After the disappointing previous ARC I had read, I thought "Let's read one that takes place in rural England, in a bookshop--that's my cup of tea." However, as the old knight says in the Indiana Jones movie, I chose poorly. Sophie is working at her boyfriend Hector's bookshop (craftily called Hector's House; yes. that's sarcasm) in a small village in the Cotswolds. The village is in an uproar because the company that runs the only bus service has suspended operations because it's too expensive and they are losing money. The villagers are up in arms, until Janice is murdered on the bus, and then their fury turns to fear. Sophie decides to solve the mystery herself in her spare time as she learns how to drive. For someone so scared of driving (which is hammered home in chapter after chapter and lots of internal dialogue), Sophie blossoms in one paragraph from scaredy cat extreme to a seasoned driver. So confident is she that, on her second driving trip, she spends her time reflecting on the murder than on the road; completely out of character after a lot of time has been spent on her fear of and aversion to driving. There are other very unrealistic passages, but sadly, I found the resolution of the murder mystery to be the most unrealistic of all. The pat solution to the bus crisis was so unbelievable that it was lucky that scene came at the end of the book; any earlier and I'd have stopped reading then and there in protest at the assault on our common sense. It's hard to write this, but for the second book this month, I can only say avoid this book. The story and plot are fairly ridiculous and the resolution is at best terrible; most of the characters are not likable, and the author contrives silly behavior on Sophie's part and an unrealistic ending that carried my disappointment right through the very end. The once nice things I can say--the location is the Costwolds.

Driven to murder was a great little murder mystery. Cancel all plans while reading - I inhaled this amazing book over one weekend and resented everything that kept me away from it! The writing was top notch and the characters were very real.

As delightful as ever, Driven to Murder is the latest addictive installment in Debbie Young’s fabulous Sophie Sayers mystery series.

The Wendlebury Barrow community is up in arms when it is announced that the local bus company will be stopping their route through their Cotswolds village – including Sophie Sayers. Her driving lessons with her boyfriend Hector are far from being a roaring success – if anything, at times, they can be a complete and utter disaster! Sophie – like many people in the village – relies on the bus service and decides to join in the peaceful protest which her friends and neighbours are organizing. However, it quickly transpires that public transport will soon be the last thing on everybody’s mind…

A body has been found on the Number 27 bus and everybody is wondering how the passenger met their maker and how the driver didn’t notice. There is clearly something sinister going on and Sophie is determined to get to the bottom of this puzzling mystery. Can she solve this case before another body is found? Or will Sophie’s curiosity end up costing her dear?

Debbie Young’s cosy mysteries are tremendous fun and Driven to Murder is another enjoyable whodunnit packed with humour, tension, charm and plenty of red herrings to keep readers turning the pages and guessing until the final shocking denouement. With its wonderful cast of characters, twists and turns and bucolic mischief, Driven to Murder is another superb British mystery by Debbie Young.

I loved this book set in the Cotswolds! It is especially pertinent in this day and age where less and less people are learning to drive. Sophie and Hector own a store and spend their time between it and their two homes. Sophie decides to learn to drive to help the business and just in time since the local bus service is going to be ending. When a villager dies, Sophie stops at nothing to find the killer. I truly enjoyed this book, am recommending it and want to read the rest in the series.

Blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources

http://ramblingmads.uk/2024/01/28/blog-tour-driven-to-murder-debbie-young/

Cozy village, cottages and Sophie. Nothing but fun and mystery after that for sure!! Thanks so much for letting me find a new cozy heroine to follow!!

A great cozy read, very sweet and light-hearted. I found I got into this one quickly and then I couldn't put it down. I love the setting in the Cotswold village, I could picture it. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was a welcome return to the quirky Cotswold village, and to Sophie and Hector who have just returned from visiting Sophie’s parents in Scotland

This story sees the community at the risk of losing their only bus service, making life so much harder for the local residents. It appears that the bus company is also the victim of sabotage.

When a local protester is found dead on one of the buses, Sophie turns detective. Who would benefit from this death and the cancellation of the bus service? Who is behind the sabotage?

Additionally, business at the bookshop and cafe is on the up and Sophie looks into learning to drive so she can help out more.

This was a great cozy mystery. It can be read as a standalone, but I’d recommend reading some of the previous books in this series to understand the characters more. It did take some time to get going though, with the murder only happening over half way through the story. I must confess though, I prefer the author’s St Brides series set in a quirky boarding school!

Thanks must go to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.
4/5

This was such a great pick me up book which was so fun to read. I loved Sophies character, especially at her resistance to want to be involved to begin with but didn't have much choice but to solve the murder when all the clues kept being thrown her way!!
Although this is a book in a series (this is the 9th book) I hadn't actually read any of the others however I didn't feel as though I missed out on anything vital, or felt as though the book was written in a way that left me scratching my head with omitted information that could be gained from reading the others first, I also didn't feel as though I was being overloaded with information as the book flowed really well and it was fun to read.

I will now be going back to start from book one and see if it can enhance my reading experience with the first 8 books as this one was such an enjoyable read. My only reason for giving 4 stars is that I felt the plot took a little bit longer than I would have liked to get going but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

It was so lovely to
Catch up with Sophie and Hector and the lovely inhabitants of Wendlebury. The book shop is expanding and Sophie feels the urge to finally pass her driving test. The village is struck with the sad news that the local bus service is to be cut and the village folk decide to fight for it to be saved. Then murder strikes. Sophie and Hector look into this in their usual gentle fashion. These are suck lovely books in this series. Lots of loveliness and beautiful scenery and cake!
Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

After I read the St Brides mystery I was desperate to try this and it did not disappoint. I love a cosy mystery and this is brilliantly written with a perfect mix of romance, mystery and wonderful community spirit. Sophie is a great MC and I love her relationship with Hector. I love the twists and turns and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I can't wait for the next book in this lovely series.

This is such an adorable book, I loved the setting! I’m rather late to the series but will be going back to the start (this is still enjoyable as a standalone).

The characters were all interesting and I loved reading about the interactions amongst the villagers and how they came together to fight for their village.

A well written book, I’m excited to read the previous books 😊

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Driven To Murder' by Debbie Young.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Debbie Young, Boldwood Books, the Bold Book Club, Book And Tonic and Rachel's Random Resources Tours.

Publication date 26th January 2024.

This is the first book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Murder In The Highlands' (book 8 in this series). It is also the ninth book in the 'Sophie Sayers Cosy Mystery' series but can be read as a standalone.

This novel consists of 34 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that leave you feeling the fresh Scottish air in your hair and listening to the water running down the water slides. The cover and synopsis suit the book perfectly.

Such a gorgeous, easy, fun cosy mystery that had me hook, line and sinker!!! Well done Debbie on an absolutely addictive cosy mystery!!

This book is another fantastic addition to an absolutely addictive series and I cannot wait to get back to reading the books I have yet to catch up on. I really did love reading this book which took place in such a brilliant environment I felt like I had disappeared on holiday for the day. It was a shame it was only a day but that's how long it took me to zoom through the pages after not being able to put it down. I genuinely felt like I was in the storyline and I was devastated to come to the end and have to "unpack my suitcase". After starting this series in the Highlands while Sophie and Hector were on holiday it was nice to discover their home village of Wendlebury Barrow and getting to know more characters that I am likely to meet in future and previous books that live there. The storyline is multi-layered with mystery upon mystery and action upon action to keep the reader completely absorbed throughout without a moment to get bored. It was filled with murder, romance, adventure, mayhem, mystery, tension, twists, friendship, books and absolutely everything you could ever ask for in a cosy mystery. I absolutely love the fact that the main protagonists work in a tea/book shop and that the mystery is surrounded by books!! Here's being an absolutely huge book lover this is always a huge bonus for me. This is one of those fantastic finds that you can read absolutely anywhere from the beach to in front of a fireplace. It doesn't matter where you read it because of Debbie's evocative writing skills you are guaranteed to be swept away to the Cotswolds in no time!!! I loved that although this book is predominantly a murder mystery it also made me laugh so many times. Its perfect when you find a book like that that even when the storyline has death in it it still makes you laugh and lightens the mood!!!

Do not pick this up until you have cleared your schedules as you will not be able to put it down!!

Although this is the ninth book in the series I had would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.

I absolutely LOVED meeting Sophie and Hector again along with everyone else who made this cosy mystery series perfect the way it is. I am completely invested in each of the characters and Debbie portrayed village life, the Highlands and characters perfectly. The fact that she did her research absolutely shined through her words so congratulations Debbie!! There is little worse than an author doing little or no research in the topic or area they write about and littering their book with unnecessary mistakes which can spoil the storyline. I really clicked with both Sophie and Hector immediately as soon as I had previously met them in the eighth book in this series 'Murder In The Highlands' which was the first book I had read in this super series. They are both an absolutely perfect choice for this cosy mystery series and are characters I cannot wait to meet time and time again! They have very quickly become like friends that I look forward to catching up with and Debbie's fantastic and evocative writing skills really make them jump out of the pages and come to life in front of the reader. Every one of her characters are well developed, strong and most importantly realistic!! Sophie and Hector really do make a perfect team and I loved watching their relationship developing. I am looking forward to meeting them both again in the next book in this fantastic series and seeing how their friendship and relationships with each and the other characters develop. I would also love to see Tommy again who really left an impression and made me laugh!! I'm looking forward to seeing what all these fantastic and memorable characters get up to in the not so distant future!!!

Congratulations Debbie on yet another absolutely addictive book in this addictive series!!! Here's to many more successes 🥂

Overall an addictive cosy mystery set in a stunning area that you won't be able to put down!!

218 pages.

This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with Kindle Unlimited and £9.43 in paperback (at time of review) which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Sophie Sayers finds herself involved in another investigation when a villager dies on the local bus and the circumstances point to murder. Enjoy catching up with the residents of Wendlebury Barrow in the ninth book in this cozy murder mystery series.

I have been a fan of Debbie and her work and have been for a while now. By no means have I read everything that she has written but that is something that I hope to rectify in the not too distant future. I must admit that I especially love Debbie's cozy mystery series featuring Sophie Sayers. I loved the first eight books in the series and when I heard that Debbie was due to release another book in the series, I knew that I had to grab a copy and read it at the earliest opportunity. Well ladies and gents the wait is over because the ninth book in the Sophie Sayers mystery series is called 'Driven To Murder' and it was released on 26th January 2024. It was a cracker of a read and then some. I ADORED reading 'Driven To Murder' but more about that in a bit.

I was drawn to this book by the fact that I saw Debbie's name on the cover of a book that I knew I hadn't read yet. It didn't take long at all for me to get into the story itself. In fact as soon as I started reading, that was it for me - I knew that I wasn't going to be doing anything other than reading for the rest of the afternoon because I knew that I wouldn't be able to put the book down. I was spot on too. I picked the book up only intending to read a chapter or two but I was so wrapped up in the story that I didn't put the book down until after I had read the last word on the last page. Part of the reason why I enjoyed the book so much has to do with the fact that the story was certainly topical for me. The village where I live recently faced the prospect of losing their own bus service but thankfully didn't. Some of the arguments the residents were using to save the service in the book, were the same as the ones that we used to save our service. It actually felt as though the author was writing about my village. I was so wrapped up in the story, in the lives of the characters and in village life that I didn't realise just how quickly I was getting through the book. All too quickly I reached the end of 'Driven To Murder' and had to say goodbye to Sophie and the rest of the villagers. I found 'Driven To Murder' to be a gripping and ultimately fun read, which certainly kept me guessing.

'Driven To Murder' is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Debbie Young. Debbie has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact, reading one of Debbie's books feels more like a chat between friends rather than reading a book. I hope that makes sense. Debbie certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one heck of a story and then some. Debbie clearly cares about her characters and this shines through in the very vivid and realistic way in which she describes them. She makes her characters seem just as real as you and I. In fact I found myself comparing the villagers in the book to the villagers in my village. I love the way in which Debbie 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 ADORED reading 'Driven To Murder' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Debbie's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Another Sophie Sayers cosy mystery she's so much to do!
With driving lessons one of the first to get through.
With the decision for local bus to be axed, the villagers protest,
The folks of Wendlebury Barrow this will definitely contest!

However, when on the bus a protester dies
Even before the cause of death is realised
Sophie is determined to investigate
Hoping she'll find the killer before it is too late.

A new skill, a new bright orange car!
Sophie is happy to drive herself near and far.
Seeking clues to help solve the mystery
She'd better watch out she doesn't become history!

Another fun cozy mystery that's a delightful read,
With great characters, community and romance, just what you need!
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

I adore British cozy mysteries, especially when they’re based in the Cotswolds. This entry in the long running series is the perfect example of a British cozy mystery for me.

If you haven’t read one of the books in this series, don’t let it being booked number nine keep you from diving in. It reads fine as a standalone. This is a quick and fun read, so settling to cozy spot with a cuppa sit back and enjoy.

Sophie Sayers loves living in Wendlebury Barrow, but like everyone else in the village, she relies heavily on the local bus service. When the bus company announces that the service will be withdrawn the locals are devastated. Sophie joins the others in a protest to try and save their bus, but when a dead body is discovered on the Number 27, things start to turn sinister. Unwilling to wait for the police to solve the mystery, Sophie begins her own investigation, hoping to find the culprit before anyone else dies.

I loved this cosy mystery. Sophie is an appealing character, with community spirit and a caring nature. Recently in receipt of an inheritance, she has thrown herself into village life and is keen to help those around her. Her job in the local bookshop gives her an ideal base to get to know all that is going on.

The bus is a lifeline for everyone in the village. Without it many would have to give up work or study. And getting to the shops would be nigh on impossible without it. I could see how emotions could run high when the bus company threatens to withdraw from the area.

I found it easy to become immersed in this intriguing story. The setting was beautifully described and the characters well drawn. I enjoyed being in Wendlebury Barrow and would love to visit again.

Given that the author is my namesake and we both live in The Cotswolds, I was compelled to read and review this book. It is what it says on the can, a cozy crime mystery and it’s a lovely read showing off Cotswold life as well as highlighting the difficulties of living in rural communities of you don’t drive. Despite being disguised I felt I recognised some of the places which made it feel familiar and comforting. A clever twist at the end, delightful characters with a bit of love interest means I will certainly read more

Sophie Sayers and her boyfriend, Hector are in a good place as they prepare to expand his bookshop in the Cotswolds village of Wendlebury Barrow.

The only sticking point is the fact that Sophie learning to drive would help the running of the business and she’s terrified of the prospect. As she considers her next move, a body is discovered on the number 27 bus. Can Sophie once again solve the mystery?

The premise of this book sounded great so I was pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for Driven to Murder, the ninth book in the Sophie Sayers cozy mystery series.

This is the first novel I’ve read in the series and although the previous titles would have introduced characters and the setting, I did not feel like I needed to catch up. This can read as a standalone.

Sophie is great. She’s loyal, savvy and loves a mystery. I can certainly relate to the last point. I enjoyed trying to unravel what was going on and so the plot was easy to fall into. Hector is lovely and I know I will want to add the series to my TBR pile so I can spend more time with these characters. There really is someone for everyone.

The setting sounds so pretty and I want to visit. Haha. The novel potentially teased a Christmas wedding and I am so there for that.

The suspense is grown well through the book and by the end, I was suspecting a lot of people and a lot of different scenarios. A sign of a great mystery novel.

It’s not a long story at just over 200 pages so if you love a puzzle and like to snuggle down against this cold weather with a cozy novel, this book is perfect. I loved it.

(Thank you to Boldwood Books, Netgalley and Rachel’l Random Resources for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.)