Faith Martin (1)

When a body of an attractive young woman is discovered in her room at St. Anselm College in Oxford, Detective Hillary Greene doesn’t know what to expect. A single needle mark on the body along with some bruising, as well as a closet full of high end clothes, raise Hillary’s suspicions and soon the hunt is on for a killer.

Meanwhile, Hillary is dealing with a lot of personal issues. Her deceased husband was found to be a “bent copper” leaving her with legal and financial issues as she show more finds herself living on her uncle’s longboat. To make it worse, she has to work with her husband’s questionable former partner and the officer who investigated her possible role in the misdeeds is transferred to her division.

This is Book 2 in a twenty book series. I thought I had read it as I have finished a number of the Hillary Greene stories. When I looked at it closer, I hadn’t.

Faith Martin writes absorbing British police procedurals and this one is no exception. The story is engrossing and entertaining with good character development. Hillary is a strong, capable leader. I really enjoy the humor expressed in Martin’s writing.

I recommend this series for anyone seeking lighter British police procedurals with engaging characters. show less

cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, England

I really hoped someone would murder the blackguard but was afraid it would turn out to be another Orient Express! That's how well each character was portrayed, especially our redoubtable freelance cook who is as capable of providing excellent meals as using her observations and acute logic. The plot is twisty and diabolical, the ride on the Thames beautiful. And it made me aware of the narrowed show more thinking that had me thinking that paddlewheelers only cruised the Mississippi! The publisher's blurb is pretty good, but doesn't convey the clarity of it all. I read it straight through because it made me!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you for introducing me to this author's writing! show less

The Birthday Mystery is the first in a series of cozy(ish) mysteries featuring cook Jenny Starling as an amateur sleuth.

Jenny is hired to cater the 21st birthday party of aristocratic twins Alicia and Justin Greer. However when she arrives she discovers that a young man has been killed on the premises of the Greer home. The death is thought to be accidental and the party proceeds. But another death during the evening shocks everyone, and as the cook, Jenny is aghast when she learns that the show more victim was poisoned. She soon sets out to help the police solve the mystery, and in the process secrets are uncovered.

Hmm, I have mixed feelings about this one. It started promisingly – Jenny seemed a likeable enough character, and it appeared to be an intriguing mystery, with enough suspects to keep the reader/listener (I listened to the audiobook) guessing, and plenty of red herrings. However, the constant references to Jenny’s physical characteristics soon became annoying; she is described at the beginning of the book as being 6’1″ in height, and probably slightly overweight, but the author rather patronisingly points out that despite this, Jenny is very attractive – this in itself was somewhat insulting, as if saying that it is unusual for an overweight person to be attractive. Still, okay, it’s not unusual for a writer to give a physical description of their character. But it felt as though Jenny’s appearance was being pointed out constantly. She was frequently referred to as being “Juno-esque” and I felt that the only reason to labour the point was that it became plot relevant somewhere down the line. It doesn’t.

Secondly, while it is a staple ingredient of cozy crime stories to have the main character as someone assisting the police who in all honesty has no right to get involved, in this case it lost it’s charm. Jenny seemed to forget that it wasn’t her job to investigate at all and took it as her right to solve the crime. To add insult to injury, she later reveals that she has known for ages who the perpetrator was – THAT’S WHEN YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO TELL THE POLICE!! Instead she kept the info to herself. Sigh. The last part just consisted of Jenny’s exposition to the police, as to the who, how and why of the crime. Frankly it was all a bit ridiculous.

Overall, while the book held my attention for the first two thirds, it ended up annoying me at the end. I also felt that it was not cozy enough for a cozy mystery, and not thrilling enough for a full-on thriller. It seemed somewhat caught in the middle. That said, it is only the first book in the series and maybe some of the kinks might be ironed out in subsequent stories.

This audiobook was narrated by Charlotte Worthing, who did a perfectly decent job. show less

I am finding that the older I get, the more I love cosy mysteries! And I've just discovered author Faith Martin - who is a master in the genre. Her brand new book is Murder By Candlelight.

All the bits are there. The book is set in 1924 in Maybury-in-the-Marsh, a small village in the Cotswolds. A place where everyone knows everyone's business. Or do they really know their neighbours? I love the dialogue and mores of this time frame - how a verbal barb is parried back, covered in politeness. show more The solving of the whodunit is found in piecing together bits of conversations, memories, observations, unplanned slips of the tongue, deduction and more, into a family answer. Its a nice change from current day DNA samples etc. Now while the police are are indeed investigating, there is a young pair of villagers who are also having a poke about. They were easy to like and you can't help but like them. I also have my fingers crossed that we will see more of Val and Arbie - they're delightful - and I feel like there's a romantic connection just waiting to be made.

Martin's plotting is wonderful! The crime seems to be of the locked room type, but there are other avenues that might also be in play - 'nuf said. Martin's case has lots of suspects to choose from. I have to admit - I didn't solve the case until the the list was down to one. Bravo to Faith Martin - this whodunit was not obvious.

I am really hoping that this is just the first book in a series. I would very happily pick up the next book! show less