Louise Marley – Carol's Notebook

Murder at Raven’s Gate by Louise Marley

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I thoroughly enjoy this series. Raven's Edge is a village that has a leaned into its past and maybe embellished it a bit. It leans into the spooky, and witchy, and ghostly. We've got two mysteries this time around. A "ghost" has been haunting Blackheath Hall, where two older sisters, Lady Peony and Rose, live. Lady Peony is far from a scared, little old lady. She knows fully well that the knocking is not really a ghost, but someone trying to scare them out of the house. She hires Kieran Drake to figure out who is behind it, so he and Milla Graham have set up shop at the hall to keep watch. In the meantime and not too far away, DS Harriet March's date with Misha from the coffee shop, is cut short when, while on a ghost tour, they find a dead body in a shallow grave. I like that Harriet was leading the investigation this time around,...

Murder at Castle Vyne by Louise Marley

July 21, 2025July 28, 2025 by Carol2 Comments

Fourteen years ago Natalie Grove found her older sister, Sarah, dead in a lily pond at Castle Vyne. The murderer was never caught and now Natalie, a best-selling author, has written a book based on the mystery. She wants to find the truth about what happened to Sarah. If you've read and enjoyed Marley's other English Village Mysteries, this one, while it takes place in the same area, happens before the other book and features different characters. I thought I might find that disappointing, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The new characters are fully developed, if not all that likeable, and the setting still feels like a claustrophobic small town. Natalie has certainly stirred a hornet's nest by redrawing attention to her sister's death. There are so many twists here. The town, her friends, her family are all holding on to major secrets, and just when you have some idea of what's going on, there's another surprise. It kept me...

Murder at Raven’s Hollow by Louise Marley

January 12, 2025January 13, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I love visiting Raven’s Edge, a lovely English village that leans into its history and folklore. The series is a bit cozy, a bit police procedural, and a bit Gothic. This time around, DS Harriet March and DI Ben Taylor are called in when a skeleton is discovered behind the florists. Actually, Harriet is already on the scene- she rents the apartment upstairs. Of course, the discovery leads to the reopening of a cold case involving a man who was reported missing over 25 years ago. At the same time, Iris Evergreen, a novelist with a mysterious past, has moved into Raven’s Hollow, a fascinating old mansion, and is asking questions around town about a photo of a man she found in her dead mother's belongings. Murder at Raven's Hollow focuses on Harriet. The case is intricately connected Harriet's past and her family and what she has always believed about her father. But Iris too is connected. We get glimpses of...

Murder at Ravenswood House by Louise Marley

May 13, 2024May 12, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

We first met Milla Graham and DI Ben Taylor in Murder a Raven's Edge and saw the beginnings of their rather complicated relationship. So we're not surprised that at the beginning of Murder at Ravenswood House, Milla is meeting a friend/ex-boyfriend, rockstar Lorcan Black, in the evening at his house without letting Ben know. And when she runs into a problem, it's not Ben she turns to but rather PI Kieran Drake to help clean up the mess. But when a woman's headless body is found in the pond and Lorcan is discovered asleep on a crypt covered in blood, it will be tough to keep anything secret. This time around Ben's family and history are at the forefront. Ben has tried for years to distance himself from his rather notorious family, but this case is bringing them all back together. I love the characters, Ben, of course, is dealing with his own past while trying to figure out what's going...

Murder at Raven’s Edge by Louise Marley

May 9, 2024May 2, 2024 by Carol1 Comment

I truly enjoyed Murder at Raven's Edge. Milla Graham has returned to her childhood home for reasons of her own. At the same time, Inspector Ben Graham has a case which may be linked to the death of Milla's mother, Rosemary, 18 years ago. But is Milla really Milla Graham? Milla was presumed to have died in a fire the same night her mother was killed. Things get more complicated when Ben realizes he ight be falling in love with Milla, who lies as easily as breathing but is so likeable. She's a member of a wealthy family but feels very much alone. Ben is a divorced cop who doesn't always play by the rules, but is also uncomfortable straying too far from them. He's also very competent at his job and has learned when to trust his instincts. The setting was interesting. It's a quirky, small English town, but this one leans into its witchy history. The book just worked really...