.

The story is particularly interesting in that it takes two distinct phases. The first phase is discovering the person responsible for the murder of Michael Jones. Phase two involves exposing the criminal to an unbelieving world. Both parts of the story are intricate enough to hold the reader’s attention from the Prologue to the final pages of the book. The story becomes more complicated when Nancy Hunter and her family and friends must stumble on the truth while having little trust in the local police force.

While thoroughly enjoying the book, there was one (two?) concerns - the current book is closely tied to the previous (i.e. the first) book in this series and to the next book (i.e. the third) book in the series. From a publisher’s and writer’s perspective, this will encourage purchase of more books; from a reader’s perspective, this is distracting and unneeded for the enjoyment of the current story. For this, I give the book 4-½ stars.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

A Deadly Chapter - A Review

 

A Deadly Chapter

by

Essie Lang

A Review

A Deadly Chapter should have been a great cozy mystery:

• Set in a well-known vacation spot in Upstate NY - the 1000 Islands
• A boathouse serves as the protagonist’s home
• She owns (or is part owner of) two book stores
• There is a castle
• There is a cat
• And there is a murder

Having said that, I found the book a less than enthusiastic read. It had a very slow start, though it picked up its pace toward the end. The setting was not as descriptive as one might hope for a beautiful area of the country - the same might be said for the abundance of characters to whom the reader is introduced. And rather than keeping me alert, wanting more, I found myself falling asleep while reading - not a good sign.

This is the third book in the “Castle Bookshop Mysteries” series with a promise of more to come. I was not so put off that I do not want to read more, but this book was not the finest cozy mystery I have read. I give it 3-½ stars.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.