Murder at the Well

Sophie Sayers #4

by Debbie Young

While Sophie and her friends celebrate Valentine's Night in The Bluebird, a dead body plummets to the bottom of the village well - and nobody hears it fall.

In this close-knit community where everyone knows each other's business, is it possible for anyone to get away with murder?

Sophie's about to find out - and to discover some extraordinary secrets about her boyfriend Hector and his family along the way.

Colourful new characters join the regular Wendlebury cast in this cozy mystery.

Previously published by Debbie Young as Murder by the Book.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Romance, Cozy, Fiction, British Literature

212 pages, Paperback

Published December 14, 2022

About the author

Hello dear readers!

I hope you will enjoy my warm, witty, feel-good contemporary fiction, full of English humour and heart, inspired by life in the Cotswold village which has been my home for over 30 years. I have three series of cozy mystery novels, a new standalone mystery, plus various short fiction, and I've written a couple of non-fiction books too.

NOVELS

My latest book is "The Importance of Being Murdered", which launches on 26th March 2026.

In my Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mystery series, which begins with "Death at the Old Curiosity Shop", moving from the city to the lively Cotswold village of Little Pride, Alice Carroll (50) discovers that nothing is quite what it seems in her new business enterprise. Each novel in this series has at its heart an intriguing item to be found in her bric-a-brac shop, and features eccentric characters, plenty of red herrings and lots of English humour.

My Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series begins with "Best Murder in Show". Originally envisaged as a seven-book series to run the course of a calendar year in the life of the idyllic English Cotswold village of Wendlebury Barrow, it continues to grow, with the most recent addition being Sophie Sayers' ninth outing, "Driven to Murder",

My Gemma Lamb Cozy Mystery series is a mashup of romantic comedy, gentle mystery and nostalgia for classic children's school stories but aimed at adults. It focuses on the intrigues among the teachers and visitors to the school, rather than the children. "Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's" (previously published as "Secrets at St Bride's"), and is followed by "Sinister Secrets at St Bride's" (formerly "Secrets at St Bride's"), Wicked Whispers at St Bride's", and "Artful Antics at St Bride's". Two further books will follow to complete the series of six, running the course of the academic year at St Bride's Boarding School for Girls.

All of my novels are now available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audio in English. There are also German language editions of Sophie Sayers' adventures and Italian translations of Gemma Lamb's.

SHORT FICTION

My series of comedy mystery novelettes, Tales from Wendlebury Barrow, is set in the same world as the Sophie Sayers Cozy Mysteries. The first, "The Pride of Peacocks", is available exclusively to members of my Readers' Club (visit my author website to claim your copy). "The Natter of Knitters" and "The Clutch of Eggs" are available in ebook and paperback. A Christmas special, "Christmas with Sophie Sayers", featuring festive short stories set in the same world, was published for Christmas 2023. Three more Sophie Sayers short stories appear in the charity anthologies, "Fate", "Everyday Kindness" and "The Little Shop of Murders". Look out for another one in the "Courage" anthology, coming in 2026!

My standalone novella, "Mrs Morris Changes Lanes", is a second-chance mid-life romantic comedy with a touch of magical realism, set in the Cotswolds in spring,

Earlier in my career, I published three themed collections of short stories, "Stocking Fillers", "Marry in Haste", and "Quick Change".

PLAYS

I've also now started writing scripts for murder mystery events, My debut play, "The Importance of Being Murdered", was premiered by Hawkesbury Drama Group in April 2025 ,and I've now turned it into a novel. My second play, "Murder at the Office", will be premiered by Hawkesbury Drama Group in April 2026. I plan to publish both play scripts for amateur drama groups to enjoy all over the world.

AWARDS

The first St Bride's novel was shortlisted for the 2020 Selfies Award given for the best independently-published fiction in the UK. The sixth Sophie Sayers novel was shortlisted for the same award in 2021. My short story "The Alchemy of Chocolate", from "Quick Change", was a winning entrant to the April 2015 Stroud Short Stories competition, and as a result I was later invited to read it at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

FREE EBOOK

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Reviews

[Monica Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was lovely to catch up with Sophie again, as well as the other interesting characters in the village. I still wish I could live in a village something like this :)

There is a death which has quietly occurred in the village and at first no-one knows who the dead body is, and certainly no-one has a clue as to whether or not it was an accident or murder. There is also some speculation about who Hermione Minty actually is. The parts of the book involving Tommy are hilarious!

I have to say, as nice as it is to get back to Wendlebury Barrow, this was the kind of easy read by the pool book and if that is all you are looking for, excellent. I was hoping for a little more depth and I feel like Sophie and Hector are pretty much having a good friendship at this point, there doesn't seem to be any kind of spark between them at all. I hope that this changes in the next book, I know that this series of books is "cosy" but a little bit of affection between them would be good :)

I have rated this book 3.5. Looking forward to reading the next one.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little cozy mystery set in the Cotswolds. I hadn't read the previous books in the series, but I didn't feel lost. It's definitely a cozy on the squeaky clean side. I almost wondered if Sophie's relationship with her boyfriend was just a friendship. Still, there was a nice community feel to this. Not a big mystery, but a fun read.

[Fanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

[Les Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book but nothing noteworthy. Still worth reading.

[Jean Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

As nice as a cocoa rush
I usually read high-adrenaline books that keep me awake all night thinking about them but I’m always willing to adventure into a new genre when a book is highly recommended – and I’ve heard so many good things about this popular British series that I thought I’d risk a walk on the tame side.
If the other books in the series are as well-written as this, the praise is deserved. The old-fashioned little English village in the Cotswolds is beautifully created and you want to help stack the shelves in the bookshops with our heroine Sophie, so convincing are the details. The secret other life of Sophie’s boss and boyfriend, Hector, creates an ongoing farcical plot and the humour is gentle. I stole the ‘cocoa rush’ image from one of the witty chapter headings. Bad things have happened to the nice people in the village but they are touched on lightly and are in the past. Bad people in the present get their come-uppance. I can really see the attraction of a world like this, where neighbours look out for each other and worries work out fine in the end.
If you want to de-stress in a rural English village, with nice people, drinking tea and gossiping about the neighbours, this is the perfect book for bedtime reading. Delivers exactly what it says on the (cocoa) tin – a cosy read!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know this was a series. It worked ok as a standalone. I listened to the audiobook on Libby, it was a 5 hour long read. Only in the last 20 minutes of the story did the dead body appear, and the entire "murder" solved. There wasn't really any hint of foul play until that point.

[T.E. Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I think of cosy/village mysteries I think of the 'lighter' Miss Marples, or an episode of Bergerac or Death in Paradise. What all of these mysteries have in common is that all feature a murder (and often several of them). None of them are dark, psychological thrillers, but all of them have death at the heart of them. Even Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Whimsy books have murders attached, and Sophie Sayers, the heroine of Debbie Young's Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries is named after those books.

Debbie Young admits herself that she is a reluctant murder (something that her husband and daughter must feel reassured to know!!), and this book, like the previous books in the series are light on murder. Even so, the way that she works plot with the threat of murder shows us that she is a master of story plotting and of weaving intrigue. Murder looks to be around the corner throughout and so you do find yourself approaching the, short, chapters nervous that someone is going to wind up dead by the end of it.

Like it's predecessors, Murder by the the Book, is more a story of rural village life in the Cotswolds with all of the characters and traditions you would expect to find. This book is all of that, and I think even more of an autobiography of Debbie's. Set more in Hector's House bookshop than any of the others, this is the book that deals - alongside the murder and the intrigue - of publishing, bookselling, Indie Author careers, and even, towards the end a wonderfully self-referential plug for the town on which Wendelebury Barrow based, and Debbie Young's very much real, Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival.

I won't say if there is a murder in this book, but suffice it to say that it is a story that keeps you guessing right up until the bitter end.

[Kirsty (BookBlogger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder at the Well by Debbie Young

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

While Sophie and her friends celebrate Valentine's Night in The Bluebird, a dead body plummets to the bottom of the village well - and nobody hears it fall.

In this close-knit community where everyone knows each other's business, is it possible for anyone to get away with murder?

Sophie's about to find out - and to discover some extraordinary secrets about her boyfriend Hector and his family along the way.

Colourful new characters join the regular Wendlebury cast in this cozy mystery.

This has previously been released as Murder by the Book.

My Opinion

It was lovely to catch up with Sophie. This is a nice, quick cosy mystery with some very entertaining characters. I am reading this series out of order so I can confirm that it is possible to read this as a standalone. The murder happens relatively late in the book but there is a lot going on so it doesn't spoil the enjoyment.

Rating 4/5

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy cozy mysteries but this one feels a little misleading. This is the fourth in the a series and I easily felt caught up with the characters and what is happening. Sophie Sayers lives in a small Cotswold village in a house she inherits from her aunt. Her boyfriend Hector owns a bookshop and coffee shop where she works. He supplements his income by writing popular romances under a female pseudonym. Most of the book is cute happenings in the village, planning for a Valentines event and meeting his family. The characters are all fine but I don’t think it is much of a mystery if there isn’t a body until almost the 90 percent point. And then everything resolves literally within minutes. I’d say this is more of a character and village story. I listened to the audiobook and at just over five hours it is a quick listen. It isn’t a bad story but it isn’t really a mystery either. Not sure how it compare to others in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the audio book in exchange for an honest review.

[Meghan C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophia Sayers lives in a small village in a house she inherited from her aunt. She works at the bookshop that her boyfriend, Hector, owns. Hector also writes popular romances under a female pseudonym. The book focuses on their relationship and the Valentine’s Day events that the village host.

The story was a light and fun cozy mystery. I did not realize this book was part of a series, so I listened to this book as a standalone. The plot was very slow and lacked any excitement. I was expecting a murder mystery, but nothing happens until the last 10% of the book. I felt the title was misleading, but the book was still an easy and light read to listen to at work. Mary Woodvine did a great job narrating the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for giving me a copy of the audiobook.

[Dawn Brookes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What better way to spend a summer afternoon than curled up with a Sophie Sayers story. Light, easy reading with the usual characters from the village plus a few spanners thrown into the works. Sophie and Hector have their first spat and Hermione Minty novels play their part. There was a subtle mention of the Hawkesbury Upton Lit Fest - a real annual event founded by the author put in too. A pleasant read for a relaxing afternoon. This quirky series is slow-paced fun, akin to Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series rather than the No. 1 Ladies detective ones. There are lots of wonderfully colourful characters and descriptions, with a hint of murder.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth in the series and I’ve been an avid reader of the other three, so was excited to start this one.

I’ve grown to get to know the characters, the community and couldn’t wait to return to see how things were progressing. Sophie has been such an endearing character and her budding relationship with Hector has made for an addicting read. I loved them both in this and they were both certainly being tested but definitely rose to the challenge…

I really enjoyed the plot and story of this one. It was certainly different and pleasantly not what I was expecting. I enjoyed the direction it went in and it was such an easy and enjoyable listen.

I pretty much listened to it in one sitting and was surprised at how much it flew by! The narrator was super easy to listen to and made slipping into this story effortless. It certainly is a cozy mystery and I can’t wait for more to (hopefully) follow.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an audiobook copy on NetGalley in return for my honest thoughts and review.

[Sanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I read in this series (maybe that altered my reading experience, and that's on me) but this book just... exists. Nothing happens. There's not much mystery going on. We build up to something that isn't there. The characters were enjoyable, and that was the cozy part about it, but the mystery part wasn't there for me.

It was an easy listen though, as an audiobook, and a decent way to spend my time while I'm on my commute to work. But again, really nothing to write home about. I might give one of the other books in the serie a try in the future, but I'm not too sure about it.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead
I haven't read many cozy mysteries and thought I'd give this one a go. I liked the characters and I enjoyed the writing, but it wasn't really a mystery to my way of thinking, someone goes down a well on page one but we never get to that until the final chapters, the story itself was more of a very light romance. When we do get back to the body in the well it was simply an accident, so the title Murder by the Book is reather misleading. That said, on a cold, rainy afternoon I would try another book by Debbie Young.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 4th book in a lovely cozy mystery series set in a small English town in the Cotswolds. I'd read the first 3 books some time ago, but it didn't take me long to acquaint myself with the characters.

I loved coming back to Sophie, Hector (her boyfriend and owner of the bookshop where she works) and the eclectic array of characters in the village.

It's Valentine's Day and Sophie is trying to arrange a romantic dinner at the pub for her and Hector. When someone is found in the well in the pub garden, Sophie gets involved in finding the killer.

Local teen Tommy was given a Detective kit for Christmas and he is determined to find clues, clues for anything, and he's determined to find out the real identity of his Mum's favourite author, not knowing the person is nearer to him than he thinks!

These books are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and series. An enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next book in this delightful cozy mystery series.

[Baylee]

thank you to net galley and saga egmont audio for the advance audiobook copy of Murder at the Well by Debbie Young. I don't normally go for mysteries but this was very good. it isnt about a literal murder, it is a book a book seller and a mysterious author hermione minty. know one knows her but they love her romance novels. our main character finds out who the author is behind the pen name and the ensuing trials that come with keeping the information hidden. it was a very cute story.

[Gea · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read as Murder at the Well) Another warm and witty read featuring Sophie, Hector and many other favourite inhabitants of Wendlebury Barrow. Many secrets come to light in this book, and romance is on the menu at a special Valentine’s Day event at the Bluebird pub.

[Autumn Brimm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder at the Well was a quick and cozy book. I listened to this audiobook in one sitting. The characters were all very unique and had such deep backgrounds. I loved getting to know them. The plot was slow and relaxed, perfect for those days when you can't handle something very intense. I will say that the synopsis of the book lead me to believe this would be a murder mystery, but that aspect of the story was severely lacking. I would have liked that to be a bigger part of the plot. But regardless this was a cute, cozy read and I'd recommend it to all cozy mystery lovers.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a cozy murder mystery, but apart from the first couple of sentences in the book and the very end, there was no mention of the murder, it was simply a nice tale about a village shop and its customers. Very misleading but an enjoyable read all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

[CoCo 🇬🇭 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Egmond audio for this audio.

This was cozy alright but it wasn't what I was expecting. I didnt really get any mystery at all. The murder at the well happened just later in book and the "case" was solved in a few.

2.75⭐️

[Kaija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lukijana Mary Woodvine.
Mukavaa kuunneltavaa. Kirjassa keskityttiin kuvaamaan Sophien ja Hectorin yhteiselia. Myös kylän muita asukkaita esiteltiin. Muutama hauska ja nokkela hetki kirjassa oli myös, vaikka suurin osa olikin melko tasapaksua arjen kuvaamista.

[Mrs E Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous

These books are absolutely fantastic and the story's are really well written and enjoyable to read the characters are really well written .

[STEVEN WALLACE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minty Mystery

Minty fever reaches the village along with an unwanted face from the past. Tommy is there to save the day once again. Off to read the next adventure

[Richelle Starke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much in the way of mystery or plot, but nice to see what the characters are up to.

[Lynda French · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because it's still an enjoyable read but this book claiming to be "a gripping cozy murder mystery for 2023" is a reprint of "Murder by the Book" with a new title.

It does mention that it's Book 4 but I didn't notice that, I only saw "2023". However I read this on Kindle Unlimited so I didn't pay for the book twice and it's still a good read.

[Bookish Venturess · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cute mystery. However, the murder at the well doesn't happen until the last little bit of the book. It is a decent book. It's a cozy read. I don't see it as a mystery.

[Eleanor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately not a murder mystery. Murder is solved a few pages after being discovered at the end.

[Dana Meakin-Bain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I wasn't overly excited by the mystery plot in this one. I did, however, enjoy getting more backstories of the lives of the villagers.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this one .

[Mare Dannenburg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was expecting a murder book so it was kind of disappointing... It is a cute and wholesome village though