Do you love engaging characters, a puzzling whodunit and captivating settings? Then read on and discover the Swansneck Village Mystery Series!Readers’ Favorite 5 Star Award “A delightful cozy mystery that will satisfy the most die-hard amateur-sleuthing murder mystery fan. The essence of the novel is deliciously authentic, and I was enchanted with the genuineness of the town and its inhabitants. … the genuineness of the town and its inhabitants. Jenny is an exciting new sleuth similar in style and disposition to Agatha Raisin”
Returning home may not be in fashion, but solving a murder never goes out of style…
Despite the Swan family now promoting Swansneck village as a nostalgic Victorian tourist attraction for Lancashire’s cotton mill heritage, Jenny Bradshaw had never wanted to set foot in the place again. But a failed marriage and the conditions of her uncle’s legacy left her no other choice.
Forced to abandon her P.A. job in London, Jenny dreads the years of drudgery ahead. Working at the family bakery and caring for her uncle’s pigeons was not exactly the future she’d envisioned. But when a hat shop is offered for sale within the classy, recently transformed Swan Mill Hotel, Jenny thinks her luck may finally be changing. At least, until she unwittingly implicates a beloved childhood friend in murder…
Between attending the biggest wedding Swansneck had ever witnessed, juggling her new business and relaunching the Swansneck Messenger newsletter, Jenny seeks to clear her friend’s name. By establishing new links in the village and deciphering cryptic notes left in the pigeon coop, Jenny builds her list of suspects. But uncovering generations of secrets and lies from a roster of quirky Swansneck residents, only seems to prove everyone has a motive for murder.
Unable to reveal her multitude of suspicions to urbane new neighbour, DI Kenon, without appearing to have totally lost her wits, Jenny’s quest for the truth threatens to turn her hometown into her final resting place.
Murder Most Fowl is an absorbing cozy mystery set in a charming British village. If you like amusing, engaging characters and true-to-life settings, then you’ll love V.S. Vale’s riveting whodunit.
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Cozy British Village Mystery
This was a very good mystery! It takes place in a small English village that is growing and becoming more modern, bit by bit. Our heroine has moved back to the village, is opening her own shop, and re-connecting with friends and family. If that isn’t enough, she is trying to keep an old friend from being convicted of murder. There is lots of action and plenty of false trails. The story is just the right length. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
This is one of my new favorite cozy mysteries! It was such a fun story and the mystery part isn’t easily solvable. Everything I love about this genre is represented in this story. You have a quaint village, engaging characters, and a main character who is easy to fall in love with. This is one series that I am going to devour.
If you’re accustomed to frenetic-paced thrillers or even get-to-the-point-fast cozy mystery novellas, this book requires you to slow down and take in the scenery. On a cold winter’s day, pour yourself a cup of your favorite hot beverage and dig in. Jenny Bradshaw is returning home to Swansneck, a small English village, after her grandfather dies and leaves her a home that she cannot sell or rent for three years. Leaving London and her stressful personal assistant job is not something she is in favor of it first, but her pending divorce doesn’t make it wholly a bad choice either. In her first days back, she resumes working in her family bakery, but in discussion with a good friend, she realizes that she needs to carve her own path in the village if she is to maintain her sanity. Her friend suggests buying a hat-renting business, which she does.
The book meanders for a while. As Jenny gets accustomed to the changes to her hometown, we learn about its past as well as the changes seen through Jenny’s eyes. Jenny keeps busy, opening her new business, relaunching a village newsletter, and taking part in the biggest wedding the community has seen. The murder doesn’t actually take place until well into the book. Much time is spent in setting the scene for the entirety of the community, gaining an understanding of Jenny’s quirky neighbors as well as getting glimpses of her new life. When the murder occurs, Jenny is drawn in, hoping to assist a friend who can be considered a suspect. Strange notes are left, and Jenny is drawn deeper into the world around her, learning more about her neighbors and the strange happenings, which only seem to give her more questions.
The book is refreshingly free of grammar, punctuation, and usage issues. If you enjoy slow-paced cozy mysteries with offbeat but intriguing characters and a strong sense of place, you will most likely enjoy this story. I am looking forward to the next book of the series.
Jenny Bradshaw has moved back to her hometown of Swansneck after a failed marriage and to follow the conditions of her uncle’s will. She is not too excited to be working at her family’s bakery nor caring for her uncle’s pigeons, so when an opportunity opens up for her to purchase a hat shop she is on cloud nine. Jenny makes quick friends with the shops only employee and finds herself roped into taking over the Swansneck Messenger newsletter. She soon finds that this new job comes in handy when a murder happens and she gets to use her journalist skills to help solve the mystery.
This is a charming British cozy mystery with a cast of whimsical characters, an engaging storyline, and lots of mystery and suspense. The story kept me captivated with its twists and turns along with several potential suspects. I can’t wait to read more books in this new series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lovely start to a new series. Great quirky characters in a lovely little village. Enjoyable read. Can hardly wait for the next book in this series. I was given a free ARC by the author. My review is freely and honestly given