Folly

When Alex Duggins’ marriage collapses she heads home to the Cotswolds to start over. The last thing she expects is to find herself the prime suspect in a murder, but that’s just what happens when she’s the one that finds a corpse in the snow. Having little faith in local authorities, Alex sets out to not only clear her name, but to find the killer. The only flaw in her plan is that now the murderer is after her

The mystery kept me guessing until the very end which felt a little rushed to wrap it up. Looking forward to future Alex Duggins mysteries.

Goodreads and Amazon

Outstanding new cozy series, lots of action, terrific characters, and plenty of room for developing new story lines. Couldn't stop reading!

Alex Duggins has returned home to the Cotswalds following a divorce. She is out for a walk when she comes across a frozen body. After another death occurs, Alex becomes a suspect in the murders. After she re connects with a childhood friend they both becomes targets of the police investigation. Alex also starts having suspicious events happen to her. Is someone trying to harm her or are they trying to scare her so she will leave town. Alex is determined to find the truth and clear her name. The further she gets into her investigation the more secrets she finds out about the history and residents of the town.

It is a pleasure to see Folly, the first of Stella Cameron's Cotswold mysteries, made available in ebook form by Severn House. When Folly was first released, it was only available on a limited print on demand basis.

Set in the uniquely British Cotswolds, Folly is an exciting mystery, full of tension and suspense. The novel is certain to satisfy fans of classic British mystery.

After the failure of her marriage, Alex Duggins returns to Folly-on-Weir intent on starting life afresh. Alex contents herself with running the local pub, working on her art, and taking long quiet walks. When she discovers a body in the snow, the seeming peace of the village is shattered. Everyone is suspect, and the police aren't sharing what they know. Knowing a killer is hidden amongst friends and neighbors, and determined to clear her name, Alex teams up with her friend Tony in search of the truth. The characters in Folly are well developed, and easy to empathize with. Alex and Tony each have painful pasts that they are trying to move beyond. These secrets will either tear them apart or bring them closer together. Their struggles make them human. The enigmatic Detective Inspector O'Reilly is good at ferreting out village secrets, and is strangely protective of Alex. Unlike many a police detective found in cozies with an amateur detective, O'Reilly is both intelligent and perceptive, and plays a major role in finding the killer.

The limited cast and stark weather of Folly contribute to feelings of tension and isolation. The setting and style are a distinct departure from Cameron's romantic suspense titles, which may surprise her fans.

Folly is a well written cozy with a distinctly British flair that many a mystery reader will enjoy.

I received a copy of Folly from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Folly is available for preorder and will be released May 1, 2015

--Crittermom

Folly is quintessentially British. My love for British mysteries or the English village setting is well known. I recently read M C Beaton’s latest – Death of a Liar, and also The Sussex Downs Murder which is being reprinted. So you can say I am on a British mystery roll.

Folly-on-weir is a small village. Everyone knows everyone. The prominent characters are Alex, prodigal daughter and local pub owner, Will and Cathy, ex pub owners who now run the pub for Alex, Tony Harrison, prodigal son and local vet, Doc Harrison, the village doctor, Lily – bar waitress and Alex’s mom, the vicar, the local gossip, the ladies that run a bookshop and tea room and so on. All usual suspects! And suspects they are when a body is found in the snow.

We soon learn that the dead man was killed by a dart stolen from Alex’s pub. He was a monk. Alex adopts the dead man’s dog. The police is very much on the scene interrogating everyone. Things heat up when some attempts are made on Alex’s life and someone tries to scare her.

Alex and Tony grew up together and went their own ways. Both have had a painful past no one knows about. And both have left the big bad world to come back home. Their respective parents are worried that the current crisis will bring up the past and cause the kids some hurt.

A monk comes into Alex’s pub. He says he knows the dead man but has been snubbed by the police. Alex offers him a room at her pub/ inn. What happens next changes the pace of the story.

Folly started off a bit slow. Although the body is discovered almost in the first few pages, the first quarter or more is devoted more to building up the characters and telling us about their background. But there are also other developments in parallel. There is an aura of suspense and something evil. Although he whole style is understated, there is tension in the narrative. I even felt some goose bumps.

If you are a mystery fan, and enjoy a good plot and story, Stella Cameron’s Folly is for you.

Folly was a real departure for Stella Cameron who is known to me as a chick lit author. It is a genuine mystery and although there is the start of a romance, it is not important to the plot and is treated as quite secondary.

Alex has returned home after a bad marriage. She is attempting to rebuild her life when she runs (almost literally) into a body on her morning walk. The police began investigating the crime, but so does Alex and her friend, the local Vet (the romance).

the story moves at a decent pace but is definitely not your basic action - adventure. It is well written and well plotted. The characters are likable and believable. It is the first of an Alex Duggins series. I will read more of them.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of the book.

Folly by Stella Cameron is not the usual romance historical or suspense that I have come to expect from this author. I have been reading her books for years, long before e-readers, I bought her books in paperback. So this story came as a surprise. A pleasant surprise since I liked it just the same as her true romance books. She brought her gifted writing style and ability to hook the reader into the plot, just as she has always done. We’re all a bit older and hopefully wiser after taking some hits in life, so I identified with Alex from the start. There is still some romance in her story but it takes a back seat to the murder victim that she comes upon in her daily walk. Finding the killer is the true focus of the story-line. The murder weapon is ingenuous, never read that one before.

Also the cast of characters supporting Alex are a quirky bunch that adds spice and humor to the rather serious business of solving this murder. I did not guess the guilty party until late in the story. This is always a good sign of a good mystery for me. Ms. Cameron has kept tangling the murderer just out of my reach so I couldn’t help but keep on reading. I found Folly to be like an Agatha Christie novel written for the 21st century reader. It is an absolutely enjoyable read.

One last note, looking in Goodreads, it seems Folly has been previously published under a different name, Cold. It is the same Alex Duggins Mystery as far as I can tell.

4.5 stars Copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

In this series opener, and author Stella Cameron's first foray into the cozy mystery genre, main character Alex Duggins finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation after moving back home to the Cotswolds following a bitter divorce. While juggling managing a new business and rebuilding her life she discovers deeply buried town secrets and becomes the target of a killer at large. With engaging characters and a tightly plotted mystery, this novel is an enjoyable summer read that makes you look forward to the next in the series.