Now that a campsite is in operation on the farm, Jude Gray hopes that business might start to pick up at last. A hen party settles in for the weekend, but things don’t go according to plan. A problem with her beloved sheep, and a missing hen causes Jude problems. But is there more to it? Is someone targeting the farm? Once more, Jude becomes involved in an investigation. With the help of her Detective Inspector friend, Binnie, she is determined to find out the truth.

I’ve come to look forward to joining Jude and her family and friends on Malvern Farm. I can be assured of a fantastic story, with plenty of twists and turns - and a whole lot of heart. This time Jude doesn’t have to go far to find suspects. As the tale unfolds, we find out that everyone has a secret. And where there are secrets, there are reasons to silence those in the know.

The characters are so well drawn, with the empathetic and caring Jude, her no-nonsense friend Binnie, and the lovely pairing of Noah and Lucy. The unsavoury characters are perfectly written. In fact, they are so well done, that I hadn’t a clue whodunnit right until the end.

A cracking story that kept me guessing.

Jude Gray finds herself embroiled in another murder investigation with the third Malvern Farm mystery, A Body by the Henhouse.

Running a farm is not a walk in the park and Jude knows this only too well. Juggling the day-to-day demands is tough enough – especially with a grumpy neighbour to contend with! However, Jude is undeterred and with a hen party coming to the farm for a celebration, she is doing her utmost to ensure that the whole weekend goes off without a hitch. With a sheep needing urgent care and hens going missing, it’s all systems go for Jude and although she is always prepared for the unexpected, even she is shocked to her core when she realises that sinister forces are at play and that she is the target of an orchestrated campaign that could put her business and her life in jeopardy.

Jude hasn’t come this far to let some lowlife frighten her. She is determined to get to the bottom of who is doing this to her and luckily for her she has good friends in her corner willing to go the extra mile for her. Can Jude and her friends discover the identity of who is causing her harm? Or is Jude about to come face to face with a killer with murder on their mind?

Fans of Midsomer Murders and Whitstable Pearl will be gripped by Kate Wells’ A Body by the Henhouse. A layered, intelligent and nail-biting mystery full of colourful characters and twists and turns aplenty, A Body by the Henhouse is a clever, exciting and unpredictable crime novel by Kate Wells readers will find themselves devouring in one sitting.

A Body by the Henhouse is the third Malvern Farm thriller(ish) mystery by Kate Wells. Released 12th June 2024 by Boldwood Books, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also also currently available on KU.

Jude is again drawn into investigating a spate of unsettling occurences and the disappearance of one of her camping guests on Malvern farm. She and DI Binnie again collaborate to get to the bottom of things. There are 5 guests in the group (a hen party), one of whom goes missing early on. It's a testament to the author's command of character that despite being a group of 5, they're delineated very very well and don't blend into one another. Each is quite distinct from the others and readers won't have any trouble keeping them straight.

The author is also quite adept at setting, and the whole is effective and engaging. The mystery itself is well engineered and culminates in a satisfying and twisty way.

It's the third book in the series and although it works well enough as a standalone, the continuing characters' interrelationships develop through the previous two books, and readers should expect some minor spoilers if read out of order.

Four and a half stars. It's not at all derivative, but fans of Faith Martin, P.F. Ford, and J.R. Ellis will likely enjoy this one. With three books extant in the series and a fourth out from the same publisher in first quarter 2025, it would be a good candidate for a binge/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Carrying on with the delightful Malvern Farm mystery series, this third installment was as enjoyable as the first two!

Our protagonist, Jude Gray, is a young, childless widow who now runs her large sheep farm with the help of Noah, her shepherd, and her loyal dog, Pip – with memories of her late husband never far from her mind. When she met her husband Adam, he introduced her to his life-long friends and they accepted her into their warm fold. Now, it has been four years since Adam’s death and she shares her home with her half-sister Lucy, and Lucy’s four year old son, Sebbie.

Jude cares for hundreds of sheep, her Bantam hens, her pet lamb ‘Pancake’, and Gertie, a golden Cheviot goat. In the last book two puppies were added to the menagerie, much to Sebbie’s delight. Now Jude is is the process of training the puppy Alfie to become a good sheepdog.

This time around Jude’s menagerie of animals is again expanded with more sheep and nine Indian Runner ducks. Jude is a loyal, empathetic and caring protagonist, whose personal motto is ‘be kind’. She has a strong work ethic and loves her farm, and the animals that inhabit it. She has a deep connection to the Malvern Hills area and walks the hills as a way to unwind and decompress.

Like most farms, Jude’s sheep farm is struggling financially. In the last book she created a glamping site and now, in this book, she is finally taking in paying guests. The women who rent out the site are having a ‘hen’ weekend and comprises a bridal party. Many tensions are evident and things don’t run as smoothly as Jude would like. When one of the women goes missing, Jude, with her good friend Binnie, try their level best to find her. But that is not the only disruption to Jude’s routine.

Jude’s neighbour, Mike Trout, is trying his hardest to dissuade the guests from staying. He attempts some nefarious tactics in his aim to thwart Jude’s glamping enterprise.

Jude’s livelihood is disrupted and threatened by the events surrounding the ‘hens’ drama. Nasty people, keeping nasty secrets, doing nasty deeds… even murder.

West Mercia policewoman Binita Khatri (Binnie), makes another appearance in this, the third novel. She has become a personal friend of Jude, and keeps her apprised of the police investigations. She has recently been promoted to Detective Inspector.

This novel portrayed a working sheep farm, in all its messy, arduous glory. Jude was a strong and admirable character that I am eager to follow in subsequent novels.

The writing was compelling and made for an easy, enjoyable reading experience. The plot this time was a tangled web of manipulation, coercion, avarice, and misplaced loyalties. The denouement was very satisfactory. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in this engaging mystery series. A series which has become a personal favourite after only three books.

Body by the Henhouse was enjoyable, but I didn’t feel particularly engaged with the main sleuth or her family.

Jude Gray has set up a camp site for some extra cash. This week her guest are a hen party of six. There is some sabotage on the camp-site and in one of the fields harming a guest and four sheep. Jude suspects her neighbour who’s always complaining about the farm. But the sabotage is beyond his usual pranks.

Then one of the guests disappears. The other five hens all had reason to dislike or hate her. And what about that unsavoury character that hanging around?

A great mystery, with lots of twists and turns as you would expect too keep you guessing. The setting is great and a little bit different to the norm. As the story develops we find out that everyone has a secret and will do anything to keep their secrets quiet which is why you are guessing till the end. This is the third book and I hadn't read the earlier books but will be looking to do so. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'A Body In The Henhouse' by Kate Wells.

Another absolutely fantastic success by Kate!!! Absolutely devoured this book in one sitting!!

Well I must say this is another explosive, addictive and unputdownable book in an amazing and one of my favourite series!! The storyline was very interesting, action packed and very fast paced. I absolutely love the fact that the main character Jude is a farmer, surrounded by animals and is just an absolutely fantastic character, but more on her and the rest of the characters shortly. It is a fantastic and addictive cosy mystery that will keep you guessing throughout. Thanks to Kate's stunning evocative descriptions I could see Malvern farm and all the characters, the atmosphere and more come to life in front of my eyes while feeling everything that the characters were. The storyline is ram packed with animals, crime, suspense, mystery, action and absolutely everything you could ask for in a fantastic book that is perfect to read curled up next to the fire under your duvet or enjoying the sun in the garden. It is one of those books that I gave up promising myself just one more chapter very quickly as there was no chance of me putting it down and I ended up absorbing it all in one sitting and was left needing more so although I have read this and the second book in this amazing series I am off to get the first book in this series as soon as I have finished writing up this review as I have not managed to read the first book yet!! Although this is the third book in the series it can be read as a standalone with no problems at all, as can book two which is called 'Stranger In The Village' and is just as amazing as this one! 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. Not only is this a suspense and action filled mystery but there was just the right amount of quirkiness, laughter and attitude to give it a nice mix!!!I

OMG!!!! THIS BOOK!!!! LOVE, LOVE, ABSOLUTELY LOVED!!!! 😍 😘 ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ WELL DONE KATE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! DID I MENTION I LOVED IT???!!!!!

A fun, addictive, unputdownable cosy crime mystery. Clear your schedules as you won't be able to put this book down!

I very quickly became thoroughly invested in the characters in 'Stranger In The Village' and I was absolutely landed to meet them again in this book! I genuinely loved meeting Jude, Sebbie, Granny Margot, Binnie, Floss, Pip, Noah and so many more characters from book one again as well as discovering new characters and getting to know them all. I am a massive animal lover so any books that include animals in their storylines are huge bonuses for me and this one definitely has one of the most!! I absolutely adored them all especially Gertie the Goat and Pancake the Lamb!!! Jude is an absolutely kick butt woman but one with an amazing and caring personality and she is definitely someone I would love to make friends with in real life. Kate's absolutely amazing writing skills and descriptions ensures each and every one of the characters come to live and jump out of the pages making you see and feel everything they are doing and feeling. Each and every one of the characters were strong, realistic, the majority were amazing and each and every one was memorable and I am so pleased this book is just one in a series!! All of the characters had their own unique personalities and each and every one had a part to play and played it perfectly. An absolutely fantastic and eclectic cast of characters that I look forward to meeting again and again.

Congratulations Kate on another absolutely fantastic book in what an absolutely epic must read series!! I am really looking forward to getting stuck into the first and future books in this series. This is the exact reason that you are in my favourite author club and here's to your next success 🥂

Overall a page turning, perfect mix of mystery, crime, animals, suspense and quirkiness which kept me turning the pages late at night!! An explosive addition in an addictive series!!!


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I will start by saying that I have not read the fist 2 books in the series and I think I would have benefited from having done so, but I was still able to read this and enjoy it on its own.
Jude’s farm is getting good reviews on the booking websites and she’s getting more visitors but her neighbor isn’t happy about it. However, a particular hen party arrives and seems to bring trouble to Jude’s farm with it the group seems to come rife with internal conflicts that result in a disappearance and then ultimately death. Jude and DI Bennie have to figure out who’s behind it all.
The story isn’t limited to just the murder mystery. It also tackles the difficulties of life on a farm and running a VRBO type location and the challenges of the people that rent them.
This was a pleasant cozy mystery set in an idyllic setting with an ending that offers not one but two surprises so I’ll be looking forward to the next book in the series.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the novels in this series and this one was no exception. I assume it's the first time I started a novel and thought about sheep I met years ago.
I need to read realixing and heartwarming story and this one, even if the mystery is solid and twisty, kept me hooked and surprised me with each twists.
There's plenty of twists, there's changes in Jude's behaviour and life. There's a quite realistic description of country life and, as I spent quite a lot of time in the country, I noticed two things: human beings are similar in every country and some lovely places can be full of darkness.
I read it in one sitting and it made me smile and relax
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for this ARC, all opinions are mine

After two exciting but gruelling amateur investigations and a very wet start to the year on the farm, Jude Gray is hoping for a more peaceful time. The campsite is going well and she hopes to set up a petting corner, first stop being the farmers’ market for the purchase of four Kerry Hills ewes. However, nothing stays quiet for long and the following morning she discovers the new animals have been poisoned. Fortunately, four of the six ladies forming a hen party at the site are vets and one provides some much-needed emergency treatment, saving the sheep. As if that’s not bad enough, a tent has been sabotaged during the night and Jude immediately suspects her neighbour, the constantly complaining Mike Trout. After all, it was only the previous day he tried to smoke out the campers with a bonfire. Jude reports this all to her close friend, newly promoted DI Binnie Khatri, but there’s not much the police can do without evidence. Things go from bad to worse when one of the hens, the woman who has caused upset and discord amongst the group, goes for a walk and disappears. There’s certainly no shortage of people who would want something nasty to happen to her, and Jude finds herself joining forces with Binnie to get to the bottom of these rather dark and disturbing events at the farm before anyone gets seriously hurt.
There are some great characters in this lovely series, and I have a real soft spot for Granny Margot, Binnie, Noah, Sebbie and all the animals. Jude is smashing, having had to become a tough cookie and a hard worker after the death of her husband but still has a lovely caring side to her and keeps everyone together. I really have my fingers crossed that a certain artist brings her happiness to match that of her sister Lucy and shepherd Noah. Although it’s filled with an ever-increasing number of furry farm animals, there are some very dark goings-on in the quaint village of Malvern End, and the tangle of lies, deceit and underhand tactics surrounding her latest guests provides plenty of surprising twists for the reader. With a lovely ending, I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

A Body by the Henhouse is the third book in the A Malvern Farm Mystery series. I've read book 1, and I really enjoyed it.

We return to Malvern Farm with summer on the horizon, and our main character, Jude, keen to make her camping site work, even while busy with the arable and pastoral aspects of her farm. But her current guests are not quite the bunch she's expecting, and with tensions running high, it's not long until Jude is trying to find out who's been tampering with her sheep and why the group of Hens are so uneasy with one another.

This is a really well-written mystery. I love a book where I don't guess 'who did it,' and this certainly falls into that category. There are lots of twists and turns in the storyline. There are many potential suspects, and the story is well woven together between Jude's daily life and her determination to find answers to the problems she's encountering with the aid of her police friend.

An enjoyable contemporary mystery, easy to read and really engaging. I look forward to more in the series, and will be reading book 2 as well:)

4 stars
One Liner: Well done!

Jude Gray’s farm is getting better with good bookings for the camping site even as her neighbor is not happy. She is finally relieved that the troubles of the past are behind her.
However, the hen party that arrived for the weekend seems to bring danger to Jude’s farm again. The group of friends has internal conflicts which spill over resulting in a disappearance and death.
Can Jude and DI Bennie solve the case before it is too late?
The story comes in Jude’s third-person POV.

My Thoughts:
Book three of the Malvern Farm Mystery is possibly the best until now. The pacing is steady. There are enough twists to keep the reader guessing about the culprit and the reason.
The ‘murder’ doesn’t happen for a long time. However, one of the characters disappears. This adds to the drama as we see the undercurrents between the women almost from the introduction.
However, the book is not limited to a mystery. It also deals with the difficulties of farm life, be it the rising expenses or crop damage due to various factors. The work is never-ending on a farm.
Lucy and Sebbie are, of course, a part of the book. Little Sebbie is four (already!) and adds the much-needed humor to the mystery. We get a few insights into Jude’s thoughts and uncertainties about the future.
There are five women in the hen party, which can be confusing but doesn’t. Each of them has a distinct personality. They are flawed, some more than others. That means it is easy to take sides (and want certain characters to be bumped off).
DI Binnie has a lot of work to do in this book, which I really like. Though it is Jude who connects the dots, Binnie has an active role and provides some vital information. I love how assertive and steady she is.
Jude’s arc is much better in this one though she still jumps to conclusions at times. However, that makes her real instead of perfect, so no complaints. Seems she did learn her lesson after what happened in book two.
The other side characters like Granny Margot have small but important roles in the plot.

To summarize, A Body by the Henhouse is an enjoyable mystery with enough twists to keep you hooked. The ending offers two surprises, so I’m excited to see where it goes next.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The third book in the Malvern Mysteries series shows the farm now diversified with a campsite experiencing some success but tinged with neighbour problems exacerbated when a hen party comes to stay at the farm for a weekend. Animals get sick, tents collapse, and a camper goes missing, but when someone dies in suspicious circumstances, Jude and Binnie, her detective friend, race against time to find the culprit. This cosy mystery has many suspects, unclear motives and a cast of mainly unlikeable characters, all with secrets. I enjoyed the farm setting, which gives this cosy crime story a unique edge. Jude is courageous, determined and likeable but impulsive when pursuing a lead despite the watchful guidance of Binnie, the local detective inspector. I like the suspense building, the character development of Jude and her family and friends and the intriguing mystery.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A Body by the Hen House is the third in the Malvern Farm series and one that I have really enjoyed reading. We are reunited with Jude and her sister Lucy and loveable little nephew Sebbie who are now living with Jude at the farm. Shepherd, Noah from the previous books also returns and his romance with Lucy is still as strong as ever. The farm is also going from strength to strength now that Jude as branched out into other ways of keeping afloat and if you have read the second into the series, the campsite is now fully operational complete with its first paying guests! Despite protests from a neighbour, she is determined this will be a success.

A group of friends, (handily they are vets!) book into the campsite for a hen do and straight away you pick up on tensions within the group. When one of the group disappears, the rest of the guests aren’t too worried to begin with but soon change their mind. When the groom turns up unexpectedly and there is a murder, it isn’t long until things turn sour and Jude’s friend DI Binita Khatri is called to investigate.

A Body by the Hen House is another welcome addition to the series that I have raced through. It is lovely to follow Jude’s progress from a young widow, unsure if she can cope with the farm life on her own to slowly becoming an assured farmer, confident in her work and future plans. Her close group of friends have helped her confidence and also make her realise that her life isn’t just about the farm, although it does take up a lot of her life!

I really enjoyed the plot in the book and the unexpected twists with the first murder – not at all what I thought was going to happen. This isn’t all about murder though and I really liked the potential romance at the end – we have only ever known Jude as a widow so I’m looking forward to how this potentially develops in the next book….!

A wonderful series that I highly recommend for cosy crime fans!

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

This is a Malvern Farm mystery, the third book in the series. I was interested in reading it because I remembered enjoying the previous book in the series.

I think that Jude is a likeable and relatable protagonist, so I was pleased to read about her again. There were some other characters that struck me as instantly unlikeable, but that didn't impact my enjoyment of the story itself.

I felt there was a lovely peaceful atmosphere, brought to life by charming imagery of the countryside setting, and I always enjoy murder mysteries in this type of setting.

This was an entertaining cosy mystery that kept me guessing. It was light enough to read in one sitting, and the type of book that I might choose to relax with. I would probably like to read more of this series in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, Rachel's Random Resources, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

"A Body by the Henhouse" is a wonderful 5-star cozy mystery by Kate Wells! This is the third book in the Malvern Mystery Series, and once again, we find ourselves back on the farm with Jude, Noah, Lucy, and Sebbie, right in the middle of a police investigation. When a group of vets comes to town for a hen do, you would expect it to be good for the farm, but instead, they bring a whole bunch of trouble.

Just like the other two books, this one really makes you feel what it's like to be on the farm. I found myself using Google to learn about the different animals that Jude and Noah are purchasing. There is, of course, a mystery, and there are several twists along the way. Jude really wants to be a detective, but she keeps making decisions based on personal feelings and is always on the edge of getting into trouble herself. The group at the hen do gave me a reality TV type of vibe. Overall, it's a great book, and I can’t wait for #4.

Thanks to Boldwood Books, Kate Wells, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

Jude’s farm is doing well she has plenty of bookings for her new campsite , even though her grumpy neighbours voices his concerns (frequently!)
A hen party are due to arrive and Jude is prepared and eagerly anticipating their arrival.
Some of the group are vets and this comes in handy when Jude finds her sheep in distress , they’ve been poisoned but who can have done it?
Jude believes it’s her neighbour, but would he stoop so low?
The dynamics in the hen party aren’t working well , and when one of them disappears a web of deceit and lies begins to unravel.
A well written cosy mystery with plenty of twists and turns that kept me hooked .
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books.

This is the first of the Malvern Farm series that I have read - there have previously been two more. As a standalone it was easy to follow the story and get to know the main characters, with enough back story to piece together the previous episodes.

Jude Gray is a widow, trying to keep her farm running efficiently after the death of her husband, with the aid of some loyal friends and workers, all of whom came across as good, likeable characters. I live within a North Devon farming community and my daughter's partner is a local farmer, so I was very much interested in the farm-side of the story, which came across as an interesting sub-plot and was accurately written.

Jude, as with many farmers, is struggling to keep going so expands into running a campsite business, complete with pre-erected tents and a shepherds hut all with mod-cons. The next group of visitors are due to arrive, a hen party, celebrating the future wedding of one of their group. The women are vets, which is presumably why the location of a farm was selected for their short holiday.

Things start to go awry when an unpleasant neighbour of Jude's starts making a nuisance of himself, the farm animals seem at risk, and trouble starts brewing among the camping guests. Then, of course, there is a murder...

I liked the main farm characters very much, but found it difficult at first to remember who was who among the campers, but maybe this was because I didn't particularly like any of them. Some of the plot, I thought, was a little contrived but this is fine for a light read, cosy mystery.

Working out 'Whodidit' was kept as a surprise, with the red herrings adequately pointing to assumed suspects.

A good, entertaining read.

Jude Gray’s farm is going from strength to strength, and even though her grumpy neighbour has concerns about the new campsite in the lower field, she is undeterred. When a hen party arrives for a weekend away, she does her best to cater for their celebrations. But with a sheep needing urgent care – an accidental mishap or something more nefarious? – she finds herself consulting the group, which coincidentally contains four vets. When one of the hens goes missing, it becomes clear there are more sinister forces at play, and someone is targeting her farm. With the help of close friend Detective Inspector Binnie Khatri, Jude once again dons her amateur sleuthing hat.
The third outing for Jude & like her farm the series is going from strength to strength. Strong characters & a well paced story had me finishing this cosy mystery in two sittings. I really like Jude who annoys others especially Binnie because she puts herself in danger repeatedlyThe obligatory twists, turns & red herrings plus secrets all added to make this a very enjoyable murder mystery
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

I loved the agricultural details in this story. Richly, and warmly described, the reader is immediately immersed in the world of farming and the difficulties farmers face, in this case our hard-working amateur sleuth. It’s a cosy crime story, yet there is far more menace in this book than I was expecting. Kate Wells keeps up the sense of suspense and tension throughout the book. A group of vets have gathered for a hen party and as their back stories slowly emerge, the strains in their relationships come to the fore. Add into the mix an unpleasant neighbour and the future husband, and the reader knows it was never going to end well. A good, well-plotted and enjoyable book.