Lady Beatrice, Simon Lattimore, and Perry Juke are back at it again and totally at odds with Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam. I really enjoy these characters. Lady Bea can get a little annoying, but the banter between her, Simon, and Perry, and the friction with Fitzwilliam make up for it.
There is a celebrity cooking event being held on the grounds of Fenn House, the king’s private estate in Fenshire. Lady Bea and Perry are at the estate to refurbish several rooms of Fenn House. Sebastiano Marchetti, Bea's boyfriend, is there too, overseeing the event which features several celebrity chefs. I was not a fan of Seb in the last book and continue to feel the same way. Daisy, Bea's West Highland Terrier, doesn't like him either.
When chef Luca Mazza becomes ill after his demonstration and ends up dying, Fitzwilliam has to investigate and decide if it is accidental or murder. Of course, Bea and her friends can't help...
For Richer, For Deader is the second mystery featuring Lady Beatrice and Perry Juke, who is now her business partner. If you haven't read Spruced Up for Murder, you should go back and read it first. It will give you a better feel for the characters and for how much Lady Bea has grown over the last few months. She's a widow with a teenage son, but she's finally come out of her self-imposed isolation. She and Perry are working on an interior design project at the Lodge at Fawstead Manor. The Lodge will be the UK base for Sybil and Otis Trotman once they are married.
By now, it looks like the wedding may have to be called off. Threats are being found around the manor house, dead animals accompanied by notes demanding that the wedding stop. However, when one of the visitors is found dead, everyone realizes just how dangerous the situation is. Lady Bea and Perry decide to...
I really enjoyed Spruced Up for Murder. Lady Beatrice is a widow and now that her son has gone to boarding school, it's time for her to come out of her self-imposed isolation. Her sister, Lady Sarah, has talked her into heading up an interior decorating project at Francis Court. Sarah also gives her an assistant, Perry Juke, who has worked on the estate for years. Perry knows Lady Beatrice has a reputation for being cold and snobby, but he agrees to take on the task anyway.
And then they find a dead body in the room they're working in.
Lady Beatrice and Perry start investigating. They make a fun team, with their own styles and own ways of finding out information. It also helps that Perry's partner, Simon, is a crime writer with his own CID connections. He's also a fabulous chef. Honestly, this has all the ingredients I need in a cozy - likable characters, a cute dog, and...
A Harvest Murder is the third of the Ham Hill mysteries. It can be read as a stand-alone, but I think, like most series, you get a fuller feel for the characters if you read them in order.
We have two mysteries here. The first is the missing farmer. It's no surprise he ends up dead - the title is A Harvest Murder - but who killed him is unclear. The second mystery is who is harassing Dan, the local artist. First, one of his donkeys is kidnapped and brought back, then one of his paintings in a gallery is destroyed.
Our sleuths are Imogen, who owns the local hotel, and former detective, Adam, who owns a local bar. A lot of the scenes take place in those locations, where people gather and talk and air their suspicions. The mysteries are well done, with several clues and enough suspects to keep you guessing. The townsfolk are a typically mixed...
It took me several chapters to become invested in Diamond Geezer. It's a gangland novel and there are no characters to really like, which makes sense, they're almost all up to their necks in drugs and the crime world. That being said, it turned out to be an engrossing story.
Nick is living a double life. He's a successful lawyer with all the privileges and tokens of upper-class life. At the same time, he's deeply involved in the Glasgow crime world. The book is mostly set on an estate in Glasgow, where Nick's grandma lives. The estate is more or less ruled by a mysterious character known as “The Undertaker,” who provides drugs, food, jobs. The people of the estate, most of whom are living in poverty and addicted to one thing or another, rely on him, even if they don't know who he is. It's interesting, though. They have to look out for themselves, but there is also a...
Can I please go to Snowflake Lodge for Christmas? It's a magical place with decorations and hot chocolate and the nicest staff. There's skiing and ice skating and sleigh rides pulled by real reindeer. Jessica is there to work - she's a plumber, and to keep an eye on her grandfather. She's also escaping from her terrible renter/roommate. Honestly, I wanted to escape from Doreen too. I didn't enjoy the scenes with Doreen and her friends. She was a really awful person and I don't understand why Jessica put up with any of it.
Once Jessica decides to take the job at Snowflake Lodge, the book becomes a fun read. Grandpa is a great character, funny and adventurous, and maybe a bit of a skirt chaser. Jessica's love interest, James, is sexy and sweet. Christmas at Snowflake Lodge is part romance and part family reunion, and almost everyone gets a happy ending....
