‘Graced by ingeniously drawn characters, deft timing of twists, and a to-die-for climax. A stunner.’ Booklist Starred Review When Jude joins the Fethering community choir, she discovers that at least one of her fellow choristers is hiding a deadly secret. Although she hadn’t known Leonard Mallett very well, nor liked him particularly, Carole Seddon feels duty bound to attend her fellow … Seddon feels duty bound to attend her fellow committee member’s funeral. As she suspected, the hymns, readings and sermon are all very predictable – not unlike Leonard himself. What she couldn’t have predicted was that the deceased’s daughter would use the occasion to publicly accuse her stepmother of murder.
Did Heather Mallett really kill her husband, as many Fethering residents believe? Deciding to get to the heart of the matter, Carole’s neighbour Jude joins the new community choir – and discovers that amidst the clashing egos and petty resentments lurk some decidedly false notes. At least one chorister would appear to be hiding a deadly secret – and it’s up to Carole and Jude to unearth the truth.
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I enjoy reading this series. In this one Jude joins a community choir. When a member of the choir is murdered they set out to solve the crime. Unlike other books in the series in this one Carole and Jude work separately and they are keeping secretes from each other. I like the characters and the small English village setting. The mystery was good. There were enough suspects to keep it interesting. This book does deal with some serious issues like abuse and PTSD, but is still a cozy. This series does not need to read in order. Enjoy
Killer in the Choir by Simon Brett is a buttoned-up British mystery that became much more accessible the longer I read. It featured two middle-aged neighbors, as different as night and day: Carole and Jude. Carole was a divorcee who had taken early retirement and moved to Fethering to escape her life. To avoid being perceived as lonely she got herself a dog. She walked the dog religiously twice a day and grew to be dependent of him, even fond. Jude was a healer, a massage therapist, who worked out of her home. The friendship had grown because Jude wouldn’t let it go and then they had discovered their joint penchant for solving crimes. This one didn’t appear to be a crime, initially. In fact, the police had closed their investigation. An elderly man, Leonard Mallett, had fallen down the stairs in his home and died. His wife discovered him when she returned home later. His wife, Heather, seemed to be coming out of her shell after his death. At the wake after the funeral, his daughter, Alice, drunkenly and loudly accused her stepmother of murder. All very odd. Of course, Carole and Jude couldn’t leave it alone.
A good plot, with the murderer being unexpected, as was the motive. There were plenty of storylines blurring the investigation, was well as red herrings sprinkled into the mix. The characters filled out as the story progressed and it was easy for the reader to be sympathetic. The story contained some chilling events, but kindly told their outcomes at the end, even the more minor characters. Carole had, what had first appeared to be, a cold personality. Not friendly, not outgoing. That changed as we got to know her. She was simply shy and introverted. Jude had the opposite personality and was not tied to conventional wisdom about a great many things. It was an odd pairing which let to an enticing mystery. It is well worth the read, possibly even to return to earlier books in the series. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Killer in the Choir by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #killerinthechoir
This was my first book to read in the Fathering Mysteries series and I really enjoyed it. I love cozy mysteries and this was a quick easy read. I am looking forward to going back and starting at the beginning of this delightful series.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this enjoyable book.