Murder at the House on the Hill - Victoria Walters

Once Upon A Crime… 

Nancy Hunter and her grandmother Jane Hunter run the Dedley Endings Bookshop, selling crime, thriller and mystery books, in a small, quiet Cotswold village where nothing ever happens…

That is, until the wealthy and reclusive Roth family open up their mansion for the first time in thirty years, inviting the people of Dedley End to a lavish engagement party.

While everyone is thrilled to finally look around the mansion on the hill, the festivities are quickly cut short when beautiful Lucy, recently married to young Harry Roth, is found dead after being pushed over the first-floor balustrade.

But who among the guests could have been capable of her murder – and why?

Nancy and Jane decide to investigate – after all, not only do they own a crime themed bookshop, they were also both named after famous literary detectives – but soon wonder if they’ve taken on more than they can handle. Especially when it seems the killer has worked out that they’re hot on their heels…

Can they catch the murderer before the murderer catches up with them? Or will there be a deadly ending to this story?

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I was provided with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded like a really cute cosy mystery, and I was really excited to get stuck in! I loved the idea of Nancy and her grandmother investigating together, and I was fully prepared for some small village, Miss Marple vibes!

Thankfully, I did really enjoy the story. There were a lot of different characters to explore, and plenty of twists and turns. I would have liked to have seen more character development from some of the smaller characters, as I found that certain individuals didn't necessarily reach their full potential.  I also found the writing a little simplistic for my own personal taste. However, it was a fun and easy to read, cosy mystery that I imagine would be particularly enjoyable to read in winter! 

Rating: ✫✫✫

The Story

This book had all the ingredients for a really great cosy mystery. It had a small town setting, lots of twists and turns, red herrings, clues, and a full cast of characters to provide a really great narrative. I thought the story itself was a real strength of this book (which is a great start!). It was set up with a really dynamic and interesting premise, with all the key characters being invited to the Roth house for an unexpected party. This really provided the foundation for lots of action, which I really appreciated.

I did find that some parts of the story were quite predictable. However, there were plenty of clues and red herrings that I'm sure this wouldn't be the case for everybody. The story progresses along at a really good pace that is easy and enjoyable to read, and it all comes to a natural and intriguing climax!

The Characters

The standout characters in this book are, unsurprisingly, Nancy, Jane and Jonathan. The three musketeers who are keen to solve the mystery. There is a lot of time spent on providing depth to these characters and their relationships which wasn't unwelcome. It really set a positive foundation which the story builds on. Although, the writing is a little too thorough at times, hinting unnecessarily at certain plot progression a little too heavily...

There are also a lot of supporting characters that really add the depth to the story. One of the biggest disappointments from crime fiction that I've found is when the characters are wishy-washy and don't stand up to the great plot ideas. It's so easy to have too many characters to know what to do with. However, Murder at the House on the Hill really does justice to the broad range of suspects. I do wish there had been a bit more development from some of the additional characters. Richard and Penelope in particular felt a little forced at times because they didn't have their full personalities explored. However, in general I thought the character development was great.

The Verdict

Overall, I thought this was a really enjoyable story. It had the right atmosphere, a great storyline, twists and turns, and a range of characters that for an engaging read. The writing was a little simplistic for my taste, but this was more about personal preference than anything else. Altogether, this was a read that I really enjoyed, and is definitely one for fans of cosy crime fiction.