Located in a wooded valley in the Cotswolds is a beautiful old home dating from the early 18th century. Dearley Manor and surrounding estate land is the home of Myrna Maxford and her husband, Paul Reynolds. Yes, the very same Paul who abandoned civilian Scene of Crimes Officer Sukey Reynolds and their son, Fergus, 5 years ago. Though some bitterness remains between them, Sukey has moved on to a new romantic relationship and is enjoying the resumption of her job with the Country Police Force. When she's assigned to work a barn fire at Dearley Farm, Sukey soon gets drawn into a much larger drama and a murder. It seems that someone has killed Myrna Maxford, and there's no shortage of suspects. Despite her personal connection to Paul and the police finding him a person of interest, Sukey discovers that many believed Myrna to be "a ruthless, power-hungry monster." Of course she's dismissed from any investigation so as not to taint the case, but that doesn't stop Sukey from trying to help her ex-husband and perhaps figure out who else had motive, means and opportunity. NO SPOILERS
This is the second in this cozy mystery series and I'm hooked. The story was fast, fun and kept me guessing. This is not a bloody thriller with lots of suspense, but it is a case that has a lot of red herrings, multiple possible suspects and more than one suspicious death. I enjoy the characters though, for heaven's sake, this penchant writers have for referring to a woman who is 60 years of age as an "old lady" sort of gets my back up! Seriously? I don't know anyone that age who is a doddering, gnarled pathetic wretch! Despite some stereotypical characters that have become cliche, the reader is beginning to see some real personality in Sukey though others need development. It will be interesting to see what new direction Sukey is going to take in subsequent books in the series given the hint at the end. Since I've got the third already queued up on my Kindle, I'll be finding out shortly.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. I'm looking forward to Sukey's next case.
This is #2 in a series. Read in order.
Genre - cozy mystery, police procedural
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