Sister Agatha has been a nun at Gwenafwy Abbey in Wales for 40 years. Besides God, there have been two great loves in her life since childhood....the nuns of the Abbey and books. She is the librarian at the Abbey and, in secret, she listens to mystery podcasts and is writing her own novel. Then she discovers the Abbey's Sexton, Jacob Traherne, dead under an avalanche of metal shelving and rounds of Heavenly Gouda (cheese made by the nuns) and has to put everything she knows about sleuthing to the test. The local constable has reservations, but Sister Agatha is sure that Jacob was murdered. She sets to work to discover the murderer, putting everything she has learned from literary detectives like Hercule Poirot and even information gleaned from her favorite podcast, How to Write a Mystery Novel, into practice. With the help of the other nuns at the Abbey and Father Selwyn, Sister Agatha sets out to prove the innocence of an accused postulant and save the day!

This book has such a refreshing mix of wit, humor and mystery. It reminds me of Hamish Macbeth for the quirky characters....a bit of Father Brown with its amateur sleuths of the religious persuasion....and a smidge of Murder She Wrote tossed in the pot as well. Several times I had to laugh out loud at the humor. For example, the sisters adopted two pigs not realizing they were potbellied pigs and not regular soon-to-be-ham pigs, and they ended up pets. Their names? Luther and Calvin. :) A little Catholic humor there. :) And their cheese....Heavenly Gouda. That's just too cute. I enjoyed this story from beginning to end. The characters are fabulous. The humor and wit is refreshing. And the mystery was interesting with plenty of suspects, twists, turns and sheannigans going on.

What a nice start for a new cozy series! It has a little bit of everything.....a postulant with a past, thievery at the church, a Bishop with bad intentions, a nun who loves whodunits and podcasts, and a great murder mystery. Loved it from beginning to end!

This is Jane Willan's debut novel. I will definitely be reading more of this series!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

This is a great country mystery with engaging characters. Sister Agatha has lived at Gwenafwy Abbey since she entered as a postulant at age 19. Now over 60, she has seen changes at the Abbey. From a peak population of 100 Sisters, the abbey is down to 19 and the bishop is looking at closing the Abbey.

Sister Agnes want to write mysteries. The Abbey sent her to school and now the Abbey's librarian has a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She is in the throes of writing her own mystery when a mystery appears at the Abbey. Their young sexton Joseph Traherne has been found dead in the Abbey's aging room for their award winning Heavenly Gouda. A metal rack holding their aging cheeses fell on him. The local Constable is all set to write it off as a tragic accident but Sister Agnes isn't so sure.

She decides to investigate and recruits Father Selwyn as her unwitting assistant since all the great detectives have assistants to bounce ideas off. But Joseph's death isn't the only mystery at the Abbey. The new postulant, the first in ten years, has secrets of her own and is fleeing a murder investigation. Also, Sister Callwyn who entered the Abbey with Sister Agnes is keeping some sort of secret and showing an interest in technology that was totally new for her.

As she investigates in her village, she discovers that Joseph had a boyfriend whose ex was jealous of his new relationship. She discovers that Joseph had a rival for his position as the lead singer of his choir and the rivals helicopter mother seems willing to do anything so that her son can take the position she feels he deserves. She discovers that one of the local farmers may have a motive to discredit the abbey's cheese production in order to steel business from them. Then there is the new young deacon at the church who might have a gambling problem.

I loved the references to other mysteries and the references to the podcast that Sister Agnes listens to religiously (sorry!) for hints about writing her own mystery. This was an entertaining story with great characters and plot twisty enough to keep me guessing.

Sister Agatha of Gwenafwy Abbey has been working on writing a murder mystery so when the sexton is found dead in the aging room of the cheese making facility, she believes it was murder while the sheriff says it was an accident. Determined to show that she is right, Sister Agatha enlists Father Selwyn to help her investigate the death and all the mysterious goings on surrounding the local cheese contest.

So of the mystery was a bit predictable but there were several red herrings that were creative and entertaining. Characters were well written but left room for growth.

An Interesting start for a new series.

I love that this book is set in an extremely unlikely place, a welsh convent. The sisters of Gwenafwy Abbey have days spent in prayer, reflection, tending the Convent’s vegetable gardens and making their award-winning organic cheese, Heavenly Gouda. Everything is going wonderfully until, the Abbey’s sexton is found dead under an avalanche of gouda. Death by cheese!!

Sister Agatha is a die hard mystery fan who wants to write her own novel. Using the slight knowledge she has and notes from a pod cast she sets out to solve the mystery. Dragging along Father Selwyn and the other nuns with her she leads a roller coaster ride to find answers. This was a great book and I can't wait for the next book!!

This is a good debut mystery story set in a Welsh convent. When the Abby's sexton, Jacob, is found dead Sister Agatha is on the case. Even though his death is listed as an accident, Sister Agatha believes he was murdered. I found Sister Agatha to be a very likable character, and I liked her interest in solving mysteries. I hope the author continues to write more stories about Sister Agatha. I enjoyed it!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really liked this debut cosy mystery, I loved Sister Agatha and cannot wait for the next instalment

The nuns at Gwenafwy Abbey in Wales are finding it harder to recruit and maintain the Abbey. They decide to produce cheese they call Heavenly Gouda to increase funds.. When the sexton of the Abbey is found dead under shelves of Heavenly Gouda, they despair for their income. Sister Agatha, aptly name for her hero Agatha Christie, decides to investigate and discovers the land the Abbey sits on is desirable to a developer. She tries to solve the mystery to save the Abbey. An entertaining mystery.

The first in a new mystery series set in the unlikely setting of a Welsh convent. Sister Agatha fancies herself a mystery writer in the vein of Louise Penny, so when things go awry at the convent, Sister Agatha is on the case. With the help of her friend, Father Selwyn, they work to solve a murder and figure out who is sabotaging their Gouda cheese production, in order to save the convent. I am looking forward to the next installment, I recommend to cozy mystery lovers.

This is a delightful mystery centering around a group of nuns in Wales. Mystery solving, Pokeman playing, cheese making nuns. What happens when a new postulant shows up with a shameful secret and the sister’s one money making operation is destroyed? I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and look forward to more books in the series.

I obtained this book through Net Galley and have left an honest review.

I have to be honest, I really liked this book, yes it was a cozy mystery, but it was well written, with a good storyline.

Characters were very interesting and I particularly liked the way the author interlinked the main characters, it did keep me occupied. No subject was taboo and no judgement considering the leads are a nun and a father.

One very small gripe, seeing how this book is set in Wales, very unusual for people to say cell phones, its normally mobile/mobiles

Highly recommended and would read more by this author.

I have read many cozy mysteries in the past but NONE that featured a "mystery-loving nun who finds herself in the midst of a real-life murder case." This book was an absolute delight! I love finding new gems, especially the firsts in the series because it gets me excited for the upcoming releases. Is that how I feel about this book? Absolutely! This is a clever little novel- lighthearted, and fun- and features a sleuth that I never thought I would connect with but did. I can't wait to read more of the series in the future.

The Shadow of Death is a cozy mystery by an author who is new to me. The novel's protagonist, Sister Agatha, is a Jessica Fletcher like amateur detective. In the book the reader finds murder, financial shenanigans and characters who have troubled pasts. The delights in the novel are the setting, the insights into modern (un-stuffy) religious life and the warmth of the characters. My guess is that we will be reading a sequel this time next year!

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut cozy by Jane Willan. Sister Agatha, a nun and mystery lover at Gwenafwy Abbey in northern Wales, takes great pride in the fact that she shares a name with the queen of crime, Agatha Christie. When nuns at the abbey turn 60 the other sisters encourage her to reach for the stars and achieve whatever dream she may have, and for Sister Agatha it's to write her own mystery novel. After Jacob, the church sexton, is found dead in the cheese barn where Gwenafwy Abbey's Heavenly Gouda is produced, her education and all that she's learned from fictional detectives comes in handy. Sister Agatha is convinced that Jacob did not die accidentally and that he was in fact murdered. She enlists the help of her lifelong friend Father Selwyn, and together they try to discover who caused young Jacob's demise. There are other sub-plots woven throughout the story - a fugitive turned postulant, missing items from the church, the attempted sabotage of the Abbey's Heavenly Gouda cheese business, and a bishop who wants to close the doors on the Abbey. The Shadow of Death is a quick-paced page turner, and I certainly hope there will be more books in this series. Very well done, Jane Willan - 5 stars!

I generally read cozies set in America, but have been wanting to read a cozy set in Europe for a while now, so when I had the opportunity to get The Shadow of Death from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, I jumped at the chance. The setting sounded so quaint, and the characters typically cozy. While this is apparently the first in a new series, the characters and the writing felt as though I was in the middle of the second or third book. The book felt typical of an Agatha Christie (Sister Agatha's favorite) written book. The author paints a detailed picture of the world around the nuns, and the sisters themselves. I did have difficulty because, although I knew the story was set in a recent time period because it discusses podcasts in the description, I kept picturing the nuns in a Father Brown setting, and then I could get snapped back when the author talked about Nike tennis shoes or a cell phone. In the end, the book wasn't quite for me, but I think it is just because I am not used to this type of cozy. I think readers who generally enjoy Agatha Christie or MC Beaton will find this right up their alley.