I’m reviewing A Very Murder Murder by Kate Wells, a fabulous contemporary mystery set in the Malvern Hills #mystery #newrelease #blogtour #bookreview
I’m reviewing a Very Merry Murder by Kate Wells
Here’s the blurb
Mistletoe, mince pies… and murder
When Jude Gray inherited Malvern Farm, she never thought she’d become so used to farm life, let alone be good at it! But now a beloved national TV show is coming to film their Christmas special on her land, celebrating the charm of rural living and all Jude’s achieved so far.
At least, that’s the plan… until one of the crew is found dead in suspicious circumstances.
At first, it looks like a tragic accident, but when alibis start to crack, it seems like anything but. With a growing list of suspects and enough behind-the-scenes drama to rival anything the cameras are capturing, Jude must dig deep to uncover the truth.
Because someone on her farm is hiding a deadly secret – and this year, the season of goodwill may come with a killer twist…
A Very Merry Murder by Kate Wells is the sixth book in the Malvern Farm Mystery series and I’ve read five of them (see my reviews below). The series is very dependable, and each book is very well written with a good mystery for Jude to unravel. It’s a favourite series of mine.
A Very Merry Murder sees Jude playing host to a film crew on the farm, while also preparing for her sister’s wedding. It’s a busy time for her, and a real strength of these books is that the author rarely forgets Jude is a farmer first and only a sleuth second. We get a good idea of the relentless nature of farming, even though Jude loves it.
The film crew, of course, quickly start causing problems, from the slimy director to the acerbic runner to the two hosts. Are they happily married or not? When the first body is found, Jude immediately senses not all is as it seems, and she works with a recovering Binni to unravel the tangled threads of lies and misdirection from the suspects. And all while preparing for Christmas.
A Very Merry Murder is a festive treat, complete with some snow, and while I’ll be honest and say I did work out the twist in this one, it was still very enjoyable. I highly recommend this series to those who like a contemporary mystery without too much gore.
Kate Wells is the author of a number of well-reviewed books for children, and is now writing a new cosy crime series set in the Malvern hills, inspired by the farm where she grew up.
I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, An Heir is Misplaced. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader
Here’s the blurb
A missing heir. An out of sorts duchess. A Season in High Society that just became far more interesting…
London, 1891. With the gossip broadsheet The Society Page speculating that her husband is getting far too cosy with their female neighbour back at his country estate, Alice, Duchess of Stortford, is fed-up. And it’s raining! But when a flustered nobleman appears at her door, knowing of her reputation for managing discreet enquires, he begs her for help. His nephew, who is about to inherit an Earldom, has gone missing.
But the deeper Alice digs, the murkier things become. Why are the late Earl’s wife and his stepson so evasive? What really happened at The Carlton Hotel the night the heir was last seen? And who’s set to gain the Earldom if the heir ends up dead?
Aided by her loyal maid Maud, her quick-thinking footman George, and the ever-resourceful private investigator Ben Beaumont—not to mention a certain well-known detective with a pipe—Alice must untangle a web of secrets to find the missing heir before it’s too late.
The clock is ticking, the gossip is swirling—and only Alice can set things right.
An Heir is Misplaced sees Helen Golden creating a new feisty female sleuth, set in the later Victorian era. Alice, the Duchess of Strotford, clearly has some very interesting connections, as we learn through this first encounter with her.
Tasked with finding a missing heir, she calls on all the resources a well-born lady of high society has at her disposal, while remaining within the confines of what would have been acceptable. As ever, the mystery isn’t quite all it seems, and Alice quickly grows suspicious, as the tangled threads begin to make sense.
This is a fabulous introduction to Alice, and I’m excited to read more of her backstory, as well as her future sleuthing endeavours.
Check out my reviews for the books in Helen Golden’s Right Royal Mystery series, featuring one of Lady Alice’s descendants.
Helen Golden spins mysteries that are charmingly British, delightfully deadly, and served with a twist of humour.
With quirky characters, clever red herrings, and plots that keep the pages turning, she’s the author of the much-loved A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, following Lady Beatrice and her friends—including one clever little dog—as they uncover secrets hidden in country houses and royal palaces. Her new historical mystery series, The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries, is set in Victorian England and introduces an equally curious sleuth from Lady Beatrice’s own family tree—where murders are solved over cups of tea, whispered gossip, and overheard conversations in drawing rooms and grand estates.
Helen lives in a quintessential English village in Lincolnshire with her husband, stepdaughter, and a menagerie of pets—including a dog, several cats, a tortoise, and far too many fish.
If you love clever puzzles, charming settings, and sleuths with spark, her books are waiting for you.
I’m sharing a post about the inspiration for The Secret Sauce to celebrate release day #histfic #historicalmystery
Why The Secret Sauce?
As fans of my historical mysteries set in Erdington, Birmingham (UK), will know, I always like to pick a ‘quirky’ hook for my stories. The Secret Sauce is no different. For those who don’t know, HP Sauce was made for many, many decades at Aston in Birmingham (it isn’t any more). As a child, I drove past the sign below at least monthly, if not more often. Initially, I hoped to call this book The Body in the Beans (what a great title), but alas, HP didn’t make baked beans in the 1940s. As such, I had to have a little rethink. I thought the idea was too good to forget. And so, The Secret Sauce has as its Birmingham-specific hook; brown sauce, which, for the purposes of the story, I’ve renamed BB Sauce (you need to read the book to find out what that stands for).
Image from Birmingham Museum, taken by my sisterImage from Birmingham Museum, taken by my sister
However, HP Sauce is a brown, fruity sauce, with a fascinating history, and, I believe, a recipe that remains a ‘secret.’ It started life at the end of the nineteenth century, and through fair means or foul, ended up in the hands of the owners of the Midlands Vinegar Company. It survived the uncertainties of both world wars, although sourcing the ingredients was often challenging. The True Story of HP Sauce, produced in 1985, states that advertising for HP Sauce was stopped during the Second World War because it was so difficult to get a bottle. There was also a bomb shelter beneath the factory during WW2. The Ultimate HP Sauce Lover’s Guide mainly contains recipes. I have been ‘forced’ to try HP Sauce, as I’d never had it before. It reminds me a little bit of Branston Pickle:) I don’t think I’m a fan, but I suspect it’s probably a bit like Marmite – you love it, or hate it.
Just like the Bird’s Custard Factory, which was the inspiration for The Custard Corpses, HP Sauce was a Birmingham staple. In fact, I suspect, for many locals, HP Sauce is more well-known, whether fondly or not (because it could stink), than the custard factory.
If you look at the cover for The Secret Sauce, you’ll notice, as with the other books in the series, that I’ve made some changes to the ‘brand.’ One of the changes was to make the BB Sauce bottle bulbous, a stark contrast to the elongated one of HP Sauce. I also added another Birmingham staple to the BB Sauce bottle by opting for colours inspired by Aston Villa Football Club’s kit. Why did I do this? Well, a reader shared some photos of my books and beside them was an Aston Villa programme. It was too good an opportunity to miss, as after all, the two would have been located in Aston.
Trinity Road Stand, Aston Villa Football Club, taken by my brother
Here’s the blurb
Birmingham, England, November 1944.
Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.
Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.
Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld. While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.
Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.
All 3 hardbacks in the Erdington Mystery series in a row.
I’m super excited to share the cover for The Secret Sauce, the third book in The Erdington Mysteries #histfic #historicalmystery
Listen to me read the beginning of Chapter 1
Here’s the blurb
Birmingham, England, November 1944.
Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.
Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.
Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld. While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.
Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.
Winter, 1901. The Inner Temple is even quieter than usual under a blanket of snow and Gabriel Ward KC is hard at work on a thorny libel case. All is calm, all is bright – until the mummified hand arrives in the post…
While the hand’s recipient, Temple Treasurer Sir William Waring, is rightfully shaken, Gabriel is filled with curiosity. Who would want to send such a thing? And why? But as more parcels arrive – one with fatal consequences – Gabriel realises that it is not Sir William who is the target, but the Temple itself.
Someone is holding a grudge that has already led to at least one death. Now it’s up to Gabriel, and Constable Wright of the City of London Police, to find out who, before an old death leads to a new murder.
I’ve not encountered Gabriel Ward KC before, but I’m very pleased I took a chance on A Case of Life and Limb.
This is a delightfully quirky mystery, beginning in late 1901, and taking the reader on a journey through the social mores of the age, and the conflict between the upper and lower middle classes, all played out beautifully between Gabriel and Constable Wright, with a few others along the way. And most of it takes place within the Inner Temple, and its seeming separation from what happens beyond its garden and walls.
The novel is filled with gentle humour and Gabriel is a bit of a sweetie behind his stern facade. I especially loved his interactions with the cat.
The mystery itself was well resolved, and I will certainly go back and read book 1 in the series.
I’m super excited to share the cover for The Secret Sauce, the third book in The Erdington Mysteries #histfic #historicalmystery
Here’s the blurb
Birmingham, England, November 1944.
Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.
Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.
Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld. While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.
Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.
I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, Murder Most Wilde. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader
Here’s the blurb
In the world of amateur theatre, the drama isn’t all onstage…
Tragedy Strikes the Windstanton Players
Popular local actor, Noel Ashworth, who collapsed during the rehearsal of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was pronounced dead at the scene. As shock ripples through Windstanton’s tight-knit amateur theatre group, the Fenshire Police are looking at them as suspects.
I can’t let Perry’s acting debut end in disaster! With the cast spooked and the local police under-resourced, Bea—along with Perry, Rich, Simon, and her trusty Westie, Daisy must shift through the cast’s petty jealousies and diva behaviour to unmask the killer before they strike again.
When the show must go on…will everyone make it to opening night?
Murder Most Wilde is the latest installment in Helen Golden’s Right Royal Investigation mystery series. I’ve read all the books in the series so far, including all the short stories. Lady Bea and Perry, our amateur detectives, are both fab characters, even if, these days, they do have a large collection of professionals on hand to help out.
This time, we return to Windstanton, after our brief holiday in Portugal. We’ve been hearing about Perry’s debut on the stage for a few books now, and he’s so excited to be cast in The Importance of Being Earnest. But of course, not everything goes to plan, and he and Bea find themselves once more investigating a suspicious death.
New readers will not be disappointed if they dip their toe into this series. It’s always reliably good (that might sound boring, but it’s a compliment). The mysteries are enjoyable to unravel, and it’s always a race to see if I’ll solve it before the characters do (not very often).
Check out my reviews for the other books in this fabulous series.
Helen Golden spins mysteries that are charmingly British, delightfully deadly, and served with a twist of humour.
With quirky characters, clever red herrings, and plots that keep the pages turning, she’s the author of the much-loved A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, following Lady Beatrice and her friends—including one clever little dog—as they uncover secrets hidden in country houses and royal palaces. Her new historical mystery series, The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries, is set in Victorian England and introduces an equally curious sleuth from Lady Beatrice’s own family tree—where murders are solved over cups of tea, whispered gossip, and overheard conversations in drawing rooms and grand estates.
Helen lives in a quintessential English village in Lincolnshire with her husband, stepdaughter, and a menagerie of pets—including a dog, several cats, a tortoise, and far too many fish.
If you love clever puzzles, charming settings, and sleuths with spark, her books are waiting for you.
Paris, 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in both her work and private life – the finalisation of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.
But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.
As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.
Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?
The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is a fun murder mystery, reuniting us with outspoken and headstrong Eliza, and her fellow sleuth, Theo, who, in true ‘tormented writer’ guise, has spent the last two years in France, roughing it in an attempt to escape the object of his torment, Eliza. What could be better than throwing them together on the Orient Express, with a host of mystery writers on their way to a writers convention?
As their journey gets underway, Eliza is aware of undercurrents from Dorothy, her employer, and she’s alert to the other passengers as well. She’s not about to accept that Ivan died of a heart attack. And so begins her sleuthing, with the aid, sometimes unwillingly given, of Theo. And the case becomes curioser and curioser as the train finally reaches Istanbul/Constantinople.
Another fab addition to Kelly Oliver’s sleuthing mysteries. I do love the little connections between this series and the Fiona Figg books. But, of course, you don’t need to have read them. I also enjoy the addition of the real-life mystery writers. Fans of the genre will thoroughly enjoy Eliza and Theo’s new escapade.
Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee
Here’s an exciting excerpt from Death and the Poet
Ovid gives a recital
July 2, or 6 days before the Nones
The recital took place in the late afternoon at the town’s main square on top of the hill overlooking the harbour. Entertainment in Tomis was infrequent and modest, with maybe a serious theatre performance in the spring in honour of Dionysus, and the occasional touring group performing comedies. There were rumours of a gladiator show, once they were a proper province, but for the moment, poetry was exciting enough to a Greek audience and Ovid was, after all, famous. People drifted into the square carrying chairs, stools and even cushions, unpacked their picnics and handed around pitchers of wine. Fabia was invited to sit in a roped-off area, where three rows of chairs had been laid out for special guests. In the central seat was Apollous, that year’s archon, and the members of the Town Council and their wives all lined up to express themselves thrilled to meet Fabia. Nobody was so indelicate as to mention the fact that Ovid was in Tomis because he had no choice.
Settled with an extra shawl because Flora had been certain that she would feel chilly even on a beautiful summer day, Fabia began to enjoy herself. She looked around the crowd, marking off people as Roman, Greek and Dacian, spotting several men with light coloured hair and beards and wearing leggings – surely they must be from the local tribes mentioned by her husband. It was harder to make any judgement on the female population, for every woman was wrapped up in a long dress, just as she was.
The poet first declaimed a well-known passage from his great poem on mythology, the Metamorphoses. He told the story of the god Apollo’s love of the nymph Daphne:
Just as when a careless dawn traveller has swept his torch too close to the stubble left in the field when the wheat is taken, setting the dry hedges on fire – so the god goes up in the flames of love.
Fabia saw the knowing nods as local landowners remembered threats to their own precious crops, and an audible murmur betrayed the audience’s opinion of firebugs.
Ovid then recited a poem Fabia had not heard before, one with a Tomis setting, but without the criticisms she had grown used to. She was pleased. There had been too many “Woe is me!” moments in Ovid’s poetry recently and he needed to acknowledge to this audience how grateful he was to them.
Ovid finished with a passage from the Fasti, an ambitious work which he planned would cover the major religious festivals of Rome. It was serious and noble and a little boring, though Fabia knew from her mother that Ovid’s work on this poem was considered skilful by those who knew about such things. She was amused to hear a young woman nearby whisper, “I thought he was a famous writer of love poetry?”
“Oh my dear,” thought Fabia, “Ovid will not be reciting any of his love poems here. They got him into enough trouble in Rome. I doubt your father would like you hearing about how a Roman lad goes on the prowl through the arcades of the city or lies wailing at the door of his beloved.”
Here’s the blurb
14 AD.
When Dokimos the vegetable seller is found bludgeoned to death in the Black Sea town of Tomis, it’s the most exciting thing to have happened in the region for years. Now reluctantly settled into life in exile, the disgraced Roman poet Ovid helps his friend Avitius to investigate the crime, with the evidence pointing straight at a cuckolded neighbour.
But Ovid is also on edge, waiting for the most momentous death of all. Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, is nearing his end, and the future of the whole Roman world is uncertain.
Even as far away as Tomis, this political shadow creates tension as the pompous Roman legate Flaccus thinks more of his career than solving a local murder.
Avitius and Ovid become convinced that an injustice has been done in the case of the murdered vegetable seller. But Flaccus continues to turn a deaf ear.
When Ovid’s wife, Fabia, arrives unexpectedly, carrying a cryptic message from the Empress Livia, the poet becomes distracted – and another crime is committed.
Ovid hopes for a return to Rome – only to discover that he is under threat from an enemy much closer to home.
Triggers: murder, references to slavery, domestic abuse, alcohol, cancer
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Meet the author
Fiona studied Classics at Oxford before teaching it for 25 years. A family move to Qatar gave her the opportunity to write about ancient Rome, and she is now back in the UK, working on her seventh novel.
MJ Porter 