A dramatic description of a person's last minutes alive opens this traditional whodunit murder mystery. At this beginning point however, readers do not know the person's identity. Then crime writer Francis Meadowes finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation, tasked with solving the puzzle. He's in Umbria Italy tutoring a small group of amateur writers at a summer creative writing conference. In due course, the most obnoxious of the students is killed. The writing group becomes the suspect pool from which Francis must find the killer. Several others potential suspects are thrown into the mix for good measure: the husband-and-wife who host the conference, their household staff including the gardener and the cook. Francis is in his element, as narrator and amateur sleuth in an excellent Agatha Christie-like country house mystery story.

It's a great read, made more enjoyable by the local colour of the Italian countryside which provides the background. Francis goes about finding that the potential suspects have secrets, which become red herrings for him to pursue. Some may find the resolution contrived and a tad too cute, but it suits the story. Mrs. Christie would have approved.

This book is the third in a series featuring Francis as amateur detective. However, this one can easily stand on its own and be enjoyed. It's a good series to follow.

Recommended.
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I requested and received a complementary advance reading copy of this book from the publisher, Severn House, via Netgalley. The comments about it are my own.

I always enjoy finding a new cozy series with a foreign setting and this, the third in the series, was so enjoyable that I'm looking forward to reading the previous entries. Set in Umbria with a comfortable slow pace, it was a read that drew me into the landscape and mystery from the first page. Marshall is conducting a writing course and the location is a Villa off the beaten path. The people attending the course are a varied group of eight plus the owners of the villa. Not a large list of suspects when a murder occurs but it is full of dark secrets that someone wants kept that way. As Marshall has had experience at investigating murder along with his crime writing, he is asked by the local police to assist with the search for the killer.
As a cozy this had everything I look for in a mystery. The mystery was well constructed with fair clues, twists, turns and red herrings that left me satisfied with the conclusion. The setting of the Villa Giulia in Umbria made me want to book a trip as soon as I had read the last sentence. I will definitely be adding the previous two books in the series to my list.
My thanks to the publisher Severn House and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love this series and I think this is an excellent addition.
The cast of characters is well thought as usual, the mystery solid and I loved the vivid descriptions of the setting.
It kept me guessing til the end and I found it engrossing and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

If you are looking for a foot-to-the-floor, non-stop action adventure, then this one isn’t for you. McCrum wonderfully conveys the glorious scenery and magical surroundings of this creative writing course by the steady accretion of details and description. His prose style is readable and accomplished, as Francis finds himself unwillingly sucked into the horrible murder. As in the first book, I found Francis to be a really attractive protagonist, and it was easy to empathise with his rather detached interest in everyone around him. Writers tend to be a bit vampiric about their own lives, always wondering if they can use what happens around them as material for another book… McCrum uses this side of Francis’ character to very good effect. I thought the crafting of the whodunit was also exceptionally well done – there were a raft of suspects, most with plausible reasons why they should want the victim done away with. But I couldn’t work out who was the murderer until the denouement, though flipping back, the clues were clearly there. Nicely done – and not always the case in cosy mysteries.

Francis’ own involvement was both bizarre and yet believable – and I very much liked the fact we weren’t allowed to forget that someone had died. Particularly with the second death, there was a real sense of shock and loss at the wicked waste of life, which not only upped the stakes, but made it matter that the perpetrator was caught. Overall, this was a classy effort and I shall certainly be following these mysteries and reading more. Highly recommended. The ebook arc copy of Murder Your Darlings was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
9/10

#MurderYourDarlings #NetGalley This is the third book in the series and I hadn't read the first two. Whilst there are references to the first two books this is perfectly capable of being read as a standalone. I usually read the more gritty crime thrillers but I was attracted to this as it is set in Umbria where I have a home! This was a very easy read along the lines of a Miss Marple mystery! Plenty of good characters and twists in the plot which made it enjoyable. I would have thought it a little far fetched in that a crime writer could get to the bottom of two murders more efficiently than the police but having lived in Umbria I find it perfectly plausible! I loved the descriptions of Gubbio, one of my favourite towns and the descriptions of Italian life. The book kept mentioning a town called Castiglione dell'Umbria which I have never heard of - maybe the author means Castiglione del Lago. Overall, a great easy read.

Murder Your Darlings is a well crafted murder mystery. Great plot and setting. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Fatal Turn At Idyllic Villa.....
A Francis Meadowes mystery. Francis, a crime writer and sometime amateur sleuth, is participating in a writers retreat - teaching creative writing - at an idyllic Italian Villa. Mystery and murder tend to track him down and when events take a fatal turn at the Villa he reluctantly dons his sleuthing cap once again. A perfectly penned tale with a colourful cast of credible characters, taut plotting and a likeable protagonist in Francis. The authors travel writing expertise is once again evident in his descriptions of the stunning Umbrian countryside. This is the third book in this series (preceeded by 'Cruising To Murder' and 'The Festival Murders' - both highly recommended) but can happily be read as a standalone. Whilst I didn't want the book to end I just had to read in one joyous sitting. Highly recommended.