Elderly Dr. Bill Whitehall died in the waters of the mill at the bottom of his garden. But was he alone?
Struggling in the aftermath of her own near death experience, antique shop owner Monica Goodwood and her business partner, Erin O’Malley, dive into discovering the truth about the old curmudgeon’s demise.
As they poke and prod, the dark side of the trendy town of Coppin’s Locks is exposed. Tormented souls and secrets that won’t go away reveal people with shady histories and suspicious motives.
As they investigate the present day suspects, disturbing events from decades ago hover… entwined and tangled with the Dr.’s death.
I really enjoyed this book and its characters and the small town setting. Monica and Erin are good old-fashioned lady sleuths with that Miss Marple kind of feel to them. Looking forward to the next book in this series. Highly recommend this book to friends and family who enjoy a good old-fashioned murder mystery.
Everything pointed to this being a murder mystery set in the English countryside. All the familiar characters were there; the two elderly ladies (a double dose of Miss Marple), a doctor, a gardener, a bumbling policeman and a few potential villains. However, there were constant American references which threw me. I wasn't sure where I was. Then there were the two ladies. They weren't elderly, but their dialogue certainly suggested they were. Overall, it was a reasonably absorbing story but Agatha Christie can rest easy.
I gather that this is a first novel and Davis made a good attempt. The plot holds together, the characters are described well, perhaps a bit too 'story-book', the dialogue is a little stilted. Really, a good editor could work wonders and would be worth the effort.
The story is solid and the writing a bit overly descriptive. The biggest issue is repeated words, incorrect words and punctuation errors. It needs a good editor and then would be a very enjoyable read.
Although the premise of the story was interesting, I found the writing poor and rather juvenile. The author built no real suspense and the characters lacked depth. The book could have benefited from editing as well.
This is a light little mystery yet fun to read. Along the lines of "Murder She Wrote," the young ladies who,own the antique shop love to help,solve mysteries. As they hunt down clues, the reader is drawn into the story trying to discover where the clues lead. One thing making this different is, as a clue is discovered and a piece of the puzzle comes together, it is not entirely spelled out to the reader. While the reader pretty. Cush can figure out what happens, it reminds one of a commercial break on tv when one of the sleuths gets a clue yet it is not explained to the reader....until the end when the author wraps it all up plus gives us a wonderful look into the future of the characters.
Quite apart from the constant mistakes throughout the book due to a total lack of proofreading, this book was,I'm sorry to say, the poorest example of a detective story I've ever read. It felt like it was written by an amateur. Apparently, pieces of the puzzle kept "falling into place" but even when the crime was explained in the "big reveal" at the end nothing flowed and it was all very convenient. I shall not be bothering with any more books by this author. Sorry.
This was a quick read. I enjoyed the twists and turns that kept you turning pages. Monica and Erin have questions galore and the respect of the police, so they go about finding the murderer even though it was ruled a accident. Look forward to reading more of her books.
Like the main characters and all the other characters who "support" them. Monica has an adorable little dog called "haggis" who is always by her side helping solve mysteries. Nice book in beginning of series. Easy read, consider it a cozy mystery.
A fun cozy mystery full of twists and turns. Interesting characters and exciting explorations of history. My first by this author - will be looking out for more.
Two ladies and a dog work to solve who killed their grumpy old friend, Dr. Bill. Was an okay mystery, but really poor grammar and proofreading. Not very impressed!
A good story, hard to follow in some areas because the author gets confused with characters and their stories. But, a good editor would go a long way in helping raise the author's ability to being award-winning.