Book Description:
When the star guest collapses at a wine tasting, it seems someone has a taste for murder. Fortunately, amateur sleuth Belinda Penshurst was at the event – and now she’s on the case!
Belinda Penshurst loves her home village Little Challham, and its charming, peaceful ways. So when wine critic Sadie Oppenshaw dies at a tasting Belinda organised, she immediately turns detective to uncover the poisoner…
Accompanied by retired detective Harry Powell and her boisterous Labrador Horatio, Belinda sets out to investigate the world of wine. There are scandals brewing everywhere… but do the local DIY enthusiasts have a deadly vendetta, or did Sadie’s reviews cause a resentful restaurant owner to crack?
When another of the guests at the wine tasting is found poisoned, it becomes clear the killer is only just getting started. Can Belinda crack the case and open the champagne, before the murderer catches up with her?
A charming cozy mystery, perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, H.Y. Hanna and Emily Organ.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Murder At The Castle' by Lisa Cutts.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Lisa Cutts, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 8th December 2021.
This is the second book I have read by this author. It is also the second book in the 'Belinda Penshurst Mystery' series but can be read as a standalone. I have read the first book which is called 'Murder In The Vilage' and I would recommend reading it.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I am also a huge fan of Lisa and if this book is half as good as 'Murder In The Village' it is guaranteed to be a great read. The synopsis stated that 'Fans of M.C. Beaton, H.Y. Hanna and Emily Organ will love the first novel in the Belinda Penshurst series!' I am a huge fan of Emily Organ so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue and 42 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Little Challam which is a fictional village in Kent, England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Belinda Penshurst and Harry Powell. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
What an absolutely fantastic page turning editon to a riveting new series!!! Congratulations Lisa on a great success!!!
This book is very well written and very smooth and easy to read. The descriptions are vivid and helps you to really feel that you are in the middle of the village whilst everything is going on. The synopsis and cover suit the storyline perfectly.
The storyline itself is fast paced and there is always something going on to captivate your attention and keep you constantly turning the pages. I really enjoyed the storyline and loved visiting Little Challham again and exploring more of the fantastic countryside as well as more of Belindas castle. This book is filled with suspense, red herrings, tension, friendship, a hint of romance, lots of dogs and some laughter mixed in. A perfect combination for any successful cosy mystery. I had no idea who was doing what and am pleased to say that I was quite surprised when the reveal was made. It is getting harder and harder to surprise me after reading so many crime books and there is nothing worse than working it all out by 50% so another congratulations on this Lisa!! I love the atmosphere of Belindas Castle and I'm looking forward to seeing what adventure Belinda and Harry will go on next along with seeing how Harrys new job prospects go!!!
Although this is the second book in the series I had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
I really enjoyed meeting Belinda and Harry again along with all the new characters and some old faces too. I was not only invested on the storyline but I also became even more invested in them than the first book. I am looking forward to seeing more of both Belinda and Harry again plus meeting more old and new faces. These characters are he type to stay with me for a while. I love that Belinda is such a strong woman, being female myself I enjoy seeing strong female leads in books. The fact that I love animals and run a rescue and that both Harry and Belinda are animal lovers definitely helped me engage with them both. I liken them to a pair of naughty school children. The type in primary school who bicker but really fancy each other and I really am looking forward to see what becomes of them. They both had me in stitches on several occasions, Belinda with some of the things she came out with and her attitude and Harry for just being Harry, bless him!!! Extremely strong, likeable and realistic characters!!!
Well done Lisa on an yet another absolutely fantastic book in what is an epic series. Here's to reading the next adventure 🍻 🥂!!
Overall a page turning, non stop, addictive, hilarious cosy mystery that is perfect for the beach or in front of a fire, a fantastic addition to a riveting series!!!
Some of my favourite quotes in this book include the following:
😂 ‘Your attitude isn’t helping,’ he said. ‘I definitely can’t break into a vineyard and a brewery on the same day. It’s a – it’s a crime wave.’‘Would it make you feel any better if we waited until after midnight, and then it would be a different day?’‘No!’ he said. After a couple of seconds, he added, ‘Possibly, actually, it would.’
Genres covered in this book include Cosy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Mystery and Crime Thriller amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Emily Organ, Agatha Christie, Faith Martin, Helena Dixon and anyone looking for a fantastic, laugh a minute cosy mystery
301 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free if you have kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@LisaCutts @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Lisa Cutts is a full-time detective constable investigating murders for a living. When off duty she writes a fictitious version of her day job. She lives and works within the county of Kent with her husband and Labrador. She is the author of the DC Nina Foster books, Never Forget and Remember, Remember. Never Forgot was longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award 2013 and the winner of the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award 2014 for Best Thriller. She has also written four books in the East Rise Incident Room series, Mercy Killing, Buried Secrets, Lost Lives and Don’t Trust Him. All four centre around DI Harry Powell and his Major Crime Team battling to solve the latest murders within the county. Currently she is writing the Little Challham mysteries, cosy mysteries set in a fictional village in Kent. She writes a monthly column, Behind the Tape, for Writing Magazine answering police procedural questions from other writers. In early 2016, she was honoured to become the Patron of Rochester Literature Festival and help establish Murderous Medway, an annual crime fiction festival packed full of amazing author panels. As well as being on BBC Radio 4’s Open Book, Lisa has twice appeared on This Morning to chat about TV crime dramas Broadchurch and Line of Duty. https://www.facebook.com/lisa.cutts.505/ https://www.instagram.com/lisa_cutts/ https://twitter.com/LisaCuttsAuthor
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3rtHQez
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