Wrapping presents and singing at midnight mass on a frosty night… Lady Swift is determined to enjoy Christmas at home this year, until another body turns up!

Winter 1925. Eleanor and Hugh are decking the halls for their first married Christmas together when butler Clifford arrives with a mysterious telegram. A lucrative case awaits their new detective agency… but in the most remote county in England. The note insists they must be there by midnight to accept the job.

After a snowy journey, they arrive at the tiny hamlet of Yorelow to find their client, Osmund Unwin, dead in the churchyard as midnight mass ends. They realise they are now in the absurd situation of having to solve the murder of their client, who they never met, to solve a case they know nothing about and officially never accepted!

There is very little festive goodwill to go around, as it seems half the village had a grudge against the rich man. Was it one of the Frisham sisters, owners of the tavern and rumoured to be in a love triangle with Unwin? Or perhaps his maid, who never had a nice thing to say about him?

When another body is found in the ruins of the castle overlooking the town, Eleanor is baffled. Clearly, there’s more to this nightmare before Christmas than the gang first thought…

A totally unputdownable historical murder mystery set in an English village at Christmas, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Catherine Coles!

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

You’re a rummy sort of fancy lady, if you don’t mind me saying.

‘Very, if infuriatingly, astute of you.’ ‘Thank you. Although, feel free to leave out the infuriating part next time.’

We chased that red herring for a long time before we realised it smelt just a little too fishy to be true.

My Review:

 

Team Verity Bright has gifted us with another enjoyably amusing yet brain-teasing cozy mystery. I will never tire of these lively and lovable characters. Their storylines and witty banter are engaging, fun, easy to follow, and smartly written in the vernacular of their time. I’ve devoured the entire series and found each Verity Bright mystery to be cleverly unpredictable, sharply honed, and pleasantly entertaining, leaving me primed for more of the same.

About the Author

Arthur’s Boatyard is a jewel in the crown of Saxford St Peter, a famous firm that’s been fixing barges and boats for a hundred years. But their centenary celebration shows it’s not all plain sailing… The owner, Anthony Mottram, seems to be at daggers drawn with half the village. So when he turns up dead in his own workshop, Eve Mallow knows she needs to chart her path carefully if she’s to find his killer.

Accompanied by her stalwart sidekick, dachshund Gus, Eve sets out on decidedly choppy waters. Why did Anthony’s sister send him to the boatyard, the night he died? Where has his ex-girlfriend vanished to? And what is his best friend and business partner hiding?

With her only clues a scarf, a scrap of paper and the smell of perfume, Eve must navigate an ocean of suspects who all have reasons to lie. But when the new owner of the boatyard is murdered, she knows she’s sailing close to the wind. Despite all the mince pies and the carol singing, someone is feeling far from festive. Can Eve make it through the storm and land her suspect, or will she be left dead in the water?

A completely charming and gripping English cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Emylia Hall and J.R. Ellis.

Favorite Quote:

Eve could see the excited anticipation in Moira’s eyes. The storekeeper viewed first-hand gossip as a robin might view a juicy worm. It would make her the centre of attention for at least twenty-four hours if she could get Eve’s full account.

My Review:

This has been an enjoyable and well-plotted series with Ms. Chase’s devious mysteries growing in complexity with each new installment. She never fails to keep me guessing with my curiosity primed throughout perusal. Her main characters are likable, ethical, and authentically human as well as humane. And bonus points for including an adorable tartan-wearing weiner dog as a companion and sidekick.

In addition to my ever-growing admiration of Ms. Chase’s exceptional word skills, I have gained no less than three informal British expressions for my neglected Brit Words and Phrases List. First up is “chance her arm,” which Mr. Google notes is to undertake something even if it may be dangerous or unsuccessful. Next up is “took the biscuit” (or “takes the biscuit”), which seems exactly the same as our “takes the cake.” Meaning something at a mostly negative level that is beyond annoying or outrageous. And lastly, I chanced upon “led her a dance,” which means to deliberately cause someone to do a lot of unnecessary trouble and running around in circles.

Clare Chase writes classic mysteries. She aims to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations.

Her debut novel was shortlisted for Novelicious’s Undiscovered Award, as well as an EPIC award post-publication, and was chosen as a Debut of the Month by LoveReading. Murder on the Marshes (Tara Thorpe 1) was shortlisted for an International Thriller Writers award.

Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat and finds the mid-terrace she currently occupies a good, happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.

 

 

Dr. Emilia McRoy, an American in Scotland, has a killer in sight in the fourth installment of the Scottish Isle mystery series, perfect for fans of Paige Shelton and Connie Berry.

Summer is coming to a close on beautiful Sea Isle in Scotland, and Dr. Emilia McRoy is celebrating one year since her big move. With a weeklong festival to end the season, the town gathers for a magical ride on the newly refurbished Storyteller’s Train, but the launch’s success is dampened by an unexpected death.

What appears to be a case of deadly allergies is soon revealed as murder. As Emilia, her assistant Abigail, and the local constable Ewan McGregor unravel the mystery, the killer sets their murderous intentions on them.

If they want to survive, they will need the help of all of their friends before they become the latest victims.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

He was older and slightly balding. He glared at the photographer as if he didn’t know what a smile might be.

…things were definitely not adding up with the accountant.

Mara’s love language was food, and that was one of the many things I adored about her. Mine was eating said food.

I’m not sick, I’m just sad. My boyfriend is furious with me because his wife found out about us. I don’t think you have pills for that sort of thing.

My Review:

The Dr. Em Scooby gang was up and running, and solved several mysterious events as well as unraveling a murder. The storylines were well-paced, well-honed, easy to follow, amusingly detailed, and kept my curiosity primed. I have enjoyed getting to know these authentic, well-developed, and quirky characters and look forward to more of their adventures.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

The following day, I headed to the pub for a full Scottish breakfast and Mara’s coffee, which was tasty and known to wake the dead.

There were people who brought more to one’s life than they took.

My Review:

I am new to this series, but fell right into this crafty scribe’s engaging storytelling. The series features an American ER doctor who has moved to a small, tight-knit village in Scotland to be the village doctor/coroner. The clinic is well-equipped and kitted out in what was once an old church. She lives above her office and loves her life.

I’m a bit late to the party as I jumped in with the third book, but I am so enamored with Ms. Connelly’s clever arrangements of words that I plan to amass the entire series.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I wasn’t a fan of self-reflection because I rarely liked what I saw.

Don’t mind me. Claire’s on a diet, which means I’m on a diet. The most unhealthy thing in our apartment right now is oat cakes that are apparently flavored with toenail clippings and abandoned dreams.

She didn’t look like what I pictured when I thought of a drug kingpin. She was too young, for one thing. I didn’t know what I was expecting. An expensive suit. Tattoos. Lots of jewelry. A flashing neon sign above her head that declared her a Bad Boss Bitch.

I wouldn’t sell them the phone number to 911 if their headquarters was on fire.

My Review:

The disparate duo has done it again! Some murders require ghostly assistance to solve, and this unlikely pair is becoming more proficient at their side job. I am thoroughly enjoying the unique and entertaining premise, as well as the imaginative, insightful, and creative take on Cordelia’s abilities and functioning within her realm of the departed while navigating among the living or “breathers.”

The storylines are fresh, original, engaging, perceptive, intriguing, and highly amusing, as well as poignant. I rarely read paranormal tales, but I’m having a blast with this wryly witty series and adore Ms. Blacke’s word craft and clever humor. I will be extremely eager for future offerings to appear on her listings before magically finding their way to my Kindle.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Mind over matter went out the window when you’re not made of matter anymore.

He thought he was god’s gift to women. Women thought otherwise.

I looked down at my hands. They looked the same as they had when I was alive. Pale. Dry. My fingernails were short and my nail polish was chipped. If I’d known I would become a ghost, I would have painted my nails before I offed myself. Now I was doomed to spend the rest of eternity in dire need of a manicure and some hand lotion.

It was hard to tell his exact age, but I’d put him in that sweet spot between old enough to have a respectable job and his own apartment and young enough to pay full price at the movies.

I was very, very young when I first realized that life wasn’t fair. And then again, in my forties, I found out that death wasn’t very fair, either. If you died wearing uncomfortable underwear, you spent your entire afterlife wandering around with a wedgie.

My Review:

This was a clever and fresh take on the concept of an unexpected afterlife and learning the ins and outs of being dead and navigating among the living. I gleefully whizzed through this amusing and witty missive with a pleased smirk on my face. The writing was entertaining, easy to follow, wryly humorous, and kept me engaged and unwilling to put my Kindle down, until my traitorous eyes rebelliously closed on their own. I adored it so much I immediately queued up the next installment of the series.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

The old furniture was heavy and dark, as if it would stand here for all time. Three generations had passed through these rooms, fluttering around like insects, filling each floor with the sounds of life and joy.

Yes– it’s perfectly possible to see whether or not a man is happily married. I can see it a mile off. But no man with love in his life can understand how hard it is to be without it, and no happy person can truly grasp just how unhappy another might be.

So how did you die? he asks. Of dehydration, she replies. Dehydration? Yes– didn’t you know that women who live alone shrivel up? I don’t know how it is for men, but a woman gets dehydrated if she spends her life alone. You weren’t happy, then? Happy? Only mediocre people are happy.

Oh, the idiocy of having to depend on others, she said.

In his logbook, he wrote of his passenger: Beautiful people expect so much more from life than life is willing to give them.

It was the first time Nils had ever seen a dead man. He’d thought it would be more dramatic– Gerhard Myklebust looked peaceful, the life had simply trickled out of him, as if his fuel tank had run empty.

My Review:

I found this piece to be brain-rattling, confusing, haunting, heart-squeezing, brilliant, perceptive, and profoundly written. I adored it and was riveted and itchy with curiosity throughout perusal. I couldn’t settle or decide if he was hallucinating, dreaming, or in the process of dying. I alternated between deep emotions as I read with passages that occasionally made me smirk but also broke my heart before putting it back in place. Frode Grytten has mad skills and seriously powerful word voodoo.

The town of Shamrock Cove is gearing up for a grand summer festival… but the fête turns fatal when a clockmaker is killed. Can amateur sleuth Mercy McCarthy crack the case?

When Mercy McCarthy takes her beloved mother’s watch to be fixed, she’s completely charmed by the little repair store and the father-and-son duo who run it. Little does she know that the clock is ticking… when she returns, she finds the father lying unconscious amid broken glass, and her mother’s watch is missing.

The police think Mr. Flynn was attacked in a burglary gone wrong but soon suspects closer to home start coming out of the clockwork. Mercy, her sister, and their canine sidekick, master body sniffer-outer Mr. Poe, set out to gather clues and help the local detective find the killer.

Could it be the family next door to the Flynns who’ve been feuding for decades? His fiercest rival, who’s long dreamed of shutting him down? Or was his son less devoted than he seemed? As the hours tick away, another murder and the discovery of a long-buried secret changes everything…

The summer festival is fast approaching. Can Mercy solve the mystery in the nick of time, or will someone stop her clock?

A completely charming and page-turning Irish cozy mystery. Fans of Agatha Christie, Carlene O’Connor and Faith Martin will absolutely love the Mercy McCarthy series!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

“I wondered if I could speak to you about last night,” I said. “By speak to me, do you mean give me the third degree on what we’ve discovered so far?” “It’s like you know me or something.”

He gave me that stare. The one that said he wasn’t putting up with any shenanigans. But I liked shenanigans. Sometimes that was the only way to get people to be honest.

They are a daft bunch. But I can’t see them killing someone. None of them are bright enough to get away with it.

Ugh. I tried not to judge people. Honestly. But that woman was a parasite.

My Review:

This series has been a delightful treat and just keeps getting better and better. I enjoy Lucy Connelly’s wry wit, amusing storytelling, and scene-stealing dog named Mr. Poe. She has created a quaint Irish village populated with quirky characters with various family dramas that are familiar to any culture, yet authentically unique. Her writing is engaging and well-honed with an easy flow that scrolls through my gray matter like a movie reel. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.

She glances in the rearview mirror as the stranger walks towards her broken-down car. The wicked look on his face sends a chill up her spine, and she knows he’s not here to help. She doesn’t have time to scream before she falls to the ground, and the darkening sky goes black.

When the lifeless body of a young girl is discovered at an abandoned warehouse close to Red Rose County, FBI Agent Val Costa races to investigate. Setting eyes on the victim, Val’s heart stops as she spots the jagged letter S carved into her ice-cold chest. Slowly, she runs her fingers across her own identical scar. She’s been waiting for the Bear to leave his mark again, and now he finally has.

Determined to catch the man who’s haunted her dreams for years, Val promises to end his killing spree once and for all, but when more bodies are found bearing the same deadly carving, she fears she may already be too late. And then Val receives a call that turns her blood to ice—her best friend Sally is missing, and the killer has left a note addressed to her. Follow these rules and she lives.

Desperate to find Sally, Val faces her biggest challenge yet. Will she need to defy orders and track down the Bear alone before it’s too late?

Fans of Lisa Regan, L.T. Ryan, and Mary Stone won’t be able to put down this totally heart-racing crime thriller.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

The morning air felt suddenly heavier. Damp. Drenched in dread.

I’d gone there to end him and his killing spree. I didn’t usually believe in murder, but this didn’t feel like murder. This felt like spraying pesticide to kill the parasites ravaging your crops, the crops that fed your family and kept your community alive. That’s what he was. He was a parasite that needed to be eliminated.

I didn’t have it in me to kill. But that didn’t mean I liked the fact he was still breathing.

There’s always a bogeyman lurking in the shadows. Mine just happened to have a name.

My Review:

I have bravely and eagerly devoured every flinch-worthy installment of this gripping series. The tensely written storylines kept me on edge with my shoulders in my ears while chewing my cuticles, which are now ragged and in desperate need of a manicure. Ms. Christie’s word voodoo is strong and conjures complete scenes populated with a cast of knowable yet uniquely authentic characters whom I would recognize if meeting on the street. Her serial killer was a true psychopath, brutal, deviously clever, cunning, and evil. Brady and Val struggled with the desire to end him, but the reluctance to kill. Hmm, faced with such a vile creature, I doubt that would be a struggle for me.