Let Sleeping Murder Lie
‘A wildly entertaining read for lovers of cosy mystery and romance alike’Fiona Leitch, author of ‘The Nosey Parker mysteries’Love can be the death of you ...American Eve Holdsworth is living her quintessential English dream in a picturesque village in the countryside. Meeting an attractive stranger adds to the appeal.But Ben Dryden is a pariah in Eve’s new neighbourhood, since his wife was murdered fiveyears ago, and he was the only suspect. Eve, who is absolutely sure someone as charming as Ben could never be a killer, is determined to solve the case and clear Ben’s name, even if it’s against his will.Soon enough Eve finds herself in deep waters, and with her life at stake, she can only pray that her romantic notions won’t be the end of her …
“That cabin is private property.” Ben took the hook off the rod, a wriggling worm still attached to it. A bucket at the side contained water and three fish trying to swim in the confined space.
“The fish are not dead.” Eve instantly chided herself for her trite remark.
“I’m not killing them. They’ll go into another pond.”
“Couldn’t you use a net, so they don’t get hurt? Anyway, the cabin. I’m not going to trespass, I promise.”
“Because you want to see the owl.”
She nodded.
“The place has a bad reputation,” Ben said.
“Why?”
“The owner’s notorious. If you stay in the area, you’ll find out soon enough.”
Eve felt the blood drain from her face. “Is it drugs?” The last thing she wanted was to stumble unwittingly upon a crime lord and his henchmen. She’d taken a few self-defence classes ages ago, and she tended to have a key clenched between her fingers when she walked home alone at night, but she’d be no match for well-trained career gangsters.
“Heavens, no,” he said, regarding her with faint amusement. “You must have lived in pretty rough places.”
“Life on the mean streets.” She imitated a heavy drawl, to lighten the situation. To be fair, she had witnessed a mugging during her childhood in Portland, Oregon, and another one in Bristol.
Let Sleeping Murder Lie is a great read. I was hooked from the very beginning.
Eve is the main character. Her father is American and her now deceased mother is English. Having grown up in Seattle, Eve decides to move to England to find some kind of kindred tie to her mother.
While out on a stroll one day, she meets Ben. Ben is very mysterious, and Eve just cant leave well enough alone. Eve finds out from a reputable source that Ben pretty much keeps to himself as his wife was murdered a few years prior. While Ben has a valid alibi and eventually is not charged with the crime, the townspeople have essentially convicted him in their minds. Eve sets out to find out who the real murderer is.
This story is both a mystery as well as a love story. The characters seemed to come to life for me, and I anxiously turned each page with anticipation - to not only find out who the real killer is but also to see how the Ben and Eve story unfolds.
My thanks to the author for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Carmen has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter.When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner.Carmen was born in Hamburg, Germany, but had planned on emigrating since she was five years old. She first moved to New Zealand and now lives in York, UK, with her daughter, cat, and sometimes her seafaring husband comes home.
I lvoe the title and the cover looks so welcoming, probably not so
ReplyDeleteLove the small English village setting for this book.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the excerpt. This looks like a good addition to my summer reading list.
ReplyDeleteI love the yellow cottage on the cover. Very eye catching.
ReplyDeleteI love the little house on the cover.
ReplyDelete