Month: November 2021

Murder At The Abbey by Frances Evesham – Blog Tour

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

The Brand NEW installment in the bestselling Exham-on-Sea series.

An unsolved murder echoes down the corridors of Cleeve Abbey for years.

The Exham-on-Sea’s History Society’s annual summer picnic comes to an abrupt end when human bones are discovered in Washford River, beside historic Cleeve Abbey.

Thrilled to find evidence of a possible centuries-old murder mystery, the members of the society organise a ghost-hunting night in the ruins of Cleeve Abbey, despite amateur sleuth Libby Forest’s reservations.

Libby is a woman of many talents, a baker, chocolatier, even a reluctant sleuth, but she’s no fan of the supernatural. and her doubts are justified when a friend is attacked under cover of darkness at the ghost-hunt.

Distressed and angry, Libby sets out with her new husband Max and their two dogs Bear and Shipley to uncover the connection between the murder of a sixteenth-century monk and a present-day attack in picturesque Somerset.

With friends and neighbours as suspects, Libby and Max close in on the culprit only to find that others are still in danger.

There’s no time to lose as the sins of the past threaten lives in the community.

Murder at the Abbey is the eighth in a series of Exham-on-Sea Murder Mysteries from the small English seaside town full of quirky characters, sea air, and gossip.

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3BJyYn1

Author Bio

Frances Evesham is the author of the hugely successful Exham-on-Sea mysteries set in her home county of Somerset. Boldwood has republished the complete series. Frances has also started a new cosy crime series set in rural Herefordshire, the first of which was published in June 2020.


Social Media Links –  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/frances.evesham.writer/

Twitter https://twitter.com/francesevesham 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/francesevesham/

Newsletter Sign Up Link https://bit.ly/FrancesEveshamSignUp 

Bookbub profile https://www.bookbub.com/authors/frances-evesham 

Barbara’s Review – 4 of 5 Stars

Somerset is enjoying a particularly lovely June with little rain, plenty of sunshine, lovely temperatures, and gorgeous blue skies, which makes a perfect setting for the History Society’s annual picnic which is being held at the ancient Cleeve Abbey this year. Libby Forest and her new husband Max Ramshore have brought their very energetic dog, Shipley, and are thoroughly enjoying the surroundings and the company. At least they are until retired, unmarried schoolteacher, Jemima Bakewell finds a bone in the nearby Washford River. Soon, the attendees unearth a human skull. Are these ancient bones from the Abbey graveyard or are they more current?

When anthropologist Charlie Foxglove and her assistant Rory get involved with dating the bones, and a want-to-be TV ghost hunter personality stages a sleepover ‘event’ at the Abbey, things really begin to heat up. There is a brutal, near-fatal attack as well as thefts and murder. What ties them all together? Is there a relationship between the ancient bones and the current crimes? Never fear, Libby and Max, are on the case.

As always, there are lots of other things going on in the story – just as there would be in real life. We learn more of the backstories of several characters – old and new – and we get fun time with Bear, Shipley, and Fuzzy.

It was interesting to see how the ancient bones and the new crimes were/weren’t connected. The perpetrator was unexpected and the motives were convoluted and a bit muddled. I enjoyed the read and can recommend it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, World War I Era (1914-1920)5 Comments

Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Maisie Dobbs #1
Publication Date: 7/1/03 (Audio Version)
Period: WWI England
Narrator: Rita Barrington

I came into this series by reading book sixteen, The Consequences of Fear, and wanted to know more about how Maisie Dobbs became who she is. My solution to that was to read this first book in the series and then decide if I wanted to read all of the others. After reading this really sad, heartbreaking book, I read all of the book blurbs on the remainder of the books in the series and I came to the conclusion that Maisie Dobbs had the darkest, saddest life of anyone I’ve ever read. So, I’m going to skip all of those earlier books and perhaps try number eighteen when it comes out. Maybe that one will be less dark and sad.

I think, for me, this book might have suffered from having the writing be too good. Yes, I know – how can that be? I suppose it really can’t, but what I mean is – the research is so thorough and the writing so well done that you feel as if you are right there in the middle of the battlefield, or that you can actually see that terribly disfigured soldier as he tries to deal with his return to a society who really doesn’t want to see him. It just makes you feel it all – and the ending – it is one of the saddest things I’ve read.

The narrator, Rita Barrington, did a nice enough job, but it didn’t come out as a smooth steady flow of words as you’d picture a conversation. It sounded more like she was reading – which, of course, she was, but I didn’t want to hear it that way. As far as a distinct voice for each character goes – they all sounded like iterations of the narrator’s natural voice. If a character spoke without identifying themselves, I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish which character it was.

The mystery in this book has to do with deaths at a ‘farm’ where returning soldiers with terrible facial disfigurement go to live so they can avoid the stares among the public. However, the mystery doesn’t take up a large portion of the book. It is a good mystery, but still, the largest portion of the book is the set-up for the series. We are introduced to Maisie’s background, family, and friends as well as showing her war experiences.

This book broke my heart and made me very sad. I actually wish I had stopped reading well before the end – maybe just after the mystery was solved – because I honestly didn’t want to see the rest. Was it realistic? Probably. Was it something I wanted to read or know? Absolutely not.

So, I would never read this book a second time, but I am glad I now know Maisie’s background. If you don’t mind gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, grossly sad books, you’ll probably enjoy the read more than I did. Still, it is well written.

View all my reviews