A Murder in the Village (A Belinda Penshurst Mystery, Book 1)
Lisa Cutts
252 pages
Published August 25, 2021 by Bookouture
About the Book:
Nothing ever happens in Little Challham… until the local pub owner is drowned in his own ale. Belinda Penshurst, owner of Challham Castle, is on the case!
Belinda Penshurst loves her home village Little Challham, with its shady lanes, two pubs and weekly market, and she’s determined to keep it peaceful. She may live in Challham Castle but she knows almost everything that goes on under her nose. So when irritable pub landlord Tipper is found dead in his cellar, she’s perfectly placed to investigate.
Retired detective Harry Powell moved to Little Challham for a quiet life. He didn’t expect to be dragged into a murder investigation. But the police don’t seem half as enthusiastic as Belinda about the case, and there are strange things happening in the village. Particularly the number of dogs that have disappeared lately…
Is there a dognapper snaffling schnauzers and luring away Labradors? Is Belinda barking mad to be worried that her brother Marcus was arguing with Tipper on the day he died? Belinda and Harry track down the suspects: the rival landlord, the outraged barmaid, the mysterious man in the black car following dogwalkers around. But are the dogged detectives running out of time to sniff out the killer, before he starts hounding them?
A charming cozy mystery full of laughs and eccentric characters. Fans of M.C. Beaton, H.Y. Hanna and Emily Organ will love the first novel in the Belinda Penshurst series!
My Review:
My first read from Lisa Cutts was a fun one! A cozy mystery with a little bit of murder and a whole lot of dogs. The main characters, Belinda and Harry, have great chemistry together. Belinda is the type of character that puts her nose into everyone’s business. She is also a little haughty and can be a little unlikeable on occasion. I love the fact that she lives in a castle and would love to think that some of the future books will have more of the day to day descriptions of the castle setting.
Harry, on the other hand, is a great character. Caring, sweet and a dog lover, he was my favorite thing about this story. A retired police officer who now works for a Dog Food Company, the way he loves all the dogs he comes into contact with and how he is so caring of the people he comes across.
The little English Village sounds like a great setting for more books. I hope there will be more likable characters in the upcoming stories as this one seemed to have an abundance of not-so-nice people.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Book 2 will bring.
About the Author:
Murder in the Village is Lisa’s seventh crime fiction novel and her first cozy crime novel. Never Forget was the winner of the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award 2014. Lisa was a full-time detective constable for twenty-five years, most of which she spent investigating murders.
Lisa writes crime books with her insider knowledge from the heart of the incident room and is busy writing her new series set in Kent. Belinda Penshurst, amateur sleuth teams up with retired detective inspector Harry Powell to solve murders in the village of Little Challham.
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