This is a good cosy mystery. There are plenty of twists. The storyline held my attention. It is part of a series but reads well as a standalone

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great mystery thriller novel. Love the cover.

The Judge at Saint Jane's is the fourth in a series of books, and yet it stands alone just the same. All is not as it seems. Deborah runs a hostel for domestic victims and ends up dead. Problem is, there's another murder made to look like an accident as well, but no one is buying it. What happens next is a pretty good page turner of a mystery as you learn of different characters and whether or not they are the killer. Lots of secrets, turns, twists, and no dead giveaways. I think my favorite part of the book was the dictionary of terms at the end, for those of us who are not from London. Much appreciated! Great mystery that kept me interested.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

The Judge at Saint Jane’s is the fourth entry in a series of cozy mysteries that began with The Flower Arranger at All Saints. Featured in each is amateur detective Suzy Spencer.

The victim this time is Deborah Arbiter. She endeavored to do good and ran a shelter for those who suffered domestic abuse. Did Deborah fall or was it murder? No spoiler to say that it was murder.

Read this title to solve the mystery along with Suzy. It is a good read. Enjoy the characters and the setting.

Note: There was a Saint Jane. The book’s author explains how she relates to the book’s title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Joffe books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Suzie Spencer is a television producer who has moved out to North Cumbrian to mourn the loss of her husband. While there, she meets a widower named Robert and they begin a new life together. But murder and mystery begin to stalk her.

A former lawyer and founder of a home for abused women is found dead. Suzie realizes that her death is eerily similar to the death of a woman she had befriended. When she finds out that her friend had contacted the home, the plot thickens.

In a lively, well-written novel, we are pulled into the mystery of multiple murders and Suzie's career life. I highly recommend this book for lovers of the classic British mystery novel.

I have a little confession to make. Although I have the first three books in the Suzy Spencer series on my ever increasing ‘to be read’ mountain, I haven’t actually read one yet. I know what a mistake to make. When I was invited to take part in the blog tour for ‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’, which is the fourth book in the Suzy Spencer series, I knew that this was the kick up the bottom that I needed to ‘meet’ Suzy and to get to know the area and the other regular characters. Having enjoyed reading ‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’ as much as I did, I am now rather cross with myself that I left it this long to ‘discover’ Suzy Spencer. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’ but more about that in a bit.
It took me no time at all to get into ‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’. In fact the synopsis was enough to grab my attention and the story drew me in. As soon as I started reading, I had an inkling that I wouldn’t be able to put this book down for any length of time. I was intrigued by the descriptions of the village and by the different characters and I had to keep reading to find out how the different strands to this story impacted on certain characters. This was one of those books that really got under my skin as it were- if I wasn’t reading the book then I was thinking about it. I think part of the reason, why I became so addicted to the story was the fact that I also live in a village similar to the one in the story so I was comparing that village with the one where I live. The pages of the book turned increasingly quickly as I made my way through the book as my desperation to find out what happened grew and grew. At one point the pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were turning themselves and the page numbers became a blur. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’ and I had to say goodbye to Suzy and the rest. I found ‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’ to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat.
‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’ is superbly written. Lis has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact I didn’t feel as though I was reading a book because the text reads more like a chat between friends than reading an actual book. For me, the story hits the ground running and maintained a steady pace throughout. Lis clearly cares about her characters and this shines through in the very thorough way in which she describes them. Lis describes the characters so well that they seem to leap off the page and seem just as real as you and I. I love the way in which Lis makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action. That’s how I felt anyway.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Judge At Saint Jane’s’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Lis’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

THE JUDGE AT SAINT JANE'S by Lis Howell.
It’s a glorious autumn evening in Tarnfield when Deborah Arbiter falls to her death.She ran a hostel for survivors of domestic abuse. What was she doing on the roof of St Jane’s?Everyone says Deborah fell after climbing up to inspect a leak. But Suzy Spencer doesn’t believe the seventy-year-old was undertaking her own DIY repairs.Suzy thinks something fishy is going on. And when her new friend, Ellie, stops replying to her messages, Suzy can’t put it out of her mind. Suzy knows all about Ellie’s controlling lover. Then she finds out that Ellie was booked in to stay at Deborah’s hostel.
A good read with good characters. Slow but readable. 3*.

I've really enjoyed this widely spaced series of books by Lis Howell. And the latest, The Judge at St Jane's, lived up to my expectations. The plot is predicated on some unlikely co-incidences and some lucky network connections but, hey, it's fiction and disbelief can be suspended when the plot holds together credibly as it does here.

Suzy Spencer, now married to Robert Clark, feels certain that two deaths are in fact murders perpetrated by the same person. This is based on nothing more than a feeling (which is where the suspension of disbelief comes in) but the theory gradually gathers traction.

I like the cast of characters many of whom recur throughout the series and I was delighted to spend more time with them. I hope that further books will be forthcoming.

I just have one gripe. The chapters are all headed by a quote from the book of Judges in the Old Testament. No problem at all with that. But why did the author/publisher decide to use a seventeenth century English translation? It irks me, perhaps unnecessarily, but the Bible has been translated since then, using language that 21st century readers are more familiar with.

This is the first book i read in this series and won't surely be the last as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Solid mystery, lovely setting and well developed characters. It kept me hooked and guessing till the end.
Can't wait to read the next in this series
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The owner of a home for abused women in Cumbria falls to her death - murder, suicide or accident? The police are inclined to the latter but our intrepid sleuth Suzy is not convinced. She's a freelance TV producer and is asked to deal with the media at the home which, naturally wants to keep out of the limelight as much as possible for the women who live there. There she uncovers all sorts of little secrets. She teams again with Robert, a widower who lectures at the local University although who seems to have a remarkable amount of spare time to "sleuth"! A few distracting characters provide red herrings and there is plenty of description of context - the hills and fells of Cumbria are always a delight even if we move around geographically rather oddly. An enjoyable read on the whole. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have a particular soft spot for insular, rural, parochial mysteries! This first in a sequence from Lis Howell ticks all my boxes and more besides. The narrative grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't let you breathe until the end… I read this book in one sitting. I stayed up until midnight devouring the action.

This is book four in the Suzy Spencer mystery series and a first for me however this didn't effect my readying enjoyment. Now i'm a big fan of an amateur sleuth so took an instant like to the lead character. The writing style was easy to follow and kept me engaged throughout with some interesting complex characters in an intriguing setting a cosy English mystery that didn't disappoint.

Loved this book! It's the first I've read by this author, but it certainly won't be the last. Great characters, a clever plot with lots of twists and turns, and some heart-stopping drama make this a great cozy mystery!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Joffe Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This delightful cozy kept me entertained and engaged throughout. I didn’t want to put this one down, so I didn’t! I read it all in one sitting.

Deborah Arbitier falls to her death from the roof of her Georgian country house St. Jane.
People think she was up on the roof to fix a leak but a friend did not believe that. One of Suzy's friends disappears and finds connection between Deborah and St Janes. This is the 4th series in the book wish I would of
read the other books in this series before this last one to get their backstory.
Thanks to Joffe Books, Netgalley and the author in exchange for a review.
Publishing Date March 8th, 2022

Having waited so long for this to be released i could not wait to read it and this was completed in one sitting

Waiting in anticipation now for the next in this series to be released

I'd like to thank Net Galley for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth book in Lis Howell's Suzy Spencer Mysteries. I admit I have not read the previous three novels, which might have helped me understand the past relationships between some of the characters. But even without that knowledge, this was an enjoyable and entertaining cozy mystery read.

Suzy Spenser is a freelance TV producer who has settled with her two children in the small village of Tarnfield in northern Cumbria, not exactly the bustling metropolis of London she's used to. Over the course of her previous adventures (described in The Flower Arranger at All Saints, The Chorister at the Abbey, and The Death of a Teacher) she hooks up with quiet, local widower, Robert Clark, who works as an English professor at a nearby university. Central to their lives and the community where they live is the church, All Saints.

In The judge at Saint Jane's, Suzy becomes involved in the mysterious death of Deborah Arbiter who runs a hostel for women who have experienced domestic violence. No one is too sure what the 70-year-old lady was doing on the roof of Saint Jane's before she plummeted to her death. Was it just an unfortunate accident? Suzy isn't convinced after discovering a new friend, Ellie, has disappeared. And she as booked to stay at Deborah's hostel.

Soon Suzy and Robert are deep into the mystery. And the bodies are starting to pile up.

Once again, I would suggest reading the three previous novels if you're interested in investing yourself to a new cozy mystery series. But you can easily jump into the excitement with this book.

The Judge at Saint Jane's is the fourth book in a series set in the English countryside featuring Suzy Spencer and her husband Robert as amateur detectives. In this instalment, Suzy becomes suspicious when Deborah Arbiter, the "Judge", falls from the roof of her Georgian mansion and dies instantly. Deborah had established and run a refuge for women who had experienced domestic violence and abuse, so had earned her share of enemies and took many secrets to the grave with her. Then Suzy discovers that an acquaintance of hers had a connection to Saint Jane's and died in a manner similar to Deborah. Suzy cannot forget her friend's death and is resolved to find the answers.

This novel is fairly representative of the English murder mystery and is well-written, although the pace was a little slow. My attention and enthusiasm flagged a bit halfway through and I did accurately guess at the killer before the big reveal. There were also quite a few characters, incidental and major, which made it rather confusing to keep them straight. It is always difficult to jump into a series when you have missed several books, and I am certain that reading the first three would make a huge difference in appreciating the characters. It was an enjoyable read, but a little slow overall. Many thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Suzy Spencer Mysteries Book 4

It's a glorious summer evening in Tarnfield when Deborah falls to her death. What was she doing on the roof of her old Georgian country house, Saint Jane's. People think Deborah was up there inspecting a leak. But Suzy Spencer doesn't believe the seventy year old was doing DIY.

This cosy mystery has plenty of suspects to keep us guessing. There's also plenty of twists. The story covers the theft of metal, blackmail and murder. I have not read any of the previous books in this series, but it does read well as a standalone. This is a quick and easy book to read. The storyline held my attention throughout.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #LisHowell for my ARC of #TheJudgeAtSaintJanes in exchange for an honest review

The Judge at Saint Jane’s is a beautifully written and intricately plotted village cozy by Lis Howell and the 4th Suzy Spencer mystery. Released 8th March 2022 by Joffe Books, it's 359 pages and is available in ebook format. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free (along with the other books in the series).

It's not all that often that I stumble across a new (to me) author and series that ticks all the boxes. This is a cerebral, well written, modern mystery series with a savvy and intelligent female protagonist who *isn't* a willowy 20-something supergirl. Protagonist Suzy bears some autobiographical resemblance to her creator, and it's clear that the author, Ms. Howell, is intimately familiar with the media branch and allied work, as well as the inner workings of the Church and politicization of religion and how earnest disagreements over theological questions can affect worshipers deeply.

The plot combines metal thefts, environmental crime, greed, murder, blackmail, and skullduggery centred around an isolated women's retreat and shelter. The writing is superlative and it's tightly plotted and resolves into a satisfying denouement. Despite being the 4th book in the series, I had no trouble keeping the characters straight or following the plot. It works well as a standalone.

Five stars. The author is remarkably talented and fans of Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, and even Colin Dexter will find a lot to love here. Despite having more in my TBR pile than I can hope to tackle in the immediate future, I've moved the prior books in the series to the top of my list.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.