This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Cranthrope Millner Publishers from and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


While this one has a lot of potential, even a decent plot, sadly there was so much going on it missed the mark for me. I was easily distracted by all the plot lines and characters. There was a lot shoved into one story. It should be multiple stories or cleaned up for one. I admire the effort though.

Full of twists and turns, it will keep you furiously turning the pages. Giving this one four starts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Read it!

A new to my mystery author and I hope to this author writes more enamels. Builds quickly to to a high speed and stays there In a dynamic wo derful setting with well developed characters.

This book has the essence of a good murder mystery , but sadly it’s lacking a spark.
The spine of the story is good , there are plenty of suspects and motives but this begins to get confusing and clouded .
The writing is excellent but the story seems to lose its way and it all becomes confusing, although it redeems itself with the conclusion.
I hope if there is another in this series that it’s concise and a page turner .
Thanks to NetGalley Cranthorpe Millner Publishers .

In exchange for an honest review, NetGalley provided me with an eARC of this book. I'm grateful for this chance. Nothing in this review reveals how the story ends.

The Benedict Aberthorp mystery series begins with this first book. Overall, I thought it sounded more like a drama than a mystery, which is good. Every chapter has a good ending thanks to the engaging and fast-paced writing. Generally, I'm not too fond of the narration from multiple characters' points of view, but in this book, there are a lot of characters, and it's good to learn more about each one through what goes through their minds rather than how the plot develops through characters.

I adore Benedict, who gradually evolved into a character rather than a detective, which is good considering that this is the first book in the series and that his cases center around a protagonist who was well-integrated in the first book.

And the thing that bothers me the most is that too many details are sprinkled throughout the book, making it challenging to comprehend what's going on and how the story will end. And why the story sets in 2024? Why Gail, the nurse shoulders the detective job, which is to be done by Benedict.

Talking about the main opening of the mystery and the ending, the writing was excellent writing. I keep speculating about who the killer is throughout the entire book. I'm surprised to learn about the murderer. The last 50 pages are quiet edge-of-your-seat material.


Final thoughts:

Fast-paced writing + easy to understand + good character emphasization = (+3.5 stars)!

Too many details + picking phase of story + that (2024) year need = (-1.5 stars)

For Murder Press 3
by P.M.A. Hayes
I am sorry, but I could not even begin to figure out the book. Far too slow, with far too many people, and just seemed to move along. The names after names of odd-sounding people, and I was lost. The end was just an end, after all the book, with no real reasons.

I received this as an eARC from NetGalley and Cranthorpe Millner in exchange for an honest review. Thank you both for this opportunity! <b>There are no ending spoilers in this review.</b>

<b> This landed at a rounded up 3⭐ for me on Goodreads (since you cannot do partial stars) and a 2.5⭐ on Storygraph Below outlines how I landed here.</b>

<b>+.5⭐Writing:</b>
Overall good writing although there were a few too many instances of repetitive information and telling a lot vs showing, half star off for that.

<b>+1⭐World Building:</b>
Well done overall. It was easy to follow and understand this world.

<b>-.5⭐Plot:</b>
Simple revenge plot, easy to figure out because we are given the answer up front and then just connect the other pieces into that. I wish I hadn't known who did it so early on. The press 3 premise just didn't land for me. I found it to be awkward and unnecessary as well as just unbelievable. I won't spoil this piece but honestly it was just out of place anyway.

<b>Plot Twists:</b>
Nothing surprising here. You can see it coming the entire way. You're just waiting for Benedict to figure it out

<b>+.5⭐ Character Development:</b>
Told from multiple POV, you get a good idea of each characters thoughts and behaviors but they are relatively flat unlikeable people. Lilac is the only character I felt really developed.

Personal preference: The names bothered me. Jenniver, Bryony, they read weird to me.

<b>+.5⭐ Representation:</b>
Not a whole lot of representation here (loses half star) outside of some LGBT relationships. Those relationships were done well without stereotyping and I like that the relationships were accepted by those involved.

<b>Pace:</b>
Medium with a few lulls here and there.

<b>Ending:</b>
Meh. It was what I expected but a little loose and without the full justice I was looking for.

<b>+.5⭐Overall:</b>
Landed at a rounded up 3⭐ for me. It wasn't the best mystery I ever read but I wasn't tempted to DNF despite being given too much info about who did it upfront. I still wanted to find out who did it. I would recommend reading this but personally will not buy for my shelf.

<i>(As always to be fair: I am extremely picky about purchasing books for my limited shelf space and choose 4-5 stars from my personal ratings and only if I love it, want my children to read some day, or want to re-read.) </i>

<b>Trigger Warnings:</b>
Infant Loss
Minor/Adult relationship

<b>EDITING FEEDBACK:</b> <i> Does not affect my rating as this is an eARC that clearly states it is still in the copyedit process.</b>

This book has a lot of potential, but for me, missed the mark. While the author did a good job of making everyone a suspect, there was too many layers and too many secrets that it became convoluted, and the writing became choppy. For me, I like a real page turner, and this was not that; it read slow, and it did not flow well. The author also chose to have this take place in 2024, and I’m not sure the reason. However, because of that, some of the things in the book seemed like it took place ages ago. For instance, why didn’t anyone look anything up on the internet? Why are people using a telephone directory? Also, while I realize this didn’t take place in the United States, it irked me that there wasn’t much talk of police, just a small mention in the beginning and maybe once in the middle and then towards the end. Also, if someone is a prime suspect, why do they not have a lawyer? Overall, I liked that I couldn’t figure out the killer, but I probably would not read another in this series.