Another engaging Melissa Craig mystery! I enjoyed this story and the characters and look forward to the next book in this series!

I've only just discovered Betty Rowlands thanks to NetGalley and I have to admit I love her writing, reading her stories, I find its invokes memories of watching the great Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple there is a simple charm to them and you just become immersed in the narrative. The characters are all likeable and the story develops at a steady pace. If you like a cosy murder mystery this is for you. I look for ward to the next one

'Murder in the Morning' is the second installment in the popular Melissa Craig classic cosy crime series by veteran cosy crime writer Betty Rowlands and was previously published in 1992 as 'Finishing Touch'. Having read the series opener and not finding it particularly compelling, I decided to give the books a second chance to provide me with a top reading experience. Luckily, this story was much more engaging and entertaining. As this book continues from where the previous concluded, I would advise reading the series opener firstly as, although the cases in each book are self-contained, the character development for those who feature throughout the series depends on the happenings and background provided in book one.

One of the main aspects I loved was that there was a distinct lack of technology, with this whole series having been originally published in the 1990s, a time when technology didn't play such a huge part in our lives. This book is worth the read for the nostagia alone! Set in the scenic surroundings of the fictional village of Upper Bembury in the Cotswolds, it brings a cosy, close-knitted community authenticity to the forefront exactly as the villages in Midsomer Murders do. As the mystery unfolds, Melissa becomes emotionally involved with several of the murder suspects, and once again she helps the investigators to collar the culprit.

If you enjoy tame, cosy murder mysteries then this is a great series and will really appeal to those who enjoy programmes such as Midsomer Murders and the like. If you prefer your crime reads at a gentler pace, then give this a go!

Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I eagerly anticipated the next cosy mystery featuring crime writer Melissa Craig, but sadly didn't enjoy this as much as the first in the series.

Diversity doesn't feature in this story, which is lacking in political correctness. However, written and set in the late twentieth century it is an accurate representation of the culture.

The story has all the right ingredients, infidelity, domestic abuse, romance and prejudice to make a worthwhile cosy mystery, but the characters are a little sketchy in parts and lack necessary development to make them potential suspects. The real murderer is obvious, but perhaps that is the intention?

The story starts with an incident that introduces significant characters, and then there is a jump in time to the present day when the mystery develops. There are incomers to the village who are also critical to the story, and Melissa's celebrity status means she's invited to a party at the village gossips' house to meet them.

Clues and misinformation are plentiful in this story, which concentrates more on Melissa's new job and the people she encounters. The beautiful village where Melissa lives takes a back seat in this story, and that's a shame because the vivid descriptions of the setting and the suspense created there is what I loved about the first book.

The ending while, not a surprise is well-paced suspenseful and even poignant.

I received a copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I liked the first book in this series and I liked this one better.
Even if it wasn't hard to understand who the culprit is I loved the plot, the evolution in Melissa's life and the setting.
This book aged well and it was quite realistic with a couple of not politically corrects characters
I look forward to reading the next one.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC

I found this book a lot slower than the first one. It also had less of a mystery. Easy to surmise who the murderer was. If the reader did not read the first book she/he should in order to gain an appreciation of who the characters really are especially Iris. Since I enjoyed the first book, I am anticipating that the 3rd one will be as witty and ambiguous as the first.

I have based this review on an ARC that was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book 2 in the series, pretty much continues where the last book left off, with Melissa and Iris forming a firm friendship with Iris and settling in well into the community.

The story is pretty easy to read, although you are reminded that the book was originally written 20 or so years ago by the views and opinions of some of the characters feeling a little old fashioned. Also there was a lot of introspection by the lead character and the story seemed to wander along of it's own accord - it could have been shorter and would have benefited from a bit more focus.

Thank you to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for giving the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

An easy read. I think I prefer the first book in the series. I feel this one could have been a bit shorter. A holiday or lazy day read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

An enjoyable story, good plot and plenty of twists in it. Melissa does it again! An intriguing story with an unexpected end.

Still waters run deep ...

I have read the first book as well and although I liked it, I liked the second one better.
They both are fluently written and easy to follow, but the story in this one attracted me more.

It's nice to go back to Melissa, her neighbour Iris and all the other villagers and how they deal with or gossip about what is going on. And what is life without a little love?

This series is perfect for fans of cozy mysteries.

Thank you, Betty Rowlands, Bookouture and Netgalley

I did enjoy this book, cosy it maybe but it's character are very likeable and the plot interesting. My only issue was that I kept wanting to shout out and shake Melissa Craig with the name of the murderer, with lots of "can't you see" and "for goodness sake ".
It is said that the signs of an enjoyable book presents itself when you connect with the people and the story.

I really loved the main characters and the brilliant plot. I read this book in one sitting and could not put it down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Actual rating of 3.5 stars.

So, this is the second book in the Melissa Craig series. Melissa Craig is a crime writer, who moved to the country in the recent past for a change of pace. However, she has a knack for falling into real murder cases happening around her. Think of Murder She Wrote, but a bit more prudish, this installment I found Melissa to relax a little bit, however, there were a few other characters who definitely showed the age of the novel with their old fashioned thoughts and reactions.

This series was originally published in the early 90's, and in parts, it does show. I found this more endearing than taking away from the story though, besides some of the thoughts expressed by the characters as mentioned above, however, thinking about it, I feel like their reactions to certain people added another dimension to their characters, so I believe the story was better having included this than if it hadn't.

In this installment, Melissa has been at Hawthorne cottage for over a year now and has well and truly settled into country life. We meet a few more characters from around Benbury and London, the story actually starts out in London when Melissa has gone with Iris to an awards ceremony at the university. They meet a young woman called Lou, who explains some troubles that have occurred with young man who has won the main award that Iris is presenting, which become evident when he slashes his portrait painting of a beautiful young woman. Fast forward to around six odd months later, and Melissa runs into this young woman who was the model for the portrait when she takes on a writing workshop at a local education center. This throws Melissa into a whirlwind of mystery when a body is found and everyone is a suspect, Mel finds herself racing against the clock to prove the innocence of an art tutor that has taken her fancy.

I found that I enjoyed this one much more than the first, I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I was used to Melissa's idiosyncrasies and ideals, Iris's way of communicating, which I find endearing to her character now, and the setting of the story itself. I felt more of a connection to the characters this time around, even the ones that we were just meeting now I found that I cared about what happened to them.

As for the mystery side, I was pretty puzzled for about two thirds of the book, but worked out the whodoneit aspect with roughly a third still to go. I wasn't sure of a couple of things, but was pretty certain that I had worked out the who and possibly the why, however, the why wasn't exactly what I thought it was. I found it to be a rather abrupt ending, but all my questions were answered so I guess I can't really complain. I just found it rather dropped off when I figured Rowlands would wrap it up a little bit after the initial reveal and following drama.

If you're a fan of old school whodoneit? and nostalgic for Murder She Wrote like myself, I believe you will enjoy this series. It's not a jump off the page, completely engrossing page turner, but I find it to be enjoyable none the less, and I've become quite attached to the characters and wish to see where they will go to from here.

This is the second book of this series and I think while it is good that cozy mysteries aren't really for me.

I found that the slow burn was just that. It was very slow in getting to the mystery part which tended to make me want to put it down.

I am pleased I finished it as it had a good story just needed to jump to the story quicker.

Generally I liked the book. However, something seemed off. Without giving any spoilers away, I found Mel's actions regarding one of the suspects out of character for her...or maybe we don't know her as well as we think. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series

Even more gripping than the first book, really hope there is a 3rd very soon

A hjghly recommended novel and for fans of Miss Marple a definate must read.

This is the second Melissa Craig book in the series and the second that I have read. Like the first, this is an enjoyable who done it in the classic mystery style. It's described as a cosy mystery, but as I've explained before, I'm not keen on this term. The book centres around Mel Craig, a mystery writer, who seems to stumble onto real life (or at least real life in the book) murder mysteries.

Unfortunately, for me, this second book didn't quite work as well as the first. There were a couple of things that just didn't work. One of the biggest problems is that this book is really showing its age. The attitude of some of the characters; forgiving men hitting women (it was just a slap) and just about every character being very homophobic and pearl clutching when it came to a lesbian character. The 'romance' aspect just didn't ring true either, what on earth did she see in the vile man? Nothing as far as I could I could tell.

The mystery itself was quite good, although I solved it a long time before Mel herself had a clue. In fact, when it came to the big reveal she was startlingly obtuse. Fortunately, she got there in the end, if a little slowly.

I wouldn't let this put me off the series. I think as long as you remember when reading it that this book was written quite some time ago it can still be enjoyable. I'd definitely like to see that she'd given up the romantic interest though, he's a complete waste of space.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Having read the first in the series I was excited to delve into the second one and I wasn't disappointed.
A nice cosy mystery, good plot, great characterisation, perfect when you want an engaging but not too taxing read. The story moves along at a good pace.
I will certainly read more in this series.

This is another good book in this new series, although a murder is involved it is a more light hearted easy read, like a cosy mystery genre. I would like to see the characters develop a little more and maybe more of a background on Iris and the inspector who she is friends with in further books. It can be read as a stand-alone as well as read in order. All in all a good read I would recommend to people who like the cosy mystery genre.

I received an advanced digital copy of Murder in the Morning by Betty Rowlands in exchange for an honest review. This is the second in a series of book featuring crime writer, Melissa Craig and is a stand-alone mystery. There may be some light character development in the previous book, but this book is entirely contained within this novel.

In this current book within the series Melissa has been asked to teach a writer’s class at the local college once a week. She meets a number of the faculty and becomes involved in trying to solve the murder of the department head’s secretary, in part because she wants to remove suspicion from one of the faculty members with whom she has become romantically involved.

Throughout the novel there are lots of clues and red herrings, with the red herrings pointing exactly away from where the true solution lies. The mystery was easy to solve and I determined the identity of the actual murderer almost at the same time the murder happened. The book continued to offer clues and suggest solutions that were in other directions, but I never found them particularly compelling.

Pacing throughout the book felt a bit uneven. Large chunks of time passed between one chapter and the next without any sense of what had been taking place in the lives of the characters in the interim. The story itself was gently told, with little tension to compel the reader to move forward, making it an easy book to put down for other activities. There was never any sense of Melissa being in danger or their being any urgency to compel her to solve the mystery.

I would like to see more character development of the police inspector who talks with Melissa and with Iris, Melissa’s next door neighbor. They were more distinctive than Melissa herself in many ways, and added some good personality to the book.

There is a mild love story angle to this book that felt as if it didn’t fit. The attachment Melissa develops feels forced and rushed. Her reactions throughout the book, particularly to the love interest and to other people’s concerns about it seem more consistent with what one might expect from a teenager, not a middle-aged woman with an adult child.

Little attention was given to describing the Cotswolds and I found this a bit disappointing. I had difficulty seeing where Melissa was living and working. It might be more enjoyable for someone who is familiar with the area and who can put their knowledge to use in reading the book.