May 7, 20238 min read

Mystery At Farfield Castle by Clare Chase. Review

Updated: May 9, 2023

Book: Mystery at Farfield Castle

Author: Clare Chase

Pub Day: May 5th 2023

Book Description: Beautiful Farfield Castle is opening its grounds for a party, and everyone in Saxford’s invited. But as the champagne flows, the owner takes a fatal fall. Fortunately, amateur sleuth Eve Mallow is on the case! When novelist Julian Fisher buys Farfield Castle to turn the charming old building into a writers’ retreat, he wants the neighbours onside. But he has his work cut out: Saxford St Peter locals tried to buy the castle for the village, and are furious that only the very rich will be able to enjoy it. At the lavish launch party, Fisher treats the villagers like royalty, but Eve Mallow is distracted by the tension in the air. She watches as Fisher’s wife Kitty argues with several guests, almost in tears, before she disappears altogether… Later that evening, when Kitty is found dead in the castle’s icehouse, it’s quickly proved to be no accident. With dozy Detective Palmer on the wrong track, Eve can’t resist getting involved. Convinced the answers lie inside Farfield Castle, Eve questions an overly inquisitive journalist, Kitty’s less-than-loyal husband, and his prickly PA. But when it emerges that a family heirloom and Julian’s computer both went missing on the night of the party, Eve is sure that solving the theft will solve the murder. Who is behind this deadly tale… and can Eve find the killer before she gets written off? A completely charming English cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and J.R. Ellis.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Mystery At Farfield Castle' by Clare Chase.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Clare Chase, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 5th May 2023.

This is the sixth book I have read by this author. It is also the tenth book in the 'Eve Mallow Mystery' series. I have previously read 'Mystery At The Old Mill ' which is the fourth book in the 'Eve Mallow Mystery' series, 'Mystery At The Abbey Hotel' which is the fifth book in the 'Eve Mallow Mystery' and 'Mystery At The Church' which is the sixth book in the 'Eve Mallow Mystery' series, 'Mystery At Magpie Lodge' which is the seventh and 'Mystery At Lovelace Manor' which is the eighth book in the series and which I would highly recommend. All book s in this series can be read as standalones.

I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'A completely charming English cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and J.R. Ellis.' I am a huge fan of Faith Martin so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Clare Chase and if this is half as good as 'Mystery At The Abbey Hotel', 'Mystery At The Old Mill', 'Mystery At The Church', 'Mystery At Magpie Lodge' and 'Mystery At Lovelace Manor' it is sure to be a page turning read. 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 48 chapters. The chapters are short 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 a fictional town based in Suffolk, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually visited Suffolk on several occasions so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise anywhere that Clare has based the book on.

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Eve Mallow. 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 on anything.

Yet another page turning, fantastic adventure with Eve, Gus and Robin!!! If you have never read any books in this epic series you are missing out!!!

This book is very well written making it a lovely smooth read. The atmosphere and vivid descriptions are perfect for the plot and helps give that cosy feeling while reading. The synopsis and cover suited the storyline perfectly. I'm looking forward to reading more of Clare Chase's books including any prior to this one that I have yet to read.

Another addictive beauty by the very talented Clare!! One of the things I absolutely adore about Clare's books is that each and every time she creates stunning areas which come to life thanks to her fantastic evocative writing skills. Regardless that it was a place where murder takes place Clare managed to make me want to visit the absolutely gorgeous Farfield Castle!!! In this fantastic addition to Clare's addictive Eve Mallow series Eve has been asked to attend a writers retreat in Farfield Castle hosted by novelist Julian Fisher, Julian's wife Kitty and Kitty's brother Nate Merchant. However, she is torn about going ahead due to the amount of villagers of Saxford St Peters that are against the new owners after one of the locals lost out on a bid to them to purchase the castle which would have been used for the community. Nate and Kitty's grandparents had previously owned the castle and were well liked by the villagers who would be welcomed by them to join in on any activities they were doing when the villagers would walk through the castle grounds, allowed to by Kitty and Nate's grandparents. Eve decides to go ahead with the job but not long after arriving tensions and suspense start to build at the launch party exploding when Kitty is found dead in the icehouse. things only get worse when it is declared to be murder and Kitty finds herself investigating again. The storyline itself is a fast paced cosy mystery that kept me guessing all the way through. It is filled with tension, suspense, murder, red herrings galore and everything you could ask for in an action packed addictive mystery. I had no idea who the killer was so a huge congratulations to Clare!!!! It is getting harder and harder to surprise me with the amount of crime books I read but you definitely managed it. There were so many potential suspects and each one of my guesses were way out!! I enjoyed that it wasn't really a case of just one mystery but how several linked smoothly and everything was tied up nicely at the end, I hate loose ends!! This is one of those books that every time I tell myself I will just read one more chapter I never actually manage to as something always happens that means I just have to read another and then another until before I know it I have devoured the whole book in a manner of hours and each book in this series is just the same!! I love the fact that Clare conjures up new locations and different events in each one of her books in this series ensuring the reader always has something new and fresh to sink their teeth into and each book manages to be just as good, if not better, than the previous ones!! I really enjoyed going on this adventure with Eve and investigating with her. Clare portrays village life perfectly and the community within them in each and every one of her books which makes them even more realistic. I absolutely love reading Eve's obituary at the end of each book and she captivates the personality of the victim absolutely perfectly. I think it is a lovely unique touch and gives a summary of what we learned about them through the story serving as a reminder. This book was absolutely filled with surprises and another fantastic addition to the addictive 'Eve Mallow Mystery' series.

Clear your schedules as once you've picked this up you won't be able to put it down!!

Although this is the tenth 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.

The characters were all realistic, strong and an eclectic bunch to say the least. It was really fun learning all of their different characteristics, personalities and backgrounds. I absolutely love meeting them in each of these series. They have become like friends to me and I find myself missing them as soon as I have closed the pages. When I "meet" them again it is like they have never been away. I love Eve and of course Gus and I really enjoyed meeting them again along with Robin and Viv. I find Eve to be slightly eccentric which I enjoyed the most about her. She has such a large personality which is unforgettable. I always love her interactions with Viv and the both of them together always make me giggle at some point. I love watching the way Eve mingles with suspects and picks up information during conversations, or sneaking around and starts putting pieces together. It really is an enjoyable experience trying to work out the killer with her!! I also enjoyed meeting all the new characters who all had such strong personalities although I could not stand Julian and found him to be a pig who absolutely adored himself, apologies to pigs everywhere!! I won't go into any further detail about him or several other characters as I don't want to give anything away. Regardless, if you love them or hate them they all come together to make this novel yet another amazing success by Clare! I cannot wait to read what Eve, Robin and Gus get up to next!!

Congratulations to Clare Chase on yet another absolutely successful and addictive page turning murder mystery. This is why when I want an addictive cosy mystery which I can read anywhere I hunt your books down and why you are in my top 5 cozy mystery author list!. Here's to you're next success 🥂

Overall an absolutely compelling, addictive and page turning gothic cosy mystery that is perfect to read on front of the fire.

Genres covered in this novel include Thriller, Women Sleuths, Humorous Fiction, Amateur Sleuths, Murder Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Cozy Crafts & Hobbies Mystery, Police Procedural, Cozy Mystery, Crime Thriller, Cozy Culinary Mystery, Fiction Anthologies, Cozy Animal Mystery and Crime Fiction amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of cosy mysteries, Faith Martin, Verity Bright, Agatha Christie, Frances Evesham, J.R. Ellis and Betty Rowlands.

292 pages.

This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £7.99 in paperback via Amazon 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.

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Author Bio

Clare Chase writes classic mysteries. Her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations.

Her debut novel was shortlisted for Novelicious’s Undiscovered Award, as well as an EPIC award post-publication, and was chosen as a Debut of the Month by LoveReading. Murder on the Marshes (Tara Thorpe 1) was shortlisted for an International Thriller Writers award.

Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat and finds the mid-terrace she currently occupies a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.

You can find Clare's website and blog at www.clarechase.com