One severed head, two warring neighbours – and a cold-blooded killer stalks Much Winchmoor. There’s the murder made to look like a tragic accident, and a missing husband. Could he be victim number two? The tiny Somerset village is fast gaining a reputation as the murder capital of the West Country, and once again, reporter/barmaid/dog walker Kat Latcham finds herself reluctantly dragged into the … dragged into the investigation.
Things are looking bad for Ed Fuller, the husband of one of Kat’s oldest friends. Kat’s convinced he’s innocent – but she was wrong before.
Has Kat come across her biggest challenge yet?
Fans of Janet Evanovich could well enjoy this “funky, modern day nosey detective” transported to the English countryside. The third Much Winchmoor mystery is, as always, spiked with humour and sprinkled with a touch of romance.
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I immersed myself in the gossip-riddled village of Much Winchmoor; home to the lovely Kat Latcham and her hectic ‘portfolio career’. Nosy Elsie’s unique vocabulary and Gina and Norina’s improvements to the local pub will have you giggling into your pint of Headbender. But, despite Kat having to report on the rudest shaped carrots, there is also a horrible murder to solve. Lots of other little mysteries add to the intrigue; who is Crystal? And why is Finbar, the gentle Irish Wolfhound, banished to his owner’s utility room? This is a great read with heaps of romance plus a super satisfying ending. Just to say, I won’t be turning my hand to topiary at any stage soon. Brilliant!
~4.5 STARS~
Another great little mystery from Paula Williams!!!!
There’s a lot going on in Much Winchmoor these days. Another murder has come to town, and it all starts with a severed head, and two neighbors who cannot stand the sight of one another! Before she knows it, our heroine, Kat, is in the center of it again!!!!
Kat is just trying to stay afloat with all her odd jobs…a reporter, working in a bar, and walking the village dogs. When a new owner takes over the paper where she works, she soon finds herself worrying about that job. She is always in the crosshairs of her boss at the bar too!
When a murder is committed, her good friend’s husband, Ed, becomes the prime suspect. All her other problems take a back seat as she tries to prove his innocence.
All the same delightful and not so delightful characters return. As a side issue, Kat also has to figure out why so many of her mother’s clients are cancelling and going to another hairdresser! As with all the other books in the series, this one is a fun little romp. If you like your mysteries with humor and a bit of romance, this series is a winner!!!!
Favorite Quotes:
No one ever gets to use Elsie’s doorbell because as soon as they come within a metre of her gate, her front door shudders under the weight of what sounds like a pack of hell hounds who hadn’t been walked or fed for a fortnight. In fact, the noise comes from Prescott, a small brown and white Jack Russell terrier who bites first and asks questions later. If ever a pair deserve each other, it’s Elsie and Prescott. She’s a cantankerous old lady with scarecrow hair, a fondness for Homer Simpson slippers and a tongue sharp enough to slice shoe leather. He’s a cantankerous dog with hair like an over-used toothbrush and a fondness for ankles, trousers – in fact, anything that comes within range of his snapping jaws.
I didn’t think much of her handiwork. Olive looked like an overstuffed cauliflower while Elsie’s hair looked like a Brillo pad that’s been plugged in to an electric socket.
Olive thought the murderer might be the man who delivered the free newspaper every other week because he looked like Boris Karloff.
“She gets things muddled.” She leaned across and said in a whisper loud enough to be heard in the next room. “She does my head in sometimes. I’m sure she’s got those senior dimensions, you know.”
My Review:
I enjoy Paula Williams’s sly wit and snarky observational humor and I have always found her agile storytelling and well-plotted cozy mysteries to be giggle-snort worthy. Combining her comical style with original and intriguing crimes that embroil the quirky residents of a uniquely odd small village/murder capital certainly makes for a fun and lively read with storylines that have never failed to keep me guessing as well as pleasantly entertained and engaged throughout perusal. Her eccentric little village delights with recognizable small-town issues and tendencies, which are far more amusing in print than in reality. I particularly find myself looking forward to any characters’ verbal exchanges with Elsie due to her tendencies for amusing malaprops, something my own grandmother was known to do.
In the third Much Winchmoor mystery, part time reporter, dog walker and barmaid, Kat Latcham once again finds herself investigating a dead body.
But this seems to be the least of her troubles as the Dintscombe Chronicle has been taken over by a company that wants scandal not reports on parish council meetings. Her job at the pub seems to be in jeopardy and her mother’s hairdressing business is leaking customers. She’s broke, desperate to leave the village and struggling with her feelings for Will.
So when one of two feuding neighbours winds up dead, her new editor turns up the pressure and wants the inside line. Kat has other ideas, especially as the husband of her best friend is the prime suspect. Having had too much to drink and lashed out at another resident in the pub, things are not looking good for him.
Like the previous two books in the series, it’s a delightful pastiche of troubles, gossip and sleuthing as Kat tries to keep too many plates in the air. The humour is never far from the surface, producing some great lines from lovingly crafted village characters you would instantly recognise.
Much Winchmoor is the perfect escape if you enjoy a cosy mystery that’s well-written and populated by characters you’ll warm too. Kat’s both fun and world weary at the same time as she proves more than a match for the local police when it comes to catching a killer.
Highly original and entertaining, this is a series to warm you like an open fire on a cold winter’s day.
I have enjoyed each of the novels by Paula Williams so, recently when I had a particularly stressful time to endure, I turned to one of my favourite authors for comfort. There’s nothing like murders in Much Winchmoor to cheer me up!
The Blurb
One severed head, two warring neighbours – and a cold-blooded killer stalks Much Winchmoor. There’s the murder made to look like a tragic accident, and a missing husband. Could he be victim number two?
The tiny Somerset village is fast gaining a reputation as the murder capital of the West Country, and once again, reporter/barmaid/dog walker Kat Latcham finds herself reluctantly dragged into the investigation.
Things are looking bad for Ed Fuller, the husband of one of Kat’s oldest friends. Kat’s convinced he’s innocent – but she’s been wrong before.
Has Kat come across her biggest challenge yet?
Fans of Janet Evanovich could well enjoy this “funky, modern day nosey detective” transported to the English countryside. The third Much Winchmoor mystery is, as always, spiked with humour and sprinkled with a touch of romance.
The review
This is the third in the Much Winchmoor series of murder mysteries and it was fun to meet up with some familiar characters and meet new ones. The author weaves her tale and leads the reader up blind alleys and through humorous encounters from the very beginning.
The red herrings, romance and murder combine effortlessly to make a fine novel. This is an exciting story, delicately told. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.