Princess Fuzzypants here: You have got to love a mystery book that is set in the mythical Cotswold village of Dedley End. The Cotswolds, one of the prettiest places in the world, is a lovely location to set anything. A local author who has reached pinnacles of fame but never returned home after his first book, is coming to the local fete to launch is final book in a highly successful series. Everyone is thoroughly chuffed, especially Nancy. It is her book store that is going to benefit most from the major event.

So, needless to say, when it appears not everyone is delighted by Thomas’s return, Nancy, her grandmother Jane and her best friend Jonathan are taken aback. There have been threats to the author and while the three are alarmed, neither the author nor his publicist seem at all bothered. Things do intensify when the man who was behind the threats is murdered at the fete.

Thomas, the author has an ever increasing pile of skeletons in his proverbial closet, some of which date back to before he left for London. He does have answers for everything and it appears the murderer has been caught, Is it the truth or is it all one big lie. The plot seemed so obvious, I was actually looking for other explanations. By the end of the book, I was disappointed that it had all been far too easy. I like something that even if I suss out the villain, there is enough to make me question it. This did not. Three purrs and one paw up..

Nancy, her grandmother Jane, and her friend Jonathon have a new mystery to solve. Nancy is hosting author Thomas Green but someone has been defacing his promotional posters. Who has a grudge against Green? Well, it turns out that several people might. And it will be up to the mystery-solving triad to work together and figure it out.
I don't love that Nancy's ex is still hanging around. Love triangles are one of my least favorite tropes in a cozy mystery. This book was also a little predictable but that can happen in this genre.
Three stars
This book comes out March 17, 2022
Followed by Murder at the House on the Hill
ARC kindly provided by Hera Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I think Dame Agatha Christie trained my brain to find the culprit(s) in stories, so I knew who the baddie was immediately and was tapping my foot with impatience while the too nice and sometimes naïve Nancy and Jane took longer to unmask the killer than I would like. And Nancy’s eventual romantic interest was super easy to deduce, too.

Other than that, this is a pleasant story set in the pleasant town of Dedly End in the Cotswolds, which, based on the number of mysteries set there, must have very busy undertakers.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Hera Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I adore Victoria Walters, I always know I’m in for a fantastic read and this gem hasn’t disappointed. This is a great read and one I have devoured in just one sitting.

This is impossible to put down once you start and I love the cosy mystery from Ms Walters. These books are getting better and better with each read.

This is filled with a mix of characters and the journey through this one has been an absolute delight. I have loved the clues and the mystery unfolding in this one.

Walters has written an absolute delight!! I need more!!!! This is definitely a book for the TBR

Murder at the Summer Fete by Victoria Walters
Murder at the Summer Fete is a cosy crime novel, the second book in the Dedley End Mysteries and I would recommend you read Book 1 first (Murder at the House on the Hill), but you can read this as a standalone if you prefer.
Nancy Hunter owns the Dedley Endings Bookshop, she took over once her gran Jane retired. Her best friend Jonathan Murphy is assistant editor for the local paper The Cotswold Star. In the first book, the three of them teamed up to solve a crime in the village of Dedley End and this time, they again join forces when another mystery happens.
It’s the Dedley End summer fete and the guest of honour is famous author Thomas Green, whose latest book A Perfect Murder is being released. He is doing a talk and book signing at the summer fete and is accompanied by his wife Sasha, agent Nathan Loveday and bodyguard Derek. But before the talk can begin, a dead body is found. Has there been another murder in the usually quiet village?
I really enjoyed this, it’s easy to get into and the characters are all wonderful. I loved the community feel with lots of interesting villagers and village settings – the pub, church, café, book shop, etc.
Victoria’s writing style is lovely and she includes plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader wanting to know what happens, while staying firmly in the cosy mystery genre with no gore or horror. I read this book in two days and would definitely read more of her novels.
9 out of 10

I really enjoyed the book especially the friendship between Nancy, Jonathan and Jane. Their bookshop seems like a central hub for the village, from the locals to the visitors. I liked the flow of the story and how they all seem to be in sink with each other. Seeming to know when things are simply not always black or white. I really hope there is another book about Samatha as the three need to solve all the unanswered questions that Nancy has need to be told over the last thirty years. If you like Father Brown or Agatha Raisin mysteries you will love this book

This is the second book in The Dedley End Mystery Series and the first one I've read.

Nancy runs her grandfather's Bookshop along with her gran Jane, they sell only crrime/thriller books so when a second murder happens in Dedley End Nancy, Jane and their friend (local journalist) Jonathan are keen to try and solve this one as well.

Although there were characters from the other book mentioned it is still easy to read. It is set in a beautiful sounding village and I liked the camaraderie between the characters. I did, however, feel it was a bit slow at times. I thought I had the murder sussed early on but there were a few twists that made me change my mind. A good read for fans of cosy mysteries.

Thank you Netgalley for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Dedley Endings Bookshop is a wonderful sounding emporium in the Cotswolds that sells only crime books of all types and eras! It was opened by her late great father and is run now by Nancy Hunter after taking over the reins from her grandmother Jane with whom she shares a cottage with along with beagle Charlie. Nancy’s best friend, Cotswold Star journalist and now assistant editor, Jonathan Murphy is never far from the pair and in their first adventure they were instrumental in solving both a murder and the mystery of Nancy’s father’s death. This story starts right where the epilogue at the end of book one left off. Famous crime author Thomas Green is due to give a talk and book signing at the Dedley End annual summer fete and Nancy is beyond excited as he will be launching his first book in ten years. Until, that is, she sees a defaced posted of the writer in her shop. Someone has crossed out his face and written “You will pay for what you have done”. She hopes it is a practical joke but when all their posters are torn down around the village, she, Jane and Jonathan determine to travel to Thomas’s former home and question a man they have identified as Michael Jones of the nearby Daggerford Writers’ Group. Thomas tells them he isn’t worried and doesn’t know the group but they soon find out how many lies he is telling about both his family and his past. With a third threat against the author displayed for all to see, they have to wonder if this is just a case of sour grapes or could there be a more sinister motive for wanting to hurt him, and is that why he goes everywhere with a huge bodyguard in tow? The day of the fete dawns and before long a murder is announced, seeing Thomas Green carted off by DCI Brown and DC Pang when the scene looks like a replica of the crime in his latest novel. Nothing is simple though, and the plot becomes far deeper and more twisted than featured in any detective story. Can the amateur sleuths pull off another successful murder investigation whilst avoiding the wrath of DCI Brown?
This is an excellent cosy murder mystery with a group of amateur sleuths proving themselves more than capable and certainly winkling more out of the suspects than the unfortunate local CID man. I thoroughly enjoyed this story with its charming location, warm and caring dialogue and incredibly likeable lead characters. With the intriguing news given at the end to Nancy from an unwelcome visitor, I can’t wait to read the next story in this great new series. 5*

I loved the fact that we were reunited with the duo Nancy, Jonathan and Jane in this installment. They make a great team and are very vibrant and engaging characters.

The fact that the book centres around a village fete seems very traditional and light-hearted, but these are also busy places where people often feel relaxed and care-free, so provide a great back drop for am unexpected crime!

The story certainly picked up pace by the time the fete begins and the murder takes place. Victoria’s writing is very good, providing a great balance of light and shade. The light being the warm atmosphere of a village intent on finding the culprit of this crime, and the dark being the shady and suspicious characters!

Overall, another gripping and entertaining edition to the Dedley End series, and I am very much looking forward to reading more by this author in this genre. A perfect choice for fans of Katie Gayle, Richard Osman and Alexander McCall Smith.

Who doesn't love a Victoria Walters book. I am loving her cosy crime series and am hoping for more in the future. Thank you Vicky and Netgalley

I hadn't the first one of this series before or this author before and was not keen on yet another book shop owner solving crime as I feel it's been a bit done to death now. However I was pleasantly surprised it did take a bit of getting going but once it did I really enjoyed the book and felt I needed to go off and buy the first one. I did feel you should read them in order as there are quite a few references to the first book in this one but it didn't spoil my reading pleasure.

Thanks to netgallery for the chance to read in exchange for an honest review

I haven't read a cozy mystery in over a decade and this was a nice reintroduction to the genre. This book was cute, fast paced and everything wrapped up neatly in a bow. It was a nice read. Jane, Nancy and Jonathan make a lovely team and the town is very supportive of their efforts. It was quite enjoyable.

This story, the second in Victoria Walters's The Dedley End Mysteries, features bookshop owner, Nancy Hunter and her grandmother, Jane. The reader is brought straight into the action in the run-up to the annual Dedley End village fete. Their shop, The Dedley Endings Bookshop, sells mostly mystery, thrillers and crime books and bestselling author, Thomas Green, will be launching his first new novel for a decade at the fete. But when the fete is held, a body is discovered, found in a similar situation to that of Green's latest book. Nancy and Jane together with Nancy’s childhood friend, a local reporter for the Cotswold Star, Jonathan Murphy, to help solve the crime.

The author's writing style is a good fit for me and the genre. The characterisation is great, right down to Nancy's dog, Charlie. An extremely enjoyable read that has me keen to pick up the first book, Murder at the House on the Hill.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Hera Books via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

.4.5* upped to 5
I was happy to catch with Nancy, Jonathan, and the likeable cast of characters I met in the previous book. I was also happy to travel to Dedley End and enjoy the atmosphere of the village.
This is the second book in this series, and I loved how the author developed the plot and the characters, moving on with the story of the main ones.
Even if this is a cosy mystery there’s plenty of darkness and secrets: there’re murders but there’re also old secrets that could destroy or change the life to someone.
The author developed a solid mystery, gripping and compelling. I couldn’t guess the culprit and was surprised by the twists.
My only note is that some parts of the investigation are bit too long but this didn’t stopped me from enjoying the whodunit.
I read it in one sitting and loved how it made me feel summer and the place.
I can’t wait to read the next story; this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to the Hera Books, Rachel’s Random Resources, and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Murder at the Summer Fete by Victoria Walters

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A fete worse than death…

After finding the killer of Lucy Roth six months ago, life has settled back to normal for bookshop owner, Nancy Hunter, and her grandmother, Jane. The annual Dedley End village fete is just around the corner, and Nancy is delighted when bestselling author, Thomas Green, agrees to launch his first new novel in ten years there.

This is the first book I have read in the series and it is a nice easy book to read as a stand-alone as enough background information is given. I thought that it was a nice, cosy mystery to curl up with and even though it was predictable in places it didn't spoil my enjoyment. I thought it was an interesting premise that the villagers were looking for another mystery to solve.

Rating: 4/5

The second book featuring bookshop owner, Nancy Hunter. The Dedley End fete will be extra special this year because famous author, Thomas Green is launching his first book in a decade. The fete is derailed when a body is found. This series gives me serious Murder She Wrote vibes, which to be clear is a good thing. I love the cast of eccentric and rather nosy characters. This is out today! Thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn’t for me. I think this qualifies as a “cozy mystery”, and apparently I don’t really like those. This is the first one I ever read (I think), so maybe I have to give the genre another chance?
This book is the second book in the “Dedley End Mysteries”. I didn’t read the first one and I was hoping that wasn’t necessary for the second one. The plotline itself wasn’t linked to the previous book, but a lot of characters (or mention of characters) are, which made it confusing (and also not relevant to the plot).

Our main character is Nancy, who owns a bookstore together with her grandmother, Jane, where they only sell mysteries and thrillers. Her close friend Jonathan, who is a reporter, helps them solving murders in their little town Dedley End.

The plot was too slow for my liking. The first chapter, the prologue, someone gets killed and then they go back in time and takes too long to get to the point from the prologue. When they are searching for the killer it gets a bit faster again, but then something happens around the middle and it fell a bit flat. I skimmed through some of the chapters, until the end where it picks up again.
I already guessed how it was gonna end, so that was a bummer. I like to be surprised in my mysteries/thrillers.
There was also a lot of repetition. Our main character, Nancy, gets a lot of inner dialogue, which I normally don’t mind, but here she was constantly thinking the same thing. It got really on my nerves.
I just wasn’t drawn into the story. It was almost a chore to read further.

What I did like about the book, was the setting. I really want to visit rural England sometime. It sounds absolutely wonderful and I liked the descriptions of the little towns.
I also enjoyed the process on how they uncovered the killer. As stated, I knew who it was already, but it was fun to see how the characters got to him.
The writing style, apart from the repetitions, was quite nice to read.

to summarise: even though this book sounded interesting, it didn’t really grasp me. I found it too slow, too predictable and too much repetition.
I did like the setting and the process of the “whodunnit” though.
I don’t know if I have to give the cozy mystery-genre another go.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was set in a quaint English town and featured three amateur sleuths, who attempted to solve the murder of a young man at a summer book festival. There were many clues left for the sleuths to find to help identify the killer. As the book proceeds , more questions are raised about the victim and his possible killer. I highly recommend this book to other cozy mystery readers.

Absolulely loved this book and the authors style of writing. Reminds me of Nancy Drew. Roll on the next book. This is the second murder book that Victoria has written and she didnt disappoint. Along with her friend Jonathan and her mother looks they have become a crime fighting trio.

After finding the killer of Lucy Roth six months ago, life has settled back to normal for bookshop owner, Nancy Hunter, and her grandmother, Jane. The annual Dedley End village fete is just around the corner, and Nancy is delighted when bestselling author, Thomas Green, agrees to launch his first new novel in ten years there.
But then a series of sinister events lead Nancy to realise someone is trying to sabotage their fete, so she, along with Jane and their journalist friend Jonathan, must turn detective to discover who isn’t at all thrilled about the return of Thomas Green.
The author’s writing style lends itself perfectly to the genre. She knows exactly when to end a scene and mount suspense.