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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I enjoy a good cozy mystery and this one was ok. I love the setting but felt not much was happening in the plot. The characters were interesting and I will try to read the next book in the series when it comes out.
Murder in the Village brings the books heroine Belinda and local dog food deliverer and former police detective together to investigate a series of dog nappings and murders which appear to be linked in the usually quaint village Little Challham. The audiobook narrated by Lucy Paterson was a super easy listen. Her acting out of the story was superb and I would recommend the audiobook from her performance alone.
The growth of Belinda and Harry's relationship was very cute to see, and I would like to see more in future Belinda Penshurst Mystery books.
The book was well written but for me the person responsible for the deaths seemed to come a bit from left field. It is always a little disappointing to me as a reader when this happens.
I will happily pick up the next book to see what Belinda and Little Challham get up to next.
Recommend for fans of shows like Murder She Wrote or Midsomer Murders.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the chance to review this book early.
The growth of Belinda and Harry's relationship was very cute to see, and I would like to see more in future Belinda Penshurst Mystery books.
The book was well written but for me the person responsible for the deaths seemed to come a bit from left field. It is always a little disappointing to me as a reader when this happens.
I will happily pick up the next book to see what Belinda and Little Challham get up to next.
Recommend for fans of shows like Murder She Wrote or Midsomer Murders.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the chance to review this book early.
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Murder in the Village is the first book in a new English village cozy series by Lisa Cutts. Due out 25th Aug 2021, it's 286 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
This was a good series start with a solid small village cozy. The author is a technically adept writer and provides necessary backstory without info-dumping. The narrative is lighthearted, including an ensemble cast of oddball small-town characters.
There are some fairly silly and over the top developments and plot twists (including a murder involving cling film), but it's a village cozy, so it's really part of the whimsy. The "over the top" characters and dialogue were always on the right side of charming and didn't shade over into annoying or yank me out of my suspension of disbelief, so it was a fun read. There's also an almost slow-burn on/off romance subplot with the handsome former detective who's new to the village, again par for the course. The language is clean, the murder(s) are off screen and free from gory violence, there's no direct graphic sexual content; it's a well written and charming cozy. The plot threads include dog-napping, light blackmail, extortion, and murder, and amateur sleuth Belinda, castle-dwelling, clever, and single minded, is determined to get to the bottom of the skullduggery infesting *her* village.
The audiobook version is very well narrated by Lucy Paterson and has a run time of 7 hours 31 minutes. She has an impressive facility with different local accents and they come across clearly in her dialogue recitation between two or more characters (of both sexes). One of the characters she narrated was an older resident in the village and she was perfectly convincing portraying the stressed and crying septuagenarian.
Charming, diverting, and well written. I intend to seek out future volumes in the series. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
Murder in the Village is the first book in a new English village cozy series by Lisa Cutts. Due out 25th Aug 2021, it's 286 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
This was a good series start with a solid small village cozy. The author is a technically adept writer and provides necessary backstory without info-dumping. The narrative is lighthearted, including an ensemble cast of oddball small-town characters.
There are some fairly silly and over the top developments and plot twists (including a murder involving cling film), but it's a village cozy, so it's really part of the whimsy. The "over the top" characters and dialogue were always on the right side of charming and didn't shade over into annoying or yank me out of my suspension of disbelief, so it was a fun read. There's also an almost slow-burn on/off romance subplot with the handsome former detective who's new to the village, again par for the course. The language is clean, the murder(s) are off screen and free from gory violence, there's no direct graphic sexual content; it's a well written and charming cozy. The plot threads include dog-napping, light blackmail, extortion, and murder, and amateur sleuth Belinda, castle-dwelling, clever, and single minded, is determined to get to the bottom of the skullduggery infesting *her* village.
The audiobook version is very well narrated by Lucy Paterson and has a run time of 7 hours 31 minutes. She has an impressive facility with different local accents and they come across clearly in her dialogue recitation between two or more characters (of both sexes). One of the characters she narrated was an older resident in the village and she was perfectly convincing portraying the stressed and crying septuagenarian.
Charming, diverting, and well written. I intend to seek out future volumes in the series. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The first book in the Belinda Penshurst Cozy mystery series is set in a small British country town. One murder and the missing dogs make two people decided to solve the mysteries until they could continue quiet living in Little Challham. Well, that is what will happen, more murders and missing dogs!
Belinda Penshurst, the owner of Challham Castle, worried about the pub owner's death and his relationship with her brother, Marcus. Harry Powell is a retired detective who now works in a dog food company, he delivers food to customers, and he is worried about missing dogs and a stranger car in the neighborhood.
Belinda and Harry were a fun team and I like to read their next case. I've enjoyed the voices the narrator used, different accents for both sexes, and she beautifully expressed the emotions!
Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the chance of listening to Murder in the Village (A Belinda Penshurst Mystery Book 1) by Lisa Cutts, Narrated by Lucy Paterson, I have given my honest review.
Merged review:
The first book in the Belinda Penshurst Cozy mystery series is set in a small British country town. One murder and the missing dogs make two people decided to solve the mysteries until they could continue quiet living in Little Challham. Well, that is what will happen, more murders and missing dogs!
Belinda Penshurst, the owner of Challham Castle, worried about the pub owner's death and his relationship with her brother, Marcus. Harry Powell is a retired detective who now works in a dog food company, he delivers food to customers, and he is worried about missing dogs and a stranger car in the neighborhood.
Belinda and Harry were a fun team and I like to read their next case. I've enjoyed the voices the narrator used, different accents for both sexes, and she beautifully expressed the emotions!
Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the chance of listening to Murder in the Village (A Belinda Penshurst Mystery Book 1) by Lisa Cutts, Narrated by Lucy Paterson, I have given my honest review.
Belinda Penshurst, the owner of Challham Castle, worried about the pub owner's death and his relationship with her brother, Marcus. Harry Powell is a retired detective who now works in a dog food company, he delivers food to customers, and he is worried about missing dogs and a stranger car in the neighborhood.
Belinda and Harry were a fun team and I like to read their next case. I've enjoyed the voices the narrator used, different accents for both sexes, and she beautifully expressed the emotions!
Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the chance of listening to Murder in the Village (A Belinda Penshurst Mystery Book 1) by Lisa Cutts, Narrated by Lucy Paterson, I have given my honest review.
Merged review:
The first book in the Belinda Penshurst Cozy mystery series is set in a small British country town. One murder and the missing dogs make two people decided to solve the mysteries until they could continue quiet living in Little Challham. Well, that is what will happen, more murders and missing dogs!
Belinda Penshurst, the owner of Challham Castle, worried about the pub owner's death and his relationship with her brother, Marcus. Harry Powell is a retired detective who now works in a dog food company, he delivers food to customers, and he is worried about missing dogs and a stranger car in the neighborhood.
Belinda and Harry were a fun team and I like to read their next case. I've enjoyed the voices the narrator used, different accents for both sexes, and she beautifully expressed the emotions!
Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the chance of listening to Murder in the Village (A Belinda Penshurst Mystery Book 1) by Lisa Cutts, Narrated by Lucy Paterson, I have given my honest review.
I'm a bit of a sucker for a cozy mystery, so I jumped at the chance to read Murder in the village.
I know Lisa Cutts has written other books before this one but this is actually the first I've read of hers, but it certainly won't be the last!
Two cases run side by side in this novel. First off, the dog owners of Little Challam are being targeted by mysterious dognappers. The second mystery involves the murder of pub landlord Tipper, a man with no shortage of enemies, but who would want to kill him? Belinda joins forces with retired detective Harry Powell to solve both cases.
Murder in the village has all the ingredients of a good cozy mystery, an idyllic sounding setting, a cast of interesting characters and a couple of determined amateur sleuths intent on getting to the bottom of the case.
Belinda and Harry made a fun pair together. Belinda is fairly bossy and stubborn, not afraid to say what she thinks, while Harry is a little more reserved and thoughtful. I enjoyed the back and forth between Belinda and Harry. I feel there's some good potential between the pair and look forward to seeing what they get up to next.
At times, I found Belinda a tad annoying, but she grew on me as the story went along.
Both mysteries kept me guessing with plenty of suspects and red herrings along the way.
Murder in the village is a solid cozy mystery and a must for fans of this genre!
I know Lisa Cutts has written other books before this one but this is actually the first I've read of hers, but it certainly won't be the last!
Two cases run side by side in this novel. First off, the dog owners of Little Challam are being targeted by mysterious dognappers. The second mystery involves the murder of pub landlord Tipper, a man with no shortage of enemies, but who would want to kill him? Belinda joins forces with retired detective Harry Powell to solve both cases.
Murder in the village has all the ingredients of a good cozy mystery, an idyllic sounding setting, a cast of interesting characters and a couple of determined amateur sleuths intent on getting to the bottom of the case.
Belinda and Harry made a fun pair together. Belinda is fairly bossy and stubborn, not afraid to say what she thinks, while Harry is a little more reserved and thoughtful. I enjoyed the back and forth between Belinda and Harry. I feel there's some good potential between the pair and look forward to seeing what they get up to next.
At times, I found Belinda a tad annoying, but she grew on me as the story went along.
Both mysteries kept me guessing with plenty of suspects and red herrings along the way.
Murder in the village is a solid cozy mystery and a must for fans of this genre!
Thank you to @LisaCuttsAuthor and @bookouture for this advanced audio copy of Murder in the Village in return for an honest review. Murder in the Village was published on 25th August 2021 and you can get a copy here.
Description
Description
For a murder/mystery, this was such a fun read!
This is the first book in a brand new series featuring Belinda Penshurst who lives in a castle in the small village of Little Challham. I really enjoyed Belinda's character. She is bold and not afraid to speak her mind which gets her into trouble more than a few times! We also meet Harry who is retired from the police force of which the pair join forces after one of the local residents is murdered.
Murder is not the only crime going on in this small village as dogs seem to be going missing also. Being a dog lover, I was in my element with this book and reading of the different breeds of which they also had their own personalities. As the author very kindly states at the very beginning of the story, no dogs were harmed, and can confirm that this is definitely the case.
Murder in the Village has quite a bit of humour running throughout which added to how much I loved this book. It was such an enjoyable first introduction to these characters and setting and has left me very much looking forward to more in the series. If you love crime reads that are on the cosier, light hearted side, then this is the perfect book to dive into.
This is the first book in a brand new series featuring Belinda Penshurst who lives in a castle in the small village of Little Challham. I really enjoyed Belinda's character. She is bold and not afraid to speak her mind which gets her into trouble more than a few times! We also meet Harry who is retired from the police force of which the pair join forces after one of the local residents is murdered.
Murder is not the only crime going on in this small village as dogs seem to be going missing also. Being a dog lover, I was in my element with this book and reading of the different breeds of which they also had their own personalities. As the author very kindly states at the very beginning of the story, no dogs were harmed, and can confirm that this is definitely the case.
Murder in the Village has quite a bit of humour running throughout which added to how much I loved this book. It was such an enjoyable first introduction to these characters and setting and has left me very much looking forward to more in the series. If you love crime reads that are on the cosier, light hearted side, then this is the perfect book to dive into.
Murder in the Village (A Belinda Penshurst Mystery Book 1) is an enjoyable tale with our two protagonists, Belinda Penshurst and Harry Powell investigating a space of dog napping in their village and soon discovering themselves in a far greater conspiracy involving multiple murders. Belinda's family own the nearby castle and she has invested heavily in several businesses in the village, while Harry has recently come to live in Little Challham, following his early retirement from the police.
Our intrepid detectives are a clear case of opposites but for this very reason, they do work well together and lead to many moments of comedy within the story. I did enjoy this story and it proved to be a fun and relaxing read.
Our intrepid detectives are a clear case of opposites but for this very reason, they do work well together and lead to many moments of comedy within the story. I did enjoy this story and it proved to be a fun and relaxing read.
Charming Start
Murder in the Village by Lisa Cutts
Published: August 21, 2021
Bookouture
This title is available to read for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Lisa Cutts was a full-time detective constable for twenty-five years, most of which she spent investigating murders. Lisa writes crime books with her insider knowledge from the heart of the incident room and is busy writing her new series set in Kent. Belinda Penshurst, amateur sleuth, teams up with retired detective inspector Harry Powell to solve murders in the village of Little Challham. Murder in the Village is Lisa's seventh crime fiction novel and her first cozy crime novel. Never Forget was the winner of the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award 2014.
“Come and help me solve a murder.”
Belinda loves her charming village and her home. She fought to keep her home, despite her brother's sometimes dubious schemes. When things start to go amiss in the Village, Belinda, along with ex-officer Harry, decide they have to do something. Now, it’s a race against time to prevent another murder and another dog napping.
This was such a cozy, fun novel. I love that it is centered around dogs. I enjoyed the descriptions of the village and those that live there.
I found Belinda charming in her own way. She is headstrong, intelligent, stubborn, and assertive. She isn’t afraid to do what she thinks is right, regardless of the consequences, and she is unapologetic about how she handles things.
Harry was delightful. He was the perfect balance to Belinda, and together their bickering was the ideal banter to set off the seriousness of what was happening.
I enjoyed how the story unfolded, and I am pleased to say I didn’t guess who was guilty. I loved the Clue-like way everyone was potentially guilty.
This series is sure to be filled with mishaps, laughs, and shenanigans. I am looking forward to continuing the journey.
Murder in the Village by Lisa Cutts
Published: August 21, 2021
Bookouture
This title is available to read for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Lisa Cutts was a full-time detective constable for twenty-five years, most of which she spent investigating murders. Lisa writes crime books with her insider knowledge from the heart of the incident room and is busy writing her new series set in Kent. Belinda Penshurst, amateur sleuth, teams up with retired detective inspector Harry Powell to solve murders in the village of Little Challham. Murder in the Village is Lisa's seventh crime fiction novel and her first cozy crime novel. Never Forget was the winner of the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award 2014.
“Come and help me solve a murder.”
Belinda loves her charming village and her home. She fought to keep her home, despite her brother's sometimes dubious schemes. When things start to go amiss in the Village, Belinda, along with ex-officer Harry, decide they have to do something. Now, it’s a race against time to prevent another murder and another dog napping.
This was such a cozy, fun novel. I love that it is centered around dogs. I enjoyed the descriptions of the village and those that live there.
I found Belinda charming in her own way. She is headstrong, intelligent, stubborn, and assertive. She isn’t afraid to do what she thinks is right, regardless of the consequences, and she is unapologetic about how she handles things.
Harry was delightful. He was the perfect balance to Belinda, and together their bickering was the ideal banter to set off the seriousness of what was happening.
I enjoyed how the story unfolded, and I am pleased to say I didn’t guess who was guilty. I loved the Clue-like way everyone was potentially guilty.
This series is sure to be filled with mishaps, laughs, and shenanigans. I am looking forward to continuing the journey.