Death in the Village by Betty Rowlands

Adelaide Minchkin's body was found by the milkman dead on her bathroom floor. Apparently cardiac arrest but when her doctor insists that something is not quite right and that the coroner seemed to have overlooked or rather decided rather quickly that her death was due to natural causes, and causes a stir, the local Constabulary are called in.

When Sukey delves further into the happenings of this sleepy little village, lots of stuff surfaces. The previous owner herself, elderly in that case died suddenly and Adelaide who inherited the estate was an outsider, causing much ill will amongst the three siblings of Muriel. The owner before Muriel himself had died - sozzled, falling into a pool and drowning. The three deaths in succession are all quite self explanatory but now that a question has been asked, it is upto Sukey to investigate further.

Systematically going through the history and evidence around, and questioning all the villagers who are characters in themselves from the char lady to the local bar keeper was very well done and slowly a picture emerges of someone trying to hide something. When an old "cold" case seems to be somehow linked with the present deaths, Sukey knows she is on to something suspicious.

Told in a slightly old fashioned style, very reminiscent of this author's style the book is totally engrossing.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Bookouture.

Christmas at Pennington's by Rachel Brimble

A department store in Bath brilliantly preparing for Christmas but behind the scenes there is a lot of drama. A killer stalks the streets of Bath preying on women - and women who are respectable and doing good for the community.

Cornelia desperately trying to carve a niche for herself and her two sons in a contested divorce case. Stephen head of security at Penningtons, finds himself drawn into a murder investigation which he does not want to even know about. Stepping down from Scotland Yard he just wants to keep his head down and get on with his daily life. Joseph and Elizabeth cannot get past the tragic murder of Joseph's first wife and this is affecting their marriage and when murder strikes again they know they cannot sit back, despite Police inaction.

The drama of individual lives going on apace, set against the backdrop of the murders was balanced very well. It was several stories interspersed with each other and though set against the backdrop of the impending festival it was not a Christmassy book per se and could be read at anytime.

The characterization was spot on and the mystery murder detective theme was well thought of and detailed.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Aria

the second chance supper club by Nicole Meier

Anything to do with good food interests me immensely! This book apart from the food aspect has another good combo Sisterly relationships.

Here Ginny and Julia's one is fraught with tension. One feels that she did it all when their parents died suddenly, uprooting herself and her family to deal with the aftermath of a sudden death. The other cut herself away from everyone, building up her career not thinking deeply of the consequences of her sister's life. When one of them is faced with a crisis, she runs away to the only place she knows she will surely not be turned away - her sister's home.

Coming home to Arizona was not the homecoming Julia expected. A home which is being run as a sort of illegal restaurant, catering for exclusive diners and a sister who seems to be living on the edge - facing financial disaster as well as a disaster of a relationship between her daughter and herself. Stepping into this minefield Julia feels out of place and she has to find a way to mend fences with both her sister Ginny and try to bridge the gap between her niece and herself.

The relationship part and how the story evolves from this was the best part of the book and the story is a commonplace one where miscommunicationn and no communication results in such a lot of misery and misplaced judgements.  I enjoyed the story emotional though it was.


Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Lake Union Publishing.

Everybody's Somebody by Beryl Kingston

Rosie was not just somebody. For the late nineteenth century, she was certainly no pushover. She was not going to be happy or resigned to her lot, which seemed to be the idea of the working lot. They were born to it and there was no choice about bettering themselves. Rosie had ideas and she certainly was not going to let a bit of adversity or hard work get in the way of getting there.

I admired her spunk in the face of so much opposition. It was a time when women did what they were told to do by their parents or their husbands and most of them just buckled under. Rosie first as a maid - an understudy to a nanny made it her business to learn her trade and from there better herself.

After getting married, she ended up as a model for a famous artist, despite her husband's objections. Her first aim was just economic. It paid well and secondly it proved to be a learning experience in love for her. She balanced her career as a model, and on the other a loving mother and a wife admirably.

Set during the beginning of WWI and the ominous beginning of Hitler the story told how these wars affected directly and indirectly the rural population of Britain . It was insidious but a deep rooted effect on the entire population and affected entire generations.

The book was sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Agora Books.

Deep Waters by Martin Edwards

This was a lovely theme of historical fiction mixed liberally with mysteries on anything water. Canals, lakes, seas, everything connected to the murder or the mystery was linked to a waterway and they were all picturesque, all descriptive and some of them remote.

All the stories are slightly old fashioned form of detective work, many of them were solved by laymen in collaboration with the police force and all conducted in a very gentlemanly like and orderly manner, despite the final brutality of the act itself!

Very easy to read, very pleasant to read.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Poisoned Pen Press.

Reading this mid September here in Sri Lanka and very apt, because we are having floods right across the country. I just got up this morning to see the river alongside my home flooding the opposite bank.

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright & Cass Grafton

I knew this was going to be a variation of the Jane Austen theme but this took me way out of any comfort zone I had! In a very good way.

The idea that what would have happened if the Jane Austen books we know were not written or not published is unimaginable.

September and in Bath it is  all about Austen. Finding someone in period costume is nothing unusual at the time and Rose begins to think that the lady she glimpses everywhere is another of those who has immersed herself fully into the Austen saga. When Morgan arrives from America and Rose's entire present world is turned upside down with the appearance of a necklace which has brought Jane Austen to present day times and then takes Rose back in time, things get complicated.

Rose desperately wants to get back to modern times and Jane Austen needs to go back to write and publish her books but how are they going to do this, when the only way back is a necklace secreted in a safe in a place hidden by double walls and in a building which is now an office!

Taking innumerable twists and turns, you do know this story is going to end well. Otherwise there would be no Jane Austen novels today!

A fun read, for lovers of Jane Austen a must.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Canelo

The Postcard by Zoe Folbigg

Maya and James journey starts with an idyllic, sumptuous fairy tale wedding of someone for whom James is the "fourth" photographer. It is a typical Bollywood style wedding and the accommodation and the luxury is overwhelming. What follows their journey in India is also typical. Ranging from horrible train journeys to middle of the road guest houses interspersed with the beauty and culture of India the story is almost a travel memoir.

The romance part of the story is that James and Maya are unsure of their own personal wants. At some point in their travels Maya knows that she wants a baby. She has just left her friend Nena back home with an adorable baby and this has set off Maya's yearning for a baby for herself. James does not seem to want the commitment, just yet.

In the same time frame of the story - a separate story of Nena and Tom is played out. Nena coping with motherhood, trying to be the "best" mother and maintaining a facade which will crack soon. Tom knowing something is not quite right, but not knowing how to put it right.

Then we have the missing French girl Manon - which has been covered by the International Press. The girl missing initially from Vietnam, then spotted in Thailand and now it is told at a very later stage that the girl has a mental illness and this adds to the problem of trying to locate her.

How the three widely different stories are linked, all with the background of exotic travel starting from the luxurious and going to the spartan, back packing lifestyle and finally coming to what James and Maya actually want from their lives.

Descriptive and captivating as any travel memoir, the story of James and Maya and the other characters all blend in well.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Aria.