Category: reviews

There is excitement in the air as the travelling theatre arrives in Seal Bay.
When The Spriggan Travelling Theatre Company arrives in Seal Bay to perform a Cornish version of King Arthur the locals flock to be entertained. But for Morwenna Mutton, sexagenarian librarian, wild swimming enthusiast and amateur sleuth, the theatre brings intrigue too.

Actor and director Daniel Kitto is not the most popular member of the cast and unbeknownst to him, his role of Uther
Pendragon on the opening night is to be his swansong.
In front of a horrified audience, he collapses during the dying moments of the performance in a pool of fake blood, and although the police are content that the causes of his death are natural, Morwenna isn’t so sure. And once it becomes clear that there are a number of people who stand to gain from Daniel’s death, Morwenna’s investigation takes a dangerous turn.

If you love Miss Marple and The Thursday Murder Club, then you’ll love The Morwenna Mutton mysteries.

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Judy Leigh is the USA Today bestselling author of The Old Girls’ Network and Five French Hens and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.

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My thoughts: Morwenna is back with more murder in a Cornish village. When the owner and director of a small theatre company drops dead on the stage during a version of the story of King Arthur, the police initially believe it to be a heart attack, he was 82.

But Morwenna suspects there’s more to it than that, he wasn’t a popular man, although her mother Lamorna knew him years before. His own actors all have reasons to dislike the man, but did they kill him? And who benefits? An important question as it appears that Daniel Kitto had quite a few secrets.

But someone doesn’t want Morwenna investigating and is willing to go to some lengths to get her to back off. But they didn’t count on how determined she can be, and nothing deters her from finding the truth.

Another great fun read set in my beloved Cornwall, with Morwenna’s quirky family and friends on hand to help and sometimes hinder her investigations.

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

DI Barney Mains blames himself for the grotesque murder of a top banker in France.
He’s obsessed with the belief that he allowed a near-mythical assassin to escape certain death to kill again.
And when a duplicate murder is reported 1000 miles away in Barney’s home town in Scotland, the guilt drives him ever closer to the edge.
How many more must pay the ultimate price for his failure?
But then death comes closer to home. He is left with no choice but to face his demons, before a shocking confrontation which will change everything…

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Jim McGhee is a former award-winning environmental journalist.
Formerly based in East Lothian, near Edinburgh, Scotland, he now resides in the South of France, the main setting for his DI Barney Mains series.

After a full-on career as a campaigning newspaper reporter, he and wife Jean launched their own recruitment company in central Edinburgh and for twelve fun-packed years worked closely together
alongside their brilliant team – without spilling a single drop of blood.

The Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, on the other hand, have provided a host of dramatic locations just perfect as inspiration for the odd spot of fictional gore.
Locals, blessed with scenery ranging from unspoilt mountain villages to the classic palms-and-marinas coast, claim that they can be swimming one moment and ski-ing a little over an hour later.
It’s a claim not yet put to the test!

Besides, when not writing or travelling, Jim’s more likely to be off on a hike in the hills with his ever-ready buddy, Jack the Irish Terrier.

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My thoughts: Barney, a Scottish DI on loan to the French police is furious with himself for letting a killer, the Ghost, potentially escape, but another murder in Nice bears his signature, as does a murder in Edinburgh, being covered by his niece, crime reporter Abbey.

But when the Ghost himself gets in touch with Barney, the case takes a turn. Determined to stop the killer for good this time, despite being on administrative leave, Barney goes rogue, investigating on his own, despite his French counterpart warning him off.

This is fast paced, gripping crime drama, the investigation moves quickly and both Barney and Abbey have to keep up with all the twists and turns as both the French and Scottish cases race towards a shocking confrontation on the high seas for Barney and a potential change of direction for his life and career.

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

When famous TV chef Matteo McLeish turns up at the Old Forge Café and
offers chef Charlie Hunter a place in his kitchen for the duration of Hampden
Green’s local opera festival, she thinks it’s because he rates her cooking skills. In
fact it’s because he’s heard she’s good in a crisis. The wholesome star of Nonna’s
Kitchen is being blackmailed by one of his team.
Tempted by an improbably large pay cheque and the boost to to her CV, Charlie
accepts his offer. Does the threat lie close to home, or back in Italy with
Matteo’s culinary roots? And can Charlie find the blackmailer before she’s
swept up in an avalanche of death and scandal?

Alex Coombs was born in Lambeth in South London and studied Arabic at
Oxford and Edinburgh Universities. Murder on the Menu was his first book in the new series: the Old Forge Café Mysteries. Alex lives in the Chilterns.

My thoughts: this was a fun murder mystery set in the world of quality chefs and restaurants. Matteo McLeish is a TV chef with a well known back story, and a problem. He tells fellow chef, and amateur detective, Charlie Hunter (our protagonist and narrator) that he’s being blackmailed about his wife’s dodgy history, but when the bodies start piling up, it’s clear there’s more going on, and he won’t go to the police.

Charlie is trying to make the most of working with Matteo, but he’s hardly around and for the most part she likes his team, none of them seem to be blackmailer material. She’s starting to suspect something else is going on.

Throw in an enraged female Hell’s Angel, a creepy maitre’d, a handsome ex, a very efficient front of house manager, lots of delicious food and a lot of opera too. This is lots of fun, and really enjoyable. I liked Charlie a lot, I haven’t read book one in this series, but I will do now and eagerly await 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.