Murder at the Mill by T.A. Belshaw
Genre: Cosy mystery
Read: 6th July 2022
Published: 7th July 2022
★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Introducing Twenty-one-year-old Amy Rowlings, a vivacious, quick-witted collector of imported American music, a movie buff and an avid reader of crime fiction.
January 1939 and the residents of the snow-covered streets of a small Kentish town awake to horrific news.
When young Amy Rowlings meets Detective Sergeant Bodkin at the scene of a robbery on the way to work at The Mill, one snowy, January morning, she is blissfully unaware of how much her life is about to change. She is drawn into the murky world of murder when the body of Edward Handsley is found lying on the floor of the clothing factory. Edward, a libertine, philanderer, the son of George, the factory owner, a young man with many enemies, many of them female.
Bodkin is new to the area and accepts Amy’s offer to provide local knowledge but she soon becomes an invaluable source of information. When Adam Smethwick is arrested for the murder, Amy, a family friend, is convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove that the detective has arrested the wrong man.
Amy befriends Justine, the young, French fiancé of the elderly George, and soon discovers that it was not all sweetness and light in the Handsley family home. Meanwhile, back at the factory, Amy is sure that the foreman, Mr Pilling, has something to hide.
As the investigation proceeds, Amy finds that her burgeoning relationship with Bodkin is pushed to the limits as the detective becomes even more convinced that he has arrested the right man and while Bodkin relies heavily on the facts as they are presented, Amy has a more nuanced approach to solving the crime, born out of her beloved Agatha Christie books
Murder at the Mill is the first book in a gorgeous 1930's cosy crime series .
AMY RETURNS ! - Death at Lychgate: the second Amy Rowlings book is out Christmas 2023
MY THOUGHTS:
What a delightful little cosy mystery in the style of the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie. We have murder, blackmail, mayhem, old movies and even a little romance. It's all done in such a lighthearted way I felt as though I was a part of the scene myself. I enjoyed the relationship between Amy and Bodkin, their banter and friendship. I also enjoyed Amy's weekly trips to the pictures and loved hearing about some of the films she saw. I particularly enjoyed "The Lady Vanishes" as well, being a huge Hitchcock fan myself. And true to the cosy crime genre, the murder takes place "off stage" without any graphic violence, profanity or explicit sex, making for a refreshing change.
Set in early 1939, we meet Amy Rowlings as she is on her way to work at the garment factory, known as "the mill", where she is a machinist. Her attention is thwarted when there appears to have been a burglary in the buildings opposite, where she gains the eye of Detective Sergeant Bodkin, thus making her late for her shift. Little does she know how much her life is about to change.
Then the following morning she is stopped at the gates along with the other workers. Edward Handsley, the owner's son, has been found dead on the floor of the maintenance room of the factory. Amy is immediately drawn to the crime and is eager to help solve it. As Bodkin is new to the area he welcomes Amy's insight and assistance in providing background information about the area and those likely to be suspects...or not. But the suspect list is long as Edward, who was colloquially known amongst the women as Wandering Handsley, made many enemies quickly with his attitude to both men and women alike.
Amy's assistance proves invaluable as Bodkin calls her her his Miss Marple - a nod to the Queen of Crime herself - and she is an incredibly sharp and quick witted young woman. She has an eye for detail and teams up with Bodkin to solve what thus becomes two murders. When an arrest is made, Amy is convinced of his innocence and is determined to make it her mission to prove it to everyone...most of all, Bodkin's nasty boss Inspector Laws.
MURDER AT THE MILL is a well written cosy mystery with no distractions such as bad grammar, punctuation or spelling. Another refreshing change in which many books fail the editing process. The story and setting was reminiscent of Agatha Christie though Amy is a far younger detective than that of the well known Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot.
I enjoyed the humour and with peppered throughout the story as Amy kept Bodkin on his toes. Ferris was a wonderful amusing character that I would have liked to see a little more of. I loved the relationship between her and Bodkin as she appeared to be invaluable to him as well as a source of down time relief. There is a budding romance there but we'll see what becomes of it it if this is to become a series.
An entertaining cosy mystery, MURDER AT THE MILL delivers plenty of twists and red herrings to make Ms Christie proud. My only complaint is I felt it a little long and drawn out in places but it certainly was a fun and entertaining read nonetheless.
I would like to thank #TABelshaw, #SpellboundBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #MurderAtTheMill in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Trevor signed his first contract with Spellbound Books Ltd in April 2021. He signed a further mullti-book contract with them in the spring of 2022.
His short stories have been published in various anthologies including 100 Stories for Haiti, 50 Stories for Pakistan, Another Haircut, Shambelurkling and Other Stories, Deck the Halls, 100 Stories for Queensland and The Cafe Lit anthology 2011, 2012 and 2013. He also has two pieces in Shambelurklers Return. 2014
Trevor is also the author of 15 children's adventure books written under the name of Trevor Forest. His children's poem, Clicking Gran, was long listed for the Plough prize (children's section) in 2009 and his short poem, My Mistake, was rated Highly Commended and published in an anthology of the best entries in the Farringdon Poetry Competition.
Trevor's articles have been published in magazines as diverse as Ireland's Own, The Best of British and First Edition.
He is currently working on the sequel to "Murder at the Mill", another cosy crime murder mystery set in 1939, "Death at the Lychgate".
Social Media links:
Thank you so much for taking part in the tour and sharing this fab review x
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