If you’re a Murder She Wrote fan and are missing Jessica Fletcher and Cabot Cove, and if you’re eagerly awaiting the movie with Jamie Lee Curtis, then I have the perfect way for you to pass the time until it’s here … Julia Bird of Berrywick is the answer!
Cozy mystery is even better at Christmas time, and in this, the eighth book in the Julia Bird series, we return to the Cotswold village of Berrywick for some murder, mince pies and mulled wine. I thoroughly enjoy these stories, penned by South African writing duo Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. They skillfully blend wry humour with sharp narrative, with extremely readable and entertaining results. Each book can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading them in order as that way you get to know the characters and the village as they evolve and grow.
Blurb:
Julia Bird adores a walk on a winter’s day. The crunch of fresh show under your feet and the promise of hot cocoa by a roaring fire afterwards… But she’s not expecting to find a body in the woods!
It’s Christmas in Berrywick, the busiest time of year for dashing taxi driver Lewis. But when he’s killed in a road accident, the entire village is shaken. Julia Bird, recently appointed to the Road Safety Committee, visits the site so that no other villager suffers the same fate. But when she spies a pendant left in the bushes, she feels certain Lewis’s death was no accident…
As the festive lights twinkle in the village square, Julia vows to uncover the truth. She soon learns not everyone found Lewis’s charm appealing. Sweetshop owner Dora says he had an eye for the ladies, much to his wife’s frustration. Lewis recently gave his life savings to a mysterious businessman who proves difficult to track down. But could these be reasons enough to want him dead?
Then, local beekeeper Matthew is struck by a car near the Christmas market. Julia believes the two deaths must be linked, but contrary to Lewis, Matthew was as sweet as the honey he sold. Who could possibly want to hurt Berrywick’s kindest man?
With no obvious leads, Julia stumbles upon an old picture that finally links Lewis and Matthew. Many years ago they were in a band poised for stardom, but when the bubble burst, their chance at fame vanished quicker than a glass of festive eggnog. Could someone be targeting the band members one by one? And can Julia track them down before the killer strikes again?
An utterly gripping and totally charming cozy mystery set in the English countryside.
My Review:
The Christmas season is approaching, and that means it’s a busy time in Berrywick: Christmas means markets, and that means that there are loads of people around from near and far. So while most of the year they’re used to quiet village life and mainly locals wandering around attending to their everyday business, there are now a lot more unfamiliar faces about.
When Julia and her partner, local Doctor Sean O’Connor discover the body of Berrywick’s well-loved taxi driver lying in the woods when they’re on their way home from the market one night, it looks like he’s the victim of a hit and run. It seems obvious that someone from out of town wasn’t able to navigate the complicated twisty roads and may not even have realized they’d hit him. But then another local dies in a similar type of accident and it’s too much of a coincidence. Two of Berrywick’s men knocked over, and both apparently so well-liked? Julia is convinced that their deaths are no accident and that they must be connected.
Isn’t it interesting that when you start asking the right questions in the right places, you start to discover that some people aren’t as squeaky clean as they first appear? That person that ‘everyone’ loves, isn’t quite as nice or as perfect as you were lead to believe; that there’s a different story playing out behind the closed doors of that marriage you thought was rock solid; that the friendly demeanour you were so used to interacting with, hid something much darker than you could ever have imagined? You just need to know who to ask, and which clues to follow. Julia’s very good at that, and she never accepts things at face value.
By now, D.I. Hayley Gibson takes Julia’s amateur detective work rather seriously and as well as having become a good friend, she’s also a close collaborator. They make a good team, despite their differences. It’s also been lovely to get to know Hayley better and to see that she might possibly have mellowed (just a bit). As we’ve come to expect, there are many meetings held in The Buttered Scone, even more once Julia manages to find herself (mistakenly) appointed to the village’s newly formed Road Safety Committee. And of course, lots of antics and humour with chocolate lab Jake and his bestie Henny Penny (yes, a chicken!).
The author(s) capture the charm and whimsy of village life so perfectly, together with all the habits and quirks of the residents. Their descriptions of everyday life in Berrywick make the reader feel like they’re right there in the heart of all the activity.
Thank you to Bookouture for the Books-on-Tour. It’s always great to participate in a blog tour, but it’s extra special when it’s for wonderful South African authors! Thank you for the opportunity.
Author Bio:
Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both made their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats.
https://www.facebook.com/KatieGayleWriter
https://www.instagram.com/katiegaylebooks
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Katie Gayle here: https://www.bookouture.com/katie-gayle
Purchase Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0DZRKHXF6social
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
jansbookbuzz.com 
Leave a comment