Murder at a Christmas Market
(Maddie Penrose #3)
by Fliss Chester
It’s winter in Cornwall, and Maddie Penrose – amateur sleuth extraordinaire – is baking up a storm for the village Christmas fair. All is merry and bright… until there’s a murder!
Maddie Penrose has been head-to-toe in tinsel, organising a delightfully cozy Christmas market. She’s just whipped up a fresh batch of mince pies and is serving them at the opening when stallholder Steve Granger pops one in his mouth… and instantly drops dead.
Determined to clear her name, Maddie must find out who poisoned the pies. It quickly becomes clear that many stallholders at the market had a motive to kill. Could it be grouchy Ruby, whose tea blends Steve mercilessly copied and sold as his own? What about Daisy from the dairy – she isn’t pleased Steve was selling Cornish cheese to rival hers. And local butcher Connor Davis has an axe to grind too… has he been plotting to handle more than just Christmas turkeys?
But who would go as far as poisoning a mince pie? Maddie is starting to get closer to the truth when there’s another murder, this time in the village bakery. Can she unravel the clues before the killer strikes again? Or is she next on their list…?
If you love amateur sleuths and cozy festive mysteries, then you will adore Fliss Chester’s totally gripping novel, perfect for fans of Fiona Leitch, Faith Martin and Agatha Christie!
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My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
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I once told your brother he was as thick as a clod of earth, and your dad was always looking in the mirror when he was a boy thinking he was God’s gift to the local ladies, but didn’t take it too well when I said it would crack faster than a dropped egg if he looked at it once more time.
She might be mad as a cow in spring heather, but she’s not a murderer.
In this weather? In that car? Box of frogs you are!
‘I love a good romance.’ Nor leant in. ‘All heavy breathing and desperate grappling at each other’s clothes and all that.’… ‘Gran!…‘Girl can dream, ducky,’ she sighed. ‘Even if she is eighty-two.’
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My Review:
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Maddie has an interesting and rather ingenious method of puzzling out the clues to the local murders by turning them into a recipe. It works for her, and this crafty scribbler, both of whom held my attention and kept me amused, entertained, and my curiosity well-prodded throughout perusal. I will confess that I guessed this one all wrong, and I didn’t mind that at all. I enjoy Fliss Chester’s authentic characters, with the feisty Nor being my favorite.
About the Author
Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunits, she helps her husband, 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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