Cidered in Sidmouth: An East Devon Cosy Mystery

by P.A. Nash

“This is Sidmouth, sir. Nobody gets murdered in Sidmouth!”Newly retired Frank and Ella Raleigh didn’t expect to be confronted with an upturned body in a cider barrel. WPC Knowle called it a tragic accident, Frank and Ella didn’t agree. Guess who was right?Welcome to East Devon, land of cider, scenery and cream teas.If you enjoy pacy whodunit cosy mysteries set in our glorious East Devon countryside, then join Frank and Ella in the Regency seaside resort of Sidmouth, as they seek to find who murdered Billy Bowd.Cidered in Sidmouth brings you coastal walks, cider farms, cliff-top drama and a traditional Golden Age denouement as Frank and Ella solve the clues to a very unusual murder in this quiet old-fashioned seaside town.A gentle cosy read in the tradition of Midsomer and the two Agathas.Book One in the East Devon Cosy Mystery series recently revised and re-edited.Treasure the walks. Uncover the clues. Solve the mystery.PA Nash has written a cosy mystery blending murder with scenic local walks and landmarks.“A very easy read ideal for holiday reading““A pleasant and easy read enhanced the lovely description of Sidmouth and the local walks. Good introduction to the characters who run through the series.”

157 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 27, 2019

About the author

PA Nash and his supportive wife moved to glorious East Devon nearly a decade ago having taken early retirement from his previous job in South East England. Not quite ready for a life of endless relaxation, PA has since dabbled as a website administrator for the South West Coast Path, an IT office assistant in a local school and a Wordpress website designer. His second cosy mystery book, The Dudleys of Budleigh, has just been published on Amazon Kindle. The first, Cidered in Sidmouth is also available on Amazon Kindle.

Reviews

[Jeremy Walton]

In the barrel
I bought this as a birthday present for my wife, and picked it up to read a day or so ago as a relief from more demanding books. It's a pleasant yarn about Frank and Ella, two retired schoolteachers who become amateur sleuths when they discover a dead body in a cider barrel. The story contains a lot of local colour, describing walks, views and shops in the town of Sidmouth. I enjoyed this, although I thought the characters, action and dialogue were less assuredly rendered. Much of the dialogue appears to end with exclamation marks and yet, when someone falls into the river on p75, she gurgles "Help, I can't swim,". And sentences like "A piercing scream hit her full in the face. Ella's shock immediately returned." [p11] look somewhat clumsy. I wondered whether some improvements might have come from more editorial attention (or more re-reading), even though the book was (apparently) published privately. Despite these issues, it's a pleasant, diverting read.

Originally reviewed 12 January 2021

[S Bligh Smith]

I was really bored reading this but I did make it all the way to the end. It was a bit like The Famous Five for adults.