Nov 7, 20237 min read

Mystery At Saltwater Cottages by Clare Chase. Review

Book Description:

Saltwater Cottages, Saxford’s new arts and crafts centre, is as pretty as a picture. But when murder makes a blot on the landscape, Eve Mallow must draw on all her detective skills to solve the case!

When beautiful Saltwater Cottages opens, offering art courses in charming surroundings, Eve Mallow and best friend Viv sign up straight away. Viv’s brother Simon is in charge, and they all want him to succeed.

But from the start, Eve finds herself in a sticky situation. Famous guest artist Nena Field is a complete nightmare, painting everyone in a bad light. So when Eve finds her body in Blind-Eye Wood, there’s no shortage of suspects. But who could have hated her enough to take her life? Was it the curiously over-qualified cook, the secretive manager, or the chatty receptionist, mysteriously missing at the time of the murder?

Determined to find the killer and save Simon’s business, Eve sets to work sketching out a theory of the crime. Nena was working on a secret painting when she died, which has now vanished without a trace, and Eve is convinced it holds the answers she needs. But when all her best suspects seem to have alibis, Eve is forced back to the drawing board.

Then Eve has her own brush with death, and realises she must be on the right track. But what did she see or hear at Saltwater Cottages, and can she find the killer before they paint her out of the picture?

An utterly delightful and page-turning English cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis, and Agatha Christie.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Mystery At Saltwater Cottages' by Clare Chase.

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

Publication date 6th November 2023.

This is the seventh 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 'Mystery At Farfield Castle' which is the ninth book in the series. I would highly recommend them all. All books in this series can be read as standalones.

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!

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 and fast paced cozy mystery. 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 many murders have taken place Clare managed to make me want to visit the absolutely gorgeous Saxford!!! In this fantastic addition to Clare's addictive Eve Mallow series Eve and her best friend Viv have signed up to art courses at Saltwater Cottages. It is owned by Viv's brother Simon so they both want to help out to help him succeed. The famous guest artist is Nena Field who is an absolute terror who paints everyone in a bad light. Eve later finds her murdered in Blind-Eye Wood and with many suspects with many motivations Eve is definitely going to busy trying to work out the killer this time. However she is even more determined to solve this one to save Simon's business even when she is put at risk herself!!! Eve's partner Robin is away in London consulting on a case so isn't there too watch her back this time so she is even more at risk than usual!!!

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 yet another of Clare's 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 eleventh 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.

These amazing characters are 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 books in this fantastic and addictive 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. Robin is away in London in this book so he is not "seen" as much but he is not forgotten and Eve makes sure she keeps him posted on events. 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!! It was also nice to see and get to know more about Viv's brother Simon in this book. 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.

296 pages.

This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £8.99 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.

Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews

#MysteryAtSaltwaterCottages #EveMallow #ClareChase #Bookouture #BookoutureAnonymous #NetGalley #BookReview #BlogTour #BooksOnTour #Goodreads #NetGalley #Amazon #AmazonKindle #Bookstagram #Bookblogger @MysteryAtSaltwaterCottages @EveMallow @ClareChase @Bookouture @BookoutureAnonymous @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86 @Goodreads @Netgalley @Amazon @AmazonKindle @Bookstagram @BookBlogger https://kcmw86.wixsite.com/bookworm86 https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?ref=bookmarks https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__tn__=%2As-R https://www.instagram.com/bookwormwhitlock86/ https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/34299953-kirsty-bookworm86 https://mobile.twitter.com/kcmw86

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AFZ2XZBSFHIHXBXGZLBQ666XVK4A?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_mb_l_prf

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