When an inhabitant of Britain’s safest village suddenly dies, could it be actual murder?

Synopsis

Bob and Shirley run a lovely country pub. They also solve murders …

A warmly funny, gloriously British cozy crime and murder mystery series that can be read as standalones or part of a series. Set in a village where the pub is the heart of country life and served with warmth, wit and a very good Sunday roast.

“Murder? In our quiet, little English village?

Great Oakley is a place of hanging baskets, tearooms and riverside walks. We’ve won ‘Britain’s safest village’ 10 years running. I keep three pound coins, a box of toffees and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol on my dashboard at all times, and I’ve never needed to lock my car.

Certainly, Bevvy Hogg was disliked. She ran the local Waist Watchers group, yet came to our pub for fish and chips, treacle tart and a bottle of Chardonnay every Friday. But I don’t think she was murdered …”

When Bevvy Hogg is found dead in the Goose and Gander pub garden, with an empty treacle tart plate beside her and several dress sizes slimmer than anyone remembers, Great Oakley’s winning streak as Britain’s safest village comes to an abrupt end.

My review

If there is something that the community of Great Oakley is proud of, is that for 10 years they have won the prize of ‘Britain’s safest village’. Bob and Shirley run together the Goose and Gander pub, a place where everyone is welcome. Even people that perhaps aren’t all that well liked, people like Bevvy Hogg. So when Bevvy is found dead in the pub garden, with an empty treacle tart plate and much slimmer than she ever was, Bob and Shirley both believe that the impossible has happened in their village: an actual murder! Even when the police closes the case as a naturel death, Bob and Shirley are not ready to just agree with that claim. And they start their own investigation, with possible suspects, motives and ways that Bevvy could have been murdered….

Normally, cozy mysteries aren’t my go – to books, as I am more a romantic person at heart. But there are moments where I do need a murder but not the heaviness that brings a thriller. And if an author that I know, writes a cozy mystery, of course I want to read it! And that is how I found myself reading this guide to murder.

Now, there is one thing that took me some time to get used to, being the writing style. The story switches between Bob and Shirley, sometimes with short chapters. We read their thoughts about the events in their village, but also the thoughts about the conversations they have between them.

Yet in a way that is also the charm and the fun in this book. Because even if a murder has taken place, reading how 2 married characters think about the incident, how they think differently about things, how they think alike about things and how they also think about each other at moments 😊.

How often do we think badly about a person we dislike? And perhaps we even think that Karma should be a… and that the person should have something bad happening to them. But of course there is a different thing thinking about it in the heat of the moment, and actually have that person going through that.

Bevvy for sure isn’t the most popular person in the village, as she ran the local Waist Watchers, but was being a hypocrite by going to the pub for fish and chips… And her sudden weight loss, mainly discovered after her death, raises several eyebrows. But that doesn’t mean she truly deserved to die on her own in the pub garden…

I also believe that if the incident would have taken place somewhere else in the village, Bob and Shirley would have found a way to interfere. That is just the kind of people they are 😊.

Now, even if it is a cozy mystery, I for sure was also intrigued by what truly had happened  to Bevvy and if she was truly murdered, and more important, who did it?

In a small village, it is also a fact that there aren’t a million of suspects. So that that specific list rather short. A list where Bob and Shirley add people to, delete people from after their ‘serious’ investigation.

While both Bob and Shirley are determined to discover the actual truth, perhaps they are bit reckless and too intrusive too. Of course we know they do it with the best intentions, but perhaps they should think twice about accusing loudly and publicly people 😊.

It also needs to be said, that I admire their loyalty and their unwavering friendship and love. Even when there are many indications towards someone close to them, they do not hesitate to put their trust and faith in that person. Yet that doesn’t take away they are still following every lead.

As of course not only Bob and Shirley make hilarious blunders in this book, this was a very light and entertaining book to read. While perhaps initially I wouldn’t put my trust in these two as investigators, you cannot ignore their passion, fire and determination to uncover the truth and unmask the real murderer!

And there is a giveaway!

Giveaway to Win an e-copy of  Bob and Shirley’s Killer Cuppa Puzzle (Open INT)

One of Great Oakley’s five open gardens served poisoned tea. Can you work out which one before Bob does?

‘Like Murdle and a cozy mystery rolled into one.’

Murder mystery logic puzzle stories for fans of The Killer Isn’t Alice, Murdle and Can You Solve the Murder?

These are ‘Puzzlories’. Read them like stories, solve them like puzzles. Each one takes about an hour to read and solve.

It’s Open Gardens weekend in Great Oakley. Five gardeners have opened their gardens to the public, and each is offering a unique drink, cake, flower and interesting garden feature to their fellow villagers.

Unfortunately, one garden owner poured poisoned tea. Probably not on purpose. But you never know. There are more murders in Britain’s safest village than you might imagine.

Village pub landlady Shirley Duffy visited all five open gardens before returning to the Goose and Gander for a much-needed beer and a sit down. One of those five gardens was the scene of the crime.

The trouble is, Shirley’s memory is known to be … selective. She can remember every cake she’s eaten since 1987, but not necessarily when and where she ate it. And she can’t remember which garden served tea on Saturday afternoon.

Shirley’s husband, Bob, is frustrated that Shirley can’t remember one garden from another. But he finds many things about his wife frustrating, and loves her anyway.

As Bob presses Shirley for details, the clues pile up. Your job is to note them down and work out who served the tea before Bob does.

Twenty clues, one in every short chapter. Fill in your detective’s grid, cross off your suspects and name the poisoner.

Grab your notebook, put the kettle on (carefully) and see if you can beat Bob to the answer.

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

https://gleam.io/sR8sl/win-an-e-copy-of-bob-and-shirleys-killer-cuppa-puzzle-open-int