Contemporary – Page 28 – Flippin' Pages Book Reviews

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Two Rivers #2
Publication Date: 9/7/21
Period: Contemporary North Devon, England
Number of Pages: 400

I thoroughly enjoyed this English Police Procedural with its team of quirky, talented police investigators. There is Detective Inspector Matthew Venn who heads the team and was raised as part of a religious cult. Jen Rafferty, his colleague, is divorced, has two children, and often parties much too hard. Ross May, the third member of the team, is married and is the golden boy of their Detective Chief Inspector. They all manage to work and solve crimes together despite their disparate personalities. If you enjoy J.L. Ross’s books, you’ll probably enjoy this series.

The team is called to the scene of a murder where the victim’s daughter discovered him with a very large piece of art glass through him. The glass was handmade by his daughter. The victim, Mr. Nigel Yeo was a gentle, caring man. So, who would want to murder him? Could it have something to do with his employment in the healthcare system?

It seems the victim had tried to speak with Jen at a party the previous night, but since she had overindulged, he decided not to do so. Was he going to tell her something that led to his murder? It seems they’ll never know.

With more victims, the team becomes more and more perplexed. What are they missing? What has it to do with old suicides?

The case will perplex you and it will keep you guessing throughout. There are many false trails and red herrings to keep you wondering.

One thing I enjoyed was learning more and more about who each member of the team was – especially with straight-laced, uptight Matthew Venn who was raised within the confines of a religious cult before he left as a young man. Matthew firmly compartmentalizes his life between work and personal, but in this book, those lines crossed several times when a number of witnesses and victims were acquainted with his husband Jonathan.

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

View all my reviews

About The Book

BREAKING NEWS Urshall United FC Owner Dies at Drew Castle

Details are sketchy at this stage, but it is believed businessman Ben Rhodes (38) was found dead in his bathroom at the king’s Scottish home by his twin brother Max, where the pair were guests at a shooting party hosted by Lord Frederick Astley (39), brother of Lady Beatrice (36). The cause of Mr. Rhodes’ death is not known, but he started receiving death threats from football fans after his controversial takeover of the club and had recently employed his own personal security.

How unlucky can a girl get? Is fate playing a cruel trick on her for boorish Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam to be the only person who can get to the snowed-in castle to investigate Ben Rhodes’s death? And with no other external resources available to him, he now needs her, her smart dog, and her best friends’ help to catch the killer. Can they put their issues behind them and work together to find the murderer before the weather improves and the perpetrator is free to leave?

Another page-turning cozy British whodunnit with a hint of humour from author Helen Golden.

Purchase Link – https://books2read.com/u/3GWBZ8

Barb’s Review

Series: A Right Royal Cozy Investigation #4
Publication Date: 5/31/23
Period: Contemporary
Number of Pages: 315

What do you call a book that has a member of the royal family, an interior designer, a popular crime writer, a gruff policeman, and the cutest little dog you’ve ever met? Delightfully entertaining, witty, engrossing, and suspenseful, that’s what. The characters are wonderfully crafted and their personal dynamic will keep you grinning – even when the going gets serious.

Lady Beatrice and Perry Juke, her business partner and best friend, have undertaken the re-design of several of the bedrooms at Drew Castle, the king’s Scottish home. Perry’s partner in life, Simon Lattimore, also agreed to accompany them as long as he could get the quiet time he needed to work on his next book. That all goes well until a death occurs – in the middle of a blizzard – where they are snowed in and totally isolated. Well, almost totally isolated. It seems Lady Bea’s frenemy, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam is visiting friends close by and is able to make the trek to the castle.

The victim is a guest at the shooting party hosted by Lady Bea’s brother, Fred – and because they are snowed in, they know the murderer has to be a member of the shooting party or one of the staff. It definitely doesn’t make anyone feel all warm and fuzzy to know they are trapped inside the castle walls with a murderer. Who among them could have wanted the young man dead?

It seems there are many reasons to want the young man dead – and more than one person at the castle who might have a reason to do it – but did they? If so, which one was it? You might be surprised – and you might not. You’ll just have to read the book to see. Of course, as always, Daisy, Lady Bea’s West Highland Terrier, sniffs out an all-important clue and helps to save the day.

While this book is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone. However, if you want to really understand the dynamic between the character and much of their backstories, you’ll want to read at least the first book in the series.

This is a witty and entertaining book filled with characters you’ll quickly come to love. You’ll also wonder if there is going to be a romantic relationship at some point between Fitzwilliam and Lady Bea. We already have one lovely romance between Perry and his partner Simon – but I’d like to see Lady Bea and Fitzwilliam find a loving relationship as well – whether it is with each other or someone else. I just simply need a romance to go along with my mystery.

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

Author Bio

Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in a small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.

I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it.

It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes

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