Murder in a Cornish Teashop
(Maddie Penrose #1)
by Fliss Chester
A Cornish clifftop, a sunny afternoon, a quaint little teashop… but wait a minute. Is that jam, or blood? Maddie Penrose is determined to find out!
Maddie Penrose is staying with her beloved grandmother, Nor, at her gorgeously idyllic Cornish farm. She’s looking forward to days helping out in Nor’s little teashop and evenings wandering down the cliff path to watch the sunset. But before Maddie has even finished serving up scones on her first morning, a man bursts through the door: Nor’s neighbour Clive has found a body in the field behind the teashop…Maddie is straight to the scene, fancying herself as a bit of an Agatha Christie. But solving this mystery is far from a piece of cake. Her list of suspects is jam-packed with locals, with some a little too close to home: the newcomer renting out one of Nor’s barns is acting suspiciously, the victim’s boyfriend has disappeared without a trace, and Clive isn’t really Maddie’s cup of tea either…But the proof is in the pudding when there’s another murder – her prime suspect is dead. And when Maddie finds a backpack belonging to the first murder victim, her diligent note-taking and quick thinking lead her to discover that the killer will act again, and soon. Maddie is horrified to discover that it looks like she is their next target…
Can Maddie and Nor work as a team to piece together the puzzle? Or will murdering Maddie be the icing on the cake for the killer?
A totally addictive, witty, and warm cozy mystery that will keep you reading late into the night, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Verity Bright.
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My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
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She’d forgotten how normal it was for friends to call each other ‘m’lover’. It was a rather lovely way of greeting someone really.
‘Could be full of those computer germs,’ warned Nor. ‘You know the illnesses computers pick up from each other. Nasty. Katie down at the Pendragon Centre for the Over Sixties said we should all be very careful about putting our dongles places, and clicking on pop tarts.’
And let’s face it, she thought to herself, my thoughts can be as random as sausages in a salad.
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My Review:
This was an entertaining and engaging read that struck the perfect cozy-mystery balance between intriguing murders and wry humor. It was an excellent kick-off to start a new series. I enjoy Ms. Chester’s smooth writing style and idiosyncratic yet authentic and knowable characters. The storylines were well-paced and unpredictable. The villain was a total surprise to me; I didn’t see that one coming.
Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their business. Never far from a decent glass of something, Fliss also loves cooking (and writing up her favorite recipes on her blog), enjoying the beautiful Surrey and West Sussex countryside, and having a good natter.
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