#BlogTour ~ Death in the Crypt by Fliss Chester @SocialWhirlGirl @Bookouture

Welcome to my stop on the blogtour for Death in the Crypt by Fliss Chester.

Death in the Crypt is published today (26th April 2024) by Bookouture Books.

 

 

The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is expecting the cathedral crypt to be full of dry old bones. But when she finds a body murdered just moments before, she’ll need divine inspiration to solve her most mysterious case yet…

Winchester, 1925. When heiress and amateur sleuth Cressida Fawcett is invited to her aunt’s mansion on Cloister Close, she is looking forward to a quiet stay in the historic town. The views of the cathedral are heavenly – and her aunt’s maid, Nancy, makes devilishly good ginger biscuits! But it seems Cressy and her pug Ruby won’t be allowed to rest in peace… On a tour of the crypt, they are shocked to stumble across the body of Anthony, the gentle, devoted verger. And a wild-eyed Nancy is standing over him, bloodied candlestick in hand…

Since Nancy was caught red-handed and the only other suspect is the Silent Friar, the legendary local ghost, Detective Andrewsof Scotland Yard thinks the case is closed. But Nancy swears she would never have killed Anthony; they were in love. And while Cressy may not believe in ghosts, she does believe Nancy. So, whose soul is full of murder most foul? And will they strike again?

As she digs through parishioner gossip, Cressy discovers that for a man of the cloth, the verger had a surprising number of enemies. Was a local antiques dealer driven to murder over an illegal trade in holy relics? Would the head bellringer kill to achieve his musical ambitions? Or is the saintly Dean, whose black-cloaked figure resembles the Silent Friar and whose wife recently drowned, hiding a deadly sin?

The cathedral conceals many secrets, and it seems Cressy will need a miracle to uncover the truth. But then Cressy finds a hidden passageway to the crypt. Is this how the murderer escaped? The sceptical police lack faith in her theories, but can she catch the killer and save Nancy from the hangman’s noose? Or will she be too late to prevent another funeral march?

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A big thank you to Sarah Hardy and the publisher, Bookouture for my review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part on the blog tour. (My review is my own and has not been influenced in any way)

Death in the Crypt is the latest instalment of the lovely cosy crime series featuring the Honourable Cressida Fawcett and her lovable pug Ruby. We follow Cressy on a visit to her Aunt Mary’s palatial pad in Winchester also accompanied by her best friend Lady Dorothy (Dotty) and Dotty’s brother Alfred where they plan to visit Winchester Cathedral and hopefully put any murder investigations on the back burner. Obviously things don’t quite go to plan…

During their visit to the crypt they come across Aunt Mary’s maid Nancy, standing over the body of the verger and looking incredibly suspicious especially as she is holding the murder weapon. Nancy is arrested but swears it was nothing to do with her – Cressy believes her and Aunt Mary is devastated she has lost her maid! Cressy quickly puts in a call to Detective Andrews and Sergeant Kirby to come and investigate and Andrews knows better than to try and get Cressy to not become involved in the investigation. However, when things take a turn for the worse and Alfred gets arrested for murder, Cressy knows she can no longer stand by and hope for the best.

I have really enjoyed this historical cosy crime series and feel like it is going from strength to strength. The fledgling romance between Cressida and Alfred is sweet and lovely to watch unfold over the series of the books. Over time Cressy has changed from determined to be independent to possibly realising that her life definitely has room for a potential romance with Alfred!

Death in the Crypt was a lovely fast paced book that I raced through with plenty of twists that keep you on your toes. I guessed some but was wide of the mark for others which just added to the infectious storyline. I’m looking forward to the next instalment and intrigued as to where this one will be set and what the future has in store for Cressy and Alfred……(and whether Dotty’s beau will ever return from his dig!)

 

To follow the rest of the tour….

About the Author

Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their business. Never far from a decent glass of something, Fliss also loves cooking (and writing up her favourite recipes on her blog), enjoying the beautiful Surrey and West Sussex countryside and having a good natter.

https://www.instagram.com/flisschester/

https://twitter.com/SocialWhirlGirl

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Fliss Chester here: https://www.bookouture.com/fliss-chester

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0CNTRG61Xsocial

#Blogtour ~ Welcome to Hollyhock Farm by Georgina Troy @GeorginaTroy @RaRaResources #BoldwoodBookClub

Welcome to my stop on the blogtour for Welcome to Hollyhock Farm by Georgina Troy.

Welcome to Hollyhock Farm was published on 24th April 2024 by Boldwood Books.

When Lettie’s parents call her and her brother back to Hollyhock Farm on the island of Jersey, the last thing they expect to be told is that their childhood home is up for sale.

Back on the island, with its rolling hills and golden sands, Lettie immediately remembers what it feels like to breathe in the fresh air in the green fields, and be part of this tight-knit community – a far cry from the life of events and high fashion she leads in London.

But she surprises even herself when she suggests that she instead could take over Hollyhock farm. Humouring her, her father agrees to give her a three month trial, and Lettie is determined to prove she’s up to the task.

But the summer season is no easy feat for a new farmer, and Lettie has a huge task ahead of her. And when an old flame reappears in the form of dashing local vet Brodie, Lettie’s summer is about to get even more complicated…

* * * * * * * * * * *

A big thank you to Rachel at RaRaResources and the publisher for sending me my review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part on the blog tour. My review is my own and has not been influenced in any way.

Welcome to Hollyhock Farm is the first Georgina Troy book I have read and what a lovely introduction it was! Set in Jersey we follow Lettie who is spending some time with her parents and brother on the family farm following the end of her relationship and job in London so Hollyhock Farm is the perfect place for her to relax and reflect on the next step in her life.

However, the tranquillity is shattered somewhat when her parents announce they are going to sell the farm to her uncle following the recent ill health of her father. Following a heart attack, they have decided it is the eye opener they needed and realise they need a slower pace of life and would actually like to see the world! Lettie is understandably shattered and decides on the spur of the moment that she would like to try and run the farm. Despite not showing too much interest as a youngster, Lettie is determined to give running the farm, her best shot whilst her parents go on a long cruise!

I really enjoyed this book set in a lovely Jersey village, along with its lovely inhabitants. I loved learning about the inner workings of farm life and along with Lettie discovered it is back breaking work that you don’t really switch off from! It isn’t something you ever stop worrying about from ensuring the animals are healthy to making sure all the paperwork is up to date. I’m not sure I could cope!

Obviously there just has to be a hint of romance on the horizon and that is in the form of the new vet in the village – Brodie. Having grown up near the village, Brodie gets the chance to set down roots and takes over the village practice following the retirement of the previous vet. He is friendly and caring but for some reason Lettie is frosty with him. We eventually learn why but happily they become friends and he becomes a close friend and confident to her.

The ending of the book leads the opportunity for future instalments which I hope there will be as I would love to be reunited with the farm and to see how things end up for them all!

 

To follow the rest of the blog tour…

 

About the Author

Georgina Troy writes bestselling uplifting romantic escapes and sets her novels on the island of Jersey, where she was born and has lived for most of her life.

She has done a twelve-book deal with Boldwood, including backlist titles, and the first book in her Sunshine Island series was published in May 2022.

Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorginaTroyAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeorginaTroy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georginatroyauthor/
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/GeorginaTroyNews
Bookbub profile: Georgina Troy Books – BookBub

 

#BlogTour ~ Making Memories at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash @KimTheBookworm @RaRaResources @BoldwoodBooks

Welcome to my stop on the blogtour for Making Memories at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash.

Making Memories at the Cornish Cove was published on 17th April 2024 by Boldwood Books.

 

It’s never too late…

After five husbands and five broken hearts, Lydia feels like she’s always been chasing something. But now she’s found her purpose, and having moved to Driftwood Bay to spend more time with her daughter Meredith, she’s happier than ever. 

But there’s still life in these old bones yet! With her newfound sense of identity, she’s keen to re-explore the things that made her happy as a younger person. Lydia’s passion was dancing – she used to compete in her younger years, and there’s no place she’s more at home than on the dancefloor. 

So when widower and antiques restorer Martin tells her about a big dance competition, she’s ready and raring to bring more joy into her life. But while making memories with Martin, the more she realises that both of their hearts need restoring too…

* * * * * * * * * * *

Making Memories at the Cornish Cove is another fantastic addition to the wonderful series by Kim Nash, set in the lovely village of Driftwood Bay and very much a firm favourite of mine. I love that this series focuses on a different character each time and in this book we learn more about Lydia who is Meredith’s mum. We learn a little bit about the slightly strained relationship in Meredith’s story so it was nice to focus and go back to why and how this came about.

Lydia has recently moved to Driftwood Bay following the divorce from her fifth husband and was previously living in America. When Meredith announced that she had purchased a lighthouse, Lydia thought it would be the perfect opportunity to build bridges with her daughter, not realising how much Driftwood Bay and being close to Meredith again would affect her. Now settled into village life, she is closer to Meredith than ever and enjoying her own company for a change and blossoming friendships with next door neighbour Celia (her sister Dianne – with 2 ‘n’s) and Martin, who is Clem’s father.

When a box of her belongings arrive from her ex-husband in America, it takes Lydia back to a different part of her life where her main concern was rehearsing as a dancer (Strictly style!) and how it all came to an abrupt end when she found out she was expecting Meredith. As a scared teenager, the dancing had to go on the back burner and Lydia never really found the courage to go back to it. However, fate (and Martin) have a change in store for Lydia and when Martin sees a flyer for a dance competition, they realise it is just what they both need! Martin unfortunately, is more Ed Balls than Giovanni Pernice but that doesn’t matter – Lydia is loving finding her dancing feet again and Martin is happy to have a focus following the death of his wife some years earlier.

It was lovely to be reacquainted with the other members of the community and see how they are doing. They feel like your friends so I always enjoy little mentions of them, even potty mouth Vi, who has no filter. The thing I love about Kim’s books is just how relatable to real life that they are. Things aren’t perfect and a lot of the characters are going though changes that aren’t just brushed under the carpet. Meredith is going through issues with menopause that make her question her relationship with Clem but I though this was handled really well and not glossed over with as though it was a small change. Vi is struggling with mobility and too proud to ask for help which is where this wonderful village pulls together.

It is always an absolute pleasure to read a new book by Kim Nash and I can’t wait for the next one!

 

To follow the rest of the blog tour…

 

About the Author

Kim Nash is an author of uplifting, funny, heartwarming, romantic, feel-good fiction and has wanted to write books since she was a little girl. The Cornish Cove series is set in the fictional seaside village of Driftwood Bay in Cornwall and is published by Boldwood Books. She lives in Staffordshire with her son Ollie and English Setter rescue dog Roni, is Digital Publicity Director for publisher Bookouture (a division of Hachette UK) and is a book blogger.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kim.nash.10

Twitter https://twitter.com/KimTheBookworm

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kim_the_bookworm/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/KimNashNews

Bookbub profile: Kim Nash Books – BookBub