Title: The Moonlit Murders
Author: Fliss Chester
Publication date: 21st April 2021
Book Description:
When a journey to New York is interrupted by missing diamonds and a body in the lifeboat, there is only one woman who can help: Fen Churche! 1945. Fen Churche follows her dreams and sails for New York. She books passage on a steam ship from France to America, excited to dance the night away in the glamorous ballroom and play games on deck. Nothing will stand in the way of her trip, not even when an eccentric heiress’s diamond tiara goes missing… Looking forward to relaxing with her favourite crossword puzzles, Fen’s quiet passage is horribly disrupted by another crime – this time a murder. Fen finds Genie, a young actress bound for Broadway, strangled in her own cabin. With no police on board and a frantic captain, Fen decides to do a little snooping of her own. When another body turns up, hidden in a lifeboat, whilst the ship is in the middle of the Atlantic, Fen feels sure these dreadful crimes are linked. Through her sleuthing she meets light-hearted lieutenants returning from the war, charming cabin boys and snooty first-class passengers who look down their nose at her. But it isn’t until Fen realises that one person is missing from the passenger list that she is finally on the murderer’s trail. With only rolling waves and sea mists for company, can Fen solve the case before they dock in New York and the killer escapes for good? You’ll be utterly hooked from page one of this warm and witty cozy! An absolute treat for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Jacqueline Winspear.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Moonlit Murders' by Fliss Chester.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Fliss Chester, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 21st April 2021
This is the second book I have read by this author and it is also the third book in the 'Fen Churche Mystery' series. The first book I read is the first one in the series and is called 'A Dangerous Goodbye' which I recommend!! This book can also be read as a standalone.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis. I enjoyed Fliss Chester's 'A Dangerous Goodbye' and am hoping this will be just as good. It also stated in the synopsis that this book is 'An absolute treat for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Jacqueline Winspear', I am a fan of Agatha Christie so am looking forward to see if it loves up to this. 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 43 chapters and an epilogue. 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 France 🇫🇷 and on a steam ship on the Atlantic.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Fenella Churche. 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.
This book is very well written with vivid descriptions. The synopsis and cover suited the storyline perfectly. Although this book is part of a series it can be read as a standalone with no problems at all, any previous cases/information is described in just the right amount of detail, enough for those reading as a standalone to work out what happened but not too much so those who have read previous books in the series get fed up of repetitions.
I love the fact that the protagonist is female, being one myself, and that she has a strong personality and will not back down no matter what is thrown at her, including 2 murders and a theft!!! I devoured it in one sitting.
The plot is intriguing and filled with mystery, thefts, lies, romance, murder and more!!! It has plenty to keep the reader interested and has lots of little clues to help point to the killer. I didn't guess who the murderer was so bonus points there! Nothing worse than working out the killer less than half way through a book. Although the book is a crime one I thought it was still quite a light hearted read and I enjoyed the lovely descriptions and the feeling it gave me of being on a cruise per say. The murders themselves were quite interesting and not straight forward death's and I love the way that Fen does her crosswords to work mysteries out.
The characters were all very interesting with their own personalities, strengths and flaws. I enjoyed meeting Fen and James again as well as the new characters. Mrs Archer was absolutely horrid and her attitude really annoyed me. Genie and Spencer were definitely larger and life and full of fun. Eloise was definitely an interesting character and I'm glad that she finally stood up for herself. I'm looking forward to the next novel in this series and finding out what Fen will get wrapped up in next and where she will be when she does.
Overall a very well written post war crime novel that was easy to read and kept me guessing throughout.
Genres covered in this novel include Mystery and History amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, Jacqueline Winspear and anyone who enjoys a page turning who dunnit.
287 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@FlissChester @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their business. Never far from a decent glass of something, Fliss also loves cooking (and writing up her favourite recipes on her blog), enjoying the beautiful Surrey and West Sussex countryside and having a good natter.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3edCvzR
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