This was the first time that I was introduced to the Agnes Luthi Mystery series. Even though this was the second book in the series, I could understand the characters. We got to explore Agnes's background. The characters were identifiable. The setting was very refreshing and unique because I had never read any books set in Switzerland. Even though I liked it, there were a few drawbacks to the novel. The mystery was mostly in the background. It took longer for the mystery to begin and was mostly under explored. By the time we get to the who done it, it become a little underwhelming. Overall, I enjoyed it and it got me interested in reading the first novel!

This is the second in the series featuring Agnes Lüthi, but I didn’t read the first and felt like this one worked quite well on its own. I do think reading #1 first would give you more insight into Agnes and what she’s been though. It took me a while to connect with her, and I think if I had read the first, I would have already been invested in her when I started this one. Agnes feels like a real person, calm and intelligent, juggling work and life. She’s a widow with two children and while I usually prefer my detectives to not have children, unless the children are adults with their own lives, I didn’t find it too distracting here.

Agnes is asked to investigate the death of a well-known watchmaker, Guy Chavanon. His death has been ruled an accident, a result of contact with peanuts, which he’s allergic. Of course, it’s not a simple accident and we find that there are plenty of suspects and murders.

I enjoyed this traditional mystery. I especially appreciated the Swiss setting and found all the information on watch-making interesting.

This was a bit boring for me to even finish. Long-winded tale about a simple murder.

It took me a while to get caught up in this book but I am happy I stayed with it. Not having read the previous book was a disadvantage at first but I believe all my questions were eventually answered. At times I felt like this was a book I should read with a whiteboard by my side, helping me figure out relationships and clues.
Agnes Lüthi used to be a detective with Financial Crimes, but since a recent injury and the death of her husband, she has been recruited to the Violent Crimes division. She finds herself at the center of several mysteries before she has officially accepted the position. She is still dealing emotionally with the changes in her life as well as the lives of her young sons. All of this, experience and emotion, comes into play again and again throughout the book.
There is an abundance of descriptive offering which some readers may not appreciate as much as others. I felt there was enough to make this into a screenplay for a well-accepted BBC series. Various settings played as much of a role in solving the murders and understanding the emotional impact as did other clues.
This is not a cozy mystery, both because of the main characters professions and due to the procedural aspects. This is traditional noir and well done.

I stumbled upon de Hahn’s first Agnes Luthi book, Swiss Vendetta, quite by accident while browsing in a book store one day. I took it over to a comfortable chair to read a few pages and was hooked after the first chapter. I’ve waited for this, her second in the series, with much anticipation and I was not disappointed. Agnes returns with the same quiet, sturdy, wry spirit, despite the injuries she sustained at the end of Swiss Vendetta. We learn more about Agnes and her family here, as well as about Julian Vallotton, as the two investigate the death of a master watchmaker. I have a fondness for mysteries that include well-researched information about unusual topics; in this case, de Hahn delivers some fascinating information about the Swiss and international watch industry.

The author skillfully develops key characters, and crafts a tricky and surprising plot which fully engages the reader. Tracee de Hahn is quickly becoming a new favorite author and Agnes Luthi a favorite character.

I had my eyes set on this series since I first saw the first book. So, when I got this chance, to read the sequel did I go for it. Now, since I haven't read the first book is this my first introduction to Agnes Luthi, but this is definitely a book you can read as a stand-alone.

Swiss police officer Agnes Luthi's friend Julien Vallotton contacts her because a friend of his, Guy Chavanon a watchmaking, has died and the daughter doesn't believe it's an accident. Guy Chavanon had a severe allergy towards nuts and it was what killed him. However, there are no traces of nuts in the milieu where he was, nothing in the food, etc. Also, he seemed to have discovered something that would revolutionize the watchmaking industry before he died.

I found the setting of Switzerland to be a welcome change of scenery. I've been looking for some new crime series set in new environments and this one felt like a nice to the usual the UK or the US setting. Agnes Luthi is an interesting character, and since this is the first book I read about her I have the disadvantage of not knowing much about her. However, I learned a lot of about her in this book, about her family and the tragic circumstances of her husband's death some month's before.

As for the case, I won't lie, I did think it took a while for the story to really get going. Since it's a crime novel one knew that something is amiss, the death of Guy Chavanon is suspicious, but why would anyone kill him, if it is murder, and if it is foul play, how did it happen? Or is there something else going one, it's hard to know since the people in Guy Chavanon life is now acting suspiciously. Thankfully Agnes Luthi is tenacious.

I found the book interesting and I'm looking forward to reading the first book in the series since I want to know more about Agnes Luthi, not to mention her "friend" Julien Vallotton.

A well written followup to A Swiss Vendetta (which I very much enjoyed). As the story begins, our h is still recovering from injuries sustained in ASV. The H from ASV suspects that an old friend's death is not a accident as initially concluded but murder. The interaction between H/h is very restrained and low key, taking a backseat to the well timed murder. Not deep but still a satisfying read.

Agnes may be cutting the time close in this mystery, but it will make any reader feel like time stood still. I highly recommend this mystery for fans of mysteries with a bit of perfectly placed suspense. I love the unique setting of Switzerland and the way the author captures the culture. Agnes is a character that many readers can appreciate and enjoy!

I appreciate a novel that takes me to a new location and offers information on a new topic. The author introduced me to the secretive world of high end watch making in Switzerland. I found out that a watchmaker might make only one watch a year. Some watches contain microscopic parts, sky charts, or elaborately engraved cases. These watches might cost the same as an automobile.

There was more to the novel than watches, however. Some of the action takes place at a boarding school for boys. That raised the issue of what being at such a school might indicate about the boy's family dynamics. I was also reminded of the differences in various cultures and society levels of the world. Sometimes personal actions are seen very differently by people, depending upon cultural norms.

The plot of this novel is personality driven and has little suspense until the very end. I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy a thoughtful investigator that methodically works through interviews to deduce the murderer as well as being immersed in an intriguing part of Swiss manufacturing. This is the second novel featuring Agnes Luthi but the first I have read. While I enjoyed this one, I feel I would have understood her more had I read the first in the series. Agnes is a detective I appreciate and I will be watching for the next in this series.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review.

A Well-Timed Murder is an engrossing story that reminds me of how much I enjoy traditional mysteries. complex and full of characters that will keep you glued to the pages till the last moment.

This is the second story in the Agnes Luthi mystery series...a Swiss-born detective with American parents. There is a lot of focus on Swiss culture and their view of "outsiders"...aka, those without generations of Swiss roots. This book takes place just weeks after the first story, Agnes Luthi is still healing and thrust into a mystery, the murder of a Swiss watchmaker. I loved the detail about the industry...which completely fascinates me. We also see the return of a familiar face in Julien Vallotton. This story was an engaging as the first one...with the author doing a wonderful job of providing background, as well as setting the perfect cozy-mystery tone. I am so glad that I stumbled across this new series and I can't wait to see what comes next.

I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

A well-known watchmaker, Guy Chavanon, dies at a reception at his son’s boarding school from anaphylactic shock resulting from his peanut allergy. Was it just bad luck, or was it murder? Chavanon’s daughter insists her father was murdered because he was an eccentric genius who had made a great discovery. Others argue that Chavanon was mentally unbalanced. Agnes Luthi, barely back on the job from her last case, dives immediately into the intriguing, but tight-knit world of Swiss watchmaking. Alternating between a glamorous trade show and an exclusive private school, Luthi deftly sorts numerous loose ends, while occasionally tangling with her mother in law, dealing with her own grief, and trying not to think about the handsome, wealthy gentlemen who seems to be ever present. In A Well-Timed Murder, Tracee de Hahn has written a well-paced murder mystery in an alluring setting that will keep the reader interested and guessing until the end.

Another solid entry in the Agnes Lüthi Mystery series! A Well-Timed Murder by Tracee de Hahn is a great follow-up to Swiss Vendetta, the first book in the Agnes Lüthi Mysteries. Set in modern day Switzerland and set about three weeks after the events in Swiss Vendetta, we are thrust right back in Agnes’s daily life as she is recuperating from her injury and about to return to her work in Violent Crimes. Agnes is called by her friend Julien to investigate the death of his friend, the watchmaker Guy Chavanon.

I liked the mystery here. Once again Tracee de Hahn has written a spellbinding mystery with nods to classic whodunits, and I enjoyed trying to figure it out. I was suspicious of the murderer almost right away, but couldn’t ever figure out why, so I liked sifting through the clues and weeding out the red herrings.

As with Swiss Vendetta, I really enjoyed the character of Agnes Lüthi. She’s calm and collected, with an educated eye, and I like reading her control of the situation. I really love classic style murder mysteries, ones where the main character studies the crime scene, and interviews all of the suspects, and A Well-Timed Murder followed this style well. We get a bit of Agnes’s personal life outside of the murder investigation, but not so much where it overshadows the murder. I like it when mysteries are focused on the case at hand, and not so much all of the extra stuff going on, and so I enjoyed this.

As much of the mystery centers around the Swiss watch industry, I found the setting fascinating. I liked hearing about how the use of quartz altered the industry, and would like to know more. One thing that slightly irritated me was that in the synopsis it mentions Chavanon’s new technique in regards to watches. This technique was never explained that I could see, and so that was a bit frustrating. I wanted to know what the technique was and how it would change the industry!

I’m so far very pleased with this series. It’s only two books so far, but there’s something quiet and smart about Agnes that I just love, and I enjoy that so far the mysteries have been clean and engaging. I don’t care for a lot of gore, sex, and language in the mysteries I read, and so I’m enjoying this series quite a bit.

Bottom Line: A great addition to the Agnes Lüthi Mysteries!

A Well-Timed Murder is an engrossing story that reminds me of how much I enjoy traditional mysteries. Tracee de Hahn is an excellent writer, capably using her gift of words to draw readers into the Swiss culture, landscape, and competitive world of watchmaking. This is a complex story that is rich in characterization, yet easy to follow. Fascinating detail about the watchmaking industry adds depth to a haunting story that held me captive from the very beginning.

It’s always interesting to see how the police force functions in other countries, and the Swiss setting brings a unique and fresh touch to this genre. Agnes Lüthi, recovering from a previous injury and also the death of her husband, is an appealing character that I was quickly drawn to. Assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit, Agnes is intriguing, compassionate, and extremely intelligent. Some backstory is given from the first book, enough to make me determined to read it soon, but this story easily stands alone.

A Well-Timed Murder is aptly described in the summary above as a “magnetic mystery” and I couldn’t agree more. So many things call out to the reader – the victim’s family dynamics and creative genius, a boarding school where all isn’t as it should be, a red herring or two, and even possible romance. This story is impressive and I’m hooked on the series.

Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A few days before returning to work in the Violent Crimes Unit because of injures sustained in a previous case, Agnes Lüthi meets friend Julien Vallatton at a watch and jewelry trade show. Where he introduces her to Christine Chavanon who believes that the death of her father, Guy, a watchmaker was not an accident and wishes Agnes to investigate.
An interesting and enjoyable mystery, with characters I have come to like. Although it is the second in the series it is a standalone novel.

This is the second book in Tracee de Hahn's Agnes Lüthi series and like the first book, Swiss Vendetta, the setting of Switzerland in A Well-Timed Murder is particularly well done. I also enjoyed learning about the history of watchmaking, and Lüthi still has her well-developed eye for the telling detail as well as her ability to put all those clues together.

The beginning and the end of this book flowed smoothly and certainly kept my interest, but A Well-Timed Murder, to an even greater degree than the first book in the series, suffers from "too much middle" when the pace drags and the story begins to lose its focus. I'm in a quandary. I truly enjoy the setting and the main character, but I do not like reading a book where I find myself wanting to skim through the middle third. Will I read the next book? I do not know.

Thanks St. Martin's Press and netgalley for this ARC.

Tracee de Hahn keeps the momentum going with this series. It's full steam ahead for Agnes- she won't let anyone or anything get in the way of finding the truth. Loved how the secondary characters are fleshed out and brought into the story flawlessly. Can't wait to see what happens next- Paris!?

I loved the first book in this series because Agnes Luthi was a fresh, unique character. A Swiss American, she's an investigator first of financial crimes but now of homicides. She's also a widow with a nascent romance. You can read this as a standalone and possibly enjoy it more than I did because I was pulling memories of the first to put some of the characters in context. If I have a quibble, its that the characters are less well drawn this time, perhaps because there are a lot more of them. On the positive side, I enjoyed learning about the Swiss watch industry, which is at the root of this well researched novel. There's a red herring in the mystery and also some interesting sideways issues. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a good read and a series I recommend to those looking for a new female protagonist.

I loved the first entry in this series, Swiss Vendetta and had high hopes for this one. I was not in the least bit disappointed. The problem? I read it so fast and enjoyed it so much that I'm in that period of down in the dumps realizing that I have to wait for #3.
Agnes is a wonderful, well drawn character. She has to balance her job with the Violent Crimes Unit, widowhood, raising her sons, a possible future romantic relationship and, oh, her mother-in-law. Agnes was wounded in her last case and has been on leave, recovering. She is at Basel World amid the most awesome watches on the planet. (I have a love of watches, old and new, so I was hooked on that alone) Watches and watch making intrigue me and when an equally well crafted mystery is added, I did not hesitate to give it five stars. A Well-Timed Murder can be read as a stand alone. But be warned, once you have finished you will be eager to get started on Swiss Vendetta. Agnes Luthi is now, firmly, sitting in my list of top 10 favorite female characters.
My thanks to the publisher St. Martin's and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Like a well timed watch this second installment in the Agnes Luthi mysteries just keeps humming along. With a well thought out main character and interesting secondary characters and a great location these mysteries have become must reads for me.