‘Murder by the Book’ by Debbie Young

Published by Hawkesbury Press. 
10 April 2018.

 ISBN 978-1-911223-26-9 (PB)

This is the third book in the series about Sophie Sayers in the fictional Cotswold village of Wendlebury Barrow.  Here Sophie is trying to develop an image on social media for the romance writer Hermione Minty.  Her boyfriend. Hector owns the village bookshop which needs some business after Christmas and Sophie is trying to help his earnings.  

She suggests a Valentine Dinner to the local pub manager and local characters (most of whom would be familiar to the regular reader) attend.   She and Hector are not fully established as a couple but in this book, she visits his parents for the first time and meets his family.

The Valentine’s Night in the Bluebird Inn is accompanied by a body falling into the well in the pub courtyard but, in all the excitement, nobody hears.  Eventually the body is discovered and the events leading to the death are elucidated.

Obviously, Sophie is getting established in the village and sees the people there as her friends.  This is a warm and cosy book which makes a nice read on a cold night!

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Reviewer: Jennifer S. Palmer

Debbie Young plans a series of 7 novels that happen during a year in the Cotswold village.

Debbie Young was born and raised in Sidcup, Kent. When she was 14, her family relocated to Germany for her father’s job. Debbie spent four years at Frankfurt International School, broadening her outlook as well as gaining the then brand new IB (International Baccalaureate). She returned to the UK to earn her BA (Hons) in English and Related Literature at the University of York, then lived and worked for a while in London and the West of England as a journalist and PR consultant.  In 1991 she moved to the Cotswolds. In 2002, she married a Scot named Gordon whom she met in Swindon – and not, as village rumour once had it, a Swede named Scottie.  In 2003, her daughter Laura was born.  Best Murder in Show was the first in her series featuring Sophie Sayers. There are now a further three books in this series.

https://authordebbieyoung.com

Jennifer Palmer Throughout my reading life crime fiction has been a constant interest; I really enjoyed my 15 years as an expatriate in the Far East, the Netherlands & the USA but occasionally the solace of closing my door to the outside world and sitting reading was highly therapeutic. I now lecture to adults on historical topics including Famous Historical Mysteries.