The annual Charleton House Food Festival is about to begin. But the first item on the menu is murder… and caffeine-loving café manager Sophie Lockwood finds her interest piqued by a pair of unusual cases.
Who would want to brutally murder a gentle giant of a man? And why would a thief, with an endless treasure trove to choose from, make off with a bowl from Charleton House that only has sentimental value?
Enlisting the help of her charismatic and eccentric colleagues, including quick-witted tour guide Mark, Sophie sets off to extract inside information from Detective Constable Joe Greene in return for a generous supply of chocolate croissants. But just as Sophie finds her suspicions falling on a likely suspect, a trail of coffee beans leads to a shocking revelation that turns her caffeine-fuelled investigation on its head.
Buy Death By Dark Roast today, you won’t be able to put it down.
Book 1 in The Charleton House Mysteries series. A light, entertaining mystery with a coffee loving amateur sleuth who works at one of England’s finest stately homes, and is ruled by her domineering tabby cat.
What readers are saying about Death by Dark Roast:
‘I absolutely adored this book.’
‘A delightful escape, and I cannot wait for the rest of the series.’
‘You just can’t put this book down.’
‘This book has everything I love about cozy mysteries – likable interesting characters, an intriguing cozy mystery, and friendship.’
‘The mystery plot(s) is fascinating and the writing is as elegant as Charleton House itself. A brilliant beginning to a series I will read every word of.’
‘Kate P. Adams develops her characters in such a way that you feel you are right there with them solving mysteries, drinking amazing coffee, wandering beautiful gardens, and working in a grand English home.’
‘This book is the perfect read for fans who enjoy their cozy mysteries served with a patina of history, a bounty of culinary delights, and a bottomless cup of perfectly brewed coffee.’
Written in British English. Can be read as a standalone but will be enjoyed more as part of the series. No strong language, gore, sex, or violence!
The Charleton House Mysteries
1. Death by Dark Roast
2. A Killer Wedding
3. Sleep Like the Dead
4. A Deadly Ride
5. Mulled Wine and Murder
more
A charming British cozy with plenty of coffee, cake, and cats as well as a delightful and compelling mystery!
A wonderful mystery perfect for fans of Downtown Abbey and caffeine – I loved the setting of a historic English manor with copious cozy cafes, artisan coffee, local food festivals, and, of course, a smart, endearing amateur sleuth with her adorable cat. Looking forward to reading more of this series!
Do you enjoy a good cozy mystery? Do you like coffee? Well, this book is for you. Just a bit of warning don’t read this when you are hungry. Kate P. Adams does an amazing job of describing the smell of coffee and the taste of pastries. You are going to want to have some while you enjoy the story. Set in England’s Derbyshire’s rolling hills the story is a great read. I am looking forward to more in this fun series “A Charleton House Mystery”. I was given an ARC copy but this review is my own opinion.
I just love reading this book, it is entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable. The interaction and chemistry between the characters in this book is wonderful. I can’t wait for more from this author. I received this book as a FREE copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.
Wonderful cozy mystery series! I love that the characters are well-rounded, charming and quirky without being ridiculous, and the country house setting is perfect. The series has a permanent place on my short list of favorites to be savored again and again.
Coffee, Gin & Tonic, a cat? All are huge parts of Sophie Lockwood’s life. As cafe manager of Charleton House’s several cafes, she’s one busy lady, but not too busy to investigate the appearance of a dead body in the midst of a festival on the grounds of the stately home.
I’m a mystery fiend, and this mystery is right up my alley for three reasons–it includes a cat, a a bit of history, and witty dialogue. #1 A plump cat named Pumpkin lives with Sophie. #2 A costumed actor gave a talk as Samuel Pepys and provides interesting tidbits I’d not heard before. #3 The entire book is filled with witty banter.
I’ll be back for more!
This is a fun mystery to read! The setting is quaint and charming. The mystery itself was quite unique and very involved. I enjoyed experiencing the solving of the mystery along with Sophie, she is quite the character! I look forward to more of her mysteries! I loved it.
Wonderful start to a new series!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the start to this new series! The characters are quirky and believable but not silly. And the setting, oh my! Such a great mix of past and present! Charleton House would be so much fun to explore and the grounds sound gorgeous! I felt like I was strolling about the place with Sophie and her coffee. Oh, and there was a murder to solve. The puzzle was good and I didn’t feel cheated, the clues where there if you could follow them with several different things going on! What skeletons lay in those closets? I am looking forward to the next book in the series!
I received an ARC. This is my honest review.
Kate P. Adams is a author to me and Death By Dark Roast was a wonderful story! The fantastic descriptions of Charleton House and the cafes make you feel like you are there. The descriptions of the pastries served will make you hungry! Stolen artwork, a murder, coffee companies that aren’t what they seem to be. A full time sleuthing job for Sophie as she tries to figure it all out! Great read!
I received an advance copy of this book and I voluntarily wrote an honest review.
Sophie Lockwood has been managing the cafés at Charleton House for approximately a year. It’s been an eventful year because Sophie often finds herself in the midst of murder investigations. She simply can’t help herself; she has to unearth the truth.
Death by Dark Roast takes Sophie into the realm of robberies and fraud as well as murder. But nothing will deter her from getting the culprit.
Adams’ characters are colourful, engaging, and good fun. They lend a welcoming air and produce laughter in the most unexpected places. A great read that I thoroughly enjoyed, I think you will too!
[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]
Sophie Lockwood is a manager at a cafe in Derbyshire. The annual Charleton House Food Festival is gearing up to start when someone is murdered. Sophie can’t find anything really bad about the victim except for some bad debt which he had fixed. He was well liked by everyone…well except the murderer of course. But finding out who that is will take some doing. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
Sophie works at the beautiful Fitzwilliam-Scott family estate overseeing the hospitality end. This weekend is the setting of a food festival which Sophie is looking forward to. The weather is perfect; however, one of the coffee baristas has turned up murdered. In amidst her other duties, Sophie’s mind keeps turning to the murder and can’t help becoming involved in trying to find the murderer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The characters are worth finding out more about and the story line was solid. This is the first in a new series with a new author for me. I’m looking forward to the second.
How could I not read a book about a murder mystery, dark roast coffee, and which includes a lovable cat?
Not possible!
This is the first entry in the series Charleton House Mystery series and I will not miss one of them.
A great cozy mystery series featuring Sophie and friends Mark, Joe, and Joyce.
It’s the weekend of a food festival at the manor and, before the festivities begin, a worker at one of the coffee vendors is murdered.
Of course, our heroine Sophie begins immediately investigating – sometimes to the chagrin of the police.
With the help of Joe the policeman, Mark the
in-character tour guide et al Sophie is on the case while running the estates coffee houses, arranging private catered affairs, and being second in command at home to Pumpkin the cat.
Enjoy the mystery. I’d prefer not to give too many details, but I doubt you’ll figure it out before the end. There are a number of interesting twists and turns.
With all of us suffering isolation, this book couldn’t have come at a better time.
However, had Death by Dark Roast been available in pre-pandemic times, I would have read it with the same interest and in the same amount of time.
It is THAT good
A cozy mystery delight for the most discerning coffeenista!
Any author who can juxtapose macarons and haggis on the opening page of their book and make the latter sound palatable enough to make me interested in sampling this er…’delicacy’ can consider me hooked. Further reading confirmed that this cozy mystery was indeed a worthy candidate for my neglecting of all other tasks in order to make reading it a priority. The setting rings with authenticity, down to the tiniest detail, a tribute to the author’s extensive experience working in some of England’s finest buildings, rich in history and tales of unique characters, as well as her clearly impeccable research. Set against the venerable Charleton House… A stately home dating back to Tudor times are characters who bring a sense of freshness and modern life to the story. This book is the perfect read for fans who enjoy their cozy mysteries served with a patina of history, a bounty of culinary delights, a bottomless cup of perfectly brewed coffee and a cat…because there has to be a cat!
loved this charleton house cozy! lots of twists and turns and complex interesting characters that will keep you wanting to read and not put this book down! I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
Death by Dark Roast kept me well entertained. Ms. Adams has created a wonderful world at Charleton House. It is populated by some very interesting, well developed characters. I love that Sophie is drawn to all things coffee and gin! The plot is tight. The clues are there, but I did not figure it out – which is a plus for me. I am eagerly looking forward to the next adventure.
Charleton House is preparing for the Annual Food Festival. The vendors are busy setting up their stalls and there are two vendors selling coffee. Kathy and Lucy Wright own Signal Box Coffee, while Guy Glover and his associates, Kyle and Ben, run Silver Bullet Coffee out of their Airstream Trailer. While walking through a room in the Manor, Sophie Lockwood notices that a bowl is missing from a display. Then Sophie learns that another theft occurred recently at Berwick Hall.
While talking with Mark and Lucy the next morning, they are interrupted by a frantic call – Help, He’s Dead. When delivering bin bags, Robin found the body of Ben in the Airstream trailer. Detective Joe Greene was working on the thefts, but is pulled off to investigate Ben’s murder. A few people were seen arguing with Ben prior to his murder, but were any of them sufficient to drive a person to murder? Obviously, there are plenty of suspects.
Who killed Ben? Why was he killed? Who stole the bowl from Charleton House? Are the two crimes connected? What about the theft at Berwick Hall? Can Sophie untangle the mysteries?
Kate Adams has a good start to this series with great characters and realistic situations. There is some English history and customs thrown in to make it even more enjoyable. There are plenty of twists, turns, and red herrings to keep the reader guessing clear to the end.
Review of “Death by Dark Roast”
A death during a food festival held in the beautiful grounds of historic Charleton House entices Sophie to investigate and get to the bottom of the mystery. The twists and turns in this story are intriguing and you will also be left drooling over the descriptions of the cakes and coffee sold in the Charleton House cafes.
I received an ARC copy of this book and found it a truly enjoyable read; humorous, interesting and even touching in parts. The author’s past career has given her the ability to set the stage for the events and bring the characters to life. I am really looking forward to reading more books in this series. Can’t be more honest than that folks! If you like cozy mysteries then this is for you.