I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Cozy Mystery Book Club. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Well Dressed to Die
by Kate P. Adams
Series: Charleton House Mysteries #9
Series Rating:
on July 29, 2023
Setting: Derbyshire, England
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: -2307
Format: ebook, Kindle, Paperback
Source: Cozy Mystery Book Club
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Water is the life-giver and the death-bringer…
The night before the ancient well-dressing tradition in the Derbyshire village of Castledale, the dressers work feverishly to get the displays finished in time. However, someone has got in ahead of schedule. One of the wells is already dressed… with a dead body.
Despite being determined not to get involved in the investigation into how Cora Parrish came to drown in the well, and concentrate instead on her day job as cafés manager at the popular local tourist attraction Charleton House, amateur sleuth Sophie Lockwood can’t help being intrigued. From the victims of Cora’s schoolgirl bullying to those wishing to conceal a murky past of their own, suspects abound. Distracted by the appearance of a handsome historian, and by the unexpected turn her colleague and best friend Mark’s career takes, Sophie feels as if she is going round in circles, achieving nothing but stirring up the dirt.
Then a startling revelation on the local news leaves Sophie convinced she has cracked the case. But after a fractious confrontation and an encounter in a remote beauty spot, she realises that even Derbyshire’s very own Sherlock can sometimes get things wrong.
Grab your hiking boots, we’re heading deep into the stunning Peak District for coffee, cake and a country walk, with laughs, surprises and intrigue aplenty along the way.
Includes additional bonus short stories.
Well Dressed to Die by Kate P. Adams is a wonderfully written mystery with a great cast of characters in the lovely English countryside.
Will Sophie and her friends figure out who killed Cora and why?
Sophie Lockwood
Our sleuth is Sophie, and she runs the three cafes at the Charleton House. She and her friends consider themselves investigators assisting the local police detectives. However, the detectives keep warning her off, but her curiosity won’t allow her to stop asking questions. Some of Sophie’s friends work at the Charleton House too. They all seem to have a good time teasing each other. You can tell that their relationships are strong, and they have each other’s backs.
I like Sophie. She is comfortable with her life and enjoys being with her friends and spoiled cat. I love the way that she cares for Pumpkin, her judgmental feline. Pumpkin rules the house. I enjoyed Sophie’s relationship with Mark and the way the two of them keep each other in line. However, I found it hilarious how Sophie and Tina get along. Sophie must have fired her like three or four times in this book. It would be fun to hang out with Sophie for an evening.
The Mystery
Sophie, Mark, and Joyce find Cora Parrish’s body on the way back to the car after visiting the Well Dressing site with the Duchess. Cora recently returned to the village, and she’s received a mixed reaction. Cora was quite the brat when she was young; she is better now, but some don’t believe she has changed. Sophie sets out to find the culprit. In the process, she also gets to know Cora. Sophie goes back and forth in her feelings about Cora and who killed her. Many people have old grudges against Cora, but are they capable of killing her after all these years? Or is it someone that Cora has crossed recently?
I fell for a red herring and was entirely off base. Yet, once the culprit was revealed, I could see the subtle clues left by the author. Excellent job, Ms. Adams.
Four Stars
My rating for Well Dressed to Die by Kate P. Adams is four stars. I enjoyed the story, the setting, the characters, and the inner workings of the Duke and Duchess’s house and learning some history. I recommend this book and hope that you will check it out.
The Charleton House Mysteries
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Well Dressed to Die by Kate P. Adams.
If you would like free Cozy Mysteries, sign up at cozymysterybookclub.com!
Until the next time,
About Kate P. Adams
After 25 years working in some of England’s finest buildings, Kate P. Adams has turned to murder.
Kate grew up in Derbyshire, the setting for the Charleton House Mysteries, and went on to work in theatres around the country, the Natural History Museum – London, the University of Oxford and Hampton Court Palace. Every day she explored darkened corridors and rooms full of history behind doors the public never get to enter. Kate spent years in these beautiful buildings listening to fantastic tales, wondering where the bodies were hidden, and hoping that she’d run into a ghost or two.
Kate has an unhealthy obsession with finding the perfect cup of coffee, enjoys a gin and tonic, and is managed by Pumpkin, a domineering tabby cat who is a little on the large side. Now that she lives in the USA, writing the Charleton House Mysteries allows Kate to go home to her beloved Derbyshire every day, in her head at least.
Head to Kate’s website to get a free copy of ‘A Stately Murder’, the first in the Charleton House Mysteries.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Jenz 2023 Beachcombers Mystery RC
- Jenz 2023 Cloak and Dagger
- Jenz 2023 Craving the Cozies
- Jenz 2023 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
- Jenz 2023 Goodreads RC
- Jenz 2023 Medical Examiner RC
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