Murder at an English Pub AUDIO by Alice Castle is the first in a new (and I hope ongoing) cozy mystery series. It features Sarah Vane, a retired GP and recent widow, who has moved to a cottage by the sea. Next door is her childhood friend, Daphne, who has chosen to fill her time with all kinds of bizarre hobbies. Sarah has yet to dispose of her deceased husband’s clothing and so her small cottage is filled with boxes. Daphne has recently purchased a beach hut and suggests storing them there but when they begin the process they discover it is already nearly full of other things. As they explore they open a chest, only to find a body. Sarah has no idea but Daphne recognizes it immediately as that of Gus Trubshaw, one of the owners of the local pub. Sarah recognizes the symptoms of strangulation immediately and dials 999. Eventually two constables show up and then wander off, deciding it was natural causes. Sarah and Daphne wait for the coroner’s van. The autopsy shows Sarah to be correct, but also that he had been drugged. This had happened some six weeks earlier and Gus’ partner, Trevor, believes Gus to be on vacation in Canada. Sarah is intrigued. Being a GP, she is used to solving mysteries so she is curious about this one. Then there is another murder, and he had been Sarah’s main suspect.

This was a gem of a listen. Sarah and Daphne make an enticing team: Sarah calm and level-headed; Daphne a bit in la-la-land. She is hilarious. What wonderful characters. Another of the main characters that is fairly well fleshed-out is Charles Digory, who owns an antiques and second-hand shop and is momentarily thought to be the murderer. This is a lovely quaint seaside village and Castle sets the stage perfectly. The mystery is a good one with clues appearing to Sarah as they appear to the reader. Sarah has a small dog, Hamish, whose mind the reader is able to read sometimes, which makes the book even funnier, as his opinion of humans is less than complimentary. I have never read an Alice Castle book before, a great deficiency on my part as this one was quite good. Thanks Alice Castle for Sarah and Daphne!

The narrator was Jilly Bond and she was priceless. She really only did three voices: Sarah, Daphne, and Charles and her version of Daphne made the book as far as I am concerned. I am not a big fan of airheads but I make an exception in this case. Jilly Bond was superb.

I was invited to listen the Murder at an English Pub by Bookoutre Audio. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #BookoutreAudio #AliceCastle #MurderAtAnEnglishPub

Merstairs has a new resident in Sarah Vane, a retired doctor and recently widowed. Her friend Daphne offers her storage space in her recently purchased beach hut. But on trying to make space they discover a body in a heavy trunk. Thus our cosy crime caper begins.

Very enjoyable, well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Great characters in Sarah and Daphne who will ask questions and follow the clues with Hamish the dog in tow. Will they discover the truth or put themselves in grave danger? Enjoy finding out.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this audio book. This struck me as a cozy mystery by a retired Nancy Drew with a Barney Fife from Mayberry as a side kick. Was a fine read, with good narration but the story just didn’t keep you engaged. If looking for a quick witty mystery this one will fill the bill.

This is a cute cozy mystery set in a charming seaside town with a retired doctor as our amateur sleuth. It gave me Murder, She Wrote vibes although Sarah’s sidekick Daphne is much more annoying than the ever-loyal Seth Hazlitt.

Overall, I think this mystery had a strong start but seemed to rush through to the end leaving me wondering if Sarah, Daphne, and Charles(a new friend and potential love interest?) actually solved the crime at all.

I listened to this one on audio and thought the narrator did a good job distinguishing between the different voices. I recommend this one if you’re looking for an easy listen with a comforting vibe.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early copy!

When recently widowed Sarah Vane moved to a cosy seaside cottage with her dog Hamish she was looking for a fresh start, but this former doctor had no idea she'd become an amateur sleuth. A great start to a new series and I hope Hamish remains an important part of these stories. Cheers to NetGalley for the ARC/audiobook with the sweet narrator.

This story follows the plot of a retired, widowed doctor who decides to move to a small countryside town in England. Her bestfriend Daphne also lives in that town close to her and she had recently purchased a hut. I'm not sure of the terminology in American english but think for it as a little cottage. In that hut they find a dead body and Sarah goes on a adventure to find out who killed the man and there motive.

I loved this book and cannot wait for it to come out in paperback. I love the amount of detail the book has and how though it is a small town take the secrets of some of the people is shocking and big. Theres so many twists and turns in the story and I will absolutely read more of the Sarah Vane mystery books.

This was an excellent read. It was one that was hard to out down. The reader did a fantastic job of the characters and plot. Her voice had what it needed to bring you into the story.

Well. I’ve been on quite the streak of 4 and 5 star reviews lately. So I suppose the bubble had to burst at some point. I was looking forward to a nice cozy mystery in a quaint setting and the anticipation of a lovely doggy character. The dog was lovely the setting was quaint. The characters were all a bit dippy and the mystery’s weren’t very mysterious, I was rather more cringing than cozy.

Harsh I know. I’m sure this series will have great appeal for some readers, it was just all a bit meh for me. It felt like it desperately wanted to be The Thursday Murder Club, but didn’t quite get there, having said that, it may appeal to a similar audience.

That damned crossword clue, what was that? It could’ve at least been set over 2 paragraphs. It annoyed me immensely.

The narration was nice. The writing was nice equally but the story felt all a bit made for an obscure afternoon tv channel.

2.5 stars rounded up, as I’m not mean enough to leave 2 stars when it wasn’t awful…….sorry!

Thanks to bookouture audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio arc in return for an honest review.