A Cornish Seaside Murder by Fiona Leitch

It's Jodie's first book back on the force and she's already got another murder to solve. At least it gets her out of being a mermaid... 

It's Merrymaid Week in Penstowan and the story goes that the ugly mermaid turns into a beautiful one as she runs through town with the children chasing her. While hypothetically a lot of fun, Jodie is set up to be the ugly mermaid but never completes her run; she's found a dead body, that of a local fisherman. It seems like someone may be trying to tie it into the legend because the statue of a mermaid usually stored in a church seems to be missing as well. 

As usual, Jodie eventually solves the mystery though there is a bit of a twist at the end of the story.

Four stars

This book comes out June 8, 2023

Follows A Cornish Recipe for Murder

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Fatal Encounter in Tuscany by Vivian Conroy

I hadn't read the first two books in this series and I regret that. While Conroy is an adept writer and put some information in to catch us up on characters without info dumping, I really wish I had known more about Atalanta Ashford and her sleuthing abilities. 

But we meet her in this book as she is solving the mystery of a missing ring. Having read Sherlock Holmes, she is very easily able to find where the ring went, riling Inspector Deriot who seems to be a rival of sorts. Or maybe she is more accurately a thorn in his side. 

But she won't be a thorn for long as her friend (?) Raoul is "abducting" her for a grand adventure, a ride on the Orient Express. It is there that she and Raoul meet Catharina Lanetti who is going back to Italy to celebrate her father's birthday. Her family is... interesting, to say the least. The patriarch worships the Machiavellis and his schemes are no less convoluted. Catharina invites Atalanta and Raoul to join the celebration. While Atalanta wonders whether this is a set up, she is still drawn to the Lanettie compound where, as predicted, Catharina's father is killed. She, as the person who has come back the most recently is blamed. But is she really the killer?
There is a LOT of drama and untold secrets in this book. I think, having read the first two books, I might be more invested in the story but I do feel like Conroy is setting up Atalanta and Raoul to be more than friends but the chemistry isn't there yet. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out April 13, 2023

Follows Last Seen in Santorini

Followed by Last Dance in Salzburg

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

Opinions are my own

A Cornish Recipe for Murder by Fiona Leitch

I seem to be on a spate of books centered around the Great British Bakeoff all of which have been fairly enjoyable. This iteration has Jodie Parker involved in the show (though she's not really quite sure why she was chosen.) It's just to bad that there are some weird things going on during the show, mostly centered around her very own bakes. But then one of the crew is murdered. He had only recently joined the team so Jodie isn't sure who would have hated him enough to kill him.

The secondary characters are well-developed including the host who is a drag queen with a secret to hide, the producer with a temper, and some of the crew. We get to see some relationship development between Jodie and Nate and some personal development for Jodie as well. 

Four stars

This book comes out August 18, 2022

Follows A Cornish Christmas Murder

Followed by A Cornish Seaside Murder

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch

I've been reading a string of amateur detective stories and most of them have been rather irritating in the way they stuck their noses in. But this series is literally called the Nosey Parker Mysteries and Jodie Parker is a former policewoman so she actually has some knowledge of solving crime. I had not read any of the other books in the series but didn't think I missed anything by not having that knowledge. Nor was there a massive info dump to try and get me caught up which was nice.

Josie, her mom, daughter, and friend are catering a charity event in a castle that is newly converted to a B&B. The event ends but Josie and her crew are stuck in the castle with an eccentric billionaire and his assistant and son, a group of Japanese tourists, the hotel staff, and two wandering people who might not be exactly who they say they are. Oh, and a VERY drunk Santa who actually ends up dead. 

With a sprinkling of secret passages and the obligatory local cops who don't like Josie investigating (but her boyfriend outranks them,) this was a charming book.

Four stars

This book comes out December 9th, 2021

Follows A Sprinkle of Sabotage

Followed by A Cornish Recipe for Murder 

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own