The Marmalade Murders is an enjoyable cozy mystery set in a small North Wales village.

Penny and Victoria are partners in the village spa. When they get roped into checking in contestants for the local food competition, they discover some irregularities. Why did someone call Florence telling her to check in too late? How did a person’s marmalade win when she missed the deadline? There is a definite small town vibe as everyone is in everyone else’s business.

While this is the ninth in the Penny Brannigan series, I had no trouble keeping up with the characters despite this being the first book in the series I’ve read. The location in North Wales seemed like almost a character within the Marmalade Murders. It was pleasant to visit somewhere I haven’t book (or physically) traveled to before. I also enjoyed the setting of a small town agriculture show that included food, floral, and animal competitions. The ages of the main characters were older than most cozies, which was refreshing. While the book’s plot could have taken place any time from the 1940’s forward, it was updated with a transgender character. Overall, a great cozy mystery. 4 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Welcome the the 9th entry in an excellent cozy mystery set in Wales. If you are new to this series, no worries, this one can be read as a stand alone. It's time for the local fair and everyone ramps up their competitive efforts - to be the best is the goal and somebody is playing deadly.
Penny is a Canadian transplant to the lovely Northern Welsh town of Llanelen but she is still considered an outsider. When she is asked to volunteer she says yes. Her friend, Florence (one of my favorite characters) enters a cake and a marmalade, despite having been the focus of some sabotage. When the cake goes missing nobody expects it to be found at the scene of a murder. The body of a Women's Guild member is front and center and, of course, the police focus on the wrong suspect. Penny, no stranger to investigating a murder or two( or more) sets out to unravel the mystery.
The characters are well defined and the mystery and clues are well developed. The setting makes me want to visit Wales, especially if I could stay in Penny's town.

*****Copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review*****

I wanted to like this more than I did. I liked the British setting for this and I like small town cozies. That said, in reality, I thought the dialogue in this was quite stilted and I spent a fair bit of the last part of the novel worried about who the culprit was going to turn out to be be, for reasons that I'll explain in spoiler tags below. I didn't think the resolution was quite as good as it could have been - it seemed to come from left-field somewhat and I'm not sure there were enough clues there for the reader to have worked it out for themselves. Not bad, but I'm not sure if I'll read any more in this series.


<spoiler> A trans-character is introduced in the second half of the book, and the author makes a good, if slightly heavy handed, attempt at dealing with how to talk to people about transpeople. Said character has an actual personality and skills which is good, but there were several clues set up that led me to worry that the trans-character was being set up as the culprit. It's really good to see inclusion in cozies and I hope that in future books this character may be able to crop up as a side character who is just there rather than a suspect and the fact of their trans-ness isn't a big deal and is just there. </spoiler>

Penny and Victoria run a “spa” in a smaller community in Northern Wales, so they think they know most of the residents and much of the gossip. Although not being born there, Penny is still considered an outsider after thirty years. The annual agricultural show is like our county fairs, in the U.S. and is dependent on many, many volunteers.
Not being the "handiest" homemaker, Penny is recruited to be a children's pet judge and for the simple task of receiving food items for judging. These seemingly innocent activities throw Penny and friends into the center of the action - including a murder and a money mystery and the most dysfunctional family we've seen (or read about) in a while.
The writing is descriptive and beautiful and makes me long for summer days and fall harvest events.
The characters are fascinating and their relationships tangled together.
This was a lot of fun to read.

I never read any Penny Brannigan mystery before and this was a great discover.
I really enjoyed the book, the cast of characters, the descriptions of the environment.
The book is well written, no plot hole, kept me guessing till the end and is a page turner.
Even if it's not the first in the series there was no problem in understanding the relationship amongst the characters.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley

Its not only vegetables, cakes and preserves on offer at the annual Llanelen Show. Local sleuth, Penny is involved with recording the entries to the show and when items go missing something is obviously going on.
One of the items, a carrot cake turns up alongside the body of the President of the local Welsh Women's Guild.
The police have a suspect but Penny has other ideas. Who is right?

Who knew baking contests could be so treacherous. Penny and Victoria are asked to check in the entries at the annual Llanelen agricultural show and make sure no entries are received after the entry deadline. The next morning they discover their friend Florence’s entries are no where to be found. What Penny does find is a body. An excellent mystery.

A review will be published on www.MapYourMystery.com Thursday, April 12.

This was a delightful cozy mystery. I love the characters in this book, and despite this being the 9th book in the series, I had no problem picking up and feeling like I really knew the characters. This story is set in North Wales, where the annual agricultural show is getting ready to begin. Penny, our protagonist, owns a local salon. Although she has lived in town for 30 years, some still consider Penny an outsider. Penny volunteers to help at the agricultural show. She also discovers a dead body. The story was enjoyable and the mystery really kept me guessing to the end. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion from #NetGalley.

When the annual agricultural fair rolls around the locals put on their competitive hats and go for the win! From the kitchen to farm, the locals vie to win their chosen areas. When Penny Brannigan, local spa owner and transplant from Canada, is asked to help out, she willingly agrees to pitch in and be part of the community.

When one of the competitor’s marmalade and cake goes missing and another is found murdered, Penny is in the thick of it. Are the two events connected or just a coincidence?

This was my first exposure to this author and the series and there were o gaps, making this a great stand alone! The story is so well written I could close my eyes and see the locals and farm animals, and hear the local Welsh accent. An enjoyable read with a surprise ending!

Penny and Victoria run a “spa” in Northern Wales. For those of us in the US, that is full service beauty salon.

Both women are helping with the annual agricultural show. The show is like a county fair with competition in everything from horses to jams. Penny and Victoria together will register the entries in the food and flower tent. And on the day of the show, Penny is judging the small animal/pet competition. Everyone gets an award so that every child can go home happily.

When Penny finds a body, it turns out the dead woman has won for her marmalade. Can the contestants be that intense about winning?

This is part of a series, but I could follow along although I have not read any of the other books. Penny is a woman who has helped solve other murders. Living in a small village, she is familiar with many of her neighbors.

The characters are identified as they come into the story and it is easy to follow the action as things move along. Most of the people are not exactly who they appear to be and everyone leads lives which are quite interesting. The village is a hotbed of gossip.

This is a light mystery. It is quick moving with no truly slow spots in the plot.

I enjoyed the book with just a small niggling thing for me. Penny as a private citizen did things that were truly intrusive. Looking at pieces of mail, and reporting her “conclusions” to the police was a bit over the top to me. If one expected to remain in a small village, doing that sort of thing would not be a way to become endeared to your fellow villagers.

The character development is well done. The mystery is created in such a way that everyone who might be a suspect is presented to the reader. In other words, it is a good cozy mystery.

I enjoyed this book by a new to me author.

I received the book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

The Marmalade Murders by Elizabeth J. DuncanIt's fair time and Penny Brannigan has been roped in to helping out. She's going to judge the children's pet contest (where everyone wins) and also help log the entries in the cooking competition. Like any small town, the competition is fierce. Penny's friend Florence, an incredible cook, gets a call telling her that the deadline is the day after the actual deadline but she gets her jam, her cake, and her marmalade in on time. Gaynor Lewis, another top contender, wasn't as lucky and her entries are not turned in by the deadline. Yet, her marmalade wins the competition while Florence's is nowhere to be found. Then, Penny finds the marmalade... along with Gaynor Lewis. Is the competition stiff enough for someone to kill in order to win?

There were some lovely twists and turns but I didn't love the ending; the murderer wasn't exactly fairly clued (at least in my mind) but it didn't turn me off the series. I really like the way Duncan deals with Penny's "romance" with Gavin. It's a bit easy to shuffle him off scene but at least he doesn't remain creating yet another cozy series with a love triangle.


Three stars
This book comes out April 24
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows Murder is for Keeps

The Marmalade Murders by Elizabeth J. Duncan is an intriguing story that will keep you guessing.

Penny Brannigan and businesses partner Victoria are helping out at the agricultural fair.
Penny is dismayed by the competitiveness of the participants.
It seems everyone has a secret and when a particular participant is found dead, Penny just has to find the answers.
This story played out well, the mystery kept me guessing and it wasn't until the very end that I figured it out.
I really enjoyed spending time with the characters in this book. They all have colorful and unique personalities and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

Penny Brannigan finds herself volunteering at the local agricultural fair, checking in entrants to the culinary competition and judging the childrens' pet competition. But shenanigans are afoot when Penny's friend Florence learns her entries have gone missing, and even more troubling, a Women's Guild member is also missing and later found dead. All Penny has to do now is sort out who sabotaged Florence's entries and how her cake ended up under a table with a dead woman.

This one was a fun, light read and frankly, I was more concerned about poor Florence than I was about the unlikable dead woman. I love Florence, I just want to give her a hug, and Mrs. Lloyd is a hoot. How dare they diss Florence's baking? HOW DARE THEY? *outrage* but it did provide some great red herrings to complicate things a bit. I liked the plot, there were several good suspects and lots of surprises along the way. This is a favorite series for me, I've always enjoyed the folksy feel of the characters and the small town Wales setting, the vibrant descriptions leave me with no problem putting myself right in the small town of Llanelen, walking its streets and visiting the small shops and even spending an afternoon at the local agricultural fair (minus the murder, of course.) The author does a great job of capturing the beauty of the Welsh landscape, with all the wildflowers and Penny's cute cottage (I've read this series since the start and I've always envied that cottage.)

I always look forward to a new Penny Brannigan murder mystery, and this one doesn't disappoint. This series always has some interesting characters, whose lives seem to be quite normal until murder involves them in some way. I love the setting as well....and the author desribes the area beautifully.

I liked this light mystery, which was 'cozy' without being overly cute or cheesy. Several good characters, and a mostly-believable process of detection. The culprit wasn't obvious, and, in fact, I was a little sad and sorry to find out who it was. I liked the setting in North Wales, but American readers might be confused, like I was, by the use of the word 'spa' to describe a beauty salon.

Even though I'm not a regular reader of this series, I enjoyed this book, if definitely brought back some memories with show and judging. Well written, love the characters, especially the inclusion of the transgender one. Will probably be checking out more of this series.