Rebecca Tope

First Line: It was difficult to avoid the conclusion that Hepzibah did not initially like it at Juniper Court.

Hepzibah the cocker spaniel is accompanying Thea Osborne on her second housesitting assignment in the beautiful area of the Cotswolds in England. Although the dog isn't enthused with the geese that quickly come to threaten them in the yard, Thea is looking forward to staying at Juniper Court.

The Phillips family seems very laid back and casual, and if Mrs. Phillips seems a bit rushed, show more most mothers would be when trying to pack up four children and a husband for a two-week holiday in Ireland. Besides, all Thea has to do is a bit of very light housekeeping and making sure that the old, crotchety pony is fed-- along with an assortment of other furry pets and assorted barnyard fowl. Ah yes, she's going to take walks and read; it's going to be a nice change from her first experience when a murder victim was discovered on the property on which she was staying.

But we all know about best laid plans. An apparent suicide takes place in the shed where the pony is kept, and once more Thea finds herself dealing with Detective Inspector Hollis, a man who makes her heart beat a little faster... whenever he's not infuriating her. To add to the difficult situation, Thea's married sister makes a frantic phone call and appears at Juniper Court, insisting that she stay with her older sister for a few days. When the house is broken into and it becomes clear that there are people who want Thea and Jocelyn out of the house now, the intrepid housesitter finds herself torn between fear and her sense of obligation to the Phillips family. Is Inspector Hollis going to be able to figure out what's going on before the situation becomes even more life-threatening?

The 408 pages of this book flew by. Although Tope makes it clear that this area is filled with one small village after another, she also conveys how isolated they are. Thea, who loves canals, tries to find her way through the woods to walk along a disused canal and is lost more often than not amongst the trees and a confusing labyrinth of footpaths. Juniper Court may be close to a village or two, and there may be neighbors relatively close, but those woods and those tangled paths make everyone and everything seem miles away. (In doing a bit of research on the author, I learned that all the villages in which these books are set are real. Tope makes sure she visits all the pubs and walks many of the footpaths, but she never talks to any of the locals... so none of them can claim to be featured in one of the books.)

The cast of characters in this book is a large one. All the villagers and neighbors seem to have their own agendas and are often at cross purposes. Some are against restoring the old canal; some want it done. Others want planning permission to turn an old barn into a luxury home for the rich; others are against it. Every time Thea leaves the property, those who want her gone seem able to move in and out of the buildings at will, which really gives the book a sense of unease.

It's a good thing that her younger sister shows up on the doorstep. At first Jocelyn shows all the annoying characteristics that made her the least favorite sibling, but as she and Thea get a chance to talk with each other, Jocelyn's strong points come into play. There are even several humorous incidents when both women have to deal with some recalcitrant young people. It's also good to see how Jocelyn reacts to Thea's growing interest in Inspector Hollis, whom she met in the first book in the series. Hollis seems unable to decide whether Thea should be a part of the investigation or no, and he certainly can't stay away from her!

There was so much going on throughout the book that I found it impossible to keep track of names and motivations, so I just enjoyed the interaction of the characters until all was revealed by book's end. Now I'm eager to discover the identity of the next family who takes on Thea as a housesitter. In book three, will her reputation as the deadly housesitter precede her?

Although mention is made of Thea's first attempt at housesitting and of her prior meeting with Inspector Hollis (in A Cotswold Killing), it's not necessary to read that first book. A Cotswold Ordeal stands on its own very well as an evocation of place and as an intriguing mystery filled with engaging characters. show less

Throughout the six or seven books in the Cotswolds series by Rebecca Tope that I've read, I've found myself mostly disliking the books, but continuing to read them anyway (partly because I paid for them). In Fear in the Cotswolds, I finally have come upon the reason I so dislike them and the protagonist, Thea Osborne. The easiest way to explain is by way of a SPOILER (consider yourself warned): Toward the end of the novel, Thea, who has been housesitting in a remote area during a snowstorm show more and who has responsibility, among other pets, for a number of rabbits including a half-dozen babies born unexpectedly and a part-greyhound rescued dog, Jimmy, who had previously been abused and is in a very fragile mental condition. When Thea irresponsibly leaves Jimmy in the yard and then opens the barn door where the rabbits are and forgets to close it, she shouldn't be surprised that Jimmy, seeing the rabbits, dashes in, grabs one in his mouth and kills it. But surprised she is, and her immediate instinct, which she acts upon, is to kick Jimmy in the shoulder. Apparently she regrets it immediately, but for the rest of the book she is said to be continuing her duties, including feeding and letting Jimmy out for a pee, but the author describes absolutely no further specific interaction between the dog and the woman after that incident. Perhaps she doesn't want her readers to realize that traumatized Jimmy is going to be absolutely terrified of Thea (and probably other humans) for the rest of his life; she has made his already fragile existence immeasurably worse by her action. And she doesn't seem to care in the least.... Yes, there's a murder (well, one murder and one suicide) in the tale, and yes, Thea more or less learns the truth (though only because someone thoughtfully leaves a note for her to find), but the woman is so self-centered and superficial and downright reckless about the animals she ostensibly cares about, that I simply can't stomach her; and her treatment of Jimmy is such that if she were a real person, I'd be calling the RSPCA to get her banned from caring for animals ever again. Thank god this is the last book in the series that I bought, so that I never have to read about Thea Osborne again. show less

Karen Slocombe witnesses the bombing of a local supermarket and then a few days later the murder of a trader in the farmers' market. Did she see something that is going to make her the killer's next target?

This seems to have been the last in the series and perhaps justifiably so because it dragged rather as if the author had run out of steam.

Drew Slocombe's natural burial ground had barely opened before an extraneous body was found in a shallow grave. But who was she and who buried her there?

Nice and twisty, and rather difficult to keep all the hinted-at connections between the characters in mind at the same time. Great fun.