4 Stars from me
This is a ridiculously charming read – and I had to remind myself that it was book 4 in a series as I didn’t at all feel like I had jumped in part way through as can sometimes be the case.
PI Julia is a fearless character and she was fun to follow as she steps in where the local police fail to, and collaborates with the water mill trust to investigate what they believe to be a murder.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, with the right balance of mystery and mischievousness, a sprinkling of murder, mild peril and a cosy and gently satisfying thriller.
Rumpkin the dog plays a more than passing role in Murder at the Water Mill, seemingly first to jump in at every opportunity – if this ever became a televised series its clear he was soon become the most loved character.
My thanks to Zooloos and Jon Harris for my place on the blog tour.
Blurb: Sunday lunch goes cold when a body is discovered in a charming Somerset mill…
Julia Ford — part-time PI, full-time chaos magnet — and her terrier, Rumpkin, are in the picturesque village of Ablebridge for a family meal. But instead of enjoying roast pork, they find themselves staring down at a body, wedged awkwardly in the local heritage water mill.
The police soon write it off as an accident, leaving the mill at risk of closure. But Hannah, a local volunteer at the mill, is not convinced. With no faith in the local law enforcement, she and the mill trust committee hire Julia to uncover the truth.
Soon, Julia and Hannah are knee-deep in village politics, cider scandals and bickering committee members. But with threats of more ‘accidents’ on the horizon, they must solve the mystery before another body turns up.
A charming, witty cozy mystery full of eccentric villagers, rural mischief and a dog with no boundaries.
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