I had been looking forward to reading this and it began with promise. Unfortunately, the repetition of characters nicknames and quirks became irritating, and the introduction of characters who made no sense except as the eventual perpetrators, spoilt it for me. I found myself skimming over large chunks of text just to make it to the end. Thanks to Netgalley.

Amongst the rows of charming brightly painted cabins, an elderly man’s beach hut is set on fire in the middle of the night while he slept inside. Malcolm Crainey was a bit of an eccentric, but he was harmless really. By day, Fiona, Sue and Daisy volunteer at the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop. But, by night, they investigate crimes. The ladies soon uncover a long list of possible suspects. Then another hut is burned down in the dead of night. Thankfully there was no one asleep inside this time.
The second book in the series & it’s easily read on its own. A well written cosy mystery. I really like Daisy, Fiona & Sue & love their banter & their eagerness to solve the murders. There are plenty of twists, turns & red herrings. There are also plenty of secondary issues like the rivalry with the Cat Alliance charity shop, which add humour to the book. I found it to be an engrossing read which never lagged even though it’s over 400 pages, the characters have depth & the mystery is intriguing. I look forward to more antics from the ladies
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I would just like to say a big thank you to NetGalley who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review.

The Beach Hut Murders is book number two from the ‘Charity Shop Detective Agency’ series and is a wonderful little cosy murder mystery set in a nice sleepy English seaside town.

I loved the tagline for this book - the ladies of The Charity Shop Detective Agency are ready for another season of sun, sea and ……… murder and it pulled me in and made me want to read it and I am so glad that I did - it was wonderful!

I loved all the characters but especially Fiona, Sue and Daisy and I loved getting immersed in their story and finding out how the story unfolds…….

Fiona, Partial Sue and Daisy are back on the case, investigating another crime in seaside Southbourne.

It's an unusually warm summer on the coast of England, and everyone would rather be enjoying the beach at Mudeford Spit than hanging around in the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop - the sleuthing volunteers included! That is, until a fire at one of the Spit's beach huts in the early hours of the morning ends in tragedy when an elderly resident dies of smoke inhalation. The summer tenants disappear and even a lot of the owners abandon their beach huts in favour of the safety of their permanent homes. It's so quiet that the normally bustling restaurant at the start of the Spit can't justify opening. Something has to be done to save the summer, so the liaison officer for the Beach Hut Residents’ Association approaches the Charity Shop Detective Agency for help in solving the murder.

Only too eager to get their teeth into a new case, the ladies head down to the Spit to begin their investigation. While they are able to identify lots of leads, every one of them seems to terminate in a dead-end. As the days pass, there is another fire, then another... The situation is becoming dire and the ladies need a breakthrough.

This book has all the charm of the previous one, and I enjoyed spending time with Fiona and co. I wouldn't say there's a lot of growth in the main characters, but Fiona's nemesis, Sophie, becomes more rounded throughout the course of the story. Once again there is plenty of clever misdirection and enough red herrings to choke Christchurch Harbour. The location of Mudeford Spit was appealing too - named Mudeford Sandbank in real life, Google will bring up plenty of images of the beach and the beach huts (more substantial than the Australian ones I'm familiar with). If I have any criticism of this book it would only be its length and the wordiness that causes it. But that's a catch-22, as it's the wordiness that provides a lot of the charm.

The Beach Hut Murders is the second in Peter Boland's Charity Shop Detectives series, and I enjoyed it even more than the first. The book is cosy crime at it's real best and I was absolutely hooked from the start.

We join Fiona, Daisy and Partial Sue in Southbourne again, as they start investigating the mysterious fire and murder of one of the owners in a row of prestigious beach huts. Malcolm Crainey didn't seem to have an enemy in the world, so who would want to target him? More importantly, how was he targeted? With nothing to see on the CCTV and no real physical, the charity shop ladies at at a loss. But their dogged determination means that they never give up on finding the truth, even when faced with power-hungry Frank, the self elected head of the beach huts!

There's also a great dose of character development thrown in, including a few brushes between the three women and their arch nemesis Sophie. This gives the story real depth and elevates it to more than just your standard Sunday night whodunnit.

I love the Charity Shop Detective Agency, bring on the next installment!

All of a sudden down on the spit there have been fires happening to the beach huts. The owners of the huts are worried and want an investigation to start. Antony in charge of the huts goes to three amateur sleuths Fiona, Pat and Daisy who work at a non profit store for dogs without homes. They hit many roadblocks in their investigation and can't figure out who is starting the fires.

There were spots in the book that felt like it was filler for the book. However, in the end I enjoyed the book and liked how the mystery unraveled.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy!

I’d like to thank Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Beach Hut Murders’, the second in the Charity Shop Detective Agency Mysteries written by Peter Boland, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Fiona, Partial Sue and Daisy of the Charity Shop Detective Agency have a visitor at their shop ‘Dogs Need Nice Homes’. Antony Owens, Liaison Officer for the Beach Huts Residents Association at Mudeford Split needs their help in tracking down who’s responsible for setting fire to a beach hut and causing the death of the owner Malcolm Crainey from smoke inhalation. The ladies aren’t experts but they’ll do what they can to assist DI Fincher and DS Thomas who have yet to find a clue. As their list of suspects grows and more beach huts are destroyed, they have to rethink why someone would want to cause damage and injury to whoever is staying there.

‘The Beach Hut Murders’ is a thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery and is in my opinion a great improvement on the first novel in the series. The plot is well thought-out and structured and it’s good to meet up with the likeable characters of Fiona, Partial Sue and Daisy who feel more like old friends. In writing this novel the author has done an excellent job of encouraging visitors to my home town of Christchurch and the surrounding areas of Mudeford, Southbourne and Hengistbury Head, as his descriptions are perfect and far more interesting than any guide book. Just as I’m thinking the ladies have done another remarkable job at apprehending whoever is responsible I arrive at the epilogue and the disturbing cliffhanger which doesn’t bode well for them in the future. I eagerly look forward to reading book number three.

The ladies of the Charity Shop Detective Agency are back to solve another case. When Fiona, Partial Sue, and Daisy are approached to solve the murder of Malcom Crainey, they quickly spring into action. The ladies at the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop are entertaining and well-written and The Beach Hut Murders is an easy read full of twists and turns. The biggest thing I enjoyed about this novel was that even though this is the second book in a series, you can easily read this as a standalone. I will definitely be visiting the first book in this series very soon.

Thank you to Joffe Books and Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Charity Shop Detective Agency Mysteries Book 2

Among the rows of charming brightly painted cabins, an elderly man's beach hut is set on fire in the middle of the night - while he slept inside. By day, Fiona Sue and Daisy volunteer at the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop. But, by night, they investigate crimes. And they're determined to get to the bottom of this murder. Malcolm Crainey was a bit of an eccentric, but he was harmless really. Who would want to kill him.

This is the second book in this cosy murder mystery series and it's just as good as the first. Fiona. Sue and Daisy are investigating the murder of Malcolm Crainey who was burnt to death in a beach hut. There's a lot going on in this book. The pace is perfectly set with some really good twists and turns. I like that the three main characters are prone to make mistakes, that makes them far more real to me.

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

A romp of a cozy featuring mature amateur sleuths! This is the sort of read you want for travel or a day in the garden or on the beach (or inside when it rains). It's not too hard or too twisty and it's fun. And funny. It might be a bit to keep everyone straight at first but you'll quickly find yourself settled in. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is the second book in The Charity Shop Detective Agency series by Peter Boland. I picked it up because the first one was an enjoyable cozy mystery and this one is as well. The book can easily be read as a one off and it would be easy to follow without having read the first book; however, the first book was fun too and does provide some background on the characters. This one involves initially one suspicious death in one of the local beach hut communities involving the burning of a beach hut. The qurstion is was it intentional or accidental.

Description:
It’s almost summer in Southbourne and the ladies of the Charity Shop Detective Agency are ready for another season of sun, sea and . . . murder.

Amongst the rows of charming brightly painted cabins, an elderly man’s beach hut is set on fire in the middle of the night — while he slept inside.

By day, Fiona, Sue and Daisy volunteer at the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop. But, by night, they investigate crimes. And they’re determined to get to the bottom of this murder.

Malcolm Crainey was a bit of an eccentric, but he was harmless really. Who would want to kill him?

The ladies soon uncover a long list of possible suspects. Neighbours who hated Malcolm for refusing to swap huts. Members of the snobby beach hut association who took umbrage with Malcom’s quirky beachcombed cabin decorations.

Then another hut is burned down in the dead of night. Thankfully there was no one asleep inside this time. But the pressure is on — can Fiona, Sue and Daisy find the culprit before the beach hut murderer strikes again?

My Thoughts:
I enjoy the cameraderie surrounding the ladies who work in the charity shop. There is also the irritating nearby snobby charity shop across the way, whose owner is quite uppity - she's back in this one. They mystery surrounding the beach huts is interesting and provides some surprising twists. I enjoyed the investigation the amateur detectives were pulled into. I also enjoyed some of the side stories - the cake deal at the charity shop, the mysterious woman who dropped off a box, but didn't just wanted the shop to hold it until she was ready to give it up, the politics with the woman who runs the community center, and the issues with the nearby owner of the Cat Alliance charity shop owner. Some quirkly characters add a lot to the book. I really enjoyed the freee-spirited character the ladies met who had come down from London to stay in one of the beach huts and was friends with the owner of the Cat Alliance shop.

Thanks to Joffe Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on August 3, 2023.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

This is a great read for fans of cosy crime novels. Kept me guessing right to the end, and I'm looking forward to reading more antics from these ladies.

Initially the writing style feels a little overwrought, which makes it hard to step into the story. Once you manage to wade into the story, the detective agency is a delightful surprise.

The mystery unfolds with a healthy dose of humor and a ton of fascinating local characters throughout. I'm not a big mystery reader, so I may not be the best judge, but I was enjoying not being able to figure out the whodunit until all was revealed.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is book 2 in the Charity Shop Detective Agency series but they work perfectly as stand alone.

The Beach Huts on the Spit have become much sought after holiday homes, the cost of owning one is out of reach of many people. For Malcolm his beach hut is home and being eccentric he has personalised it with shells and other items. It is loved by some and hated by others but everyone is shocked when it burns down with Malcolm inside. There are no clues and the Charity Shop ladies are tasked with investigating.

This is an intriguing story that keeps the pages turning. Many suspects but little in the way of leads and a bizarre source of the fire has everyone baffled, including the Police.

But the 3 ladies are not ones to give up and keep on with their detective work.

Some very unique larger than life characters. You have to love Bitsy and she is offset brilliantly by the unlikeable Sophie. The book moves along at a steady pace but is very descriptive and I think that detracts from the story quite a bit.

However, a good read and a real shock at the end to make persevering worthwhile.

When a beach hut is burned down with a man inside, the CSDA is one the case. Daisy and Fiona find the victim was a bit quirky and a few neighbors weren’t total fans, but would that be enough cause them to murder him? 

When a second hut is also burned down, the ladies need to step up the game and find out what’s really going on behind the arson!

I adore British cozies and this is a grand one! It’s got me laughing out-loud and suspecting almost everyone. If you love cozies, this is a great one for you to read!

Quite a straightforward murder mystery set around the famous beach huts in Christchurch Dorset on the Mudeford spit by beautiful nature reserves.
There is a group of ladies at a Dogs charity shop nearby that enjoy a bit of sleuthing on the side, so when the beach hut association asks for their help to solve a murder they get involved.
Some great ideas, around a beautiful area of the English coast, which I felt never reached their full potential. For me the characters were a little obvious and predictable, and I couldn’t really relate, but some readers may really enjoy them. The writing is not as creative or flowing as I had hoped.
However this is a fun holiday read especially if you’re in Dorset, just not one of my favourite murder mysteries.
Thank you NetGalley for the early read.

Peter Boland once again delivers a witty and fun mystery with “The Beach Hut Murders.”

After successfully solving a recent murder, charity shop workers Fiona, Daisy and Partial Sue continue their own detective agency, now being hired to solve a recent arson and death at a beach hut on nearby Mudeford Spit.

As more arsons continue — in a manner that seems extremely unlikely and feasible — the ladies must use their wits and deductive skills to determine who is burning down beach huts, and why.

Boland does a great job of creating characters — some that are truly delightful and some that will rile up the reader. Once again, he also builds a fun plot filled with red herrings, misdirections and creativity that will leave the reader laughing and guessing until the end.

Fans of series like Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club,” Robert Thorogood’s “The Marlow Murder Club,” as well as authors like Agatha Christie, will enjoy “The Beach Hut Murders,” which is due out Aug. 3.

Five stars out of five.

Joffe Books provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Another good read. Lovely to catch up with the charity shop ladies. Lovely to hear the descriptions of Mudeford and all it’s summer glory. I really like the characters and the plot was great. A really good book, perfect to read on holiday.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The 2nd ‘Cosy’ mystery in the series from the excellent Peter Boland is a great read. Mostly for me as Peter Boland manages to sneak in a bit more of a sinister side to the Cosy mystery whilst keeping it all nicey and humorous.

With the group of charity shop detectives at their best, twists a plenty and everyone a suspect, it takes a short while to get started but turns into a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable murder mystery full of likeable characters.

Quirky, fun yet with a bit of the darker side seeping in, the epilogue certainly left me looking forward to the next in this clever, intelligent and extremely readable series.

The second Charity Shop cozy Murder finds Fiona and her friends investigating when a beach hut is burned down, killing its resident. They are hired to investigate and along the way there are two more fires.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first in this series. I think the storyline wasn’t as compelling, but maybe that is just me. I do think the second half of the book picked up more but the whodunit was a bit confusing for me.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.