It's September 1925 somewhere on the English coast. Arbuthnot (Arbie) Swift is feeling pretty good. He's supposed to be working on the last chapter of his second book, a sequel to the surprise bestseller, The Gentleman's Guide to Ghost-Hunting, but Arbie isn't really keen on doing any work. In fact, the thing he works hardest at is avoiding the work he's supposed to be doing and he thinks his current situation is the perfect opportunity to do a lot of that. He's been given an all-expenses paid stay at a newly refurbished seaside hotel. The owners are hoping that he'll give them a good write-up, which would be good for business. Things are pretty quiet when he arrives with just a few guests already there, but he's told that things will be very busy starting in the next day or two. A young woman is getting married and her wealthy father has invited family members and members of the wedding party to spend a weekend at the hotel on him. Imagine Arbie's surprise when he is busy not writing and is suddenly confronted by Val, the vicar's daughter and his friend since childhood from his home village, who is one of the wedding party.

Val is a no-nonsense kind of person and Arbie knows that it will now be much harder for him to avoid working on that last chapter, since Val can be quite a taskmaster. However, he soon has more than that to worry about when another one of the wedding party ends up dead in the writing room and the bride-to-be asks Arbie and Val to investigate.

I enjoyed this book. There is humor sprinkled throughout. The discussion of the supposed ghost and the attempt to see it are amusing and add a quirky twist to the story. The mystery was done in a clever way and the crime was committed in a way that was unique--at least in my experience reading cozy mysteries. All in all, this is a light, enjoyable read for people who like cozy mysteries set in small English villages in times past.

Another great outing for ghost hunting author Arbie, and his long time friend Val.
Arbie is at Dashwood House, a glamorous hotel in Galton-next-the-Sea. He is there to find out more about a local ghost for his next book, and also to include a write up for the hotel. Unbeknownst to him, Val is also traveling to the hotel, as part of an engagement party who will be staying there for a few days.
A young woman from the engagement party is murdered in an unusual manner (I won't spoil it for the readers), and Arbie reluctantly finds himself stuck with the task of find out whodunnit.
This is another great read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I thought the first book in this series was fab so I was excited to read The Last Word is Death. It got off to quite a slow start with a lot of exposition and a continuing stream of characters arriving at the hotel and needing introduction to further slow the action. The book's pace really picked up once the death occurred and ultimately the denouement ended up a little hasty so I wish that the earlier chapters had been reduced to enable more elaboration in the subplots (eg. the financial shenanigans) as this would have given more depth to the side characters. Nevertheless, I thought the plot worked well and had some good twists and turns along the way.

The scenes between Val and Arbie were the best bits, their repartee is fun to read and believable in how it swings between kindness and teasing. I particularly liked the scene where Val recognises that Arbie casually throws in the phrase 'cat's pyjamas' when speaking with an older couple, knowing they'll enjoy learning this new bit of slang :)

I'll definitely be looking out for the next title in the series as I really enjoy the period setting, which isn't hammed up too much, and am looking to see where ghost hunting takes Val and Arbie next!

The Last Word is Death - Faith Martin

The second outing for Arbie Swift, and vicar's daughter Val Coulton-James.

After the success of his first travel book The Gentleman's Guide to Ghost-Hunting Arbie is off to Dashwood House Hotel, to research for his next book in the hopes he spies (or not) the Headless Horseman. Unexpextedly Val is at the same hotel attending the engagement party of a schoolfriend and the murder solving team are together again. A murder occurs under strange circumstances and Val and Arbie set off once more to solve it alongside if not always in tune with the local police.

I enjoyed the first one of the series but not so much this second one. It felt like very little happend for a quarter of the book before the murder happened and then it started to get a little more interesting. It did not have the same pace as the first one and there were too many characters involved that I had to keep reminding myself who was who and where did they fit in to the storyline. However Arbie and Val solve the mystery putting the clues together coming up with the person I least expected with clues I had not seen but which were there in the plot.

Thanks to Netgalley for a preview copy.

This is a cozy murder mystery set in a hotel and is fashioned after the likes of Jeeves and Wooster. It's an enjoyable read, which hits the mark in terms of plot and pacing, though Arbie is a rather annoying character who takes all the credit and I'd like Val to be a bit less wet and a bit more proactive!

Oh dear, we all have off days! The author has written some superb books in various series. Including the first book in this series which was a great start to a new series, but this one has not matched the standard. As an other review pointed out not a lot happened for first 40% of the book, it did pick up but never really got going. Still great characters and the author has maintained the atmosphere of the period, but not for me, lets hope the third book is back up to standard.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars

A delightful whodunit, set in a seaside hotel in 1924, where a guest is found murdered during an engagement party. Here Arbie Swift, and Val Coulton-James, once again team up to solve the murder. The book features a colourful and quirky group of characters, all with secrets to hide.

This one is perfect for readers who love Agatha Christie-style stories and cosy murder mysteries. A great second book!

The Last Word Is Death invites readers into a thrilling mystery set against the backdrop of a seaside town. When a body is discovered in the writing room during an engagement party, the stakes rise dramatically, especially since the victim is connected to Arbie's old friend, Val.

With Val's determination and Arbie's previous crime-solving experience, the bride requests their assistance in uncovering the truth behind the murder. As they delve deeper, it becomes clear that the victim has numerous enemies, and many guests are hiding secrets—some more sinister than others. The intricate web of relationships and motives keeps the tension high as Val and Arbie navigate a cast of characters that feels reminiscent of an Agatha Christie tale, including wealthy self-made individuals, society’s Bright Young Things, and intriguing antique dealers.

Val, a vicar's daughter, is both organised and relentless in her pursuit of justice, and she also harbours feelings for Arbie. When she discovers they will be at the same hotel for her friend Beatrice's engagement party, she seizes the opportunity to join the festivities. In a bid to impress her parents, who are pressuring her to find a suitable partner, she hopes to become Arbie's assistant, engaging in the excitement of the investigation while keeping him focused.

The mix of characters at the hotel is wonderfully diverse, each bringing their quirks and motives to the table, making the mystery all the more compelling. The blend of humour, intrigue, and classic whodunit elements makes this book a delightful read for fans of the genre. Overall, The Last Word Is Death is a captivating mystery that expertly balances complex crimes with an engaging narrative, leaving readers eager for more adventures with Arbie and Val.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

Murder Most Foul..
The second outing in this new series, set 1924. and the usually peaceful, serene and idyllic Dashwood House is set to become a crime scene as a party turns murderous. Val and Arbie are on hand to investigate a very nasty dose indeed of murder most foul. Nothing is easy, however, and with motives and suspects numerous, things get more complicated by the minute. A tremendously enjoyable mystery in traditional vein with a deliciously eccentric and eclectic cast of characters and a plot laced with red herrings aplenty. The next in series is eagerly anticipated.

Great read ! I wasn’t sure when this came through but I loved it ! Nice easy read which you will find not wanting to put down till you reach the end !

How wonderful to immerse yourself in the style of the Golden Age. Bright young things, cads and vacillating young men. There is a touch of the Campion about Albie, although why he doesn’t fall at Val’s feet is beyond me. Absolutely gorgeous storytelling with characters and setting perfect for the time frame.

I found the storyline very slow and meandering. It took overlong to set the scene and introduce us to the various characters. I usually like Faith Martin, but this series is not her best.

Very much a cozy crime, nothing really happens until 40% of the book, there are a multitude of characters who I find difficult to understand so I can’t say it’s my favourite Faith Martin book. I loved all the Hilary Green books and live in hope that she’ll go back to that kind of writing

I consider this to be a classic murder mystery somewhat in the genre of Agatha Christie. The book takes a very long time setting up the scene and the characters before anything happens. The old hotel is full of wedding guests, friends family and random strangers staying over for a break. All of these people are meticulously detailed so that you get a proper understanding of who they are, their foibles and what drives them.. The murder is almost an afterthought as the life and characters are so well drawn that seeing how they all come together is almost more important then catching the killer. There is the reveal in the drawing room which ends the book and ties up the loose ends, a great read..

The second outing for Arbie Swift, gentleman of leisure and author of the wildly successful travel book The Gentleman's Guide to Ghost-Hunting and his childhood friend/nemesis, vicar's daughter Val Coulton-James.

Arbie is visiting the Dashwood House Hotel, a newly refurbished hotel in the seaside town of Galton on the South coast. When he wrote the book he would spend a few days mooching around, doing a bit of fishing and the like, and frequent local hostelries to get tall tales of ghosts and ghoulies from the populace. He then wrote a chapters about the hotel and its surrounds and his comical attempts to spot the Headless Horseman or the White Lady. Being both informative and humorous,the book proved very popular and so his publisher is keen for Arbie to repeat his success.

As one might imagine of a vicar's daughter, Val is organised and relentless. She also has a bit of pash for Arbie. So when she discovers that Arbie is visiting the same hotel as the one her friend Beatrice has hired to celebrate her engagement, she agrees to join the engagement party. As a single woman of a certain age, her parents are hinting heavily that she should find a nice young man to marry so she thinks if only she could persuade Arbie to take her on as his assistant she could do something exciting and keep him on the straight and narrow.

The guests at the hotel, and the proprietors are a mixed group. Wealthy self-made men, society Bright Young Things, elderly but wealthy widows, antiques dealers, down-on-their luck divorcees, middle-aged women fond of a tipple, middle-aged couples, etc, its like an Agatha Christie novel brought to life.

I've really enjoyed these two books, although I find Arbie and Val hard to pin down as characters. Arbie would like to do nothing more than loaf around doing as little as possible, yet when it comes down to it he's the one with the razor sharp mind. Whereas Val might be practical and kind but she's a bit dim. DIgressing hugely, I feel that if Val did somehow trap Arbie into marriage he would be very unhappy, hounded from pillar to post by a domineering but intellectually inferior woman - he'd turn into the sort of man who hides behind a newspaper in his club. Couldn't Faith Martin give Val some qualities to make her his equal, like understanding human nature better? Even when the two of them discover clues Arbie's is front and centre whereas Val's happens offstage as it were.

Anyway, if you enjoy a sort of Brideshead/Bertie Wooster character ambling around solving crimes while trying to avoid doing any real work while a well-meaning vicar's daughter chivvies him along then you'll love this. The crimes are fiendishly complicated, lots of people have motives, but as Loyd Grossman used to say on that 1980s TV show 'The clues are there'.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

So much for Arbie's relaxing break at the seaside. One of the guests in the swish hotel is found dead. And who should be a member of the group which the victim was part of? Arbie's old pal Val.

Inevitably, the pair find themselves embroiled in another investigation.

Another great adventure- hope there's more to follow