IN A QUIET COTSWOLD VILLAGE ALL HELL IS ABOUT TO BREAK LOOSE Monica Noble is throwing a party to welcome the village’s new residents. The guests include Margaret and her cheating husband Sean, who’s a celebrity chef. Also on the list are an Oxford university professor, a 40-something divorcee, and the owner of a chain of gyms.
Then as the drinks are flowing, a shotgun blast rings out. One of the guests is found dead.
DCI Dury and Sergeant Jim Greer are soon on the scene and discover that the victim had many enemies. Almost all the guests harbour secrets and motives for murder. Even Monica’s daughter comes under suspicion. When another villager is strangled to death nearly a week later, the stakes are raised. Can Monica help the local detectives save her daughter and solve the murders before anyone else pays the ultimate price?
MONICA NOBLE was widowed young, leaving her to raise her feisty daughter on her own. That is until she met and fell in love with Graham Noble, a country vicar (pastor), who enticed her to leave her high-flying job in advertising in the city and move to the Cotswold countryside. There she found bucolic life very pleasant indeed — until murder started to rear its ugly head. And she discovered, to everyone’s surprise, that she had a flair for solving the most unholy of crimes.
I received a copy of this book from Joffe Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
I read so many books, but I do love a good murder mystery to escape and relax with. This revamped series from Faith Martin, (formerly published under the pen name Joy Cato), is a perfect example.
Monica, the vicar’s wife has left her high-powered advertising career and the glamour of London because she fell in love with a country vicar. It has to be said that the vicar is charming, clever and compassionate, and even though there is an age difference, they are compatible in every way.
The garden party is the perfect setting for a murder, and the author doesn’t disappoint. The cast of characters are flawed and in some cases unlikeable, but they are relatable. It’s not hard to spot the most likely person to be murdered. Finding the murderer is not so easy, as the detectives and later Monica discover. The plot twists again when it seems resolved. making the ending a surprise.
A lighthearted, cosy style murder mystery, with a clever, unassuming amateur sleuth and a vibrant, twisty plot. No wonder ‘The Cotswolds’ is so sought after.
I received a copy of this book from Joffe Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
