Till Daph Do Us Part

Weddings. Funerals. Sleuthing. (Daphne Jones Mysteries Book 1)

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Pub Date 30 Aug 2021 | Archive Date 29 Apr 2023

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Description

Daphne had a peculiar feeling in her gut from the moment she arrived at the Brooker residence, and it wasn’t from her hurried lunch.

Daphne Jones adores her new career as a travelling celebrant, visiting a different small town every week to marry happy couples or help with sad goodbyes.

But it isn’t supposed to be both at the same time!

When a member of a bridal party ends up face down in a swimming pool, Daphne embraces her inner sleuth, believing this death was no accident.

Amid old family feuds, resentful relatives, and missing funds, there are plenty of suspects, and none of them appreciates Daphne snooping in their business. One wants her out of town, one wants her reputation destroyed, but with a heart of gold and a way with words, this celebrant sleuth is not giving up. Unless the killer finds her first...

Daphne and John originally appeared in The Stationmaster's Cottage as supporting characters but insisted on their own series.

Daphne had a peculiar feeling in her gut from the moment she arrived at the Brooker residence, and it wasn’t from her hurried lunch.

Daphne Jones adores her new career as a travelling celebrant...


Advance Praise

Clark (Last Known Contact) offers an enticing kickoff to the Daphne Jones cozy mystery series with the story of a charming wedding celebrant who becomes embroiled in the murder of a newlywed. Daphne Jones enjoys traveling the countryside of Victoria, Australia, with her husband John in their caravan, the Bluebell, marrying couples.

In Daphne, Clark has crafted an ideal cozy mystery sleuth, an appealing and inquisitive woman engaged in a lively profession that allows her to observe people in moments of pitched emotion without attracting their attention.

BOOKLIFE REVIEW

This cozy mystery, set in Australia, is plotted perfectly, highlighting fun and quirky characters you'll grow to love from the first pages.

This is the first book in the Daphne Jones Mystery Series. The setting and characters are fun and interesting. It is brilliant that Ms. Clark has them traveling in the caravan so the murders take place in different towns and settings, allowing readers to come along on the adventure.

If you like Murder She Wrote, you will love Till Daph Do Us Part. It is a fun cozy mystery, plotted perfectly and always interesting to have the main character born in my generation, proving retirees can do crazy things including solve murders.

Laura Hartman. REEDSY DISCOVERY

Clark (Last Known Contact) offers an enticing kickoff to the Daphne Jones cozy mystery series with the story of a charming wedding celebrant who becomes embroiled in the murder of a newlywed. Daphne...


Available Editions

ISBN 000B095N1XQDY
PRICE US$3.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

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Average rating from 40 members


Featured Reviews

This unique story introduces us to Daph and John Jones, a cute couple who travel in their caravan, so Daph can serve as an officiant.
As Daph prepares for a wedding, she's nervous but confident in her own mind, however, th family she's working for is anything but normal.
The bride is on her third marriage, all of them to men in the same family. If that isn't weird enough, her two previous husbands met untimely deaths.
Daph is trying to be a good sport, but when the groom is found dead, Daph is determined to get to the truth.
I enjoyed this cozy mystery and I think Daph and John are great characters.
I would recommend this book to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
#TillDaphDoUsPart #NetGalley

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Daphne Jones and her husband John have taken to life on the road as they move into their next act. Daphne as an officiant and John who is pursuing his passions of fishing, photography, genealogy and Daphne. As they travel around Australia in their camper to Daphne's engagements, they are exploring the countryside and just enjoying time together. Daphne's latest gig is for a wedding in a small town and she's chuffed to wed the young couple, but when she meets them, she's less than impressed with the entire family and their rudeness to each other and her. But Daphne agreed to marry the couple and wed them she will, then she and John can leave town for her next engagement.

If Daphne though the rehearsal was hard to get through, the wedding itself was a breeze...until a body is found in the pool and Daphne vows to find justice for the victim. So many suspects, so little time for Daphne to get through them all before she has to get to the next town. Secrets, lies and surprises await Daphne along the way and with John's support, she gets closer and yet farther away. But will Daphne be able to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together to figure it out before someone is officiating her funeral?

The second book in this series, it is the first I have read and it is fine as a stand alone. It's nice to have a cozy of a married couple on their second act, which I can relate to. I enjoy the relationship that Daphne and John have and think they have serious #CoupleGoals.. Daphne is so empathetic and caring and she just makes you want to get to know her further and you'll be waiting for the next book to do just that.

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I liked the characters and.the story. Kind of slow in spots but picked up and enjoyed the book. Hope to read more by this author! Thank you for the book!

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This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, BooksGoSocial and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

What a unique story with delightful characters.

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I LOVED THIS BOOK! I love that the main character got to play detective and find the mystery killer. I love the way this book was a good mix of murder mystery and rom com it made for such a good story and had me enthralled from the start I couldn’t put this down

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Till Daph Do Us Part is the perfect series starter! I enjoyed this one immensely and didn't want to put it down! I look forward to reading many more in this series as they become available.

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This is a delightful story. I love how Daphne and John are traveling around in there adorable camper "Bluebell".
They have come to a small town for Daphne to perform a wedding ceremony. That is about the only normal thing that is happening. The bride appears to be a bridezilla. She is very high strung and demanding.
There is a family feud going on in the town. This creates a lot of twists and turns.
When trying to figure out the murder that happens it is very difficult to figure everything out. There is so much happening and honestly I do not think the families know the truth to the feud. As secrets are brought to light it is very interesting.
I found myself having a hard time putting the book down. I was always wondering what was going to happen next. I was so surprised with the ending that I found myself skimming back to look for a few details thinking that I had missed something. Yes I did miss a few things because of all of the action and drama going on.
This story happens in Australia and there are some words that are different from what we use in the US. It was not hard to figure out what they meant. It is the charm of keeping the story true to it's setting that made it even more interesting.
This is a definite read. I will find more books by this authors she has a wonderful talent in her story telling.

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‘Till Daph Do Us Part’ is such a refreshing book. Very light read with a good story line. A suspense that keeps you guessing until the end. Even though it’s predictable, it still keeps you engaged so see how everything was done.

I really liked John’s character. A very supportive and understanding partner. Daph is a little more emotional but Phillips has done a great job bringing out the different feelings she would experience.

A good whodunnit.

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Daphne Jones is starting her new career as a celebrant and along with her adorable husband John, travel in their beloved caravan Bluebell around Australia to each new celebration whilst taking in the sights and sounds of each town they stop in. However, things do not go according to plan when Daph meets the very dysfunctional family of this current wedding. Secrets, lies and death are not the formula for what is supposed to be the happiest day of a couples life. Should Daph get involved and solve this mystery?
I had fun reading this book and now have a soft spot for the very likeable and relatable Daphne Jones and her sweet husband John. I enjoyed all the characters in this first tale in a cosy mystery series and will definitely continue in following Daph in her adventures.

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Light easy fun reading. Good story plot with fun and interesting characters. Ready for the next one in the series. Thanks #netgalley and #BooksGoSocial for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

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Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and BooksGoSocial.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

A travelling celebrant and her husband who travels in their caravan on weekends to perform weddings or final goodbyes..

Daphne did not expect to have both events at once. Her arrival in own is not taken well and the people are anxious for her departure. What is really going on that killed a member of the bridal party?

It is an interesting new cozy series.

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Daphne had a peculiar feeling in her gut from the moment she arrived at the Brooker residence, and it wasn’t from her hurried lunch.

Daphne Jones adores her new career as a travelling celebrant, visiting a different small town every week to marry happy couples or help with sad goodbyes.

But it isn’t supposed to be both at the same time!

When a member of a bridal party ends up face down in a swimming pool, Daphne embraces her inner sleuth, believing this death was no accident.

Amid old family feuds, resentful relatives, and missing funds, there are plenty of suspects, and none of them appreciates Daphne snooping in their business. One wants her out of town, one wants her reputation destroyed, but with a heart of gold and a way with words, this celebrant sleuth is not giving up. Unless the killer finds her first...
This book needs to be on your radar! I love it so much!

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I loved getting to know Daphne. She has such a wonderful and warm heart. Clues led her to three murderers. Kept guessing until the last minute. Looking forward to reading the next sequel.

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Princess Fuzzypants here: Daph and her husband John travel around southern Australia in a caravan named Bluebell. In a post retirement career, she is a celebrant and she is in town to officiate at a wedding. But from the moment she arrives, she wishes she had not accepted the job. The two families make the Hatfield and McCoys look like pikers and things go from verbal snipes to murder. These are not nice people and while John would like to depart quickly, Daph gets more deeply involved in the feud between the families.

She is asked to celebrate the life of the deceased- twice- but when the news of the murder gets out, her nascent business might be threatened. Even though she was not a suspect, future clients cancelled. If she does not help uncover the killer, she may have no business left.
She does work compatibly with the local police who find the information she shares and her observations helpful. But even when Daoh and the police discover the guilty parties, there is still one element they missed. I do confess I suspected it but there were still bits that caught me by surprise, as they did Daph.

I did like Daph and John. They are a sweet older couple who love and support each other. They are amiable and endearing characters and I suspect there could be further adventures as they ride the roads with Bluebell. Five purrs and two paws up.

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As someone who loves mystery and whodonnits this book was amazing. I was on my toes the whole story wondering who done it. I really liked the characters. Having not read other works by this author, I was able to come in and feel immersed in the world. I will now be going back and reading other works that include these characters. I was fully immersed into this world without having previously read other books with these characters so I think it is a good standalone story, but I love when stories connect subtly. I would highly recommend this as it wasn't too gory and had a really good storyline. Some mystery and whodonnits can be overdone such as the police consultant who partners with a police or fbi guy, but this was a new angle. I had never heard of celebrant before. I never realized all the work that goes into being a celebrant.

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3.5 stars. This is a quick and fun cozy mystery. The main character, Daphne, is a wedding officiant. When the groom dies minutes after the ceremony, she brings her amateur sleuth game to figure out who killed him and becomes embroiled in a generations-old family feud in the process. I enjoyed the Australian small town setting and the RV life that Daphne and her husband are enjoying in their retirement-both gave the story a memorable spin.

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