Thoroughly enjoyable mystery novel, filled with relatable characters and suspects. The need for a scone and a cuppa is real as I read this delightful and smart tale of avarice and treachery among friends. It leaves you with a desire for more as a romantic interest develops between the inspector and the protagonist. Well written and not formulaic or dull, I want to read more from the author in future. This cozy makes you think and evaluate your friends and co-workers.

Welcome to Tanton Towers! Explore the eccentric, history-filled house, take tea in the café . . . and visit the site of a recent murder?! First in a delightful new traditional British cozy mystery series.

This was fine. I enjoy a cozy mystery from time to time but this didn't feel like it quite had the heart of some other titles.

Thank you for this ARC!

Unfortunately a DNF for me. Did find the story confusing and felt like I couldn’t get the plot straight, even with rereading.

I think there's potential in this story as the mystery is well plotted and i liked the setting and the descriptions.
I wasn't a huge fan of the FMC as I think some more details and development would help and make her a relatable characters.
The mystery is solid and it kept me guessing. I'm curious about the next novel in this series
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Good but not great. The plot was twisty but too many characters made the read a bit of a chore. Lovely setting but didn’t make up for the feeling of effort required. The main character struck me as odd, has a cafe but is hardly there, instead snooping around. Not for me.

Thanks Netgalley

There's a body at the Towers. Cara Shelley was just thinking about how much she enjoyed working at the Tanton Towers having opened a cafe there and now, one of the people that she calls a friend (well, at least she didn't hate Daphne) is dead. And worse, the DCI who's investigating the case, Andrew Mitchem, is the same man who argued with her on whether she is baking her huffkins the "correct" way. There is no way to trust this man to find the murderer. He's obviously deranged. Especially when he settles on Daphne's husband, Mike, as the main suspect.
Cara goes looking on her own to figure out what is going on. Though we mainly see her point of view in the third person omniscient, we see the points of view of many of the other characters as major clues turn up. I did not figure out who the killer was and I'm not upset about that. It did take me awhile to get into this story. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have kept going except that this was an ARC. It took almost half the story for Clara to come into focus as a character and there is still a lot about her that could have been added to make her more interesting.

British Stately Home Mystery #1
Three stars
This book comes out May 7, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Severn House and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A good start to a new cosy series but not a great one. The mystery was good and kept me guessing on the positive side. On the negative there were too many character's which caused the pace to drag and the character's to lack depth. Perhaps this will build in further novels. Also Cara was supposed to run a bakery business but just never seemed to be there at all. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

An enjoyable cozy set in a stately home open to the public and where the main character Cara owns a cafe. When murder occurs, Cara is determined to find out who and why. There are hidden passages (which I am a sucker for), plenty of twists and some local flavor. I will also say I am a sucker for a quirky stately home which this story definitely has. The pacing in the middle was a little slow, there was to much discussion of a certain female artist and some of the characters needed to be developed more. Also, Cara hardly spends any time at her cafe which can be a bit annoying in some of these cozies where the main character is an owner of a small business because there is no way they could get away with this in real life. But, then, there has to be a bit of suspension of disbelief in books.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

A wonderful new series in the cozy mystery genre. Always nice to start a new series that involves tea and murder.

I didn't finish this book. I was about halfway through when I realized I was simply lost, with no clear understanding of the plot beyond the murder. The characters lacked depth, their actions devoid of any meaningful backstory. I found myself knowing next to nothing about them. Beyond the solving of the murder, there seemed to be little else happening.

2.4

I often tell people who have started a series I love but are unsure about it, that the first book is usually the worst. I don’t know if it’s because there’s too much to dive into, people are just so much more invested later on, or if they just naturally get better. Unfortunately, with “Murder at Tanton Towers”, there’s only one way to go. The premise is very intriguing and unique and I loved the setting and some of the locations, especially the idea of her little house, and, of course, DCI Mitchem’s awkward crush on Cara.

Even though this is a shorter book, it took me forever to read, just kind of repeating this constant idea of not knowing who or why but rehashing the same justifications or suspects or what not. We eventually turned a corner and, even though I could not get my head around some of the descriptions of the tower’s new discoveries, it posed a very interesting story. Then, it just disappointed. I won’t say why, but I will say that the ideas in my head were better than what really happened. True, Cara did discover the hidey holes, but she didn’t actually solve the murder or even consider that a possibility. Isn’t that what amateur sleuths are supposed to do?

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

The first book in a new series. This is a book that feels British. If you're into cosy mysteries that have loud and, maybe obnoxious, characters then this is not for you. It's setting is a stately home, and the whole package, from the mystery to the characters and the narrative, have a stately feel.

I quite enjoyed this. It does have it's positives and negatives. One of the biggest negatives is the pacing drops at times. But there are many positives. Firstly, the discovery of a hidden door. That for me is a shiny object that immediately catches my eye. I love things like this in mysteries. Secondly, the characters. You can't deny they feel British, but I also love the interactions of the staff at the stately home. There's intrigue, jealousies, ill-intended gossip, and battling egos. Things you wish to avoid in real life, but all things that make for an engaging mystery. And part of the the structure of this book reminded me of more classic mysteries, which I found added to the overall feel of the story. And even the character eccentricities felt understated and British. I really enjoyed how they were portrayed.

The protagonist did perplex me in not spending much time at her own cafe. Understandably, spending time there would keep her away from the main house and the action, but it felt strange. I'm not sure how that will develop in future books in this series.

And while I enjoyed this mystery, and I thought the plot made good use of the setting, I do wonder how this setting, which is quite restrictive, could be used in future mysteries. Has the author painted the protagonist into a corner with this setting? I'm not sure. But for this book, it is used well, and I thought a good choice to constrain the characters and action to the limited environment.

Link to video review will be shared soon.

There's an awful lot crammed into this slim volume meant to introduce a new cozy series featuring Cara, who owns a bakery. There's a great deal of info about Tanton Towers and too many characters. The mystery - the murder mainly- that she solves is classic cozy stuff and DCI Andrew Mitchem is a gem trope of the genre. While I wanted to like this (the setting along should have been for me), it was just too much. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I know this is the first and that future installments will flesh out the people but here's hoping that the enthusiasm is toned down a bit.

It will be interesting to read more in this series, the mystery kept me guessing and I'll be interested in getting to know the characters further,

Thank you to the author publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review

I don't know if I have just been on a great run lately or what, but this book just fell flat for me. I really liked the premise of this book and had high hopes. We have no way to know the characters and really no setup at all. The murder takes place on page two, and then we get a lineup of suspects that look pretty much all the same. There is no personality to any of these people, which includes our main character, Cara, who I am not even sure why she would put herself out to try and figure it out. There is a strange relationship with the police detective, weird theories that I can't figure out how she came up with, and finally, one of my biggest pet peeves, she is never at her business! Sadly,the manor itself, with all its quirks, is the best part of this read for me. Thank you to #Netgally and #SevernHouse for the opportunity to read!

British Cozy Mystery in which a cafe owner, which is set up in the shadow of eccentric Kentish stately home, launches her own investigation into the strangling death of a coworker.

1/5 stars: Myers' writing and character work are nicely done. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me; leading me to DNF it at 27%.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Severn House in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

I was looking forward to reading this as I've read earlier books by the author.
For some reason, this didn't grip me like previous titles have done. It's not a bad book, but I just didn't find that it caught my attention and made me want to read it as quickly as usual. Will be keeping an eye on the series though, just in case it was just the wrong time for me to read it.

Every now and then a book comes along that you feel like was designed for you. British non-stressy mystery? Check. A kooky home to explore? Double check. A nosey character, determined to figure out the truth? Absolutely. Staff gossiping among themselves? Plenty. On paper, this book has everything I'm looking for right now. In reality, I think it fell a bit short. It was just looong in certain moments with repetitive, exhaustive detail given on the backstory of the artwork and paintings. The beginning and end both had good pacing and action, but sandwiched together a middle that felt just a bit too jumbled and confusing. The title suggests that this is the first in a series and I'll check out the next one in the hopes things move along at a more consistent pace. Overall, it was fine!

I was really interested in reading this one, but it really missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the British humor, but that was about it. The pace was way too slow. There was overdetailing, most of it unnecessary, that stalled the plot. I love this genre because the stories are always cleverly plotted, making it fun to sleuth along with memorable characters. Sadly, that wasn't the case with this one. Short chapters work best with this genre, and again, that wasn't the case. I did enjoy the setting, but there were too many plot points that just didn't make sense, and the characters were not distinct enough to keep them straight.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this wonderful new mystery series. Cara Shelley has lived in the follies of Tanton Towers for the past 3 years. She runs the local cafe making the famous cherries in a Huffkin. After closing for the day, Alison comes running for help, she has discovered a body and thus begins the mystery. Cara now investigates those she has considered friends the last few years.