Farewell My Herring by L C Tyler

I had never read a book in this series before but I a) didn't feel like I was missing anything and b) am now very intrigued about the rest of the series. The ending was a little mushy and sort of left open like there might be more to the story in later books and there some plot points were sort of glossed over but generally I liked the well-built characters and the descriptive creation of setting.

Though it is hard to believe, there are still places in the world where people cannot get wi-fi or cell service. I live near one of them so there was no suspension of disbelief for me when this mystery was set in a remote old house, Fell Hall. Ethelred and his agent Elsie have been invited to a conference where they will discuss writing mysteries and how to get your book noticed, respectively. There are only supposed to be the three authors (Elsie and Ethelred have had interactions with both of the other writers but I'm not sure if it was in other books or not.) They are there to confer with the woman, Wendy, who runs the writing seminars with one other person, Jenny who helps with the cleaning and cooking, in the building. However, two of the participants have shown up early. It is that evening that the snow begins to fall. This very much annoys Wendy who is the type of regimented person who wants things to not only run smoothly but to run her way. Even worse, one of the two participants seems to be causing consternation among the authors.

Added to the mix another participant shows up the next day, even with the deep snow, and he seems to have some sort of information about Wendy. Then one of their number dies. And one disappears. Elsie and Ethelred take it upon themselves to investigate the murder.

It was really interesting being in the head of both of these characters, especially since I didn't actually like either one all that much. But they are both fully formed, this being the 9th book in the series, and Tyler certainly has them so down pat that one book really gives the reader a full idea of who they each are.

Four stars

Follows The Maltese Herring

This book comes out on April 22nd, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Allison & Busby and Netgalley

Opinions are my own