I’m delighted to share my review for Murder in Trafalgar Square by Michelle Salter, the first book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended

I’m delighted to share my review for Murder in Trafalgar Square by Michelle Salter, the first book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended
#BoldwoodBloggers @BoldwoodBools #MurderInTragalgarSquare @rararesources @bookandtonic

Here’s the blurb

Discover a BRAND NEW page-turning cosy mystery series from Michelle Salter A murdered suffragette. A missing politician. A stolen artwork.

London, 1910

Coral Fairbanks is a contradiction. As well as a suffragette, she’s a bit-part actress and nude model, earning her the disapproval of her fellow suffragettes.

Guy Flynn is an artist. He’s also a detective inspector at Scotland Yard, who doesn’t always see eye to eye with fellow officers in the Metropolitan Police.

When Home Secretary Winston Churchill orders the police to terrorise the suffragettes during an afternoon of violence that becomes known as Black Friday, the battlelines are drawn – and Coral Fairbanks and Guy Flynn are on different sides.

But when a young suffragette is found murdered in the National Portrait Gallery and one of their paintings is stolen – Fairbanks and Flynn must put their differences aside and combine their knowledge to track down the killer.

Introducing an iconic detective duo in Fairbanks and Flynn, this is an exciting and gripping historical mystery, which will delight fans of Agatha Christie, Benedict Brown and T. E. Kinsey

 Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/MurderTrafalgarSquare

My Review

Murder in Trafalgar Square is the first book in Michelle Salter’s new mystery series, set in 1910, and what a fabulous first entry into a series it is.

For this series we have two main characters, Cora, a young widow who is a suffragette, works in a gallery and has also been an actress but is currently deemed, at 36, to be too old to play the ingenue on stage, and too young to be a harridan. (I sense we’re still not really that far beyond that even now). 

Guy Flynn, our detective inspector, is equally a many layered individual, also a widower with a daughter to raise alone, and he’s a painter too. The pair have some lovely facets to their characters and they make for an intriguing duo as we read chapters from alternative points of view. They’re flung together when a body is found at the National Gallery and it makes all the headlines, as opposed to the suffragette stunt with a most amusing painting (I’m not spoiling it).

The mystery unfolds at a good pace, as Cora and Guy endeavour to unpick the information they gain, while endeavouring to stay on the right side of the government.

This is such a fabulous new book, and I’m so excited to read more of Cora and Guy. I love the Iris Woodmore series by the author, but it’s possible I might love this one even more.

Check out my reviews for Death at Crookham Hall, Murder at Waldenmere Lake, The Body at Carnival Bridge, A Killing At Smugglers Cove, A Corpse in Christmas Close, and Murder at Mill Ponds House.

Meet the author

Michelle Salter writes historical cosy crime set in Hampshire, where she lives, and inspired by real-life events in 1920s Britain. Her Iris Woodmore 

Connect with Michelle 

Bookbub profile

Newsletter Sign Up

Posts

I’m delighted to share my review for Murder at Mill Ponds House by Michelle Salter #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended

Image shows the cover for Murder at Mill Ponds House by Michelle Salter on a pale purple background

Here’s the blurb

When murder hits close to home, Iris must fight to clear her name…

Spring, 1924. Reporter Iris Woodmore plans to move to London to avoid a shocking hometown scandal. Longtime enemy Archie Powell has been threatening to reveal her darkest secret – and she’s desperate to flee before he does.

But when he’s found murdered after a violent argument with her, there’s no escape. Iris must stay and clear her name even though the truth could ruin her reputation.

With the police closing in, Iris has to find the real killer if she’s to keep her secret. Can she prove her innocence without revealing the identity of the one man who can provide her with an alibi?

A gripping new mystery for fans of Verity Bright, Clara McKenna, and Helena Dixon.

Image shows for cover for Murder at Mill Ponds House by Michelle Salter. It is a stylised 1920s image, showing a young woman wearing orange in a hat in front of a country style house, with a pond behind her, and a man in the background.

 Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/MillPondsHouse

My Review

Murder at Mill Ponds House is the sixth title in the Iris Woodmore mystery series. I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed every title, and Murder at Mill Ponds House is just as fabulous.

To wax a little lyrical, I want to say how much I love these books. I thoroughly appreciate the tight plotting and the continuity between all the books in the series. They’re a joy to read because the author never drops the ball and misses out someone important, or forgets an event from an earlier book. They’re also delightful to read, well-paced, and have interesting and intriguing difficulties for our main character to resolve.

I read Murder at Mill Ponds House in just two sittings, and that’s only because I couldn’t stay up any longer to finish the story.

A fabulous mystery, well put together, well plotted, well resolved and thoroughly enjoyable. They are a true delight, and I always know I’m in safe hands with a Michelle Salter mystery.

Huzzah.

Check out my reviews for Death at Crookham Hall, Murder at Waldenmere Lake, The Body at Carnival Bridge, A Killing At Smugglers Cove and A Corpse in Christmas Close.

Image shows the cover for Murder at Mill Ponds House by Michelle Salter with a magnifying glass over the book cover with a handwritten note in the background

Meet the author

Thanks for taking the time to stop by my author page. You’ll see all my books are classic murder mysteries – because golden age whodunnits are the stories I enjoy reading most.

I love to create memorable characters and devise intriguing plots with a focus on mystery rather than violence.

I live in Hampshire, England, and it’s the setting for many of my books. My standalone novel, Murder at Merewood Hospital, features Sister Helen Hopgood, the last nurse left in a military hospital in Hampshire at the end of the First World War.

I also have family connections to Devon, and the fourth Iris Woodmore Mystery, A Killing at Smugglers Cove, is set on the south coast of Devon in 1923. Iris is back in her native Hampshire for A Corpse in Christmas Close, set in Winchester over Christmas 1923, and Murder at Mill Ponds House, which begins on 1st May 1924.

You can read all of my books as standalone novels, even the Iris Woodmore Mysteries, as each is a separate story, although the characters develop as the series progresses.

I hope you enjoy reading or listening to my books.

Connect with Michelle 

Bookbub profile

Newsletter Sign Up

Image shows the details of the blog hosts taking part in the blog tour for Murder at Mill Ponds House by Michelle Salter,organised by Rachel's Random Resources on behalf of Boldwood Books.

Posts

I’m delighted to share my review for A Corpse in Christmas Close by Michelle Salter #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended

Here’s the blurb

When a pantomime turns deadly, Iris investigates a cast of killers…

Christmas, 1923. When reporter Iris Woodmore is sent to cover the Prince of Wales’ visit to historic Winchester, she discovers more than just royal gossip.

The leading lady in Winchester Cathedral’s charity pantomime is found dead in mysterious circumstances. And the chief suspect is Cinderella’s handsome prince, played by Percy Baverstock’s younger brother, Freddie.

For the sake of the Baverstocks, Iris must investigate the murder, even though it means confronting an old enemy. And as the line between friend and foe blurs dangerously, she’s ensnared by someone she hoped she’d never see again…

Everyone’s favourite amateur sleuth returns for a Christmas mystery, perfect for fans of Verity Bright, Claire Gradidge and Emily Organ.

 Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/christmasclosesocial

My Review

I love a new Iris Woodmore 1920s mystery, and A Corpse in Christmas Close is as well-plotted and deeply grounded in the historical events of the day as the previous books in the series.

Iris is a great main character. She is tenacious and outspoken, aware of society’s conventions but often keen to ignore them. She and her fellow cast members are all well-drawn and believable.

I almost always determine how much I love a mystery by whether I work out the culprit or not, and once more, I was caught out by the resolution for A Corpse in Christmas Close.

The pacing is great. I’m looking forward to Iris’ next adventure.

Check out my review for Death at Crookham Hall, Murder at Waldenmere Lake, The Body at Carnival Bridge, and A Killing At Smugglers Cove.

Image of A Corpse in Christmas Close on a snowy background

Meet the author

Michelle Salter writes historical cosy crime set in Hampshire, where she lives, and inspired by real-life events in 1920s Britain. Her Iris Woodmore series draws on an interest in the aftermath of the Great War and the suffragette movement.

Connect with Michelle 

Bookbub profile

Newsletter Sign Up

Blog banner for A Corpse in Christmas Close

Posts