Faith Martin

This is a readable cozy mystery story, set in 1963 Oxford, England. The city coroner and a young woman police officer investigate a suspicious death at a dodgy nightclub. The victim was the lead singer in an up and coming band. Initially his death was ruled as accidental, but coroner senses witnesses did not tell the whole story. He begins a semi-official investigation with the aid of a junior WPC, which involves some undercover work as well as interviewing the witnesses.

The story has a strong sense of place (Oxford) and the times, when British pop was coming into vogue. There's some not-so-nice people in the mix but most characters are regular people. The ending is exciting and the resolution may take a reader by surprise.

It's the last book in a series, but is easily read as a standalone.… (mere)

I am finding that the older I get, the more I love cosy mysteries! And I've just discovered author Faith Martin - who is a master in the genre. Her brand new book is Murder By Candlelight.

All the bits are there. The book is set in 1924 in Maybury-in-the-Marsh, a small village in the Cotswolds. A place where everyone knows everyone's business. Or do they really know their neighbours? I love the dialogue and mores of this time frame - how a verbal barb is parried back, covered in politeness. The solving of the whodunit is found in piecing together bits of conversations, memories, observations, unplanned slips of the tongue, deduction and more, into a family answer. Its a nice change from current day DNA samples etc. Now while the police are are indeed investigating, there is a young pair of villagers who are also having a poke about. They were easy to like and you can't help but like them. I also have my fingers crossed that we will see more of Val and Arbie - they're delightful - and I feel like there's a romantic connection just waiting to be made.

Martin's plotting is wonderful! The crime seems to be of the locked room type, but there are other avenues that might also be in play - 'nuf said. Martin's case has lots of suspects to choose from. I have to admit - I didn't solve the case until the the list was down to one. Bravo to Faith Martin - this whodunit was not obvious.

I am really hoping that this is just the first book in a series. I would very happily pick up the next book!… (mere)

‎Murder by Candelight pairs a twisting plot with all the entertaining elements of a "British village mystery." Set in the Cotswolds in 1924, it features Arbie Swift, the youthful author of A Gentleman's Guide to Ghost-Hunting. Arbie arrives in the village to investigate a possible ghost in the home of a wealthy spinster. When she turns up murdered in a locked room, Arbie switches from hunting ghosts to hunting murderers.

If you enjoy "romp-like" Golden age mysteries, you're in for a treat with this title.… (mere)

Enjoyed this police procedural about a Detective Inspector who has a lot on her plate: due to an acrimonious pending divorce, only brought to an end by the death of her husband, she is living on her uncle's narrowboat on a canal outside Oxford. To make matters worse, her husband was found to be corrupt, making a fortune out of the illegal trade in animal parts, and she is under investigation by the police's own anti-corruption people even though she knew nothing about it. One of her sergeants is an unpleasant man who was best friends with her deceased husband, probably involved in some of his more minor illegal activities and has it in for her on principle. And she is then made Senior Investigation Officer of the enquiry into the death of a man in the canal which turns into a murder investigation, seemingly linked to a local crime boss.

I liked the characters and the competence of DI Greene. She is a confident, long serving officer who would quite like promotion but also wants to stay on active duty and is aware that a Chief Inspector is more desk-bound. She has a wry sense of humour. There was some nice diversity, with women and ethnic officers, and even the nasty sergeant wasn't overtly racist even if he might have such views privately. The prose style does involve a fair amount of 'head hopping' so that there is a lot of switching viewpoints, but for once I didn't mind that.

The one thing that struck me as a bit unrealistic was that her own CI starts an affair with blonde, beautiful sergeant Janine: not only would that seem to tarnish his own chances of promotion - the man above him is due to move on shortly - but Janine is ambitious and I would have thought she wouldn't want to create the impression that she is trying to progress in her career by sleeping with the boss. However, I enjoyed this opening volume enough to want to read more, so a 4 star rating.… (mere)