Author: ramblingmads

There’s nothing quite like a night at the theatre. But Julia Bird is expecting a night of sweeping drama, not an onstage murder!

At the end of Berrywick’s amateur theatre’s latest production, a shot rings out amongst the rapturous applause. But when Julia Bird peeks through the curtain, she sees lead actor Graham is lying still on the stage, his co-actor Oscar looking down at his prop gun in shock. She knows that Graham has been murdered, but with nearly everyone in the village helping with the play, anyone could have tampered with the props. And why was a beloved family man the target?

Graham’s wife Jane collapses in a puddle of tears as Oscar is comforted and led away from the stage. But days later when Julia spots prim and proper Jane kissing Oscar, she wonders if the grieving widow’s tears were fake. Graham served Jane divorce papers the day of the tragedy – was he killed before he could spill the beans on his wife’s affair, and sully her perfect reputation?

Meanwhile, the aptly named director, Roger Grave, wants the show to go on. The play is up for a local award, and this might just be Roger’s big break. But when failed actor Hector is not assigned the lead role he assumed he’d get, the mood among the cast quickly turns sour. Could Hector have killed Graham out of jealously for the leading role, Julia wonders?

Then another member of the crew is found dead and Julia discovers there’s a dark secret at the heart of Berrywick’s local theatre society. But who would kill to protect it? Can Julia find the murderer before it’s curtains for another victim?

A totally gripping, charming cosy mystery set in the English countryside. Fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands will absolutely love the Julia Bird Mysteries.

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Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both made their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. 

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My thoughts: I love this series, it just gets more enjoyable with every book. And of course I love Jake the labrador and his new feline housemate (even if Jake’s not so sure!)

This time murder during an am dram production written by librarian Tabitha, has Julia investigating her neighbours once more. She was involved behind the scenes and when she discovers that the actor who pulled the trigger has a long history with the dead man’s wife, well, she’s pretty sure she’s on the right track. Not that Hayley, her police detective friend agrees. She asks Julia to please, stay out of it, as she’s on the suspect list herself.

Sean’s son has also come to stay, which requires a few adjustments to the way they’ve been doing things. He’s struggling and needs some support and kindness. As does Sean, who has a somewhat strained relationship with his boy.

Julia’s investigation starts to get in the way of her voluntary work at the charity shop too, if she’s not careful people are going to get really fed up with her!

And of course, it almost ends in Julia getting into further trouble, as the real murderer has his sights on her – her digging has caught their attention and now she’s the one who might wind up dead!

Although I won’t ever move to a village as crime packed as this one, I do enjoy my visits.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

A dense, brilliantly rendered novel by a new master of Southern gothic’ Kirkus

In this thrilling debut, Henry Wise transports readers to the Deep South, to a town poisoned by corruption and haunted by its past.

Will Seems has not returned to Euphoria, Virginia County, since his mother’s death. Now, taking a job as a Deputy Sheriff, he is forced to confront the turbid currents of this backwater town. Will is confronted by his past when a mysterious homicide claims the life of a close friend. The brutality of the crime serves as a grim reminder of the true reason for Will’s return — to atone for the past.

The local police rush to close the homicide case by arresting a man Will knows to be innocent and he faces a community that refuses to confront its history. Personal grievances and deep-seated prejudices undermine his every attempt to uncover the truth. Will’s hunt for answers leads him to Snakefoot, a dense wilderness long serving as a refuge for outcasts. It is here that old secrets lie buried, waiting to be unearthed.

Henry Wise is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Mississippi MFA program. A writer across multiple genres, his poetry has been published in Shenandoah, Radar Poetry, Clackamas, Nixes Mate Review, and elsewhere. His non-fiction and photography have appeared in Southern Cultures. Holy City is his first novel.

My thoughts: The tangled web of secrets, some dating back decades, that connect the residents of this small town continue to impact their present, even when they try running from them.

Will Seems is hiding a fugitive in the form of his childhood friend Sam, despite being a Sheriff’s Deputy, because he feels he owes him following a violent incident in their childhood. When another childhood friend is murdered, Will is desperate to prove that Sam’s father isn’t the killer, despite being caught fleeing the scene. 

The Sheriff however is sure they’ve got their man, no motive, but plenty of circumstantial evidence, and isn’t willing to look any further. Especially not at the dead man’s girlfriend, who he secretly swore to protect and look out for years before.

When a private detective is hired to actually look into to case, by the victim’s mother and the wife of the man in custody (because they both know he’s innocent), Will is asked to help her out, even as it brings him into conflict with his boss. I lost track of how many times Will quits/gets suspended/is fired/quits again.

It all ends in an even bigger mess, with shots fired, a confession, and Will being encouraged to run for Sheriff over the corrupt and frankly hopeless incumbent.

Will feels he’s failed his friends, and while he remains in the town, at his family’s old farm, he’s still haunted by his demons and ghosts, which may well be the death of him.

Many of the characters are deeply conflicted and held back by the past, to the point where the wrong person is arrested and could be charged with murder in a state with the death penalty. Those old wounds linger and make people commit terrible mistakes. The Sheriff doesn’t come out of any of this well, holding what he thinks he knows over people to control them. Will is broken by his losses and what he perceives as his failures, unable to see another way. This isn’t a happy book, but it is certainly an interesting 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.