Murder in the Village

Product Information

Retired detective Harry Powell moved to Little Challham for a quiet life. He didn’t expect to be dragged into a murder investigation. But Belinda is a very persuasive woman, and there are strange things happening in the village. Particularly the number of dogs that have disappeared lately… I received both the e-Arc and audio ARC of this book. The overall audiobook narration by Lucy Paterson was done well but (and this is just my thoughts) I kind of felt she made Belinda sound much older whenever she narrated her character...I kind of had two images of Belinda going in my mind while reading the book and listening to it separately and they didn't match. Overall I liked the book and loved the setting of Little Chalham. Harry Powell is the lead character in a previous detective/police procedural series by Lisa Cutts and it will be interesting to see how he manages now in a more cosy setting. The first book in the Belinda Penshurst Cozy mystery series is set in a small British country town. One murder and the missing dogs make two people decided to solve the mysteries until they could continue quiet living in Little Challham. Well, that is what will happen, more murders and missing dogs!

After being convicted once, Morris successfully fought for a retrial, and was convicted again. During that trial, the prosecution produced evidence via phone records proving he was at home at the time he claimed to be sleeping with Mandy. This in turn threw out the reason why his chain would be at the home. The book was adapted for radio by Michael Bakewell, with June Whitfield as Miss Marple, Francis Matthews as the Rev. Leonard Clement, and Imelda Staunton as Griselda Clement. This adaptation was first broadcast by the BBC in 1993.

Murder in the Village

Oh I really enjoyed this book!… Perfect! It had me in stitches several times and gasping in alarm at others.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Colonel Lucius Protheroe: wealthy man, who is the churchwarden and the local magistrate in St Mary Mead who lives at the Old Hall. He has grown deaf, and shouts a lot as a result. This book really kept you guessing with thinking what was going to happen. I was totally gripped, with a lot of questions I wanted to know the answers to there and then! It had the right intensity with me being on the edge of my seat at times. Discover your next favourite mystery series now, because once you start, you won’t want to stop. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Colin Dexter or Ruth Rendell. Lawrence Redding: a painter who fought in World War I. He uses a building on the vicarage property as his studio.In this episode, a local man running for election as an MP is murdered in his home while his wife was out playing bridge with friends. With no DNA or other clues at the scene, Hilary and her team have to look closely at his political opponents and others who disliked him but the case is going slowly. Hillary is also keeping a wary eye on their new super, Jerome Raleigh. She’s puzzled about why he transferred from the Met and when something unplanned happens on a drug raid she is even more suspicious of him and decides to take a deeper look at his past. I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Murder in the Village, the first novel to feature local businesswoman Belinda Penshurst and retired detective inspector Harry Powell, set in the English village of Little Chalham.

Such a fun read. It reminded me of the Agatha Raisin books I love so much… I cannot wait to catch up with Belinda and Harry on their next fun-filled adventure.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ While I’ve enjoyed the first three books in the series, this is certainly the best story so far. With a number of running issues brought to a head and resolved, I can’t wait to see how Hillary and the team develop and take on some new challenges in the next murder investigation. In both versions, the vicar's role is reduced and he does not participate in the investigation since his presence as the narrator was unnecessary in a filmed version.Murder in the Village is the first instalment in the Belinda Penshurst Mystery series set in the small, pristine village of Little Challham in Kent. The picture-postcard location for this brand spanking new series has shades resembling that of Midsomer Murders; it's stunning, tight-knit but with a sinister edge to it. Belinda is the proprietor of the local castle and has the pleasure of living in such a grand place which she shares with her father and brother, Marcus. Our secondary protagonist is Harry Powell, a retired police detective who is now enjoying the slower and more serene way of life out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Due to the brutality of the murders, South Wales Police were under enormous pressure to find and convict Mandy's murderer. There are some nice moments in this light-hearted tale, but some parts didn't work for me. Certain scenes were added possibly for some added humor, but I personally thought the story could've been better without those bits. I would like to thank #LisaCutts, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #MurderInTheVillage in exchange for an honest review.

His rapidly changing story put him in poor favour with the jury, who saw the discussion at the pub and the chain as evidence of his guilt. The Powers family maintain to this day, given the evidence they've seen in court, that Morris is the man responsible for the death of Dorris, Mandy, Katie and Emily. Harry is first on the scene to help investigate given his past career, but when the bodies begin to pile up, it seems someone is playing a very dangerous game of cat and mouse with the villager’s lives and livelihoods. This is billed as a cosy/cozy mystery but it has an edgier side to it that makes it a lot more exciting than many cosies/cozies out there but still avoids graphic descriptions and profanity. The characters are a wonderful bunch who are beautifully developed each with distinct personalities and the setting and Belinda’s castle home are described in lush, richly imagined detail. He was taken in by police 18 months after the murders, when it was reported the gold chain found at the scene was his.This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Belinda Penshurst and Harry Powell. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. Murder in the Village is the start of another brand new cosy mystery series set in the quiet, cosy village of Little Chalham and which brings together two unlikely persons together to form a crime solving duo--Belinda Penhurst an independent woman in her early forties who lives in the local castle and has financially invested in a lot of the local businesses around the village and Harry Powell, a retired police officer/detective who has recently moved to the area and now runs his own dog food business. Belinda and Harry are worlds apart but join forces after the murder of a tavern keeper is linked to a series of dognappings occurring around the village. Looking for a brilliant best-selling murder mystery with a feisty female detective? Then meet DI Hillary Greene, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals. I've been a big fan of Victoria Walters' books since I discovered Glendale Hall, and I was so thrilled when she started to write cosy crime - my favourite genre! She's an absolute natural at delivering a first class whodunnit. This one was particularly high suspense as it involved a gang from London, and I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who the murderer was!