While a super cozy mystery, this book was a rough start to finish for me and I was close to not finishing. I am just getting into the more English style writing and humor, but this one felt dryer then they usually have at first. While the start was slow, I will say it did start to pick up tremendously and I was able to really sink into finding out who the killer was.

My biggest problem with this book was the lack of closure and information on the character's backgrounds. I know there will be future books, and this may be explained later but I was not happy finishing and not knowing the secrets that Phoebe is keeping. I also couldn't stand that she talked so much about how awful her husband was with other women, yet she accepted it. Maybe this was normal for the time or something, but if my man was off with some hot little thing and knew funny business was going down, you'd bet there'd be war. But alas, some people are okay with this and I'm a very jealous creature. Oh well!

Overall though, after the first couple chapters I did become curious about the details and even though some were missing at the end, it was still a good read.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC read. <3

This has all the ingredients of a book I would enjoy - small English town, cast of colorful characters, and two women / soon -to-be-friends who end up in the middle of what could be a simple accident - or murder.

I'm not sure why but this one didn't do much for me. It felt really long and took me more than a week to get through. Maybe because the chapters felt long? There was a lot revolving around the pop art movement and rock bands that didn't click for me - not to mention, it included real with made-up, which was more confusing than anything to me.

I liked Phoebe a lot in terms of her inner rage and need for solitude, and I liked Juno okay. It didn't help that Juno's mother was named Judy, and I would end up realizing I'd mixed them up. Also, for the first 80% of the book, I thought Phoebe was really mad at her husband and then everything is hunky-dory at the end, or so it felt to me. I just felt like I'd misunderstood her emotions for a while.

The ending would have been really clever had I not felt like the middle 3rd of the book was so slow. Also what DID Si say when he died? Was it merde or murder or something else? That piece wasn't answered, and I was left wishing it had been.

The Art of Murder by Fiona Walker is a lively, smoothly written cozy mystery. It takes place, as any good English mystery should, in a small English village. Not a very rural locale: it has been gentrified almost out of recognition. So while the river and the land and some of the old (now highly prized) houses look the same, there are no upscale cafés selling pricey brioches and cappucinos.

Our detectives are a pair of middle-aged women (moving rapidly toward what is euphemistically referred to as "older"). Phoebe Fredericks lives with her film director (indie art films that of course don't make a profit) is a former glamor celebrity who has, for reasons undisclosed been "cancelled" and is struggling to support herself (and her husband) writing murder mysteries under the nom de plume "Dorothy De'ath." She is a grouchy, quick-tempered woman who has survived not only the loss of fame but also cancer and worries about her husband's many attractive assistance. Said husband, Felix, is currently way filming while Phoebe attempts to churn out another mystery. She finds plotting various deaths and creating killers a welcome distraction from her loneliness and anxiety. Her daughters, available via Zoom, are her other great joy.

Enter Juno Mulligan, former stand up comedian who has also faded from her brief moment of success and (also former) acquaintance of Phoebe. Plump and jolly, she is a striking contrast to taciturn Phoebe and of course the two become partners in solving a village murder that happens soon after the book begins.

There were many charming moments in this book. I found the writing uneven but always serviceable and often enjoyable. There were moments when I had to push myself to continue, dry patches, but not too many and I was drawn into the story and solving the crime. The end was satisfying--I didn't guess the killer but couldn't complain of any deception on the part of the author. It made sense. And that's something I like in a mystery.

So: the characters are on the stereotyped side but I became very fond of them. And while I found the book over cute at first, I became involved and grew to like the characters and enjoy the style.

Altogether, a fun experience.

Set in the village of Inkbury, Juno moves back to keep an eye on her elderly Mother.
Soon things take a dramatic turn with a murder and Juno begins to investigate with her friend Phoebe.
I enjoyed the setting of the book and I found the characters quite interesting.
I just found this book a bit slow and I wasn’t rushing to read it like other books I have recently read. However this is the first book in the series and I think as the series continues it will get better.
I did not work out the murderer until it was revealed in the book which I found a positive as sometimes if I guess too early it spoils the book.
Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Fiona Walker for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Reviewed on GR:

The characters in this are fun, and I’d pick up a second book.

I am docking a few stars simply because the plot/murder aspect didn’t make a ton of sense in the end, and the murderer/reveal was not one the reader could have picked up on based on the clues laid out.

Also, this is a pet peeve I see in too many books - fentanyl doesn't actually kill you due to toxicity, it stops you from breathing. Based on the description of the murder, the victim likely could have died, but likely from a combination of drowning and cardiac arrest due to lack of respiration, not from toxicity.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy.

Enjoyed this very much - kind of a crossover between a witty romcom and a cosy crime. Stand-up comic Juno comes to live in a picturesque village (partly to keep an eye on her former TV chef mother) and ends up helping novelist Phoebe (who really reminded me of Fleabag) solve the murder of the local art dealer.

A good mix of characters (Mil was my favourite), witty dialogue, and a plot to get your teeth into. Could've done with the murder occurring a little earlier (and possibly a bit less of the luvvie nicknames - Juno's mum and Dennis were both quite annoying), but I'm definitely looking forward to the second book.

Recently widowed Juno Mulligan is reluctantly returning to her childhood home in the village of Inkbury from New York. A stand-up comic in her former life she is about to become far more intimately involved in her mother's life than she's ever wanted to be!  Also now living in the small village is novelist Phoebe Fredericks who, Juno is absolutely sure, can help solve all her problems!

When a local resident is murdered almost under their noses they recruit local publican and Phoebe’s devoted friend Mil to help them discover whodunnit. As they both enthusiastically and reluctantly begin to investigate Juno has to face another loss while Phoebe battles with her latest novel and other equally confusing matters. Can they also work together to solve this murder or will the killer strike again before that can happen?

This is the first outing for the Village Detectives in Fiona Walker's new series and overall I enjoyed it. Not quite a cosy but also not a thriller it straddles the two sub-genres throughout and although Juno took a bit of getting used to, especially as she cries alot about inconsequential things, I was cheering for her by the end. The mystery itself was entertaining and moved at a fair pace but the subplot with Juno’s mother grated on me I'm afraid. Phoebe I loved and for me she made the book along with Mil's reactions to her writing crime fiction, and they are the main reasons for my rating and why I will be on the lookout for the second book.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Boldwood Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. A good series starter which is definitely worth giving a chance. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I have read nearly all of Fiona Walkers books and really like her witty writing style. While this seems to be a departure in terms of theme, I very much enjoyed this venture into cozy crime. Many thanks

Not the vibe I was expecting but I did like it. I did not see a single one of those things coming but I never do lol.

A cozy mystery set in a picturesque village best known for its appearance in a Richard Curtis film. Until murder overshadows its storied claim to fame. Thrilling!

This was fun. I really enjoyed reading it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I loved The Art of Murder! Characters and the relationships are fantastic. This is engaging and fun. Thank you.

It took a bit too long to get to the actual murder. That sounds, I am always looking for another cozy mystery series and I think the first book in the series is always the toughest to set up because you have to get to the actual mystery while also laying the foundation of the characters and their personalities moving forward. Therefore, I am going to say this is a 3 star book for me personally. I finished the book, and will read the next installment (assuming there is one) before deciding if this is a cozy mystery series I want to stick with or not.

I do really think the murder should have happened sooner as that would have aided in my overall enjoyment. I personally enjoyed Juno more as a character than I did Phoebe, but that could change in future books.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Welcome to the beautiful English village of Inkbury. Tucked deep in the North Wessex Downs, its only claim to fame is the picturesque riverside that once appeared in a Richard Curtis movie. That is, until the murder… One mystery thriller done to perfection!

90 pages to get to the murder and it took too long to get into the characters' stories. I found it not for me.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher's, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read.