From Devon With Death

Devon Mysteries #3

by Stephanie Austin

When Juno Browne finds a life-sized effigy floating in the River Ashburn, a note attached claims it as the work of Cutty Dyer, Ashburton’s mythical blood-drinking demon. But despite Juno’s instinct that this is a sign of trouble ahead, the police dismiss her find as a practical joke. Then the body of a woman is discovered by the river and it becomes clear that a killer has taken on Cutty’s identity.

But as suspicion falls on someone close to her, Juno finds herself drawn into solving the mystery, desperate to prove her friend’s innocence. As the rain falls steadily and the level of the River Ashburn continues to rise, Juno must unmask the real identity of Cutty Dyer, or risk being swept away on a murderous tide.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, British Literature

352 pages, Hardcover

Published May 21, 2020

Reviews

[Charlotte Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this rate the town of Ashburton is turning out to be one of the most dangerous places to live in the country especially as there is a serial killer on the loose, thank goodness its only fictional. I have really enjoyed this latest instalment in the Juno Browne series and can't wait to read the next one which is coming out in the summer.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid installment in the Juno Browne Devon mystery series!
I was still very invested in this one, I really wanted to know who the murderer was and how they connected together, but I didn't get close to guessing until a few pages before the actual reveal.

Juno is once again on top form - funny, sarcastic, intelligent but also someone I'd absolutely be friends with. She definitely seems less involved in the mystery this time, less tied to at least the first couple of victims.
I do enjoy everyone making jokes about how she keeps finding bodies though, it did make me laugh. I also liked seeing her friendships develop more, and the whole town really does feel familiar and alive.

I'm a little unsure about the budding romance between her and Daniel, partly because her last couple of romances didn't go anywhere so I don't want to get invested, but also because he still seems to be grieving the death of his wife the previous year, and that's an emotional minefield I'm not sure I want to read through.

I did enjoy the descriptions of the moors, we got a lot more of it this time, especially some of the tors and the moors.
I liked seeing everyone return too, and them all being determined to look after Juno when she came out of hospital, which was very cute.
Chloe Berkley-Smythe was a great introduction, and really reminded me of one of my aunts which was fun.

Looking forward to the next read, although how many more people in Ashburton can lose before becoming a ghost town remains to be seen.

[Alayne Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read in this fascinating series. I love all the characters and the way everyone seems to pull together even though the village seems to have a lot of murders a dangerous place to live.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars From Devon with Death is the third book in the Juno Browne series and I felt this was another good read. The plot starts with Juno discovering a body in the river trapped under a bridge in Ashburton but fortunately this turns out to be a rather macabre manikin created to look like the victim of Cutty Dyer a figure from legend in Ashburton's history. However, when a further real body is found in very similar circumstances Juno is warned away from getting herself involved in another risky police investigation. Unlike the previous two books this one really did feel that Juno left the investigating to the police this time, but that does not mean that she wasn't coming across situations in her normal everyday life, and although she didn't seem to be at the same level of risk she was still the catalyst by which the reader was introduced some very interesting and potentially suspicious characters: Jessie Mole the village gossip and trouble stirrer, Daniel Thorncroft, who has recently become a widower and inherited a dilapidated and isolated farmhouse on the moor and Meredith Swan who opens a new pretentious art gallery.

I love the use of the local legend of Cutty Dyer which gave more colour to the real community that is Ashburton. This plot flowed along like the river through the village without anything being forced by Juno getting in to dangerous scrapes to ferret out clues and I think this is my favourite in the series so far. Really enjoyable read where the reader is now getting familiar with the returning characters and beginning to feel part of the community.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the 3rd in the series. Juno is a great character and I look forward to seeing her develop

[Brit Andrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having never read this author before I’m coming into this series starting with the 3rd book though I don’t think it’s necessary to have read the other two books to read this one. It would likely just give more backstory on the whole lot of side characters and how they came to be in Juno’s life, but of course I’m guessing at that one.

The story...
Juno Browne helps some little girls by the river and finds some creepy straw person with a postcard on it mimicking some local legend. Some time later she discovers a body seemingly also tied up to this old story. Obviously some mythical killer isn’t doing this but who could it he? As the bodies start piling up and the investigation going nowhere Juno somehow often ends up in the middle of things finding bodies and being connected to various incidents. But since we know Juno isn’t the killer who could it be? The absentminded stranger? The eccentric couple who just moved to town? The young ex-convict who is trying to start his life over? Or is it someone else? Someone you might never suspect?

To be honest the story was just kind of ok neither good nor bad. There were so many people in it though that I didn’t know who most of them were the next time they were mentioned. What bothered me so much though was that when Juno thought she knew who the killer was and then when she knew for certain instead of calling the cops or telling a friend she believed the best thing to do was meet this person so that she could nearly end up dead? She had the personal numbers of detectives on the case and yet that was smart? Up until that point it was fine but that’s some serious too stupid to live stuff.
I watch a lot hallmark mystery movies and it’s basically like one of those though I didn’t find her as nosey and in other people’s business as much as the people I’m those movies. For the most part she was just going about her life doing what she needed to and things were just happening she wasn’t going looking for trouble. Until the moment she got the clues that made her think she knew who the killer was the book was fine. After that it was just ridiculous. And the killer was just kind of annoying, one of the murders seemed almost justified and if said person had stopped there nobody would have ever known anything. Nobody suspected this person at all so it was all so pointless.

I had considered going back to read the other books at the beginning of the series as I only began at the 3rd book because I received it from Netgalley. But with the way this ended I don’t care enough to do so.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An atmospheric read with a whisper of an intertwined Cutty Dyer myth, this fun cozy book takes place in an English town where secrets pile up. Many suspects to choose from to boot!

Juno, a spunky young woman who has inherited an antiques shop, happens upon a creepy body in the water, but it's not a real body. Yet. She has the misfortune to happen upon bodies (see other books in the series) so she is no stranger to them. She investigates and is deeply chagrined when someone she is close to is implicated. Her determination takes her through twisty turns to the end.

Cozy mystery readers, this was a fabulous chilly October day (-10C) read. Fun any season, of course, but I'm sort of a seasonal reader (story set in winter).

My sincere thank you to Allison & Busby and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this delightful book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m absolutely loving this series. Real cosy crime, in the style of Christie and the 1930s genre, but brought right up to date. The Dartmoor setting is as a character as the human ones in these novels, with its windswept landscape interrupted by craggy tors. I’ve begun to feel like these characters are personal friends, so much have I warmed to them. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve visited Ashburton several times, and holiday annually on the English Riviera, so many of the geographical references are familiar to me and I can conjure the places in my mind. Yes, there is idealism, yes, some of the plot needs you to suspend reality a bit, yes, possibly the murderer is predictable (but not always, plenty of plausible red-herrings), but, all in all, these stories are good, old-fashioned entertaining easy reading. I wish there were more like this these days. Can’t wait to read the next in the series.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cozy mystery takes place in the picturesque town of Ashburton in southwest England. The village, full of antique shops, is a place where everyone thinks there are no secrets. This, of course, is not true.

Juno Browne, owner of one of the antique shops, discovers what she thinks is a dead body floating in the river. It’s not a body but an effigy carefully crafted to look human. There is a card pinned to it that reads “Cutty Dyer Dun This”. Naturally, the police do not take this seriously as Cutty Dyer is a local legend, a troll who lives under a bridge. Juno goes on with her daily routines, meets a handsome widower who is new to town, and plans to attend the annual Spring Ball. But then there’s another murder, also blamed on Mr. Dyer and Juno has to use her detective skills to try to prevent more killings.

From Devon with Death is the third in a series but works well as a standalone mystery. Juno Browne reminds me of a younger Jessica Fletcher from “Murder She Wrote” and Ashburton is so well described that you want to visit. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Allison & Busby and Stephanie Austin for this ARC.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's the third in the series and I can't wait to read the other two. Juno lives in the small Dartmoor town of Ashburton and it would appear that she always seems to be involved in local murder cases. One day she encounters two young children paddling in a river who start to panic when they find an effigy of a murdered victim with it's throat slit and a Devon postcard attached quoting words from the local mythical blood drinking demon "Cutty Dyer". She assumes that it's someones idea of a joke, but contacts the local police who ridicule her finding.
However when a real murder is committed in the same way, the police suddenly decide to take the matter seriously. As more murders occur the local people become scared and wonder who will be next.
Juno has her own business, dog walking, housework etc and has been left a small antiques centre which is hardly making any money. She has lots of friends that are all great characters, especially the dramatic Chloe who spends three quarters of her life crusing and has to keep laying down due to all the stress!
It's a good easy read and it's not easy to guess who the murderer is,but the story flows along nicely with a brilliant cliff hanger of an ending.

[Lorne Strachan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in a series of cozy mysteries by Stephanie Austin. I don’t know if Austin herself describes them as ‘cozies’ but reviewers do and this book certainly has many of the expected cozy elements. Many reviewers use the word with a pejorative edge but I don’t. I love a good cozy and this one was so good that I immediately went looking for the rest of the Juno Browne series.

Juno finds a life-sized effigy floating in the River Ashburn with a note attached to it claiming it as the work of Cutty Dyer, Ashburton’s mythical blood-drinking demon. She reports it to the police who dismiss it as a practical joke. Shortly after this Juno discovers the body of a woman near the river bearing a similar note.

Juno has an uncomfortable relationship with the police because of an earlier case and when they dismiss her concerns and suspect someone close to her, she starts her own investigations. The book has a cast of pleasant and eccentric townspeople, throws in a hint of potential romance and offers a happy ending.

Some will scoff and write off the whole series as silly nonsense but I enjoyed it. The Dartmoor atmosphere could have been a bit better but the village characters compensate for missing elements. For what it’s worth, I really didn’t see the ending coming until very close to the end.

[NickeySummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another jolly little murder story from Stephanie Austin! Juno is the new miss Marple without the big reveal to a room full of suspects bit, and she does get herself into all sorts of silly scrapes whilst she sleuths, which can be infuriating for the reader, however she’s a great character as are all the folk in these books. Morris and Ricky are Devine, I feel sorry for Pat, who is disheveled and just trying to do the right thing by the animals, Sophie needs to improve her marketing skills as an artist and all the older folk in the book are perfect as they are! How Juno makes ends meet is beyond me, but I like the fact that she’s struggling as many of us do, working several jobs. And now a possible love interest is in the mix, wonderful! I’ve the next book lined up…. Enjoy!
PS Pat’s nephew was a well thought through character, that piece of story line was nicely handled, I did shed tears, but that’s understandable.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story had some well-rounded main characters, a very realistic setting (convincingly Devonian) and a fairly good mystery without being too creepy or gory. Minus points for having too many unusual names (Juno, Verbena, Meredith, Digby etc), for the heroine making the classic dumb heroine decision to meet a suspected murderer alone in an isolated location and for having a GP receptionist who blithely shares confidential patient information with her friends as if it's a totally normal thing to do!

I think I would have appreciated the story more if I'd read earlier ones in the series. There were a lot of cryptic comments about Juno's past life which were never really explained and which I found quite distracting - I assume all this would have been clear to those who had read the series from the start.

[Roxanne Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Domestic Goddess Juno Browne (with an e) is back juggling her clients and her shop when she encounters a dummy under a bridge with a mysterious sign blaming Cutty Dyer, a demon of local legend. It's strange enough that she reports it to the local police, though no one takes it seriously until she stumbles across the dead body of the local busybody shortly after. Convinced that the police aren't looking hard enough for the murderer, instead choosing to focus on the young ex-con she has befriended, Juno takes matters into her own hands, and follows a winding road of clues. Good story with lots of unexpected twists.

Thanks to Allison & Busby and NetGalley for access to a digital ARC.

[Robin Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Locals in South Devon, or from Dartmoor, and most particularly in the small village of Ashburton will tell one of the legend of Cutty Dyer. Was he a water sprite or worse still a giant ogre?
Perhaps left during that hour when as Shakespeare said 'churchyards yawn', a dead body has been found at the edge of the River Ashburn, her throat cut, and a postcard left on the back of which is written 'Cutty Dyer Dun This'.
Stephanie Austin sets the tone for her third crime novel. Juno Browne, owner of one of the many local antique shops, is a modern day Miss Marple. There are plenty of red herrings and quaint local characters. This is traditional crime writing at its very best.

[Carole-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in the currently available books by this author.
Juno finds another body (of course!) but this time it's a dummy dumped in the river and stuck under a bridge - with a disconcerting post-card attached. When the body of a local busy-body old woman turns up with another post-card attached, the police are looking askance at Juno and her involvement/s.
A bit of local folk lore is written into this story, as well as a number of bodies (getting to be a bit like all those Midsummer Murders stories!); but we also have a possible romance interest for Juno :)
A lovely, well-crafted mystery again. Great fun (and yes, we'll have to wait to book 4 to see if the romance gets under way) :)

[Carol Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Stephanie Austin's writing and imagination and ' From Devon with Death', possibly more, than the first two because I have grown to know the characters and their personalities. I think that the Heroine, Juno, is a wonderful force to be reckoned with. She is strong and willful, industrious but at the same time comes accross as a well read nature lover and especially loving to her canine charges. The detail and history written about Ashburton Town and the surrounding area take your breath away.
A very interesting detective/mystery novel with a romantic touch, which works beautifully. I look forward to reading book four in the near future.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this in a charity shop, there was nothing to indicate it was the third novel in a series - maybe I needed to read the first two before this one in order to fully appreciate it.
I found the book ‘readable’ and somewhat entertaining, but at times I found certain aspects of the storytelling a little cold or flat (e.g. what happens to Luke). I found elements of small minded village mentality woven through and wasn’t convinced this was a murder-mystery novel so much as a narrative of the main characters daily life.

[Adrienne Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant mystery, fabulous twists and great characters! Loved this book.
I was introduced to Stephanie Austin while holidaying in the most beautiful Stannery town of Ashburton on the very edge of Dartmoor, I was given one of her books to read while I was there. What a wonderful treat!
The characters, so beautifully drawn - Juno is fabulous - the plot, gently winding and then wham! and the dialogue, just superb and hilarious at times.
Super story, excellent writing ... loved it! Highly recommended.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Juno and her fellow residents, the author does a great job of characterisation of both people and location (although I do have some questions about Juno, which no doubt would be answered had I read either of the two preceding books!) I also liked the central idea that a murderer would have a knowledge of local folklore. My abysmal record of identifying the murderer continues but I had a good time reading this anyway.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really enjoyable mystery. It was my first foray into this cast of characters, and I liked them very much, especially Juno, the main character. She is a "jill-of-all-trades," doing whatever she needs to keep afloat, with an antique store to ground her. I'll need to go back to the beginning to catch up on her back story, but I liked her relationships both with the local police and the various people of the village. Thank you to the publisher for the early read on NetGalley.

[Mellissa Bushby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little read. I enjoyed the characters, was caught mostly unawares by the identity of the murderer, and loved the descriptive elements about the quaint little English town of Ashburn.

I do think the book was a bit long-winded in parts, but otherwise it ticked along merrily. I'll definitely look out for more by this author.

Thanks to Allison & Busby, Stephanie Austin and Net Galley for my ARC.

[Elizabeth Ducie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashburton shop owner, Juno Browne, has a tendency to find dead bodies, and can't resist investigating the circumstances, much to the irritation of the police. In book 3 of the Devon Mysteries series, her first discovery is not a real body but a dummy. However that soon changes. Stephanie Austin obviously knows her location well and her attention to detail makes this an even more fascinating book for Devonians. But it's a great read for all lovers of cosy mystery stories.

[Jackie Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a local author, this book tells a tale of a Dartmoor town plagued by sudden gruesome murders- the only connection - Juno’s new acquaintance Luke.
I enjoyed this book, and at times found it suspenseful and thrilling, urging me to read on to find out who could have committed these crimes.
Just when I thought I had it figured there was another plot twist!
A good read, super descriptive writing of Dartmoor and local areas to! Will definitely read more in this series!

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this series with the engaging Juno, the Domestic Goddess/antique dealer/amateur detective. Of course the body count is a tad unbelievable for a sleepy Devon town, but the odd classical reference (Augean stables/Ophelia) elevates the writing of these deceptively comfortable stories. Stephanie Austin has created a warm and humorous cast of characters that entice the reader to want to find out what happens next time … so I will be on to the next in the series very soon.

[Lin Perrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy. A delightful story set in picturesque Ashburton Devon. Juno finds a life-sized effigy floating in the river Ashburn. A postcard is attached claiming to be the work of Cutty Dyer a local legend demon. The Police dismiss Juno's concerns. Then Juno discovers a real dead body with the same message floating in the river and the drama begins.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly written thriller. Lots of really interesting local and historical detail, lightly dropped in to enhance the story, superb characters and a leading lady I really took to. Looking forward to reading more from this writer, who was recommended while we were staying in Ashburton where the book is set. Highly recommended.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a cozy mystery, this was pretty good. The character felt like real, modern people rather than mothbally people in a village time forgot. There were even some truly funny asides. I liked the voice of the narrator, but as always, I wish someone's life didn't always have to be in danger at the end.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable easy read where the main character is a woman who runs a vintage type shop, provides domestic services along with various side hustles along with being a bit of an amateur sleuth.

Its the stuff of ITV afternoon drama - think Rosemary & Thyme, Father Brown, etc.

Nicely written and engaging. Would happily read more of this series.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part detective story, part action adventure (of an unlikely and unmacho kind) and part Devon exploration, I really enjoyed this, selected to go with my Devon based holiday. I liked the cast of characters and how they form an odd little family. There were some delightfully grotesque details, just my cup of tea