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St. Just Mystery #4
Death in Cornwall
A humorous cozy set in the picturesque surroundings of Cornwall starring Cambridge DCI Arthur St. Just and his fiancée Portia De’Ath.
To celebrate their engagement, DCI Arthur St. Just and Portia De’Ath visit the quiet village of Maidsfell in Cornwall. Upon arriving they find the villagers in an uproar over plans to redevelop the local seafront.
The fishermen want to build a new slipway to aid their business, but many residents worry it will spoil the view for the tourists who help drive the economy. After a heated village meeting on the issue, St. Just overhears an argument involving Lord Bodwally – an unpopular aristocrat staunchly opposed to the plans. Later, Bodwally’s lifeless body is discovered. It’s murder.
Although Bodwally was disliked, who’d go so far as to kill him? St. Just, although an outsider from Cambridge, feels compelled to help local authorities investigate. Is Bodwally’s death linked to the seafront, his suspect business dealings, or a secret from the past? One thing is certain, the fallout threatens to change Maidsfell forever...
To celebrate their engagement, DCI Arthur St. Just and Portia De’Ath visit the quiet village of Maidsfell in Cornwall. Upon arriving they find the villagers in an uproar over plans to redevelop the local seafront.
The fishermen want to build a new slipway to aid their business, but many residents worry it will spoil the view for the tourists who help drive the economy. After a heated village meeting on the issue, St. Just overhears an argument involving Lord Bodwally – an unpopular aristocrat staunchly opposed to the plans. Later, Bodwally’s lifeless body is discovered. It’s murder.
Although Bodwally was disliked, who’d go so far as to kill him? St. Just, although an outsider from Cambridge, feels compelled to help local authorities investigate. Is Bodwally’s death linked to the seafront, his suspect business dealings, or a secret from the past? One thing is certain, the fallout threatens to change Maidsfell forever...
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2021
122 people are currently reading
987 people want to read
About the author
G.M. Malliet
48 books694 followersG.M. Malliet is the author of three mystery series; a dozen or more short stories published in The Strand, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine; and WEYCOMBE, a standalone suspense novel.
Her Agatha Award-winning Death of a Cozy Writer (2008), the first installment of the DCI St. Just mysteries, was named one of the ten best novels of the year by Kirkus Reviews. Subsequent Max Tudor novels were Agatha finalists.
Her Agatha Award-winning Death of a Cozy Writer (2008), the first installment of the DCI St. Just mysteries, was named one of the ten best novels of the year by Kirkus Reviews. Subsequent Max Tudor novels were Agatha finalists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
December 22, 2021
I am so glad I picked this book up. It is the fourth in a series but it did no matter that I had not read the previous ones. I quickly got to know DCI Arthur St. Just and his fiancee, Portia De'Ath (what great names!) and enjoyed them enormously.
In Death in Cornwall the pair are on holiday from their home in Cambridge. Of course, as in any good cosy, death follows them wherever they go and they are quickly embroiled in investigating the murder of the local lord. I enjoyed St. Just's calm, organised approach to solving the crime and also the way De'Ath acted as a sounding board for his theories but also made herself scarce when he was busy investigating.
In fact I enjoyed it so much I am definitely going to read books 1-3.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
In Death in Cornwall the pair are on holiday from their home in Cambridge. Of course, as in any good cosy, death follows them wherever they go and they are quickly embroiled in investigating the murder of the local lord. I enjoyed St. Just's calm, organised approach to solving the crime and also the way De'Ath acted as a sounding board for his theories but also made herself scarce when he was busy investigating.
In fact I enjoyed it so much I am definitely going to read books 1-3.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
January 23, 2022
A disappointment. Though I didn’t fully realize this was a fourth in the series, it works as a stand alone.
I believe the horrible narration had something to do with the book and would consider listening to an earlier installment of this detective if narration is different or print book is available. Many of the characters sounded like cartoons and the main character sounded akin to a 70year old woman not a brawny 40 something.
ST JUST is a detective but as drawn in this book appears like a whipped old woman. I didn’t understand at all how he was allowed to have anything to do with the investigation as he was in a village on vacation! That premise didn’t work for me at all.
At the end Arthur and Portia discuss the amazing Cornwall village and how they’d love to live there one day but nothing about the village or village residents made the town seem anything but bizarre and scary.
The mystery itself made little sense and seemed poorly crafted. We don’t figure things about it along the investigation (the narration made Arthur seem a horrible interviewer) but rather have it spelled out to us at the end. Little of it made sense or seemed realistic.
The tale is supposed to take place post
Covid pandemic (often referred to as the plague in this novel which maybe is more common in the UK) but the setting as described in the story feels more like something out of the 1940s - 1980s and seems nothing like a modern day setting.
So many things were off about this. I was expecting and cute and quaint police procedural and what I got was a hot mess.
I believe the horrible narration had something to do with the book and would consider listening to an earlier installment of this detective if narration is different or print book is available. Many of the characters sounded like cartoons and the main character sounded akin to a 70year old woman not a brawny 40 something.
ST JUST is a detective but as drawn in this book appears like a whipped old woman. I didn’t understand at all how he was allowed to have anything to do with the investigation as he was in a village on vacation! That premise didn’t work for me at all.
At the end Arthur and Portia discuss the amazing Cornwall village and how they’d love to live there one day but nothing about the village or village residents made the town seem anything but bizarre and scary.
The mystery itself made little sense and seemed poorly crafted. We don’t figure things about it along the investigation (the narration made Arthur seem a horrible interviewer) but rather have it spelled out to us at the end. Little of it made sense or seemed realistic.
The tale is supposed to take place post
Covid pandemic (often referred to as the plague in this novel which maybe is more common in the UK) but the setting as described in the story feels more like something out of the 1940s - 1980s and seems nothing like a modern day setting.
So many things were off about this. I was expecting and cute and quaint police procedural and what I got was a hot mess.
March 14, 2022
I read the first three book in this series years ago, and I liked them OK. But I discovered G.M. Malliet’s other series, the one featuring MI-5 agent-turned-Anglican vicar Max Tudor, and I never looked back. I had forgotten about Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just, and I thought so had Malliet. After all, the last book in the series, Death at the Alma Mater, appeared in 2010. But no, No. 4 just came out on Audible in the United States, Death in Cornwall.
I didn’t like the perfect St. Just as much as I did the conflicted — and funnier — series with Max Tudor and his eccentric flock in the village of Nether Monkslip. But I’m glad I bought and read Death in Cornwall. In this outing, St. Just and his fiancée Portia De’Ath (yes, a name too twee by half) visit Cornwall for a break. But there’s no rest for St. Just when the coastal village of Maidsfell sees its first murder in years. I enjoyed this novel more than I expected. Highly recommended.
I didn’t like the perfect St. Just as much as I did the conflicted — and funnier — series with Max Tudor and his eccentric flock in the village of Nether Monkslip. But I’m glad I bought and read Death in Cornwall. In this outing, St. Just and his fiancée Portia De’Ath (yes, a name too twee by half) visit Cornwall for a break. But there’s no rest for St. Just when the coastal village of Maidsfell sees its first murder in years. I enjoyed this novel more than I expected. Highly recommended.
December 14, 2021
I was (am) a giant fan of Malliet’s Max Tudor series. I had always been aware of the St. Just series, but had never read one, and I am now a giant fan of this series as well. There are really very few practitioners of the traditional British detective novel working at the moment, and Malliet is one of the best. Her novels are very much golden age in pattern, with a series detective, a fast paced and tidy narrative, and in this case, a setting to die for – the Cornish coast.
Using a trope beloved of novelists from Agatha Christie to Deborah Crombie to Louise Penny, St. Just is on vacation with his fiancée (the wittily named Portia De’Ath - I hope she keeps her maiden name!) Like Crombie’s Duncan and Penny’s Gamache, St. Just seems to be the calm center of the storm. It made it completely believable that the local constabulary would turn to him for advice.
Malliet sets her scene beautifully, with St. Just and Portia lost on their way to their destination, enveloped by sheep, and at last carting their luggage up to a quaint seaside cottage with gorgeous views. I wanted to be there, and I really wanted to be there after their dinner at the foodie pub up the street. Malliet effortlessly begins to seed her canvas with the characters who will populate her mystery, making each one memorable and unique.
There’s Lord Bodwally; there’s the pub owner, Morwenna; there’s Sybil, who tends the vaguely pagan stone circle at the top of the cliff; there’s Sepia, the art gallery owner; and there’s the temporary vicar, Judith, cheerful in Hawaiian shirts. There’s also a resident celebrity.
Of course into this paradise a death must come, and Lord Bodwally is the first to go, his body discovered in his library by Portia. There are several factors that set this series apart from other series of its kind. One is Malliet’s sheer prose skill. Her use of the English language is light, humorous, and perfect. Her definition of character makes each memorable, giving each an appropriate presence in the plot.
In a more contemporary manner, she teases out the psychological backstories of most of the characters. Some are red herrings and some are not, but all are both relevant to the whole and make the reading experience a more vivid one. Her plotting, much like the great Agatha herself, is organic, which each element of the plot unfolding naturally from the one before it.
As I neared the end of the book (to my surprise, as I had been enjoying it so much the pages flew through my fingers faster than I might have liked) the various plot elements began to coalesce, providing a truly riveting denouement to the story.
I also grew fond of both St. Just and Portia, a kind, happily matched pair who seem destined to enjoy a long marriage together. The gentle joke which ends the book was spot on and the trip to the Cornish coast was absolutely priceless. I am now planning to read the rest of the series, in order, as these things are meant to be read – I’m just glad I’ve finally joined the party.
Using a trope beloved of novelists from Agatha Christie to Deborah Crombie to Louise Penny, St. Just is on vacation with his fiancée (the wittily named Portia De’Ath - I hope she keeps her maiden name!) Like Crombie’s Duncan and Penny’s Gamache, St. Just seems to be the calm center of the storm. It made it completely believable that the local constabulary would turn to him for advice.
Malliet sets her scene beautifully, with St. Just and Portia lost on their way to their destination, enveloped by sheep, and at last carting their luggage up to a quaint seaside cottage with gorgeous views. I wanted to be there, and I really wanted to be there after their dinner at the foodie pub up the street. Malliet effortlessly begins to seed her canvas with the characters who will populate her mystery, making each one memorable and unique.
There’s Lord Bodwally; there’s the pub owner, Morwenna; there’s Sybil, who tends the vaguely pagan stone circle at the top of the cliff; there’s Sepia, the art gallery owner; and there’s the temporary vicar, Judith, cheerful in Hawaiian shirts. There’s also a resident celebrity.
Of course into this paradise a death must come, and Lord Bodwally is the first to go, his body discovered in his library by Portia. There are several factors that set this series apart from other series of its kind. One is Malliet’s sheer prose skill. Her use of the English language is light, humorous, and perfect. Her definition of character makes each memorable, giving each an appropriate presence in the plot.
In a more contemporary manner, she teases out the psychological backstories of most of the characters. Some are red herrings and some are not, but all are both relevant to the whole and make the reading experience a more vivid one. Her plotting, much like the great Agatha herself, is organic, which each element of the plot unfolding naturally from the one before it.
As I neared the end of the book (to my surprise, as I had been enjoying it so much the pages flew through my fingers faster than I might have liked) the various plot elements began to coalesce, providing a truly riveting denouement to the story.
I also grew fond of both St. Just and Portia, a kind, happily matched pair who seem destined to enjoy a long marriage together. The gentle joke which ends the book was spot on and the trip to the Cornish coast was absolutely priceless. I am now planning to read the rest of the series, in order, as these things are meant to be read – I’m just glad I’ve finally joined the party.
October 20, 2021
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It’s been over a decade since we’ve heard from Cambridge DCI Arthur St. Just and criminologist cum mystery writer Portia De’Ath, now his fiancé. In coastal Cornwall for a mini-vacay, the two can’t resign themselves to just lying on the beach. Instead, they’re busy scoping out the town, sniffing out controversy—especially the proposed slipway the fisher men and women want to build—and meeting up with the locals.
The latter includes the self-made aristocrat Lord Bodwally, who wants Portia to help him with his memoirs. But when they visit Bodwally’s grand estate, they find him lying in a pool of blood, his right carotid artery severed. And with that, St. Just is off and running as he tracks down the murderer.
Given that this is a short book, Malliet does three things really well. First, we learn a lot about Cornwall and the Cornish people—the Cornwall tourist bureau should sign her up. Two, the tension between wealthy incomers—seeking a weekend home and driving up the cost of housing—and the residents is one that is playing out in many communities, and here it is especially well-handled. Finally, this is one of the few mysteries that addresses the experiences of COVID-19; most series just skip over it as though it never happened. Malliet sets the novel after what the characters call “Plague Time” and doesn’t hesitate to discuss the impact the pandemic had on this small Cornish town. It’s refreshing. Cozy readers will be happy to welcome back this duo.—Brian Kenney, First Clue
It’s been over a decade since we’ve heard from Cambridge DCI Arthur St. Just and criminologist cum mystery writer Portia De’Ath, now his fiancé. In coastal Cornwall for a mini-vacay, the two can’t resign themselves to just lying on the beach. Instead, they’re busy scoping out the town, sniffing out controversy—especially the proposed slipway the fisher men and women want to build—and meeting up with the locals.
The latter includes the self-made aristocrat Lord Bodwally, who wants Portia to help him with his memoirs. But when they visit Bodwally’s grand estate, they find him lying in a pool of blood, his right carotid artery severed. And with that, St. Just is off and running as he tracks down the murderer.
Given that this is a short book, Malliet does three things really well. First, we learn a lot about Cornwall and the Cornish people—the Cornwall tourist bureau should sign her up. Two, the tension between wealthy incomers—seeking a weekend home and driving up the cost of housing—and the residents is one that is playing out in many communities, and here it is especially well-handled. Finally, this is one of the few mysteries that addresses the experiences of COVID-19; most series just skip over it as though it never happened. Malliet sets the novel after what the characters call “Plague Time” and doesn’t hesitate to discuss the impact the pandemic had on this small Cornish town. It’s refreshing. Cozy readers will be happy to welcome back this duo.—Brian Kenney, First Clue
December 30, 2021
This book was a terrible disappointment. I discovered the series earlier this year, and I loved the first three. I was delighted to find that my timing meant that #4 would be coming out shortly, and I looked forward to reading this immensely. This one is a complete failure. Where I read all the previous three in a week (start of #1 to end of #3 and another unrelated book thrown in the same week), this one took me 10 days to slog through.
1) Malliet has made St. Just into a sap. His puppy-dog dependence on Portia and his insecurity over whether she could possibly love a policeman means that he is adolescent and, really, fairly repellent. Most women would run if they found themselves faced, in their 30s or 40s with such a needy man.
2) The dialogue is stilted and unnatural. Throughout the book characters say things to each other that they wouldn't say because Malliet is trying to use them to feed the readers information that all the people in various conversations already have. This is a beginner's failure.
3) The mystery story was no better. There is no reason for St. Just to have been involved at all, and there is no attempt to explain why he is--there is no formal request for his assistance, for example, but he is turned loose to investigate on his own many times. The solution is a cheat. I'm actually rather shocked that the story is this badly constructed.
Something similar happened in the Max Tudor series--the first three books were pretty good, but then Malliet made Max fall in love and he, too, turned into a sap and the stories collapsed. I might be willing to try one more of the books in this series (in the hope that if St. Just actually marries Portia he can go back to being the interesting character he started out being), but I won't rush to get it.
One caveat: I read the first three on audio, all read by Davina Porter, one of my very favorite narrators. This one isn't available on audio, and I didn't want to wait, so I got the book. Possibly Porter has a knack that I don't have for reading bad dialogue that makes it go down more easily, and possibly she can make St. Just sound less whiny than he comes off in my head, so maybe this one isn't really so much worse than the other three as it appeared to me. But I'm not going to waste time trying to find out.
1) Malliet has made St. Just into a sap. His puppy-dog dependence on Portia and his insecurity over whether she could possibly love a policeman means that he is adolescent and, really, fairly repellent. Most women would run if they found themselves faced, in their 30s or 40s with such a needy man.
2) The dialogue is stilted and unnatural. Throughout the book characters say things to each other that they wouldn't say because Malliet is trying to use them to feed the readers information that all the people in various conversations already have. This is a beginner's failure.
3) The mystery story was no better. There is no reason for St. Just to have been involved at all, and there is no attempt to explain why he is--there is no formal request for his assistance, for example, but he is turned loose to investigate on his own many times. The solution is a cheat. I'm actually rather shocked that the story is this badly constructed.
Something similar happened in the Max Tudor series--the first three books were pretty good, but then Malliet made Max fall in love and he, too, turned into a sap and the stories collapsed. I might be willing to try one more of the books in this series (in the hope that if St. Just actually marries Portia he can go back to being the interesting character he started out being), but I won't rush to get it.
One caveat: I read the first three on audio, all read by Davina Porter, one of my very favorite narrators. This one isn't available on audio, and I didn't want to wait, so I got the book. Possibly Porter has a knack that I don't have for reading bad dialogue that makes it go down more easily, and possibly she can make St. Just sound less whiny than he comes off in my head, so maybe this one isn't really so much worse than the other three as it appeared to me. But I'm not going to waste time trying to find out.
February 9, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley for this audio book.
This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and expected a cozy mystery along the lines of Agatha Christie.
DCI St Just and fiancé, Portia, are on a holiday to Cornwall. The opening was funny that they were lost on a back country road surrounded by sheep and herder (I’ve had a similar experience in Utah, on a motorcycle, and went through a herd of cows and a herd of sheep). Once in Cornwall they are drawn into the lives of the village people and the problems that impact them, and are caught up in murder.
The descriptions of Cornwall were lovely, and even though the town is dealing with modern-day type problems the author kept it quaint.
This is the 4th installment of St Just, and I liked the book enough that I will go back and read the first three.
This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and expected a cozy mystery along the lines of Agatha Christie.
DCI St Just and fiancé, Portia, are on a holiday to Cornwall. The opening was funny that they were lost on a back country road surrounded by sheep and herder (I’ve had a similar experience in Utah, on a motorcycle, and went through a herd of cows and a herd of sheep). Once in Cornwall they are drawn into the lives of the village people and the problems that impact them, and are caught up in murder.
The descriptions of Cornwall were lovely, and even though the town is dealing with modern-day type problems the author kept it quaint.
This is the 4th installment of St Just, and I liked the book enough that I will go back and read the first three.
June 24, 2022
Cambridge policeman St. Just and his criminologist fiancee are vacationing in St. Just's beloved Cornwall when the local lord of the manor, who had entertained them recently, is murdered. There seem to be many people who disliked him, and the question of just how he became lord of the manor, not being born to such a station, is puzzling. Fortunately, the detective in charge of the case has met St. Just before, and welcomes his assistance. A lot of misdirection in this one.
October 15, 2021
I am a fan of G M Malliet's two different mystery series and was looking forward to her return after several years of Cambridge detective Arthur St. Just. This traditional mystery was well worth the wait. DCI St. Just and his fiancée, Portia plan to take some well earned time off with a visit to a small village in Cornwall. As in most mysteries a murder occurs, half the village have means and motives and there are red herrings aplenty. I particularly liked the way the author's understated style of writing dealt with the Plague Time we have all been living these last 18 months. While most of us can not escape to Cornwall we can all enjoy the lovely descriptions of the countryside. Although this novel can be read as a stand alone I highly recommend the previous books in the series.
October 11, 2021
Death in Cornwall by G. M. Malliet is a great traditional mystery that is the newest book in the : A St. Just Mystery.
This is the first book I have read in this series, but I enjoyed it so much that I am going to pick up the previous two books. I was easily able to follow along and find out who was who and their backgrounds.
I loved the setting: blustery, scenic, picturesque, yet imperfect Cornwall…wouldn't have it any other way. Yet, there is a darker layer beneath the wonderful location…a death of a local aristocrat. Arthur St. Just and his fiance, Portia had attempted to escape Cambridge and holiday in a wonderful seaside village…but a murder/mystery ensues and culprits have to be found and put to justice.
I enjoyed the plot, murder/mystery elements, the character cast, and the dialogue/banter/wit.
Easy to follow, read, and enjoy. I am looking forward to following this series.
4/5 stars
Thank you NG and Canongate Books/Severn House for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 1/4/22.
This is the first book I have read in this series, but I enjoyed it so much that I am going to pick up the previous two books. I was easily able to follow along and find out who was who and their backgrounds.
I loved the setting: blustery, scenic, picturesque, yet imperfect Cornwall…wouldn't have it any other way. Yet, there is a darker layer beneath the wonderful location…a death of a local aristocrat. Arthur St. Just and his fiance, Portia had attempted to escape Cambridge and holiday in a wonderful seaside village…but a murder/mystery ensues and culprits have to be found and put to justice.
I enjoyed the plot, murder/mystery elements, the character cast, and the dialogue/banter/wit.
Easy to follow, read, and enjoy. I am looking forward to following this series.
4/5 stars
Thank you NG and Canongate Books/Severn House for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 1/4/22.
February 14, 2022
Excellent mystery. Location perfect, I actually felt like I was at the sea in Cornwall. Great main characters; real. Written with a touch of humor amidst the suspense. I guessed the gender of the murderer but not who. The author writes a superb British mystery with a Golden Age, Agatha Christie feel
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
October 1, 2023
―Robin Agnew, Mystery Scene Magazine columnist writes:
"There are really very few practitioners of the traditional British detective novel working at the moment, and Malliet is one of the best....There are several factors that set this series apart from other series of its kind. One of Malliet’s sheer prose skill. Her use of the English language is light, humorous, and perfect....Her plotting, much like the great Agatha herself, is organic, with each element of the plot unfolding naturally from the one before it."
Full review at Aunt Agatha's blog: https://auntagathas.com/aa/2022/01/03...
"There are really very few practitioners of the traditional British detective novel working at the moment, and Malliet is one of the best....There are several factors that set this series apart from other series of its kind. One of Malliet’s sheer prose skill. Her use of the English language is light, humorous, and perfect....Her plotting, much like the great Agatha herself, is organic, with each element of the plot unfolding naturally from the one before it."
Full review at Aunt Agatha's blog: https://auntagathas.com/aa/2022/01/03...
December 20, 2021
This is a good, cozy police procedural featuring Arthur St. Just and Portia De'Arcy. It is the fourth in the series and takes place in a picturesque coastal town in Cornwall. St. Just is the kind of policeman you hope solves any case involving you. He is dedicated to truth, fairness, and getting to the bottom of things. Portia is his fiance and while she is a criminologist as well as an author of mystery novels, she is not a major part of the investigation. Rather, she is travelling with St. Just for a week's vacation and takes on the role of listener as he explains what he has learned.
There are numerous quirky characters as well who add color and depth to the story and range from Sybil, the wiccan-like woman who is the self-appointed guardian of the stone circle called the Fourteen Maidens, to Morween who is a gourmet chef and owner of a local high end pub. All these side characters are fully developed and add to the overall atmosphere of the book.
The book's emphasis is on the intellectual solving of the crime rather than physical confrontation. The town of Maidswell provides a charming background and an opportunity to "see" and enjoy some of Cornwall. I would recommend this to anyone who likes cozy mysteries. I received an advanced copy of this book for review from Poisoned Pen Press.
There are numerous quirky characters as well who add color and depth to the story and range from Sybil, the wiccan-like woman who is the self-appointed guardian of the stone circle called the Fourteen Maidens, to Morween who is a gourmet chef and owner of a local high end pub. All these side characters are fully developed and add to the overall atmosphere of the book.
The book's emphasis is on the intellectual solving of the crime rather than physical confrontation. The town of Maidswell provides a charming background and an opportunity to "see" and enjoy some of Cornwall. I would recommend this to anyone who likes cozy mysteries. I received an advanced copy of this book for review from Poisoned Pen Press.
January 24, 2022
I spent this frozen foggy evening reading this cozy mystery and enjoyed it! This is 4th in the series but it can be read out of order. I loved the coastal town in Cornwall setting, but it took me a bit to get all the characters straight and find my rhythm with this authors writing. I did enjoy the main characters and because this was more of a police procedural, I think it would make a great BBC series.
Thank you Netgalley, Canongate Books, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you Netgalley, Canongate Books, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
August 16, 2024
I was not impressed by this author who tried too hard to be relevant. The story line was not well developed and the author sounds pretentious. Used the term “Plague Time” repeatedly throughout to refer to the Covid pandemic, to the point that it was simply too much. I was also insulted at one point when a description of a character was referred to as “ Being nice like some bloody Canadian”. Needless to say, but I will anyway, I won’t read any more by this author.
December 21, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyable with lots of understated humor.
May 31, 2022
I liked St. Just and Portia more in this book than others, so the back story carried me through a lot. The potential murderers and possible reasons were just too many for me, and I had trouble keeping their motives straight in my mind. The alternate reality of a world where Covid had been cured by vaccination was disconcerting. The various deaths in the past were a lot and I'm still not sure how at least one tied in to the current murder. It did keep me reading though.
October 22, 2021
This is the first book of G.M. Malliet’s that is not about Max Tudor but a wonderful new character to follow..The vidid description of Cornwall feels like you are there and Inspector St Just is a very likeable.The story line keeps your attention and is a delight to read.I would highly recommend this book.
October 14, 2021
3.5 stars
I haven't read the previous books in this series but I didn't have any trouble getting into this book. I think I'll check out the previous ones.
The book features very likeable main characters and I didn't guess the whodunnit.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Canongate Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Canongate Books.
I haven't read the previous books in this series but I didn't have any trouble getting into this book. I think I'll check out the previous ones.
The book features very likeable main characters and I didn't guess the whodunnit.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Canongate Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Canongate Books.
January 27, 2022
Thanks to Dreamscape and NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a tough one. I know that G.M. Malliet has won awards, so I was interested to try one of her books. Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't started in the middle of a series, but I doubt it. This is the latest Arthur St. Just/Portia De'Ath (I see what you did there, G.M., and I do not like it) story. They are an engaged couple, very much in love; he's a cop and she is an academic who also writes mystery novels (hmm). They are on holiday in Cornwall, but of course it quickly becomes a busman's holiday.
Malliet does a nice job of fleshing out the atmosphere and sheer physical beauty of Cornwall, and also captures the townies' contempt for summer residents and weekenders accurately, IMO. However, for all that her main characters just want to relax on their vacation and not get involved in the local politics (some mumbo jumbo about the fishermen vs. the interloping summer people/people who haven't lived in the village for eons, it exists solely to create red herrings from what I can tell, and is needlessly complicated) they *attend a local civic meeting about the very political issues they profess not to want to get involved in, since they're only there for a week and usually reside in Cambridge.* Uhhh, OK.
What follows is a series of meanderings through the Cornish countryside as St. Just (NEVER called Arthur unless Portia is speaking to him, cringe) OF COURSE gets involved in what ends up as a double murder even though he is off his patch and really shouldn't be. And OF COURSE he's super worried about Portia's safety so you know well ahead of time that she will end up in some terrible peril, but she's so smart and gorgeous that she will extricate herself but also may need some help from her interfering husband.
There is a plot point that involves poisonous fish and their appearance in Cornish waters due to climate change that's cool and interesting. There is also some stuff about pagan worship that is only mildly derogatory. But it takes SO LONG to get to the part where it all wraps up, and even after we're there, it takes FOREVER to find out the motive for the killer. Maybe I was just over it and it made it feel like it took a long time. Red herrings abound.
Not helping was the poor narration by Lorna Bennett, who I hope was just overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of characters. It was impossible to discern one bit of dialogue from another. She uses the same voice for the male Det. Inspector of Maidsfell as she does for a female restauranteur in the same conversation. Keeping track was challenging at best.
I think it's fair to say that Ms. Malliet is not for me, and while I appreciate that she clearly researched the background of the story and the plot holds together, it was not an enjoyable ride for me. Several times, I got to the point where I wanted to quit, then felt bad about quitting a little cozy mystery. The fact that Covid-19 is a continuous plot feature, but is only referred to by that name one time (the rest of the time it's "during the Plague Time,") should have made my mind up for me.
This book was a tough one. I know that G.M. Malliet has won awards, so I was interested to try one of her books. Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't started in the middle of a series, but I doubt it. This is the latest Arthur St. Just/Portia De'Ath (I see what you did there, G.M., and I do not like it) story. They are an engaged couple, very much in love; he's a cop and she is an academic who also writes mystery novels (hmm). They are on holiday in Cornwall, but of course it quickly becomes a busman's holiday.
Malliet does a nice job of fleshing out the atmosphere and sheer physical beauty of Cornwall, and also captures the townies' contempt for summer residents and weekenders accurately, IMO. However, for all that her main characters just want to relax on their vacation and not get involved in the local politics (some mumbo jumbo about the fishermen vs. the interloping summer people/people who haven't lived in the village for eons, it exists solely to create red herrings from what I can tell, and is needlessly complicated) they *attend a local civic meeting about the very political issues they profess not to want to get involved in, since they're only there for a week and usually reside in Cambridge.* Uhhh, OK.
What follows is a series of meanderings through the Cornish countryside as St. Just (NEVER called Arthur unless Portia is speaking to him, cringe) OF COURSE gets involved in what ends up as a double murder even though he is off his patch and really shouldn't be. And OF COURSE he's super worried about Portia's safety so you know well ahead of time that she will end up in some terrible peril, but she's so smart and gorgeous that she will extricate herself but also may need some help from her interfering husband.
There is a plot point that involves poisonous fish and their appearance in Cornish waters due to climate change that's cool and interesting. There is also some stuff about pagan worship that is only mildly derogatory. But it takes SO LONG to get to the part where it all wraps up, and even after we're there, it takes FOREVER to find out the motive for the killer. Maybe I was just over it and it made it feel like it took a long time. Red herrings abound.
Not helping was the poor narration by Lorna Bennett, who I hope was just overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of characters. It was impossible to discern one bit of dialogue from another. She uses the same voice for the male Det. Inspector of Maidsfell as she does for a female restauranteur in the same conversation. Keeping track was challenging at best.
I think it's fair to say that Ms. Malliet is not for me, and while I appreciate that she clearly researched the background of the story and the plot holds together, it was not an enjoyable ride for me. Several times, I got to the point where I wanted to quit, then felt bad about quitting a little cozy mystery. The fact that Covid-19 is a continuous plot feature, but is only referred to by that name one time (the rest of the time it's "during the Plague Time,") should have made my mind up for me.
April 26, 2022
Title: Death in Cornwall
Author: G.M. Malliet
Narrated by: Lorna Bennett
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Length: Approximately 11 hours and 03 minutes
Source: Review Copy from Netgalley. Thank-you!
Happy Mystery Monday! I have been in the mood for mysteries a lot recently. I was happy to review Death in Cornwall on audiobook from Netgalley. I found out once I started listening that this is book four of the St. Just Mystery series. It was fine to read as a stand-alone book, but I do want to now read the rest of the series!
DCI Arthur St. Just and Portia De’Ath decide to celebrate their engagement by visiting the small town of Maidsfell in Cornwall. The world has just opened up after being shut down for COVID. The people in the small town of Maidsfell are up in arms with each other as local fishermen want to build a spillway to help their business, but others are afraid it will ruin the view for tourists which also support the local economy. After a local aristocrat, Lord Bodwally is found murdered, St. Just and Portia are on the case to find the murderer. Did someone take the local political disagreement too far? Was it someone from Lord Bodwally’s past?
I enjoyed this audiobook. I love British mysteries and relished Lorna Bennett’s narration of the audiobook with her British accent. The book is set in beautiful Cornwall, which I’ve always wanted to visit. I related to the people of Maidsfell as I also live in a small community that has tourists in the summer. It’s a love / hate relationship with tourists and trying to make your local economy and community work. I also really liked how they kept referring to the “plague times.” I at first thought, why are they talking about the black death? Then I realized they were talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. The story had interesting twists using the pandemic as businesses try to reestablish themselves and go back to normal.
This was a traditional British mystery with some sly bits of humor thrown in. I laughed out loud as St. Just mused before the murder about how all of his vacations are always ruined because murder seems to follow him in his wake. The same thing used to always happen to poor Hercule Poirot. St. Just and Portia methodically work through the possible witnesses and killers as they unravel the mystery. I did not guess the ending and I greatly enjoyed the process of getting there. I also really loved all of the characters in the village and St. Just and Portia themselves. I especially love Portia’s last name of De’Ath. Ha! I will be looking up more mysteries by author G.M. Malliet.
This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2022...
Author: G.M. Malliet
Narrated by: Lorna Bennett
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Length: Approximately 11 hours and 03 minutes
Source: Review Copy from Netgalley. Thank-you!
Happy Mystery Monday! I have been in the mood for mysteries a lot recently. I was happy to review Death in Cornwall on audiobook from Netgalley. I found out once I started listening that this is book four of the St. Just Mystery series. It was fine to read as a stand-alone book, but I do want to now read the rest of the series!
DCI Arthur St. Just and Portia De’Ath decide to celebrate their engagement by visiting the small town of Maidsfell in Cornwall. The world has just opened up after being shut down for COVID. The people in the small town of Maidsfell are up in arms with each other as local fishermen want to build a spillway to help their business, but others are afraid it will ruin the view for tourists which also support the local economy. After a local aristocrat, Lord Bodwally is found murdered, St. Just and Portia are on the case to find the murderer. Did someone take the local political disagreement too far? Was it someone from Lord Bodwally’s past?
I enjoyed this audiobook. I love British mysteries and relished Lorna Bennett’s narration of the audiobook with her British accent. The book is set in beautiful Cornwall, which I’ve always wanted to visit. I related to the people of Maidsfell as I also live in a small community that has tourists in the summer. It’s a love / hate relationship with tourists and trying to make your local economy and community work. I also really liked how they kept referring to the “plague times.” I at first thought, why are they talking about the black death? Then I realized they were talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. The story had interesting twists using the pandemic as businesses try to reestablish themselves and go back to normal.
This was a traditional British mystery with some sly bits of humor thrown in. I laughed out loud as St. Just mused before the murder about how all of his vacations are always ruined because murder seems to follow him in his wake. The same thing used to always happen to poor Hercule Poirot. St. Just and Portia methodically work through the possible witnesses and killers as they unravel the mystery. I did not guess the ending and I greatly enjoyed the process of getting there. I also really loved all of the characters in the village and St. Just and Portia themselves. I especially love Portia’s last name of De’Ath. Ha! I will be looking up more mysteries by author G.M. Malliet.
This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2022...
March 6, 2022
Death in Cornwall – A St. Just Mystery – 2021 - *** – St. Just and his fiancé, Portia, are on vacation in Maidsfell. They become entangled in a murder investigation that involves the stone figures of Fourteen Maidens and fishing versus tourism. The characters are interesting and St. Just and Portia are enjoyable. Unfortunately, the writing falls apart with the key information about the villain withheld until after the climax, more or less as clean up. Also, how does a police investigator involve himself in a murder investigation without any official sanction or assignment from the higher ups. I don’t think that happens in English law enforcement. The book without the likability of the protagonists, would struggle to get to three stars. The climax involves several changes in point of view that were not in the previous ninety percent of the book. It was a strange transition in a critical point of the plot. I will read one of the Max Tudor series before I give a brush off to this author.
February 5, 2022
Death in Cornwall by GM Malliett
Narrated by Lorna Barrett
This is book four in a series and I have read the previous three books but it was at least ten years ago so I only recall that I liked them. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one very much. The story itself was okay. What seriously annoyed me was the constant references to “the plague times,” meaning the pandemic and supposedly now it is over. Calling it the plague times made me think of the middle ages and nobody calls it that, not even in the UK.
Besides, I read this kind of mystery as escapism and I don’t want to be reminded of Covid every few pages.
The narration was fine, not outstanding.
I think I am done with this series.
Narrated by Lorna Barrett
This is book four in a series and I have read the previous three books but it was at least ten years ago so I only recall that I liked them. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one very much. The story itself was okay. What seriously annoyed me was the constant references to “the plague times,” meaning the pandemic and supposedly now it is over. Calling it the plague times made me think of the middle ages and nobody calls it that, not even in the UK.
Besides, I read this kind of mystery as escapism and I don’t want to be reminded of Covid every few pages.
The narration was fine, not outstanding.
I think I am done with this series.
February 19, 2022
Detective Inspector Arthur St. Just from the Cambridge Constabulary and his almost-fiancé, Portia, are taking a long overdue vacation in the coastal village of Maidsfell in Cornwall. Filled with secrets, simmering tensions, and the emotional/economic scars of the COVID lockdown (known as Plague Time here,) the scenic community is torn between maintaining its independence as a fishing community or a destination for Londoners with cash. Despite his best efforts, St. Just gets caught up with solving two murders, and what a ride his investigation takes him on, so many motives, so many potential suspects. While I sort of suspected the villain, I could not connect the dots or motive so the ending was a whirlwind of events. Happily, Arthur and Portia are formally engaged at novel's end.
February 21, 2022
This book had both the best and worst of G.M. Malliet. St Just's thoughts of love toward Porsha are juvenile at best and are only alive due to the Malliet's lack of understanding of the male mind. She had the same problem in her last book in the last Max Tudor novel. (which stands as one of the worst books I have ever read). The total unrealistic approach to real police procedure is only a problem if you think about it. If you just take the book at face value, ignore St Just pining over Porsha, ignore half of the first half of the book, what's left is pretty good. For me, there wasn't enough left to make the book satisfying. With two stinkers in a row, I am going to be very slow about reading another, Its just that her first four or five were so good that keeps me reading.
April 17, 2022
Malliet picks up the St. Just series in this book, and it is a nice story that wraps up fairly convincingly. This is the type of book that prides itself on having few loose ends, although one aspect, the hit-and run death of a daughter years ago, is left unresolved but has little to do with the main plot. But I would have liked to have known the villain in that little scenario! St. Just and his fiancé are enjoying a nice week of vacation in Cornwall when mayhem strikes. St. Just gets drawn in, of course, and he and local authorities investigate crimes and suspects. There are some eccentric characters involved who make the book interesting. The solution is a bit out of nowhere, but that appears to be common in these semi-cozy novels.
March 29, 2022
Physically painful to get through. The story wasn’t bad except for the grinding repetition of “the plague times” which, unless there’s some parallel universe where the Black Death came back, I assume means the pandemic. It was a poor conversation where THE PLAGUE TIMES wasn’t endlessly referred to. Otherwise the narrator of the audiobook gave St Just a voice that made him sound perpetually furious and everyone spoke so…..very….slow….ly.
December 25, 2021
Not bad but the idea that this is set in a time when the pandemic is over is jarring. Also the inevitable “hero decides to confront potential murder in risky situation” is SO overdone. The setting is lovely and the characters are believable would definitely read more of this series. Dpl via hoopla
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2022
I’ve enjoyed G. M.Malliet’s books so much but this was was a disappointment. I don’t know if it was because I listened to the audio version - the narrator was HORRIBLE! Especially when speaking as St. Just.
The mystery itself was unengaging as well. I couldn’t dredge up a grain of interest in any of the characters.
The mystery itself was unengaging as well. I couldn’t dredge up a grain of interest in any of the characters.
April 1, 2022
These people need to reexamine their priorities for rest and relaxation. I would attend a community meeting on my vacation....never. Anywho, fun enough even though it indulges in too many mystery cliches.
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