Discover a new series of whodunits by million-selling author Faith Martin. These charming mysteries will have you scratching your head to work out who the murderer is. Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective. Please note this book was first published as “AN INVISIBLE MURDER” under Faith Martin’s pen name JOYCE CATO.Jenny Starling has her dream job cooking for Lord and … Starling has her dream job cooking for Lord and Lady Avonsleigh in a genuine castle.
Then one of the castle’s treasures, a fabulously jewelled dagger, is used to murder a staff member. The victim is found stabbed through the heart in the conservatory.
Lady Avonsleigh insists that Jenny help the police find the murderer.
But how can Jenny solve this case when the murder was committed in front of several reliable witnesses, none of whom saw a thing?
This is the fourth of a series of enjoyable murder mysteries with a great cast of characters and baffling crimes which will keep you in suspense to the final page.
Perfect for fans of classic whodunits by authors like Agatha Christie, LJ Ross, TE Kinsey, and J.R. Ellis.
PRAISE FOR THE JENNY STARLING BOOKS
“A wonderful protagonist.” Mystery Women
“Classic murder mystery story with a twist at the end” Oxford Times
“Jenny is an attractive, intelligent Rubenesque heroine, and the cast of characters above and below stairs are captured affectionately and wittily.” EuroCrime
“Really enjoyable and easy to read.” Anne-marie
JENNY STARLING
In her late twenties, Jenny Starling is an impressive woman. Physically, she stands at 6ft 1inch, and has shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes. Curvaceous and sexy, she’s a modern single woman, living the lifestyle that suits her – that of a travelling cook. Her famous (and now very rich) father, is a ‘celebrity’ cook, divorced from Jenny’s mother. Jenny drives a disreputable cherry-red van, and is happy travelling the country catering events and cooking great food. She is on a one-woman crusade to bring back ‘real’ food. And definitely doesn’t like having to divert her attention from achieving the perfect Dundee cake or creating a new sauce recipe by having to solve a murder. She finds crime very distracting, especially when there is chocolate to temper or pike to poach. Nevertheless, she is very good at reading people, and with a quick and agile brain, becomes very good at unmasking killers. And her always-undaunted sense of humour goes a long way in keeping her sane when all around her people are dropping like flies.
THE AUTHOR
FAITH MARTIN is the best-selling author of the DETECTIVE HILLARY GREENE mysteries, which have sold over 1 million copies globally in just over a year.
JENNY STARLING MYSTERIES
Book 1: THE BIRTHDAY MYSTERY
Book 2: THE WINTER MYSTERY
Book 3: THE RIVERBOAT MYSTERY
Book 4: THE CASTLE MYSTERY
More JENNY STARLING mysteries coming soon. Join the Joffe Books mailing list to be the first to hear about the next in the series.
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Best yet
This is the first I’ve read from this author. I liked it and am ready to read others.
In THE CASTLE MYSTERY by Faith Martin, Jenny Starling is back and this time she’s got a job in a centuries old castle filled with renowned, museum quality artworks. The art has been in the ownership of the Avonsleigh family for generation, as has the castle. Maybe this time she’s finally found a cooking job worthy of her extraordinary talents and filled with interesting characters you might like to see in more than one book.
However, if you’ve been reading the Jenny Starling books, this is the fourth one and by now you know wherever she appears, so does murder and this one turns out to be no exception. Lord and Lady Avonsleigh are delightfully unexpected. In spite of their upper crust status, they are plain spoken and immediately attracted to Jenny who knows exactly how to woo them with her culinary skills.
The downstairs staff is filled with equally interesting likeable characters and Jenny finds it easy to settle in almost immediately. Of course, all that changes with the murder of one of their own and the insistence of Lady Avonsleigh that they work closely with Jenny. Once again, she is apparently destined to solve a case for the police and do so while trying not to alienate them.
The victim is the governess, and everyone has what appears to be an airtight alibi. She has been murdered in what should have been full sight of the Avonsleighs and their guests, yet they saw nothing. Apparently the murder was committed with a dagger the Avonsleighs have on display and was seen, no evidence of blood by them and their guests both on their way to tea and again, on their return, thirty minutes later, dripping blood.
Of course, as has anyone who is familiar with the Jenny Starling series knows, nothing is exactly as it seems, all the clues are presented but with such sleight of hand you have to be watching closely to see them, and despite the policemen’s fervent hope, Jenny will be the one to solve the murder for them. Along the way there are plenty of clues and red herrings along the way. The reader gets to join Jenny as she follows up on each one and determines what, if anything, it has to do with the murder at hand.
While I did correctly determine the murderer early in the book, that in no way spoiled my enjoyment of the book. Rather, I had the opportunity to identify clues as they happened to support my solution and enjoy getting to know some of the other delightful characters who are part of this story. This may have been my favorite setting for a Jenny Starling book as of yet, and I think it would be a treat to get to spend more time in this place and with many of these people.
While this is the fourth in the series, each book is a complete mystery on it’s on and you do not need to read the others to enjoy it. While there are some brief references to earlier books, they have no bearing on this case and primarily serve to underscore the police’s resentment of the fact they keep being bested by a rank amateur.
I have come to expect Faith Martin’s books to be written in the classic detective style, providing the reader the opportunity to solve the case along with the protagonist. While there is murder, there is little emphasis on blood and gore and some delightful character development of secondary individuals which adds depth to the book. Having read all four books in this series that have been published to date, I would be hard pressed to say which was my favorite, but this one would certainly be high at the top of the list. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy a classic mystery.
cosy-mystery, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, murder-investigation, England
***** Freelance cook Jenny Starling has an intellect even more impressive than her cooking skills or her dramatic appearance and isn’t hesitant to wield it along with her powers of observation and deduction. Even if the constabulary become a mite testy upon finding out that she’s in residence. The mystery itself is somewhat convoluted and full of red herrings, surprises, and twists, including the antics of Henry the tortoise. I love this book and this series!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!