Murder at the House on the Hill by Victoria Walters

4 Stars from me

Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute! Murder at the House on the Hill is like Bridget Jones meets The Thursday Murder Club.

The book follows Nancy and her grandmother Jane who run the village bookshop – called Dedly Endings – which sounds as though it wouldn’t feel out of place in the village of Midsummer! So much life envy for this pair, their day-to-day sounds utterly divine and that’s even before the clamorous Roth family comes a calling.

What follows is a beautiful crime just waiting to be solved and this book has the perfect mix of charm and mystery and would make for a wonderful Jólabókaflóðið gift.

Nancy and Jane are not to be underestimated as they set their sights on tracking down the murderer but can they catch them before the killer finds them?

This cosy crime thriller also has a sprinkling of romance and it really is a wonderful choice for a cold winter’s day on the sofa.

Blurb: Once Upon A Crime… Nancy Hunter and her grandmother Jane Hunter run the Dedley Endings Bookshop, selling crime, thriller and mystery books, in a small, quiet Cotswold village where nothing ever happens…

That is, until the wealthy and reclusive Roth family open up their mansion for the first time in thirty years, inviting the people of Dedley End to a lavish engagement party.

While everyone is thrilled to finally look around the mansion on the hill, the festivities are quickly cut short when beautiful Lucy, recently married to young Harry Roth, is found dead after being pushed over the first-floor balustrade.

But who among the guests could have been capable of her murder – and why?

Nancy and Jane decide to investigate – after all, not only do they own a crime themed bookshop, they were also both named after famous literary detectives – but soon wonder if they’ve taken on more than they can handle. Especially when it seems the killer has worked out that they’re hot on their heels…

Can they catch the murderer before the murderer catches up with them? Or will there be a deadly ending to this story?

Join the unlikeliest detective duo for the first of The Dedley End Mysteries series, for fans of Richard Osman and Charlaine Harris’ Aurora Teagarden series.