A quiet English village where nothing ever happens. Until… After her boyfriend runs out on her with the contents of their joint bank account, Kat Latcham has no choice but to return to the tiny Somerset village of Much Winchmoor, where she grew up. A place, she reckons, that is not so much sleepy as comatose, and she longs for something exciting to happen to lessen the boredom of living with her … living with her parents.
But when she and her childhood friend, Will Manning, discover a body, and Will’s father, John, is arrested for the murder, Kat suddenly realises she should have heeded the saying “be careful what you wish for”.
Much Winchmoor is a hotbed of gossip, and everyone is convinced John Manning is guilty. Only Kat and Will believe he’s innocent. When there’s a second murder, Kat is sure she knows the identity of the murderer – and sets out to prove it. But in doing so, she almost becomes the murderer’s third victim.
Readers of Sue Grafton might enjoy the Much Winchmoor series of cosy murder mysteries spiked with humour and sprinkled with romance.
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I enjoyed the wit, humour and characters in this cosy mystery, where the village busybody is murdered and dumped in a chest freezer. As she has upset so many people, the suspects include most of the village, though several characters do their best to jump to the front of the queue.
The story is told by Kat Latcham, who’s returned to Much Winchmoor after a disastrous relationship. When an old friend’s father becomes the prime suspect, she refuses to accept this and vows to unearth the real killer. Despite the lack of clues and experience of sleuthing, she’s a keen observer of people and gossip and soon begins a somewhat stumbling but colourful investigation with more than a few mishaps and humorous moments.
The relaxed pace and humour didn’t quite compensate for the low level of sleuthing involved, but Kat’s a likeable and fun character, who brought the village and its residents to life. There were more similes than you can shake a stick at, and I felt the two chapters written from the killer’s point of view were an unnecessary distraction that did little to increase the tension or suspense.
That apart, Murder Served Cold is entertaining, well written and observed, filled with quirky but recognisable characters, the obligatory false trails, and a likable lead character that lifted the story above the average cosy and kept me turning the pages.
Much Winchmoor is a colourful West Country village populated by an assortment of lively characters. They tend to gather for a spot of gossip and some general busy-bodying at such distinguished local landmarks as the hairdressers and Winchmoor Arms public house. Much Winchmoor is full of life and good-natured hustle and bustle, until of course Marjorie is killed. Promptly followed by Doreen.
Kat Latcham is to become a self-appointed village sleuth, as assisted by Will. Just as she thought she’d escaped from the clutches of parochial country living, Kat is dumped (and robbed) by her unworthy boyfriend in London. That misfortune forces her to return to the village, penniless and dismayed. She tries her hand at various menial jobs, but she is really destined for greater challenges such as inadvertently becoming an amateur private investigator. It is Kat who narrates the story and I really enjoyed hearing about her exploits first-hand from her. She is well-fleshed out and likeable young lady.
Williams throws into the mix a few red herrings and there is yet another twist right at the end. I won’t go into any spoilers so will stop here.
I am delighted to have discovered the Much Winchmoor Mysteries. I looking forward to reading the next one.
These are good, solid, cosy murder mysteries, with a hint of romance, a sound setting, and very human characters. The heroine, Kat, is strong but realistic, and the surrounding cast – solid but perhaps stick-in-the-mud childhood sweetheart, domestically disastrous mother, snippy old friend and the rest of the villagers are entirely believable. Extremely readable.
Murder Served Cold by Paula Williams does what few books do, it combines a great mystery with wit and humour. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.