Tag: murder mystery

Happy publication day to The Mystery of Yew Tree House by Lesley Thomson #blogtour #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

EIGHTY YEARS OF SECRETS.
1940. At Yew Tree House, recently widowed Adelaide Stride is raising her two daughters alone – but it’s not just the threat of German invasion that keeps her up at night. She is surrounded by enemies posing
as allies and, while war rages, she grows sure that something terrible is about to happen.
A BODY THAT REVEALS THEM ALL.
2023. Soon after Stella Darnell begins her holiday at Yew Tree House, a skeleton is found in a pillbox at
the bottom of the garden. The bullet hole in the skull tells her that the person was murdered.
This triggers the unravelling of a mystery eighty years in the making. Stella will learn that Adelaide was right to worry – the fighting might have been happening abroad, but the true enemy was always much closer to home…

A unique take on the traditional murder mystery from critically acclaimed author, Lesley Thomson, for fans of Elly Griffiths, Val McDermid and Mari Hannah.

Purchase Link

https://geni.us/TMOYTHRRR

Meet the author

Lesley Thomson grew up in west London. Her first novel, A Kind of Vanishing, won the People’s Book Prize in 2010. Her second novel, The Detective’s Daughter, was a #1 bestseller and the resulting series has sold over 800,000 copies. Lesley divides her time between Sussex and Gloucestershire. She lives with her partner and her dog.

Connect with the author

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LesleyjmThomson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LesleyThomsonNovelist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lesleythomson

Connect with the publisher

Twitter: @AriesFiction

Facebook: Aries Fiction

Instagram: @headofzeus

Website: http://www.headofzeus.com

Today, I’m delighted to be taking part in the #blogtour for #SisterAgatha:The World’s Oldest Serial Killer by Domhnall O’Donoghue

Here’s the blurb:

Sister Agatha: The World’s Oldest Serial Killer

Sister Agatha is 118 years of age, whose vim and vigour would put the most robust athletes to shame. However, during a routine check-up, her doctor claims that she has just a week to live – inconvenient, seeing as the beloved sister once made an improbable vow: to be the oldest person in the world. At last count, she was the fifth. 

Never one to admit defeat, Sister Agatha concocts a bold Plan B. Using her final days, she intends on travelling the world to meet the only four people whose birthday cakes boast more candles than hers. 

And then, one by one, she will kill them. 

My Review

Sister Agatha is a wonderful comedy. Sister Agatha herself is a fabulous creation, as are the people she meets and interacts with.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions and intersections throughout the story, and Sister Agatha gets to meet a varied cast of characters, and they too have their own stories told throughout the narrative. The whole premise is really quite clever, and thoroughly enjoyable.

If you’re looking for a gentle comedy, dark in places, then this is definitely for you.

Purchase Links 

UK- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sister-Agatha-Worlds-Oldest-Serial-ebook/dp/B09X21ZNY2/

US – https://www.amazon.com/Sister-Agatha-Worlds-Oldest-Serial-ebook/dp/B09X21ZNY2/

Meet the author

Hailing from Navan in the royal county of Meath, Domhnall is a graduate of the Bachelor in Acting Studies Programme, Trinity College Dublin, later completing a Master’s in Screenwriting at Dún Laoghaire IADT.

He now works as an actor and a journalist, dividing his time between Galway, where he films TG4’s award-winning series, Ros na Rún, Dublin and Venice, where he and his Italian lover continuously promise their well-worn livers that they will refrain from quaffing so much Prosecco. (Unfortunately, it seems some vows, just like nearby Rome, were not built in a day.)

Wine-drinking aside, for more than four years, Domhnall has also enjoyed the responsibility of being Assistant Editor at Irish Tatler Man, a title whose various awards includes Consumer Magazine of the Year. Thanks to this role, he interviewed a host of high-profile names such as Tommy Hilfiger, Chris Pine, Kevin Spacey, David Gandy, and Jacques Villeneuve.

Domhnall has written for the majority of Ireland’s leading newspapers and magazines, including the Irish Independent, The Irish Times and RTE. He also writes a monthly column in Woman’s Way, the country’s biggest-selling weekly magazine.

His first novel, Sister Agatha: the World’s Oldest Serial Killer, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim (Tirgearr Publishing). His second and third books, Colin and the Concubine and Crazy for You were published by Mercier Press, Ireland’s oldest publishing house. 

Connect with Domhnall

FB – Domhnall O’Donoghue (facebook.com)

T – https://twitter.com/Domhnall1982

IG – https://instagram.com/domhnall82

Book Review – Blood Runs Thicker by Sarah Hawkswood – historical fiction

Here’s the blurb;

August 1144. Osbern de Lench is known far and wide as a hard master, whose temper is perpetually frayed. After riding to survey his land and the incoming harvest from the top of the nearby hill, his horse returns to the hall riderless and the lifeless body of the lord is found soon after.

Was it the work of thieves, or something closer to home? With an heir who is cast in the same hot-tempered mould, sworn enemies for neighbours, and something amiss in the relationship between Osbern and his wife, undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, the wily Serjeant Catchpoll and apprentice Walkelin have suspects aplenty.

Blood Runs Thicker is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Hawkswood, although this is a long established series that somehow, I’ve missed before.

I confess, I struggled a little with the ‘ye olde wordy’ language and speech but soon became accustomed to it, and could settle into the carefully crafted reconstruction of the period.

The story quickly gathers pace, and I was drawn into the mystery. The characters are well-sketched, and the interactions between Bradecote, Catchpoll and Walkelin lighten the narrative. I think Walkelin will be a character that develops moving forward in the series.

And the resolution of the mystery is deliciously complex and thoroughly enjoyable. I’ll certainly be reading more of this series, a firm 4/5 from me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

Blood Runs Thicker is released 18th March 2021, and can be purchased here.

And if you’re curious, please do check out the other review on the Blood Runs Thicker Book Blast.

Book Review – The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea – historical murder mystery

Here’s the blurb;

When Rósa is betrothed to Jón Eiríksson, she is sent to a remote village. 

There she finds a man who refuses to speak of his recently deceased first wife, and villagers who view her with suspicion. 

Isolated and disturbed by her husband’s strange behaviour, her fears deepen. 

What is making the strange sounds in the attic? 

Who does the mysterious glass figure she is given represent? 

And why do the villagers talk of the coming winter darkness in hushed tones?

The Glass Woman is an intriguing tale of Iceland in the late 1600s.

I make no bones that I am fascinated by Iceland, perhaps not during this time period, but earlier, when the country was being settled. I tried this book on the off-chance – Jane Eyre in Iceland – yes, please.

And indeed, it is a dark tale, told from the viewpoint of Rosa. It is dark, frightening and claustrophobic, and reads very much like a much more modern Icelandic ghost story I read recently. It makes you shiver, it makes you feel for Rosa, but then everything changes and the book is not at all what you think it’s going to be.

I found the story intriguing and engaging, and if it’s not Jane Eyre in Iceland, it’s because the book is actually much harsher.

A wonderful story, thoroughly enthralling.

The Mirror Dance by Catriona McPherson – Book Review – 1930s murder mystery

Here’s the blurb;

Something sinister is afoot in the streets of Dundee, when a puppeteer is found murdered behind his striped Punch and Judy stand, as children sit cross-legged drinking ginger beer. At once, Dandy Gilver’s semmingly-innocuous investigation into plagiarism takes a darker turn. The gruesome death seems to be inextricably bound to the gloomy offices of Doig’s Publishers, its secrets hidden in the real stories behind their girls’ magazines The Rosie Cheek and The Freckle.

On meeting a mysterious professor from St Andrews, Dandy and her faithful colleague Alex Osbourne are flung into the worlds of academia, the theatre and publishing. Nothing is quite as it seems, and behind the cheerful facades of puppets and comic books, is a troubled history has begun to repeat itself.

The Mirror Dance is my first encounter with Dandy Gilver, even though this is book 15 of a 1930s mystery series.

The story is told from Dandy Gilver’s point of view, and while she does sometimes share thoughts and speech which are a little wordy, it doesn’t detract from the storyline, which is satisfying and quite deliciously complex.

Even though the voice of the narrator, Dandy, gives a few hints that all is not as it seems, I genuinely didn’t work out what had happened until it was revealed at the end.

A really enjoyable and entertaining read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

The Mirror Dance is released on the 21st January 2021 in hardback and ebook and is available here;

Connect with the author here.

Twitter Website

The Windsor Knot by S J Bennett – Book Review – Contemporary Murder Mystery

Here’s the blurb;

“The first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties.

It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene suggests the young Russian pianist strangled himself, but a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play was involved. The Queen leaves the investigation to the professionals—until their suspicions point them in the wrong direction.

Unhappy at the mishandling of the case and concerned for her staff’s morale, the monarch decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian and recent officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen secretly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth will use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.”

So, this isn’t quite historical fiction, but it’s mainly set at Windsor Castle, so I’m going with it. The Windsor Knot was in the Kindle sale for 99p, and I decided to try it out on a whim, and I’m pleased I did. What I initially thought to be a cosy-mystery is a bit more than that and the plot becomes more and more complex as the queen wades through the information available to her.

What I really enjoyed was the way the author managed to move the queen through the duties of her day to day business and still find time for her to be thinking more than the people at MI5.

Set in 2016, just before her 90th birthday, this book is very much centred around the queen, and the people she trusts who have far more freedom than she does to get to the people and places she needs information about. There are no end of false leads and the two main characters, that of the queen and her personal secretary, Rosie, are well-constructed and engaging. And, although he only makes the odd appearance – Prince Phillip is a delight as well.

If you’re looking for a (reasonably) light-hearted murder-mystery that’s well-grounded in today’s world, then I would recommend this, and for 99p, it’s an absolute steal. Not my usual read but a delight all the same.

The Windsor Knot is available now.

(This post contains some Amazon Affiliate links)

Book Review – The Saltwater Murder (Posie Parker Mystery 7) by L B Hathaway – historical murder mystery

Here’s the blurb;

MURDERED WITH A BOX OF TEARS… 

London, 1924

Posie Parker has been called to her most baffling case yet.

Amyas Lyle, London’s top young lawyer, has been found with his head in a box of poisoned saltwater.

It’s the perfect murder. But who hated him enough to do such a thing?

Following a trail of strange notes, all of which speak of the sea, and saltwater, Posie travels from London to the seaside resort of Whitley Bay, looking for answers. But nothing can prepare her for what she finds there.

Can Posie find Amyas Lyle’s cold-blooded killer before further deaths take place? Can she protect those Amyas has left behind?

As Britain celebrates an Olympic summer, will Posie manage to enjoy a holiday romance of her own? And just what is wrong with Inspector Lovelace? Why is he behaving so oddly? Is it anything to do with his new, smart appearance and some very carefully starched shirt collars?

This is a classic murder mystery which will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey. The Saltwater Murder is full of intrigue and red herrings, and is the seventh book in the delightfully classic Posie Parker Mystery Series, although this novel can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story in its own right. A clean read, with no graphic violence, sex or strong language.

I have a little bit of a soft-spot for 1920s murder mysteries, and the series featuring Posie Parker is certainly one of the strongest available.

I’ve read all of the books to date, and I think what is so appealing and enjoyable, is that the mysteries are deliciously complex, and the ‘bit part’ characters really come alive. Just like a classic Agatha Christie, you do spend all the time thinking, ‘it was him,’ or ‘it was her.’ Every character always has a motive but the solution is never, ever, the predictable one.

The Saltwater Murder is set in 1924 and is a fantastic addition; twisty, complex, and yet still grounded in the characters that long-time readers love and want to read about. Equally, I am sure that a reader could begin the series from here, and not feel too out of their depths, although they will then want to go back to the beginning and find out how it all started.

The author does a fantastic job of grounding the books in the time period, right down to the mention of Fry’s Chocolate bars and Lyons tea shops, and that’s without even mentioning the accurate weather forecasts and the depiction of events in the wilder world, which in this case are the 1924 Olympics held in Paris.

If you, like me, enjoy a Poirot or a Marple, and fancy something similar, then I highly recommend all of the Posey Parker books.

Connect with the author here; Website Twitter

The Saltwater Murder is available now.

This post contains some Amazon affiliate links.

Book Review – The Canterbury Murders by E.M.Powell – historical murder mystery

Here’s the blurb;

Easter, 1177. Canterbury Cathedral, home to the tomb of martyr Saint Thomas Becket, bears the wounds of a terrible fire. Benedict, prior of the great church, leads its rebuilding. But horror interrupts the work. One of the stonemasons is found viciously murdered, the dead man’s face disfigured by a shocking wound.

When King’s clerk Aelred Barling and his assistant, Hugo Stanton, arrive on pilgrimage to the tomb, the prior orders them to investigate the unholy crime.

But the killer soon claims another victim–and another. As turmoil embroils the congregation, the pair of sleuths face urgent pressure to find a connection between the killings.

With panic on the rise, can Barling and Stanton catch the culprit before evil prevails again—and stop it before it comes for them?

THE CANTERBURY MURDERS is the third book in E.M. Powell’s Stanton and Barling medieval murder mystery series. Combining intricate plots, shocking twists and a winning–if unlikely–pair of investigators, this series is perfect for fans of Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael or C. J. Sansom’s Shardlake.

This is the first of the Stanton and Barling Mysteries that I’ve read, and I will certainly be going back to the first two books.

The Canterbury Murders is a well constructed and intriguing murder-mystery. The main characters of Stanton and Barling are as unlike as chalk and cheese, and I really enjoyed how they clashed with one another, even though they were working towards the same outcome, of solving the mystery.

The peripheral characters are well sketched, and there were times when I was convinced I knew who the murderer was only to discover I was wrong, and when the big reveal came, it was satisfying, and more importantly, made perfect sense.

This was a very well executed and thoroughly entertaining tale and I look forward to more of the same in the future. I’ve already ordered books 1 and 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my review copy.

The Canterbury Murders is available now;

Connect with E M Powell here. Twitter Website

Book Review – A Pretty Deceit by Anna Lee Huber – historical murder mystery – recommended

Here’s the blurb;

In the aftermath of the Great War, the line between friend and foe may be hard to discern, even for indomitable former Secret Service agent Verity Kent, in award-winning author Anna Lee Huber’s thrilling mystery series. 
 
Peacetime has brought little respite for Verity Kent. Intrigue still abounds, even within her own family. As a favor to her father, Verity agrees to visit his sister in Wiltshire. Her once prosperous aunt has fallen on difficult times and is considering selling their estate. But there are strange goings-on at the manor, including missing servants, possible heirloom forgeries, and suspicious rumors—all leading to the discovery of a dead body on the grounds.
 
While Verity and her husband, Sidney, investigate this new mystery, they are also on the trail of an old adversary—the shadowy and lethal Lord Ardmore. At every turn, the suspected traitor seems to be one step ahead of them. And even when their dear friend Max, the Earl of Ryde, stumbles upon a code hidden among his late father’s effects that may reveal the truth about Ardmore, Verity wonders if they are really the hunters—or the hunted . . .

A Pretty Deceit is an excellent addition to the series by Anna Lee Huber. I didn’t realise when I started reading it, that I’d already read Book 3, but I soon appreciated that I ‘knew’ the characters. Then came the search on Goodreads, and then it all made a great deal more sense:)

Verity Kent is once more embroiled in a new mystery and also still pursuing an old one from Book 3, the two threads merging together expertly to give an engrossing and deliciously complicated narrative, that ensures all the old favourites make an appearance at some point throughout the book.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing read. In fact, as soon as I’d finished it, I went on to read Book 1, and plan on reading Book 2 as well. If you enjoy a well constructed and deeply rooted 1920’s (well, just as about) murder mystery, this is definitely a great series to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my review copy.

A Pretty Deceit was released on 6th October, and is available here.  

You can connect with the author here: http://www.annaleehuber.com

(This post contains some Amazon Affiliate links)

Book Review – Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer – historical murder mystery

Here’s the blurb:

Well-heeled travelers from around the world flock to the Mena House Hotel—an exotic gem in the heart of Cairo where cocktails flow, adventure dispels the aftershocks of World War I, and deadly dangers wait in the shadows . . .
 
Egypt, 1926. Fiercely independent American Jane Wunderly has made up her mind: she won’t be swept off her feet on a trip abroad. Despite her Aunt Millie’s best efforts at meddling with her love life, the young widow would rather gaze at the Great Pyramids of Giza than into the eyes of a dashing stranger. Yet Jane’s plans to remain cool and indifferent become ancient history in the company of Mr. Redvers, a roguish banker she can’t quite figure out . . .

While the Mena House has its share of charming guests, Anna Stainton isn’t one of them. The beautiful socialite makes it clear that she won’t share the spotlight with anyone—especially Jane. But Jane soon becomes the center of attention when she’s the one standing over her unintentional rival’s dead body.

Now, with her innocence at stake in a foreign country, Jane must determine who can be trusted, and who had motive to commit a brutal murder. Between Aunt Millie’s unusual new acquaintances, a smarmy playboy with an off-putting smile, and the enigmatic Mr. Redvers, someone has too many secrets. Can Jane excavate the horrible truth before her future falls to ruin in Cairo . . . and the body count rises like the desert heat?

I do love a 1920’s murder mystery, and Murder at the Mena House is set in Egypt no less. It has a very Agatha Christie vibe about it, although our main character is far from as fastidious as Poirot and benefits from an intriguing back story.

The mystery unravels quickly and well, and there are more than enough suspects to keep the reader guessing as to what’s really happening.

An enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

Murder at the Mena House is available now from here: