Introducing Twenty-one-year-old Amy Rowlings, a vivacious, quick-witted collector of imported American music, a movie buff and an avid reader of crime fiction.
January 1939 and the residents of the snow-covered streets of a small Kentish town awake to horrific news.
When young Amy Rowlings meets Detective Sergeant Bodkin at the scene of a robbery on the way to work at The Mill, one snowy, January morning, she is blissfully unaware of how much her life is about to change.
She is drawn into the murky world of murder when the body of Edward Handsley is found lying on the floor of the clothing factory. Edward, a libertine, philanderer, the son of George, the factory owner, a young man with many enemies, many of them female.
Bodkin is new to the area and accepts Amy’s offer to provide local knowledge but she soon becomes an invaluable source of information. When Adam Smethwick is arrested for the murder, Amy, a family friend, is convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove that the detective has arrested the wrong man.
Amy befriends Justine, the young, French fiancé of the elderly George, and soon discovers that it was not all sweetness and light in the Handsley family home. Meanwhile, back at the factory, Amy is sure that the foreman, Mr Pilling, has something to hide.
As the investigation proceeds, Amy finds that her burgeoning relationship with Bodkin is pushed to the limits as the detective becomes even more convinced that he has arrested the right man and while Bodkin relies heavily on the facts as they are presented, Amy has a more nuanced approach to solving the crime, born out of her beloved Agatha Christie books.
Murder at the Mill is the first book in a gorgeous 1930’s cosy crime series.
T. A. Belshaw is a British author best known for the Amy Rowlings Mystery series, a collection of character‑driven cosy crime novels set in 1930s Kent. Blending gentle humour, classic whodunit plotting, and rich period detail, his books follow the adventures of Amy Rowlings — a sharp‑witted, film‑loving amateur sleuth with a knack for uncovering secrets in the most unexpected places.
A lifelong fan of Golden Age detective fiction, Belshaw draws inspiration from the works of Agatha Christie and other classic mystery writers, while bringing his own warmth and modern storytelling style to the genre. His stories are filled with village and small town intrigue, colourful characters, and the charm of pre‑war Britain, offering readers a nostalgic escape into a world of clues, gossip, and slow‑burn suspense.
When he isn’t writing, Belshaw enjoys researching 1930s life, especially in his home town of Ilkeston in Derbyshire, where he lives with his chatty rescue cat, Mia, and connecting with readers who share his love of traditional cosy mysteries. His work continues to grow a loyal following among fans of light‑hearted whodunits, historical crime fiction, and strong female sleuths
My thoughts: I really liked this, I am a big fan of historical crime fiction and Amy is an excellent protagonist, along with the slightly mysterious Detective Sergeant Bodkin (currently we don’t know his first name).
When the handsy Edward Handsley is found murdered in the factory where Amy works, she turns detective, helping her new friend Bodkin solve the case. The problem is Edward wasn’t a particularly well liked person, he didn’t get on with his father, was having several secret liaisons around the village and there are plenty of suspects.
The duo start whittling down the list of possible murders, and then another person connected to the factory is killed. Relying on her brain, trained on a diet of Agatha Christie novels and Saturday nights at the cinema, Amy works through all the evidence and pieces together the answers.
This is the first book in the series and I cannot wait for the next one.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
