This was a strong third entry in the English Village Mystery series, it had that overall feel that I was looking for from the previous two books. The overall story worked well with the murder mystery element and enjoyed the concept. Louise Marley has a great writing style and enjoyed the overall story in this, I’m excited to read more in this series.

This series gets better with each book. A skeleton is uncovered in an abandoned glasshouse. Ben and Harriet have to figure out who it is and how they died. They have a suspicion of who it could be but the investigation carried out 25 years earlier on the missing persons case was done by Harriet's father and seems a little suspect. At the same time, there's a newcomer to Raven's Edge who also seems to have a link to Harriet and her late father. A pair of very intriguing cases with several twists that I did not see coming! Brilliant.
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and Louise Marley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Murder at Raven's Hollow, book three of An English Village Mystery series, Louise Marley spins an atmospheric mystery set in the quaint yet secret-laden village of Raven’s Edge. The story kicks off when human bones, hidden for decades, are discovered beneath a glasshouse at Foxglove & Hemlock, a local flower shop. Detective Sergeant Harriet March and her partner, Detective Inspector Ben Taylor, are soon immersed in a web of buried secrets that stretches back generations. The case takes an eerie turn as they dig deeper into the village’s history, especially when they realize it may link to Harriet’s own family.

The timing of the bone discovery coincides with the arrival of Iris Evergreen, an elusive novelist who takes up residence at Raven's Hollow—a dark, brooding mansion that has held the village’s curiosity for years. As Harriet investigates, her search for answers around the glasshouse bones draws her closer to uncovering chilling connections to the mansion and, even more alarmingly, to her own past. The suspense escalates when a new murder shocks the village, and Harriet must confront the terrifying possibility that the killer still walks among them.

Marley crafts a captivating story filled with suspense and rich characters that readers will love to follow. Harriet’s journey is both professional and personal, adding depth as she faces the ghosts of her own history. Murder at Raven’s Hollow offers a clever plot with twists that keep the reader guessing, alongside a haunting setting that brings the village’s mysteries to life. This book is a treat for anyone who enjoys mysteries where the past and present collide in unexpected and thrilling ways.

Louise Marley crafts an engaging mystery in her latest novel, where the discovery of a skeleton beneath a Victorian greenhouse leads detectives DS Harriet March and DI Ben Taylor into the shadowy depths of Raven's Edge's history. The quaint English village setting evokes a sense of nostalgia reminiscent of classic television dramas, enhancing the story's charm. Iris Evergreen stands out as a delightful character, embodying innocence and warmth.

Having received this book through an ARC program, I found myself pleasantly surprised by Marley’s narrative style, especially given my unfamiliarity with her work. As the third installment in a series, it functions seamlessly as a standalone, with only subtle references to prior events, ensuring that new readers won't feel out of place. This captivating tale, rich with mystery and hints of romance, had me thoroughly engaged from start to finish. I am now eager to explore the first two books in the series, as this entry has deepened my appreciation for Marley’s writing. Mystery and romance aficionados will undoubtedly find much to love in this story.

4* Good author intro, a solid little muder-mystery tale in quiet quaint England. Hahaha ha!

This book is a very good intro to this author, and despite it being the last in a trilogy set in this slightly strange little village somewhere in England, I didn't struggle to get into it.

There's no huge info dump, just enough that you know who's who, and who's with who; a few red herrings; and a few dead bodies. It's done nicely and believably and no one seems to have anything to prove in the local police shop, so everyone gets on and does their job to solve the crime.

The focus at the start of the tale on a particular couple kind of went nowhere in the end, so it's a little bit irritating that a tad too much was hinted at. I think if it was meant to be a red herring, the author didn't do it well, which is why the tale, for me at least, loses 1*.

I checked the other books in the series out based on this, and they seem to feature the male detective more, so I think they're not really my cup of tea.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure.

multiple-perspectives, multiple-timeline, twisty, writers, bookseller, secrets, self-worth-issues, self-absorbed, lies, contemporary, small-town, small-business, local-history, local-gossip, local-legends, investigations, false-information, false-identities, family-by-choice, family-drama, family-dynamics, family-history, famous-author, cozy-mystery, procedural, sly-humor, witty, situational-humor, wry-humor, relationship-issues, relationships, relatives, relentless, local-law-enforcement, England*****

This book is ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’ or maybe a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. There are about two timelines and many more plots and a veritable plethora of intriguing characters. DS Harriet March and DI Ben Taylor along with novelist Iris Evergreen who renamed her recently acquire home Raven's Hollow are the central and most important of all this lot who are intertwined even before they are aware of it. And I was blindsided by the ending of this one, too!
Avail Jan 03, 2025 #MurderatRavensHollow by @LouiseMarley #EnglishVillageMysteriesBk3 @Stormbooks_co #NetGalley #CozyMystery #Twisty #Phenomenal
Forgot to credit that I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof copy from Storm Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This was just great. There was murder, and then old murders and then new murders and yet this wasn't gruesome or grizzly, just an excellent read. The characters were so real, not necessarily loveable but they came across with their real aspirations and when they made mistakes - and they made colossal mistakes - I understood how they had got to that point and that it actually might have been reasonable! Clearly the police didn't always think so, and yet again, there was an understanding of the police and their human role in the mysteries. This was a fun read, for all the death and investigation, there was an embrace to the book that made it endearing and so worth the read.

This delightful mystery, with the backdrop of a Bookshop and Christmas time, is a well written story that showcases
the lovely homes in the village, the folks who live there and the secrets held by so many of them. Released as a
Christmas time story, it’s not overly so ~ I think it’s a great book to read any time of year. I liked how the discovery of bones in
an abandoned part of a garden turned into the entire basis of such an interesting murder mystery. Not just one mystery.
This is a book that will keep you thinking and guessing for a good long time.
New to the Author, I hope to go back and read the previous books to perhaps fill in some of the character’s and history.
My thanks to Storm Publishing via NetGalley for the download of this book for review purposes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Murder at Raven’s Hollow by Louise Marley due to be published January 3, 2025.

When decades-old human bones are discovered beneath the old glasshouse behind Foxglove & Hemlock, the local florist, DS Harriet March and DI Ben Taylor find themselves digging into Raven's Edge's murky past. At the same time, novelist Iris Evergreen moves to Raven’s Hollow to a mansion sitting idle for years. Iris wants to find out who her father is and see how she is connected to this town.
This, like the last two, was a great book. The characters seem like you could sit down and have a cup of tea with them. Just when you think you have worked out who did what and who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are, something happens to change your mind! There was some unfinished business at the end of this book – can’t wait to see what happens in the fourth installment. I’m usually not a “cozy mystery” reader, but these books are great!
#NetGalley #LouiseMarley #StormPublishing #MurderAtRavensHollow