When bad press is the last thing you need…

Synopsis

A failing hotel…

With its reputation in tatters, Alexi Ellis is determined to save her beloved Hopgood Hall from any more bad press. A writing course for wannabe journalists shouldn’t cause too many issues and will hopefully take the heat off Hopgood Hall….

A shocking death…

But disaster strikes, when one of the group is found dead in a local pub. What’s worse Alexi was the last person to see the victim alive, which makes her suspect number one.

A case too close to home?

Alexi is sure she is being set up but who would go to such deadly lengths? With her reputation and liberty on the line, this is a case Alexi, Jack and Cosmo can’t afford to leave unsolved!

Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Frances Evesham and Emma Davies.

My review

While Alexi Ellis hoped to help her friends with running Hopgood Hall, the past has proven the total opposite, as since Alexi arrived there have been several murders.
So Alexi truly hopes that a calm writing course for wannabe journalists will run smoothly and will give Hopgood Hall finally a positive connotation.
But then another murder happens, and it’s a member of the group Alexi is hosting. To make things even worse, Alexi is the last person to have seen the victim alive…
With her being suspect number one, Alexi is adamant to discover who the real culprit is, together with her partner Jack and loyal feral cat Cosmo. Because it’s clear that she is being set up, but who would do that? And of course there is her reputation and credibility to save!

A new story in a series that I have read from the start? Of course I have to read it! So obviously I grabbed this book, willingly entering once again in the lives of Alexi, Jack and Cosmo.

I have to admit though, I could understand some side characters in the book, as they see Alexi as a bad omen somehow. Because let’s be honest, for a quiet and calm place, there have been weirdly many murders, and it all started since Alexi arrived.
And I really wanted her to have at least one successful event, so that everyone wary would see that in fact she is an asset and not the complete opposite.

Another thing I have to admit, is that I didn’t really have an sympathy for the victim. Of course he didn’t deserve what happened to him, but his behavior beforehand made me really like him. I found him annoying, pushy and opinionated.
But again, no matter how much I disliked him, I never wanted him dead.

In this book I truly felt sorry for Alexi and those around her. Because this time, she is the prime suspect.
Yet I also admired our beloved friends, as they know that there is not only a murderer out there, but also someone trying to set Alexi up. Alexi finds herself surrounded with people (and once again an amazing Cosmo! J) who stand by her side and are ready to find proof of her innocence.

Obviously this remains a cozy mystery, so there still are plenty of moments of lightness, sweetness and even laughter.
And I liked it how once again 2 mysteries, the big one concerning the murder and a lighter one, regarding a disappearance, somehow were linked.

Yet there were also a few characters that by the end of the book only had my disapproval. I can try to understand their reasoning, but the way they handled things were so wrong in many ways… It shows us just how far people would go to get what they want, some further than others and with not an inch of regret or remorse…

I truly enjoyed returning to Hopgood Hall, even if I knew that there would be lurking a murder around the corners once again.
But that fact didn’t diminish any of my joy to read this book, with characters that I love more and more, who show us what friendship means, what resilience means, what determination means and what righteousness and the importance of the truth means.
And I absolutely liked it how no matter how many dark clouds seem to appear, all the right kinds of love keep on prevailing above everything!