Published by Quercus
Books,
19 March 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-52940-223-0 (PB)
19 March 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-52940-223-0 (PB)
Six
weeks before the opening of this story, Evie Bowes had endured the nightmare of
being suspected of the murder of her boyfriend. This ordeal had culminated in
her being kidnapped and brought near to death. This experience left her scarred
emotionally and physically. Evie has never been the most confident of people
and now she is grateful that the winter weather is cold, which gives her an
excuse to wear concealing clothes to hide the scars on her face from all but her
closest friends. Evie’s best friend, Kitt Hartley, fought to prove her
innocence and is trying to restore her friend’s shattered confidence. However,
Evie still finds it embarrassing to be around Kitt’s new boyfriend, Detective
Inspector Malcolm Halloran, even though she is grateful to him for helping to
save her life. Evie feels even more indebted to Halloran’s junior officer,
Detective Sergeant Charlotte ‘Charley’ Banks, and remembers the kindness and
sensitivity that the sergeant had treated her with when she was shocked and
injured.
Halloran tells Kitt and Evie that
Charley Banks has been accused of assaulting a suspect and suspended from duty.
She has made an enemy of the new superintendent, who has just arrived to take
over, and there is nothing Halloran can do to help her. Kitt is a librarian at
the local university and is passionate about books, which means that her
interest is captured by the fact that the young man who was assaulted was
suspected of robbing a York bookshop and stealing several valuable first
edition books. Evie’s reason for investigating is more personal, she wants to
help Charley and prove her innocence. To do this, Evie puts herself on the
line, even using her scarred face as an excuse to infiltrate the hospital where
the beaten suspect is recovering. As her relationship with Charley develops,
Evie discovers things about herself that she had never understood. The
investigation gets more dangerous as theft and assault turn into murder but
Kitt, Evie are determined to get to the truth, helped by Kitt’s lively young
assistant, Grace.
A Body in the Bookshop is the second book in the series featuring Kitt Hartley and
Evie Bowes. Although it is described as a Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery, the
major viewpoint protagonist is Evie, as it chronicles her struggle to come to
terms with her disfigurement and cope with changes in her attitudes to her life
and her relationships. A Body in the Bookshop is an entertaining story. The
central characters are all appealing and York at Christmas makes a delightful
background. An enjoyable read that I would recommend to those who enjoy cosy
crime.
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Helen Cox is a
Yorkshire-born novelist and poet. After completing her MA in creative writing
at the University of York St. John Helen wrote for a range of magazines and
websites as well as for TV and radio news. Helen has edited her own independent
film magazine and penned three non-fiction books. Her first two novels were
published by HarperCollins in 2016. She currently hosts The Poetrygram podcast
and works for City Lit, London. Helen’s new series of cosy mysteries stars
librarian-turned-sleuth Kitt Hartley and is set in York.
Carol Westron is a successful short story writer and a Creative
Writing teacher. She is the moderator
for the cosy/historical crime panel, The Deadly Dames. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary
and Victorian times. The Terminal Velocity of Cats the first in her Scene of Crimes novels,
was published July 2013. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To
read the interview click on the link below.
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