Murder in the Village

A Completely Gripping English Cozy Mystery (A Belinda Penshurst Mystery, Book 1)

De: Lisa Cutts

Narrado por: Lucy Paterson

Nothing ever happens in Little Challham...until the local pub owner is drowned in his own ale. Belinda Penshurst, owner of Challham Castle, is on the case!

Belinda Penshurst loves her home village Little Challham, with its shady lanes, two pubs, and weekly market, and she’s determined to keep it peaceful. She may live in Challham Castle, but she knows almost everything that goes on under her nose. So when irritable pub landlord Tipper is found dead in his cellar, she’s perfectly placed to investigate.

Retired detective Harry Powell moved to Little Challham for a quiet life. He didn’t expect to be dragged into a murder investigation. But the police don’t seem half as enthusiastic as Belinda about the case, and there are strange things happening in the village. Particularly the number of dogs that have disappeared lately....

Is there a dognapper snaffling schnauzers and luring away Labradors? Is Belinda barking mad to be worried that her brother Marcus was arguing with Tipper on the day he died? Belinda and Harry track down the suspects: the rival landlord, the outraged barmaid, the mysterious man in the black car following dogwalkers around. But are the dogged detectives running out of time to sniff out the killer, before he starts hounding them?

A charming cozy mystery full of laughs and eccentric characters. Fans of M.C. Beaton, H.Y. Hanna, and Emily Organ will love the first novel in the Belinda Penshurst series!

©2021 Lisa Cutts (P)2021 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Flawed

The premise was good. Belinda was arrogant enough to be unlikeable. It's unlikely you'd want to spend a lot of time with her. This could be easily corrected while retaining a courageous confident character.

Makes no sense

Even a cozy mystery should make some sense. This one does not. Characters are unlikable and one dimensional. Belinda is annoying and Harry is fairly dimwitted for a former police investigator. There is no path of clues these two follow. Instead they engage in an endless stream of dashing from place to place accomplishing little. The mysteries are "solved" only because various people self-reveal their sins. And even though this is supposed to be a somewhat light hearted mystery, the cavalier attitude the characters express about murder is off-putting. Overall this story lacks direction and originality.

Absurd

This entire book is absurd! Why does female leads in this type of story have to be so unpleasant and obnoxious? I found myself rooting for her to get taken down a peg or two. I also wanted to advise Harry to run away and never stop!!