This was a great cosy mystery that had me hooked from start to finish. I adored the characters and their quirkiness, they made the story all that more enticing and I loved the open ending, allowing for more in the series.

Martha Miller is a bit of an outcast in the village of Westleham, but she hopes to change that at the village show with her plum gin. Tragedy strikes when the head of the village committee, Alice Warren, falls down dead after drinking the gin. She immediately becomes the prime suspect but with the help of dishy vicar Luke, she tries to clear her name.

What a wonderful historical cozy mystery this was! It was just a joy to read from beginning to end.

Martha was a brilliant character. Independent but keeping within the historical context. Her husband has disappeared without a trace, although some villagers think she'd buried him under her potato patch. She has to rely on her gardening skills and the money she gets from her sister and lodger Ruby to survive.

Then we have the dishy vicar Luke, a newcomer to the village. He's very much swoon worthy and I love the chemistry between him and Martha. There's a will they/won't they get it together going on and I can't wait to see what happens between them in future books.

As for the mystery, there were plenty of suspects and a good amount of red herrings to keep me guessing. I'll be honest, I was in the dark about who the culprit could be until near the end of the book.

I will definitely pick up the next in this series. A must if you love cozy mysteries with a historical setting and a hint of romance!

Fun, cosy with a hint of humour and mystery - perfect lazy day reading!

Poison at the Village Show is the first in the new Martha Miller Mysteries and it is also my first book by this author and it certainly won't be my last.

I don't read many cosy crimes now, I used to read heaps of them but for some reason over the last few years I think I fell a little out of love with them, but I fell into a bit of a reading rut and decided to try something else for a change which is when I found this sitting rather neglected on my kindle and gave it a go .......and I really, really enjoyed it, now I am wondering why I don't read more cosy crime again (looks guilty at the book trolley and mountain of books on the floor) anyway, this certainly broke my reading rut.

I really enjoyed the lightness of the story, the fun humour and the mystery, plus I have always loved a small village setting where everyone knows each other's business and the net curtains are constantly twitching..

Wait, that's my house I'm talking about..LOL!!

This is a great start to what I can see is going to be a very promising series, the mystery is well-written and the characters are very realistic, I liked Martha she's a very interesting and likeable character and I am looking forward to seeing her come out of her comfort zone a little more as the series progresses.

Overall, an engaging and easy-to-read story!

The book is slightly over 200 pages, and has the feel of a cozy mystery with an uncomplicated story. The ending is open, leaving space for a second book. The characters are quirky and fun to read about. If you love cozy mysteries, and they are your comfort read, this is the right book for you. It reminds me of Miss Marple by Agatha Christie.

Catherine Coles kicks off her Martha Miller Cosy Mysteries with Poison at the Village Show. This series begins in Berkshire, England in July of 1947. A year before the start of this series the husband of protagonist Martha Miller left for work and never returned. Martha therefore has found herself in the unenviable position of being a married but single woman who is forced to find ways to support herself. One of the ways that she is making ends meet is by having her sister Ruby move in and pay rent. she also has an excellent vegetable garden and has started to brew her own gin and is selling that in town. Martha has also agreed to sit on the committee which puts on the village show. Unfortunately, Alice Warren, the head of the Village Show Committee, drops dead immediately following a toast and drinking some of Martha's Plum Gin. Due to the inability of the police to track down her husband the previous year, Martha soon becomes entrenched in conducting her own investigation into Alice's death because the evidence appears to be pointing right at her.

The author has done a good job of creating a unique protagonist and cast of supporting characters as well as giving enough background into their history without overburdening the reader with irrelevant information. As the storyline develops, the reader is given several side plots and red herrings which keep the reader engrossed in the overall mystery and ultimately leads to a surprising but understandable solution to multiple mysteries in the town. As the book wraps up, the author also whets the readers appetite by allowing Ruby to begin to explore personal relationships outside of just her family. I look forward to seeing where the author takes these characters in the future and hope to see a resolution to Martha's personal situation so she too can flourish in a new direction within her personal life.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Boldwood Books and am leaving this review voluntarily.

An appealing new mystery series starts with the time period of 1947 in a small English village. Martha Miller was abandoned by her husband Stan. In order to keep her house, her sister Ruby moves in with her. When two murders occur, Martha and the new vicar begin to investigate. Appealing characters with promise as a cozy series. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book falls under one of my favourite types of mysteries: The start of a series with a likeable protagonist and an interesting setup. To add to that, we also have a mysterious background that needs further investigation that we will presumably get in future instalments.
Martha Miller, or more interesting to the townsfolk, Mrs Miller, is a recluse. She has not endeared herself to her neighbours, and they have not really helped matters by circulating all kinds of random rumours about what actually happened to the missing Mr Miller, who supposedly went out for work one day and was never seen again.
This first introduction is not about him but about the poison in the village show. Martha has been aloof while trying to make do with what she has because money is one thing her husband did not leave her with. Her relationship with her sister and how it evolves is an ideal way of pointing out the character growth in the background of the actual mystery.
Martha is not treated well in any situation which involves multiple townspeople under one roof. As she watches, one of the people standing near her dies of poison. What follows is the standard investigation by an amateur to ensure that she stays in the clear.
I liked the mystery and was pleasantly surprised by the conclusion. The characters were very engaging, and I look forward to encountering them again.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes such a tale, and hopefully, the author has set up an interesting outcome for the missing husband part of the narrative.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Poison at the Village Show by Catherine Coles
Pub Date 17 March 2022
The Martha Miller Mysteries Book 1
It's the Westleham village show, and with the war finally over, everyone is looking forward to a pleasant day.
But newcomer Martha Miller doesn't share the excitement. Because since her husband Stan left for work one day and never returned, Martha has been treated as somewhat of an outsider in Westleham. The village gossip is that Martha must be to blame.
Martha hopes she can win her fellow villagers over with her delicious homemade plum gin. But as glasses of the tangy tipple are quaffed, disaster strikes! Chairwoman of the village show, Alice Warren, slumps to the ground - poisoned!
As fingers of suspicion again point Martha's way, she's determined to prove
her innocence and find the real culprit. And she's ably helped by the new vicar, Luke Walker.
But who would kill Alice and why? And will Luke and Martha discover who is behind the poisoning before it's too late?
Poison at the Village Show is a well-written, engaging murder mystery set in post-war England (1947). Alice Warden has been murdered, and things aren't looking good for Martha; she
begins an investigation, as she is instantly the chief suspect for the murder and her husband's disappearance. With the help of her sister, Luke, the handsome vicar, the village gossip and an inquisitive nosey neighbour, she begins to gather information, and the mystery begins to unfold with multiple persons of interest.
I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the next instalment of this series.

If there’s one thing that I like doing it’s discovering new authors. Catherine Coles is certainly a new author for me. I read the synopsis for ‘Poison At The Village Show’ and it certainly sounded like just my kind of read. I couldn’t wait to start reading and as I have no patience I dived straight in. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Poison At The Village Show’ but more about that in a bit.
As soon as I started reading, I knew that I was reading something special and that I would find it increasingly difficult to put the book to one side for any length of time. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single minute of the story. I warmed to the main character of Martha Miller from the start and I began to feel as though she had become a sort of friend of mine. I had to keep reading to discover whether or not she managed to solve the case and at the same time wanting to see if she put an end to the accusations that certain villagers keep throwing at her. I would pick the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters but I would become so wrapped up in the story and in the lives of the villagers that I would still be sat there reading several chapters and an hour later. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Poison At The Village Show’ and I had to say goodbye to Martha. I found ‘Poison At The Village Show’ to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Poison At The Village Show’ is extremely well written. Catherine certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one heck of a read. For me, the story hit the ground running and for me maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. I love the very vivid and realistic way in which Catherine describes her characters, as she makes them seem just as real as you and I. I also love the way in which Catherine describes the village, the mentality of some of the people who live there and the speed with which rumours can travel. I love the way in which Catherine makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves and at the heart of the action. As you can tell, I loved this book and everything about it.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Poison At The Village Show’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Catherine’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

It's been a pleasure to read this book. The characters were engaging and had me turning the pages quickly. I'm looking forward to reading the next mystery.

Although it is set in post Second World War England, some of the deprivations still linger on. Rationing is the most obvious. The story captures what it must have been like for Martha, scraping by after the disappearance of her husband. You get to see the attitudes of some of the villagers and what a determined character she is. Going at a gentle pace, it has the feel of a cozy crime and I can imagine that it would translate well onto the screen. It has that Sunday evening vibe going on!

I enjoyed the contrast between Martha and her sister, Ruby, and you sense the genuine affection between them. There are several villagers who all seem to get mixed up in Martha's investigations, each with their own distinctive personality and of the time. Then of course, there is Luke, the handsome vicar, who becomes her partner in crime as they turn to sleuthing. I am sure there will be more to come from him in future books- well if Martha has her way! With several red herrings and a daring denouement at the end, this is a great way to while away a weekend's reading

In short: A promising start to a new series.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

Martha Miller has thrown herself into village life since her husband walked out on her. But her neighbours think she could have killed Stan and buried him under her vegetable patch. They become even more suspicious when someone is poisoned at the village show after drinking Martha's plum gin...
Poison at the Village Show is a cosy murder mystery set in an English village in 1947.
Martha is something of a pariah in her village. She lives with her sister Ruby who moved in to help financially once her husband Stan walked out. The new vicar appears friendly but then their regular meet ups threaten even more scandal. Martha wants to prove that her plum gin was not responsible for the death at the village show and that someone else has a better motive. So she starts to investigate...
I loved the gentle friendship that develops between Martha and Luke the vicar. It was effective how the author introduces us to new characters while they get to know each other. A variety of potential suspects and motives become apparent as Martha explores the lives of her neighbours. The author kept me guessing until the end and I enjoyed watching the plot unfold.
I liked the village setting and found it familiar and traditional, reminding me of Agatha Christie novels. Martha is distrusted for losing her husband and makes little effort to conform to feminine stereotypes. The war has only just ended so class and gender norms affect relationships within the village community.
Poison at the Village Show was a warm and entertaining introduction to a new amateur sleuth and I look forward to the next book

What a delightful mystery! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The story and the characters were engaging. I look forward to reading more Martha Miller mysteries. I highly recommend this book to other mystery readers.

A cozy mystery set in post WWII. It's the 1st in a new series, by an author who already has another successful series. I thought it a fairly typical cozy...not overly long, no sex or bad language or gruesome descriptions, a surprising death in an innocuous setting. This book sets up the series, introducing & giving backstories to characters, some likeable & others not so much! I chose this book because of the description of the setting & the offering of a dog involved....& was satisfied with both. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you'll probably like this one too......as it gets good reviews from other readers.....I might just not be a major reader of the 'cozy' genre....
I received a free e-copy of this book from publisher Boldwood Books via NetGalley, in return for reading it & posting my own fair & honest review.

A wonderful beginning to a new series a really enjoyable cozy.I enjoyed the w story from beginning to end a good mystery wonderful characters looking forward to more in the series,

An entertaining read and a great start to a new mystery series, set in rural England after WWII.

Oh how I long to live in Westleham and meet all these people - most of whom are a real pain to our protagonist, Martha Miller. Let's admit, Mrs Miller is not a popular woman in the village. However, stating that she killed her husband and buried him in the back garden under the potatoes is over the line. What is true and what is only village gossip?

If you love a good cozy mystery, you will enjoy this delightful story with a handsome vicar, award-winning broad beans and people dropping dead.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this Advance Review Copy.

Absolutely delightful. Poison at the Village Show is the type of book you wish wouldn’t end.

Once I was done reading, I was tempted to turn right back to page one and start it again because I had such a fun time with this story.

I got so lost in it that I almost forgot that this was only book one and I now have to be patient and wait for more. I feel completely ready to binge the whole series.

Readers who love cozy mysteries, shows like Midsomer Murders or anything Agatha Christie are going to obsess over this book.

Coles wrote it so visually that it makes you wish it were a TV show.

I’m always quite excited to read a cozy murder mystery in a country village. If you are a MCBeaton Fan or enjoy Agatha Christie you will enjoy this. I actually loved it and would recommend to friends. It read so easily and it was such a. Breath of fresh air like the village she lives in. Just excellent.

I love a well-crafted cozy mystery. A mystery where the main character lets you know right off that she isn’t a young blonde with bouncing curls. What did throw me off was her age. For most of the book, I thought Martha Miller was older than her thirty-three years since she comes across as a decade older. It must be the time and place -- 1947 in the village of Westleham, where village gossip and decorum are a priority.

The story is woven in such a way where you think you have it nailed down, then a slight change, and once again, you are off with the ladies following the gossip until one little clue and the lightbulb you share with Martha flicks to life.

Not quite Agatha Raisin and not quite Father Brown, but a patchwork that is reminiscent of their adventures. The second in the series, Daggers at the Country Fair, will be available this summer. I suggest you get the tea ready and enjoy another visit with the gossips of Westleham.

Martha Miller has a lot going against her - she is a newcomer to the village, her husband left for work one day and never came home, - so when someone drops dead after drinking her homemade plum gin, everyone assumes Martha is the culprit! When the new vicar, a bachelor, befriends her, that gives the village gossips even more to talk about. While the officer in charge is falling for Martha's sister, she decides it is up to her to discover the culprit.

I have read some of Catherine Coles' other series and loved them so I was eager to read #PoisonattheVillageShow. It is a fun read with interesting characters. The secondary mystery of her husband's disappearance adds depth to Martha and her situation. I lok forward to the next book and thank #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.