2 stars for 'The gentleman shopkeeper' by D. V. Haines. I will summarise what the book is about and then explain my low rating.

Mr Crackery is an eccentric, well spoken, upper-class gentleman with an over inflated ego who has accidentally committed murder. The rest of the story consists of Mr Crackery attempting to discover the identity of his victim and to cover his tracks as to not serve jail time. Sounds like a good story right?

This is why it did not work for me:
1. I hated Mr Crackery. Not only was he a pompous pig but he was irritating, uneducated and did not have the brains or charm to back up his arrogant personality.
2. You are told the biggest and the only OMG moment in the first 5 minutes of reading. That Mr Crackery has committed murder. Which made me wonder what the whole purpose of the book was as it kept going back to this point that you were told right at the beginning.
3. Maybe I am cynical but many parts to me were over dramatised. This could be due to me reading so many crime, thrillers but I found myself wondering "Is that is?" All that build up for that.
4. I did not get the humour or find it funny at all. I am going to be honest and say this could be because of my age.

I would not recommend 'The gentleman shopkeeper' to anyone like myself who comes from a working class background and enjoys suspense filled crime/thriller/mystery novels as I feel like myself you will dislike the; character, humour, plot and pace however, like Pouting has pointed out in a previous review if you are someone who enjoys British Crime novels and are from an older generation then maybe this would be to your taste.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me a free e-copy in return for an honest review.

The Gentleman Shopkeeper, by The Gentleman Shopkeeper: A Mystery Novel, by D.V. Haynes
This book was kindly provided to me by NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.
Mr. Crackery is a very polite and formal English man who runs a store in England. One day he went to his store and, as he parked on his usual spot, he got his car wheel clamped, and the man would only release his car upon the payment of a 30 pounds fine. While they were arguing, the man died, and afraid of being charged with murder, Mr. Crackery decides to investigate by himself.
His investigation leads him to an old woman’s house, where he is attacked by a dog and almost made hostage, if it weren’t for the fact that the old woman also died while arguing with him.
After these awkward events he starts to investigate it further, until a woman appears to help him put an end to all this mess: she pays him a few thousand pounds and helps him hide the supposed murder weapons.
From this point to the end, many things happened: Mr. Crackery went to jail and his assistant, Miss Holland, got married, to mention a few.
To be honest I had a hard time reading this book, because Mr. Crackery is a very formal character, so sometimes he was pretty annoying. However, it is a great book for adolescent, in my opinion, who enjoy mystery solving and investigations.
Happy reading!
Denise
Please check my personal blog for more reviews: mypapertrips.wordpress.com

Very enjoyable read, although the hero can be very frustrating at times. I felt like grabbing hold of him and giving him a good thump. Shows how much I was into the book! Look forward to any more in the series.

"The Gentleman Shopkeeper" was a wonderfully clever, humorously engaging mystery. To say I enjoyed it is just not enough. The characters were all so well developed, you just truly were "in" the story, and you didn't want It to end. DV Haines is a skillful writer, and I look forward to reading more of (his/her) writings. I will definitely recommend this book.

At first, I wasn't sure where this was going and the main character didn't seem to know either. But what a fun read! The quirky characters, the twists in the plot, and the eccentric language all joined together for a really fun time.

Full of original characters who are all bonkers with crazy stuff going on in the background. Sub-plots that are just bonkers.
I felt that the book was a little longer than it needed to be but nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it and actually laughed out loud once or twice which rarely happens to me.

I highly recommend "The Gentleman Shopkeeper" for both its clever intrique, original and intricate plot, and well-developed characters. And, whether intentional or not, it produces quite a depth of psychological insight into human nature.

This will keep you laughing but it is certainly not lightweight. It is a murder story in reverse. Instead of whodunit, the reader knows that from the start and the mystery is what happens next. It is very well written and the main character is typical of buffoons we all probably know.