More like 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the characters and the setting but the writing style was a bit confusing. I wasn't always sure who's voice I was reading. Would have been nice to label chapters when it changed the narrator. Even with that I will readabd recommend the next in the series.

After a 14-year absence, Samson O'Brien returns to his hometown in the Yorkshire Dales to lie low in the wake of a yet-to-be-revealed incident. O'Brien has been an undercover cop, so he plans to use his skills to earn income as a private detective. Delilah Metcalfe is struggling to keep her Internet dating business afloat. She sets her personal grudge against Samson aside to lease office space for his business since the rental income may be all that keeps her from bankruptcy. When Delilah realizes that a string of “accidental” deaths are linked to her recent speed dating event, she joins forces with Samson to find the killer lurking in their midst.

I found much to enjoy in this mystery debut. The pacing is a little too slow at the beginning of the book, but the reader's patience is rewarded with interesting and well-defined characters, a well-plotted with just the right number of red herrings, and a strong sense of place. The local landscape is integral to the plot and it's difficult to imagine it set anywhere else. The enigma surrounding Samson's sudden return to the Dales is left for development in future series installments, and I'm already impatient for more.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Delilah Metcalfe is a struggling business woman trying to keep her two businesses afloat with the bank breathing down her neck. When Samson O’Brien arrives back into town after leaving everything behind more than a decade before and not even returning for his best friend’s funeral he doesn’t find himself with a warm welcome. In fact Delilah doesn’t want to take him on as a tenant but breaks down and signs the lease because she could really use the money.

Samson has decided to return home to set up a detective agency while on leave from his job in law enforcement after he found himself attacked. Samson knows his hometown would be far from the problems of his job and hopefully they wouldn’t follow him home. His first case has him crossing paths with Delilah though when he needs to investigate the death of a man that had been a customer of Delilah’s dating service. When more deaths follow the two team up to solve just what is happening in their small town.

Date with Death is the first book in the new cozy mystery series, The Dales Detective. Now when we start with the two main characters being Samson and Delilah I wondered if this wouldn’t just be a silly story but it actually turned out to be a pretty good mystery.

There was a good amount of character building in the story and I felt I got to know the town well. I really liked both the main characters and the small town every knows everyone vibe going on. The mystery had me guessing as to the how’s and why’s for quite a while and was interesting to follow along. I’d definitely be interested in what is in store for Samson and Delilah in any future books.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Take a cop with a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove and combine with the owner of a failing matchmaking agency and you get fireworks. Samson O’Brien has returned home to his village in the Yorkshire Dales after being fired from his job with the police. Delilah Metcalfe’s dating business is going down for the third time. The two tangle when Samson, in is new role as PI, tracks the death of a man back to Delilah’s agency. Knowing they need each other to keep their fledgling businesses operating, the two join force to solve the crime. Full of fun, plenty of snark and English charm