For lovers of Sherlock Holmes, cozy mysteries and London, England this mystery is a match made in Holmes Heaven, I enjoyed it because I love mysteries set in England and cozies plus am a fan of Sherlock Holmes (especially the old Basil Rathbone movies made in the 1940s). This novel is part of a series set in New England but in ‘There’s a Murder Afoot’ English transplant Gemma and her American friends cross the big pond in January to attend a Sherlock Holmes Convention in Kensington, London.
This is a very skillfully written mystery blending action, lively dialog and surprise twists and turns with ease. It is in the ‘hard to put down’ category but it’s a relaxing style of suspense, with lots of humor and bantor that is not annoyingly cute but a bit tart especially between Gemma and her sister, the too British to be real, Pippa. It also has elements of classic Brit snob-ism and plenty of references to the charms of London which I would love to visit some day.
Continue reading “There’s a Murder Afoot – A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery by Vicki Delany”
This was a multi faceted mystery, one mystery was about a murder, another about a long ago disappearance, another about the Loch Ness monster, guess which one was more interesting! The true star of this cozy was Nessie, I never believed in the Loch Ness monster figuring it was folklore but after reading this book I am not so sure! If you like books set in Scotland, featuring bookstores with quirky Scottish burrs dialogue you will really enjoy this fantastical mystery. To anchor it somewhat to reality it also feature an upcoming wedding, problems with the wedding dress, meeting the in-laws moments and vetting the venue. Other than that it is a mystery inside a mystery inside a mystery.
Fans of Antique Roadshow will enjoy the plot of this mystery which features an expert Book Appraiser famed for his TV appearances who is stabbed during the Valentine’s Day fete at a local mansion. And as the mystery deepens and more suspects come to light the Valentine’s theme is turned upside down, and instead of roses and romance, it’s a story of missed chances, and romances ending in the worst possible ways and is about the other side of ‘happy ever afters’ that color this cozy – not the red of roses but of revenge. The heart of the book is the relationship between Aunt Iphy who owns the popular Book Tea shop and her niece Callie who also works there, they are good friends and since Callie organized the Valentine’s Day event she gets involved with the aftermath of the murder and eventually so does Iphy.
Winter on the Outer Banks of North Carolina is a quiet time of year normally but not in this cozy when a bridal shower in the lighthouse library for Lucy’s cousin ends with a call to 911 when a relative suddenly collapses and dies. Suspicion falls on Josie who as the bride-to-be is less than thrilled with her relatives trying to hi-jack her wedding plans for a casual, fun wedding into an ornate, over the top affair not to mention the outrageous flirting and posturing of the victim who is using it as an opportunity to build a top tier event planning business. And murder most foul, Josie had baked the lovely GF desserts that turn out to contain poison, so she is the favorite suspect of the state police detective.