A fete worse than death…
After finding the killer of Lucy Roth six months ago, life has settled back to normal for bookshop owner, Nancy Hunter, and her grandmother, Jane. The annual Dedley End village fete is just around the corner, and Nancy is delighted when bestselling author, Thomas Green, agrees to launch his first new novel in ten years there.
But then a series of sinister events lead Nancy to realise someone is trying to sabotage their fete, so she, along with Jane and their journalist friend Jonathan, must turn detective to discover who isn’t at all thrilled about the return of Thomas Green.
When a body is discovered at the summer fete, the death scene mirroring that in Thomas’ latest bestseller, they realise that there’s another killer in Dedley End, but can they outsmart someone who appears to have pulled off the perfect crime?
The clues are right under Nancy and Jane’s noses, if only they can find them. Because the answers to life’s questions can always be found in a book…!
A twisty, unputdownable cozy mystery that fans of Richard Osman, S.J. Bennett and The Marlow Murder Club will love.
Purchase Links
AMZ: https://amzn.to/3HE7928
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3JLSUtX
Apple: https://apple.co/3zDUyte
Review
Murder at the Summer Fete is a clever cosy mystery with engaging characters and a tightly written plot. Despite being second in a series, it made me feel like I wanted to read the first rather than feeling lost.
Bookseller Nancy Hunter is hip-deep in organising the village fete, complete with a special author guest, but it seems that someone is intent on sabotaging the visit. Then a dead body is found mirroring the murder in the author's latest mystery, and Nancy, her grandmother Jane, and her best friend Jonathan must scramble to find the killer among them.
There are tons of little touches than make this stand out among cosy mysteries - it addresses the oddity of Nancy getting caught up in another murder, there are sensible discussions around working with or around the police, and while there are red herrings and twists, the answer is foreshadowed without being overly obvious. It does get a little wordy and meta - characters in a murder mystery discussing how their life is like a novel - but given how they sell mystery novels I really can't fault them!
Best enjoyed with a cup of tea and a lovely stretch of uninterrupted time, this is a great cosy and I'm interested to see how the series unfolds!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Rachel's Random Resources; all opinions are my own
Author Bio
Victoria Walters writes up-lifting and inspiring stories. She's the author of the bestselling GLENDALE HALL series, which continues with its third book HOPEFUL HEARTS at GLENDALE HALL in September, as well as two other standalone novels - SUMMER at the KINDNESS CAFE, and THE SECOND LOVE of my LIFE. She has been chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent and shortlisted for two RNA awards. Victoria was also picked as an Amazon Rising Star, and her books have won wide reader acclaim.
Victoria is a full-time author. She lives in Surrey with her cat Harry, and loves books, clothes, music, going out for tea and cake, and posting photos on Instagram.
Find out more about Victoria by following on Instagram at @vickyjwalters, on Twitter at @Vicky_Walters or by visiting her blog at: https://victoria-writes.com/.
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