The joyful Cyclemania event, hosted in the breathtaking grounds of Charleton House to celebrate the Tour of Derbyshire cycle race, is drawing to a close. But the summer sun is also setting on the life of one of the visitors.
When outspoken cycling activist Olivia Sharp is found lying atop the carefully arranged flowerbeds, coffee-addict catering manager Sophie Lockwood immediately notices that she has been strangled with a bicycle tyre’s inner tube. But with DC Joe Greene, her friend in the local police force, away on holiday, the part-time sleuth is determined not to get drawn into the murder investigations this time. However, the people around her have different ideas, looking to Sophie to piece together Olivia’s background and hunt down the murderer.
With her closest friend, tour guide Mark, out of action, Charleton’s very own Sherlock Holmes enlists flamboyant gift-shop manager Joyce to be her high-heeled, mini-skirted Watson, and together they set off on the trail of a trio of possible killers. Meanwhile, deskbound Mark helps in the only way he can, his online research leading him in an entirely different direction, way back to the battlefields of the Boer War. Has Sophie got it wrong this time and led herself and Joyce into danger?
Fans of cosy mysteries everywhere are invited to dust off their bicycles and take a ride into the heart of the rolling Derbyshire countryside to join Sophie and her friends for coffee, cake and chaos in this delightful and often hilarious novella.
Charleton House is always busy. There are tourists who want to visit the historic mansion as well as special events that draw visitors. Today Sophie Lockwood, the head of catering, is helping with Cyclemania. Unfortunately the event ends with the discovery of a body. Olivia Sharp, an avid cyclist and an activist, has been murdered. How she was killed was a shock. Sophie wants to help find who killed her but her friend Detective Constable Joe Greene is on holiday. Trusted cohort Mark is incapacitated by an injury. So Joyce Brocklehurst steps in and adds a new element to the investigation. She has unique approach. I loved it. These two ladies make a formidable team. The story features antique bikes combined with a mystery that kept me guessing. I read A Deadly Ride in one sitting. The characters are like old friends and the setting is the perfect backdrop. I always enjoy visiting and seeing what's happening at Charleton House. There never is a quite moment here. Kate P. Adams has a writing style that I enjoy.
This is a ight, fun easy-reading cozy series and I enjoy it.
The books are short, and with the setting in an historic UK home where our protagonist is a crime-solving, gin-loving good-natured busy-body. Sophie can be pushy and annoying to the local constabulary, but she's likable enough.
I also really enjoy the cast of supporting characters in this series. They are all cheeky and fun, but my favourite is over-the-top Joyce. She's a hoot and I love her!
Charlton House is hosting a Cyclemania event to celebrate the Tour of Derbyshire Cycling race. One of the attendees is an outspoken activist, Olivia Sharp. Olivia was seen riding an antique penny-farthing bicycle that apparently has a very interesting history.
As the event is concluding, Olivia is found dead in a flower garden with a bicycle inner tube wrapped around her neck. Sophie's friend on the police force, Joe, is away on holiday, so she promises herself that she will leave this mystery to the police. Another reason to leave this to the police is that Mark had an accident riding a bicycle and has a cast on his leg. As a result, Mark would not be able to be of any help in questioning people, but his research skills could come in very handy.
Betsy Kemp, one of the live interpreters at Charlton House, was related to Olivia and hopes Sophie will help find Olivia's killer.
Who killed Olivia? Why was she killed? With Joe out of town and Mark laid up, who will help Sophie with her investigation? Can Sophie solve the mystery without putting herself in danger?
Kate Adams has another winner with this installment of the Charlton House Mystery series. The plots are intricate, yet very realistic. The characters are wonderful and the history she includes in each book really adds to the enjoyment of the story. The short chapters also make for quick and easy reading.
It’s always so easy to slip back into the Charleton House world. The writing flows well, and I enjoyed the cyclemania event setting. There were a good few interesting historical bike facts thrown in.
This instalment of a favourite series had all the usual touches of gentle humour, likeable characters, a charming setting, and a fun mystery.
It was interesting getting to know DS Harnby a little better, whilst Joe was away. I didn’t guess who the killer was until right near the end, which makes a nice change from a lot of the cozy crimes I read.
I do love the scene at the end of each book, after the murder has been solved, where Sophie and her friends all get together.
If you’re looking for an easy to read cozy crime to chill out with, this is the book for you.
I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.
Another in the Charleton House mystery series. This is a shorter read but just as enjoyable as the previous ones in the series. Charleton House is celebrating the Tour of Derbyshire cycling race with the Charleton House Cyclemania event, complete with a penny farthing bicycle ridden by an appropriately dressed ‘Victorian’ lady and other cycling attractions. But when someone is found murdered in the flowerbed Sophie tries hard not to get involved in the investigation but fails when pressured by her friends. Joyce plays a prominent part in helping when Mark finds himself a victim of cyclemania. A great collection of characters and a neat mystery.
Don't you just love it when you find a series you love reading and they release another book! Well, The Charleton House Mysteries is just that series for me. This is book 4 in the series and each has been a great read. I love the area Derbyshire countryside of England that the series takes place in. I love the characters that Kate P Adams has created. I also love the bits of history that are given throughout the story, Even though these books kind of build on one another you could easily read them in any order or as a stand-alone book.
I've been lucky enough to read and review all the books in this series and this is the best one yet. This book was pure reading pleasure! Witty dialogue, outstanding characters, and a fantastic setting keep me wanting to read more. The author does a fantastic job weaving in history and crafting a well written mystery. I received an ARC of this book and I'm voluntarily providing an honest review.
Excellent book!!! As always, Kate Adams excels in researching for the subjects she chooses so, not only can you enjoy a good book, but learn history as well Very pleasant read and imposible to guess whodunit until the last chapter A book not to miss
This series always reminds me of Julie Hyzy's Manor House series, which is one of my favorites. The Charleton House series is on the top of my faves, too. Hope this one continues for a good long while. Now it's December, it's time to move on to the newest title, and I'm looking forward to it!
The Duke and Duchess, the owners of Charleton House, have decided to hold a celebration of all things cycling in honor of the Tour of Derby-shire Cycling Road Race. The Charleton House Cyclemania was being held on the grounds of their magnificent home. It included antique cycles, characters from history with a connection to cycles, a talk by Glenn Dockett, the silver medal cyclist from the 1976 Montreal Olympics and a movie projector powered entirely by visitors cycling furiously to project tonight's film “Belleville Rendez-Vous” about a kidnapped Tour de France cyclist who is rescued by his grandmother and his dog, and one unplanned event – the murder of the woman who was riding the Penny Farthing antique cycle around the grounds all day. Her body is found in the flowerbed, decorated as a bicycle, at the end of the movie with a cycle inner tube wrapped around her throat.
This is another great mystery from Kate P. Adams. Her Ms Sherlock, Stephanie has declared that she will stay out of the murder this time. Her police friend Joe is on vacation in Italy and cannot give her any hints from what the police have found and Mark, her work husband, has a broken leg because he didn't want to tell his real husband that he didn't know how to ride a bike! But when Joyce, the head of retail at the manor, volunteers to be Sophie's Watson and cozies up to Glenn Dockett because he looks like fun and can give them and insiders track on the cycling group, Sophie has to admit it is eating her up not to investigate, she just can't help it. Even Joe's boss, DI Harnby, expects her to look into it even though she is not happy about it. As she crosses person after person off her suspect list, grudgingly, she has to admit that she may have been thinking about this situation in the wrong way...
You will love this book as much as Ms. Adams other entries in this series. I received a free book from the author but my admiration for the book and the author are all mine. I'll say it again, the only thing wrong with these books is that they are over too quickly. I hope this series has a long life ahead! Enjoy!
With Charleton house hosting the Cyclemania Event, to celebrate The Tour of Derbyhire, people turned out in costumes with some period bikes following a well laid out path among booths and events. You can feel the love and passion Kate Adams has for history as she weaves a fantastic murder mystery! When Olivia, who was riding a very rare penny farthing bike, was found dead in the bushes, Sophie wanted to leave the investigation to DS Harnby. She hates when Sophie gets her nose in the cases. But since the dead woman, who was a radical feminist, is actually Joyce's cousin, and with Hornsby actually coming up with dead ends, she actually wanted Sophie to help find the murderer, or at least get involved. So with her crew, Joyce, Sophie and Mark who ending up in a bicycle accident and now on crutches, she starts her investigation. With her friend Detective Constablr Joe Greene on a motorcycle vacation in Italy, she didn't have the avenues she usually gets to work with. Kate throws in some likely suspects, the cycling olympic winner, Anthony, who were not the best of friends, a cycle collector and repairman, Howard Young among other minor characters. So we go on a ride to find who the murderer is. I love Mark's sense of humor and sarcasm and his insatiable appetite and the way Sophie deals with him with her own brand of sarcasm. You can tell they feel very close to each other. I can't wait to see what else could possible happen at Charleton House! We do get to see a little more of Hornsby and this could be interesting as we go along. I receive and ARC of this book but the opinions offered here are strictly my own
Another visit to the historic Charleton House and another murder. After a cycling event on the grounds, one of the participants is found murdered. The mystery loving group from the Charleton House begin digging through the clues in search of the murderer. The author’s experience working in historic landmarks is evident as her descriptions put you on the grounds around the house. Most of the story takes place on the grounds of the house in a A Deadly Ride, but the usual cast of characters minus one were there to assist with the mystery solving. This book is part of a series but it isn’t necessary to have read the earlier books to enjoy the story. A shorter story in this book eliminates some of the background with the group of friends but it’s an enjoyable read.
I always enjoy receiving my ARC from this author and I can honestly say this is a fantastic book. Loved the humorous conversations. As usual I can picture the scenes and even the facial expressions from those conversations. A simple and uncomplicated plot but filled with roads leading to different people who could have carried out the murder of Olivia Sharp, a participant in the Charlton House Cyclemania celebrating all things cycling. The story is centred around antique bicycles which I found an unusual but interestingl topic. Definitely a cozy read to escape into filled with the usual historic background and witty characters. Love your books Kate. Really looking forward to the next in series.
A British manor house, bicycles, and a wonderful cozy mystery! A Deadly Ride is the 4th book in the wonderful Charleton House Mystery series. Sophie runs all of the cafes at Charleton House. Sophie's friend Mark is a tour guide and Joyce runs one of the shops. They are great characters and quite funny. Sophie's friend Joe ,who is a policeman , is away on vacation in this book. Seemed like there might be a romance brewing between Sophie and Joe, but not in this book. The Cyclemania event is going on at Charleton House which brings in bicyclists who are serious and also those who are hobbyists. And occasionally the two groups clash. One of the hobbyists is found dead so Sophie and friends decide to figure out why. A very enjoyable cozy mystery!
This is really a novella, which Kate wrote to continue her series of longer novels. Nevertheless, it is a great story where Sophie, as always, is faced with a mystery to solve. Her favorite detective, Joe, is on vacation, and Sophie says she won't get involved in this investigation without him. But......of course, she does get involved. The Charleton House is hosting an Antique Bicycle Weekend, and during the closing, one of the cyclists is murdered on the grounds. We see many of our favorite characters again involved, and poor Mark gets injured. Without revealing anything, let's say that with Joyce's help, Sophie is once again instrumental in bringing the murderer to justice! Please keep this series going, Kate P. Adams, as it is great!
I have loved the Charleton House series from the beginning, and this newest entry is no different! Well, it is - Joe is away, Mark is out of commission, so Joyce is Sophie's assistant - oh dear!
My favourite coffeeholic, while at first determined to steer clear, finds that's simply not possible and is soon up to her espresso maker in clues and red herrings. Is Joyce up to the task of assistant?
Adams is adept at weaving mystery, mayhem, and investigation with humour. I raced through to the end, and as usual, Miss Sophie beat me to the correct solution. But that's what makes these all a very good read!
[I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book by the author but was not required to write a review. The opinion expressed herein are entirely my own.]
Another very interesting tale about Charleton House that not only captures your interest with a puzzling mystery, but also with further development of the main characters and their interactions.
A murder at Charleton House Cyclemaniaa. The victim had been riding a penny-farthing.
Sophie’s police friend Joe is on his holidays and Mark is sidelined!
The new Watson to Sophie’s Sherlock?
Believe it or not - Joyce!
Harnby seems to alter her feelings about Sophie.
Of course there’s Charleton House to hold your interest too. Not that you need anything but Sophie, the usual group of friends, and a compelling mystery.
The Charleton House books never fail to entertain and delight. The glimpses of what running a stately home which is open to the public entails are snapshots which provide an escape into a world far removed from the isolation and enforced social distancing of present times. The author always manages to introduce little nuggets of information which add to my enjoyment of the story... The Queen Mother loved English sparkling wine...who knew. The snippets about the Anglo-Boer War's cycling regiment also added depth and veracity to the story and the characters. All in all this is a book which you won't want to miss out on if you love a good cosy mystery!
These Charleton House stories keep building with more information about this beautiful house, the characters and even the hang outs of the characters. There is another murder to be solved and Joe is on vacation and Mark is recovering from an accident! Who will be Sophie’s Watson? I loved all the information about cycling and bicycles. An interesting story with well developed characters and fantastic descriptions of the scenery! There are many plot twists and I couldn’t figure out who did it! I received an advance copy of this book from the author, however, I voluntarily wrote an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.
I love visiting Charleton House in the summer! This is a fun quick read. Sophie tries to keep her nose out of things briefly. I like Joyce helping her and Joe being away. We see more of DS Harnby too. The murder happens quickly, but we still learn lots about her. The suspects are good ones. I changed my mind a coup!e times about who I thought was. I liked the references to Sherlock and Watson. It felt reminiscent of that because Sophie did the sleuthing and the police confronted the suspect. That was a nice change of pace. I also liked the historical tie in. That little bit of history was really interesting as well.
My grandfather, Mom's dad, raced bikes on trails and a track in Newark, NJ, when he was young .What today would be about a 40" bike. With no brakes . So he went out and bought me a three-speed "English" bike, the first in the neighborhood . A friend of mine took it down the street, through traffic, over a curb and up a tree. He had it forgotten the bike had hand brakes. We ignored him and made sure the bike was okay.So we grew up knowing a lot about bikes. Which has nothing to do with this book, does it? If you have gotten thorough the earlier books, you will know where this one is going. So enjoy your pastries and coffee and\of gin.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book for providing an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own. I love cozy mysteries and I particularly love the setting and characters of this series. With each entry in the series we become more acquainted with the main characters. In this particular book, Joe is not really on scene to be a part of the investigation. Also, Mark is unable to help so we get to see Joyce play a bigger role in the investigation. What an enjoyable read. I loved it.
A Deadly Ride is the fourth book in Charleton House Mysteries series by Kate P Adams.
I really enjoyed this book both because I am a fan of the series and am a cyclist.
There’s another murder at Charleton House and Sophie gets involved in the investigation.
In this installment, a couple of the main characters in the series were unavailable to assist Sophie so we get to know other characters better. It was well-written and the mystery was good.
I received this book as a gift and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
Another delightful visit to Charleton House. This time they are hosting a cycling event and there are all kinds of things going on. Olivia, a woman riding a penny farthing, is murdered on the grounds and Kate is on the case. All of the characters are great and loads of fun. The food sounds yummy and makes you yearn for an English tea. The history is always interesting and the mystery is always good. This was a short read but still very good. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
A Deadly Ride: A Charleton House Mystery (The Charlton House Mysteries Book 4) took quite a bit of time to move forward. I had a lot of trouble getting into the story in large part due to the slow pace. Once you got to the second half of the book the story picked up speed. The characters were likeable which is the main reason I didn't toss the book and kept plugging away at the pages. For readers who aren't in a hurry to get their hands on the next book on thrir reading A Deadly Ride: A Charleton House Mystery (The Charlton House Mysteries Book 4) is definitely worth reading!
I blew through this light mystery filled with wonderful tidbits about the history of cycling. Every entry in this series shows a little bit more of the characters, and I especially liked that Bill got a bit more light in this one. The list of suspects was short, but I really enjoyed the historical facts that were woven in, about cycling, fashion, and women's rights. Already looking forward to the next in the series!
An ARC Book - Sophie the manager of the Cafe's at Charleton House and Gardens was checking out the Cyclemania Race that the house was sponsoring when one of the cyclist was found dead. Sophie was always solving murders but this time was on her own because Officer Joe, who always keep her up on the cases was away and she couldn't get updates on the case. Her friends Mark and Joyce that worked at the house helped her look for the murderer.
A Deadly Ride is the fourth book in The Charleton House Mysteries and is an entertaining read.
I would love to be a guest at Charleton House; they always hold amazing events! This event, unfortunately, again brings a murder for Sophie and Joyce to solve with Mark laid up temporarily. There is humour, murder, danger, mystery, and suspense to enjoy as you follow along.
The Cyclemania event held at Charleton House is almost over when a body is found amongst the flowerbeds. With Joe out of town and Mark in a cast, Sophie tries, unsuccessfully to keep her nose out of things. This time Joyce will play Watson to Sophie's Sherlock. Can they figure out who murdered Olivia? This series is so much fun with well developed characters, gorgeous surroundings and always great puzzles!
An outspoken activist is found dead cycling. Sophie is the first to notice that the rider was strangled by a tire. Once again she will find herself involved as she will find a way to solve the case.
Will she end up risking other people lives and her own as she looks for clues? Another fascinating cozy in this series.