The Bookshop Murder (A Flora Steele Mystery #1) by Merryn Allingham
Genre: Cosy Mystery, Mystery, Crime fiction
Read: 8th October 2021
Published: 26th July 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Join Flora Steele – bookshop owner, bicycle-rider, day dreamer and amateur detective as she tackles her first case!
Sussex, 1955: When Flora Steele opens up her bookshop one morning she’s in for the surprise of her life! Because there, amongst her bookcases, is the body of a young man, with a shock of white-blond hair. But who was he? And how did he come to be there?
Determined to save her beloved bookshop’s reputation and solve the baffling mystery, Flora enlists the help of handsome and brooding Jack Carrington: crime writer, recluse and her most reliable customer.
The unlikely duo set about investigating the extraordinary case, following a lead across the sleepy village of Abbeymead to The Priory Hotel. When the hotel’s gardener dies suddenly, and they find out their victim was staying there, Flora’s suspicions are raised.
Are the two deaths connected? Is someone at the hotel responsible – the nervous cook, the money-obsessed receptionist, or the formidable manageress?
As the trail of clues takes Flora and Jack all over the village it becomes clear there’s more than one person hiding secrets in Abbeymead…
But does Flora have what it takes to uncover the truth – or will her amateur sleuthing put her in harm’s way?
As the unlikely duo set about investigating the baffling case, guilty faces greet them at every door. And they soon realise there’s more than one person hiding secrets in Abbeymead…
The start of a brand-new murder mystery series featuring bookshop owner Flora Steele and crime writer Jack Carrington. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will love this perfect cosy murder mystery novel. An utterly addictive story that will have you guessing until the very end.
MY REVIEW:
I'm a bit fussy when it comes to cosy mysteries. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them - if they are done right - but there are so many that are a bit hit or miss for me. So it was with tentative steps I ventured into Abbeymead and THE BOOKSHOP MURDER...and I loved it! I felt like I had stepped back in time to St Mary Mead or even Kembleford, however Flora Steele is a lot younger than Agatha Christie's Miss Marple or that of G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown.
The first in a new cosy mystery series set in Abbeymead, Sussex in the 1950's, THE BOOKSHOP MURDER is just that - a murder that takes place in a bookshop! But how? And why? That is the question Flora Steele finds herself asking once the shock of the discovery has worn off.
1955 in Abbeymead, a village in the lush countryside of Sussex, and Flora Steele owns and runs the All's Well bookshop she inherited from her late aunt Violet, as well as a cosy thatched cottage in which she now lives. Having been orphaned relatively young, her father's sister Violet returned from her overseas travel to take little Flora in and raise her as her own. Violet herself had come into an inheritance when Flora was still young and thus using those proceeds to purchase the All's Well and a cottage in Abbeymead. Violet was well-known and well liked within the village so it was no surprise that the little church was bursting at the seams for her funeral when she passed after a two year long battle with inoperable cancer, leaving Flora the bookshop and the cottage.
Flora had plans to travel the world but when her aunt fell ill, those were shelved for her to remain and take care of her. After she passed, it seemed the least she could do was continue the running of her bookshop as a legacy. And she had a somewhat successful business of regulars perusing and purchasing tomes for their pleasure or, for some, reference. One such customer was a reclusive writer J.A. Carrington who had taken up residence in a dilapidated house some five years earlier. It wasn't until he deigned to visit the little shop to collect an order he had placed that Flora met the man behind the name, known locally as Jack.
It is upon this visit that the mystery begins when Flora descends the cellar steps to collect Jack's order. Upon her reappearance to the counter, she finds him gone only to reappear seconds later with news of a grim discovery. He insists she needs to take a look and there in the rare and second hand books section her aunt had lovingly began, she finds the body of a young man sprawled between the shelves. The police are called at once but the local bobby refers it to Brighton as a suspicious death is outside of his remit. However, the police soon dismiss it as natural causes whilst contact with the deceased's relatives have him repatriated to Australia before Flora can prove otherwise.
It isn't long before the rumour mill has begun with tales of the bookshop being haunted with ghosts and ill presences, deadly poisons and a load of superstitious nonsense somewhat damaging that soon begins to affect her business. With this mind, just as soon as Flora has recovered from the shock, she rides up to Overlay House on her faithful bicycle Betty (cue image of Father Brown on his trusty two wheels) and knocks on the door in a way that Jack would know she means business. Discussing the problem at hand and the likelihood of murder, she enlists Jack's help who acquiesces somewhat reluctantly to help solve the mystery.
The amateur investigation leads the pair to the Priory Hotel, once home to Lord Edward Templeton from a long line of Templetons, before he died leaving no known relatives until a distant cousin from Australia was tracked down. The cousin, Reggie Anderson, had no desire to take on an old rambling manor house and sold it to the current owner Vernon Elliot, a scarecrow of a man. Flora found it interesting to note that the dead man found in her bookshop's name was Kevin Anderson, late nephew of Lord Templeton's distant cousin down under. Was his visit to do with the now hotel? And if so, why had he broken into her little bookshop? Only to die there?
Then they discover a legend that surround the old manor house known locally to villagers though none can really attest to its validity. Still with the legend in mind, Flora and Jack dig deeper to uncover its truth...or untruth as the case may be. Either way, someone appears to believe in its legitimacy, a powerful motive for murder should it be true. And then despite finding little to go on, they are attacked one early evening by a crossbow which is soon followed by another death, once again seemingly a natural one. But was it really? Is there any truth behind the legend? And can Flora and Jack unravel the mystery before they too fall foul of a murderer?
THE BOOKSHOP MURDER is a quick and enjoyable read that was good fun and leisurely paced. It was easily read in just over 5 hours and is definitely one of the best cosies I have read, having enjoyed my time in Abbeymead as well as with Flora and Jack who are equally likeable.
The plot itself, as well as the characters, give a certain nod to Enid Blyton as well as a touch of Agatha Christie. In the midst of crime thrillers that flood the market today, and even some that consider themselves cosies, wrought with language and sexual themes I feel doesn't belong in this genre, it is a refreshing change to go back in time to a cleaner, simple outlook on life as it were. I love my thrillers and get my fair share of the abovementioned themes which have their place but in cosies I like to step back in time to something different and refreshing.
A fantastic start to a promising new cosy series, THE BOOKSHOP MURDER is an intriguing mystery rife with twists and village village gossip. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters therein. Flora and Jack made a delightful team as they worked their way logically, even illogically at times, through their ensuing theories. The ending is fraught with tension and, for me, reminiscent of Father Brown though it worked well in this particularly little mystery.
Thoroughly enjoyable cosy mystery and the beginning of a promising new series, THE BOOKSHOP MURDER is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Frances Evesham, Midsomer Murders and Father Brown.
I would like to thank #MerrynAllingham, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheBookshopMurder in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.
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