It was good to be back on the Isle of Wight, and with Susan the amateur sleuth.

Following her divorce from Steve, and an upsetting murder near her old home, Susan moves to another part of the island, the village of Bishopstone.

Susan loves the peace and quiet of the village, and also the community spirit, and gets involved in various activities. One of these was joining the church choir at St Jude’s. After practice one evening, a committee meeting was called but it didn’t go well and there was an altercation. Soon after, headteacher Lawrence was found fatally wounded beside the church.

Even though Susan’s good friend and ex-police officer, Robert, doesn’t think she should get involved in finding the killer, she still forges ahead as she feels her sleuthing skills may unmask the perpetrator.

Lots of secrets and lies in this book, and it was a fantastic read. I couldn’t put it down until it was finished.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Simple little mystery set in a neat, interesting locale. I did not realize it was more of a cozy mystery, as I usually do not gravitate that way. There is not much depth in characterization and plot, but all in all it was a nice little read. Would recommend it to lovers of the cozy genre. #deathatstjudes #marygrand #netgalley #goodreads

This is the second in the series. Susan has moved from one side of the Isle of Wight to another, following her divorce and is gradually getting to know her neighbours in the village. She has joined the choir, and, following an argument at a rehearsal, a man dies, after falling from the church tower. After the victim's husband asks for her help, Susan sets out to investigate but there are those in the village that don't want their secrets uncovered and Susan finds herself under threat. She teams up with her friend, Alice, who is in a nursing home and uses the elderly lady's powers of deduction to help her solve the crime. Along the way, she discovers that almost everyone in the village has secrets that could have provided a motive for the murder. I really enjoyed this twisty tale. I found the characters believable and well-defined. Susan herself has a new possible love interest, Robert and that part of the story seems set to carry on in future episodes. I am keen to read other books by this author and will go back and read the prequel.

Susan, plus her two dogs, are settling into her new home on the west side of the Isle of Wight, so not a million miles from her old marital home on the east side. She's joined the choir and is gaining new friends in the village; Robert is visiting. Lawrence is dead, apparent accident by falling off the church tower during a bat watching session. The fellow choristers all have reasons to dislike him and have other secrets of their own too. Susan, naturally, investigates although also at the request of his widow. The usual complexities of lies and partial truths being told along with much dog walking on the beach. Susan's private life is also complex - should she develop a deeper relationship with Robert, what about ex Husband who is now finding that the new grass is not quite a she seemed plus the welcome arrival of grand-daughter to Susan's daughter and wife. I especially enjoyed her conversations with the elderly, very bright Alice. Took Susan longer than me to ferret out the perpetrator but the reason was more complex. Good easy read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Second of the Isle of Wight series wiht amateur detective Susan investigating the death/murder of a school teacher who fell from a bell tower. So many suspects, I kept guessing who might have committed the murder only to change my mind as I kept reading. A suspensful novel with beautiful descriptions of this British Isle. A good solid mystery to read on a cold wintery day. (Also good for dog lovers as there are several dogs included in the story.)

The second outing in The Isle of Wight series although I haven't read the first I didn't find this affected me. A well paced story with a well described and attractive location sets the scene for a twisty mystery lots of red herrings and full of quirky character's (including the 4 pawed variety) makes for a good well told story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Skulduggery Afoot..
The second outing in The Isle of Wight Killings series finds island resident, dog walker and reluctant amateur sleuth, Susan, amidst another deadly mystery. A well imagined and attractive setting forms the basis for the skulduggery with a compelling plot populated with an eclectic and deftly drawn cast of characters- to include the two legged variety. Peppered with red herrings, twists aplenty and a swiftly moving narrative, this is another entertaining and enjoyable outing in the series.

I was caught up in the story of Death at St. Jude’s from the very beginning. Susan has lived on the Isle of Wight for most of her life, but after her husband divorces her, she wants a fresh start and moves to the other side of the island. She loves her new home and the village seems welcoming. One evening, she goes to the top of the bell tower with the local school head to watch bats. She heads home and later hears a heavy rainstorm begin. During the night, she is woken by flashing lights. A body has been found.
Susan has a strong need to find justice and unanswered questions, so she begins asking questions which make the villagers uncomfortable. Soon, she is getting messages that she and her snooping are not welcome in the village.
There are so many suspects and the mystery is well done. I liked the characters, especially Susan, who is finding her way as a single woman after years of marriage. I recommend this mystery for lovers of cozy mysteries.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Set on the Isle of Wight this tells the story around the head teacher of the local school falling from the church tower when he was up there watching bats. Lawrence was afraid of heights and always locked the door behind him when he went up and stayed in the centre of the tower so as not to go near the crenelated edges. He had not long told the committee of an unpopular decision so was his death an accident? Susan, who helped find a murderer previously, is well placed to hear gossip in the local village and thinks this is no accident. This is the second in the series but happily stands alone, I hadn't read the first one.
I really enjoyed this. It's a good plot with lots of red herrings and potential suspects. I liked Susan. She’s astute and sharp and finds things out without being overbearing in other people's lives. There is a great sub-story in Susan's personal life which merges well. If you enjoy a light-hearted crime story with plenty to keep the grey matter active this could be the perfect series. A thoroughly enjoyable read that kept me engaged right the way through. I look forward to more in the series.

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a good cozy mystery set in rural England. When a teacher is thrown off the tower of the local church it leads to a search for the killer. Must admit I didn‘t see that one coming at the end, but it worked well. Would recommend.

Susan is enjoying her island home and small community and retirement. She is part of the choir, will be helping at the primary school and sees a male friend casually to walk dogs. Her peace is disrupted when at choir practice the Dean of the school makes a sharp pronouncement. Before long the village gossip is a fire. Not much later, the Dean falls to his death - but was it an accident?

Susan has to get to the bottom of the story by ingratiating herself within the tight community while juggling her daughter and wife's birth celebration (which means a visit from her ex). It's a well written cozy mystery that will leave you asking for the next installment!
#boldwoodbooks #marygrand #deathatstjudes

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy of this cozy mystery.

Susan lives on the Isle of Wight. She has recently moved from the town where she lived for 40 years with her husband prior to her divorce. She's now on the west side of the island. She lives in a small cottage next to an identical house where Hazel lives with her husband Lawrence. After choir practice at St. Jude's church, Susan agrees to climb to the top of the church tower with Lawrence to see the bats come out. It's a scary climb in the semi dark with no handrail, but they get up without incident, and Lawrence brings out a warm tarp to lie on. Susan finds it fascinating to see the different types of bats (long eared being a variety I hadn't heard of.) Susan and Lawrence go down so she can leave, as he locks the door behind her. A heavy rain starts about half an hour later, so Susan knows he would have come down. But then she is disturbed by flashing lights and voices talking in the small village, she goes to the church where she sees Lawrence's body - he's fallen from the clock tower.

Susan's past is not revealed to the reader - I think she's about 65 years old and a teacher. These facts may be in the previous book in the series. She's also mindless to the danger she puts herself in, as there are a few scary things that happen to her, and her male friend Robert tells her to be careful going to dark, lonely places with suspects. She continues to do so. She takes her two dogs for walks on dark paths late at night (after 10 o'clock) and approaches people she should avoid. She's learning secrets about the suspects, but she's getting threats too. I was happy that I guessed who the killer was, but there are a lot of red herrings here - all the suspects have things to hide from the police and their friends. I am going to read the first book in the series to maybe get more background on the lead character, and would read future books too.

An easy book to read, multiple characters with a simple plot.
Just the book to read in one sitting as it won’t overtax your brain.
However I did enjoy it but not enough to make me read the others in the series.