Tag Archives: fiction set in Cornwall

#BookReview ‘The Cornish Castle Murder’ by Fiona Leitch #crime #cosycrime

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Jodie Parker and DCI Nathan Withers are getting married at Kervoy Castle hotel but inevitably their weekend of pre-wedding activities is halted by a death. The Cornish Castle Murder by Fiona Leitch is eighth in the Nosey Parker Cornwall-set cosy crime series. Fiona LeitchOf course when a suspicious death occurs at a wedding where practically every guest is a police officer, there is no shortage of theories and help. There are also unforeseen complications. The wedding weekend is very expensive, prompting a debate about whether the nuptials should be postponed and everyone sent home; or should they stay for the limitless food and entertainment. So everyone stays. Nathan has two best men. Craig, who has flown from America, is acting strangely and having a dramatic personal crisis that can’t be ignored. The hotel is suffering from a spate of petty thefts. And the detective inspector in charge of the murder case is a) an outsider from Exeter; b) an officer Jodie worked with in London a long time ago; and c) determined to investigate the case in her own way without the interference of the police officers on site.
Nathan and Jodie of course ask their own questions, examine the murder scene and gather clues. Jodie’s daughter Daisy and boyfriend Joe are tasked with researching the victim’s social media feeds while Jodie’s oldest friend Tony teams up with her mother Shirley to find out the local gossip in the old-fashioned way, by talking to people. As always there are plenty of laughs, especially from Shirley who is an enthusiastic dancer and outlasts most of the youngsters at the disco. Dog Germaine, who at first is banned from the wedding as the hotel doesn’t allow pets, makes a crucial appearance and a key discovery.
The pace of the story is a little erratic at times and there are almost too many characters who look guilty. My attention strayed for a while, but the story hits its stride again in the last quarter. Leitch writes with an entertaining blend of humour, crime, puzzle-solving and saucy jokes, but is light on the food references this time.

Next in the series is The Cornish Christmas Pantomime Murder.

Here are my reviews of the first books in the Nosey Parker series:-
THE CORNISH WEDDING MURDER #1NOSEYPARKER
THE CORNISH VILLAGE MURDER #2NOSEYPARKER
THE PERFECT CORNISH MURDER #3NOSEYPARKER
A CORNISH CHRISTMAS MURDER #4NOSEYPARKER
A CORNISH RECIPE FOR MURDER #5NOSEYPARKER
A CORNISH SEASIDE MURDER #6NOSEYPARKER
THE CORNISH CAMPSITE MURDER #7NOSEYPARKER

If you like this, try:-
‘Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet’ by MC Beaton #2AGATHARAISIN
‘Death on Deck’ by Verity Bright #13LADYELEANORSWIFT
‘A Medal for Murder’ by Frances Brody #2KATESHACKLETON

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE CORNISH CASTLE MURDER by Fiona Leitch https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-9Yy via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Elizabeth Chadwick

#BookReview ‘The Cornish Village Murder’ by Fiona Leitch #crime #cosycrime

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The Cornish Village Murder by Fiona Leitch is the second Nosey Parker cosy mystery and the first I’ve read, in fact I read it when it was originally called A Brush with Death. Jodie Parker, ex-Metropolitan police officer, and newly single mum has returned home to Cornwall. It’s the week of Penstowan’s inaugural arts festival and Jodie, no longer working for the police, is doing the catering. The festival’s main attraction is painter Duncan Stovall, famous for his Penstowan series of sea paintings. Fiona Leitch This is a story with instant fizz. Written in the first person, Jodie’s, I loved the sly sometimes saucy asides that pull you straight into the jokes, the personalities and the action. If it were an item of food on a menu catered by Jodie, this book would be a mash-up of a Cornish saffron bun slathered with butter and clotted cream, a mug of steaming tea and a glass of scrumpy. Cornwall is a part of the book’s DNA, not just the dialect of the Penstowan residents or the food but the wonderful descriptions of coastal scenery that make you want to get into the car and head south on the M5.
When a visiting author is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs Jodie can’t resist sticking her nose in and asking questions, much to the annoyance of DCI Nathan Withers and the irritation of Jodie’s daughter Daisy and mum Shirley.
This is a silky read, one of the best of its genre I’ve read. A brilliant community of family, friends and townspeople, a beautiful seaside setting, with a witty detective, plotted on two levels. The foundation is Jodie’s life settling into the town of her childhood, a triangular-shaped romantic entanglement, and her burgeoning new catering business. Overlaying this is the case in which she becomes entangled; the art world, not just the creation of art but the finance, promotion, sales and investment.
I particularly enjoyed the joshing with childhood friends Debbie and Tony, including lots of cultural references from the Eighties that are lightly handled without huge signposts saying ‘laugh here’.
Read it and chuckle.

Here are my reviews of other books in the Nosey Parker series:-
THE CORNISH WEDDING MURDER #1NOSEYPARKER
THE PERFECT CORNISH MURDER #3NOSEYPARKER
A CORNISH CHRISTMAS MURDER #4NOSEYPARKER
A CORNISH RECIPE FOR MURDER #5NOSEYPARKER
A CORNISH SEASIDE MURDER #6NOSEYPARKER
THE CORNISH CAMPSITE MURDER #7NOSEYPARKER
THE CORNISH CASTLE MURDER #8NOSEYPARKER

If you like this, try:-
‘Magpie Murders’ by Anthony Horowitz #1SUSANRYELAND
‘A Deadly Discovery’ by JC Kenney #4ALLIE COBB
‘Tea for Two at the Little Cornish Kitchen’ by Jane Linfoot #2LITTLECORNISHKITCHEN

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE CORNISH VILLAGE MURDER by Fiona Leitch https://wp.me/p5gEM4-5lq via @SandraDanby