Really enjoyed this book. Great plot and engaging, believe characters. I was drawn right into the story. Would definitely recommend.

A wonderfully classic murder mystery. Its not as smooth reading as some of the ladies of crime but the plot is superb and well handled. I struggled a bit with the setting as its set in the 1920s but thats overly obvious and leaves you wondering in places. It is a very gripping book which needs smoothing out in places.

This does hark back to the golden age crime dramas – an old man on the verge of dying, having one last “hurrah” in implicating his various hangers on (including his ex wife, who married his now ex-partner – following the affair – and the hope their son will, somehow, inherit) in his ultimate death. Meanwhile he can sit back and watch as everyone involved is played against each other and he gets to watch their behaviour for the sake of money.

Lots of suspects and double crossing – should we talk about the ex-secretary (too old to start again) or the Ingenue nurse (young and perhaps too outrageously NEW) or perhaps the sons/brothers in law, both of whom seem to have “issues”?

Each character has something to hide and everyone lies about something to protect either themselves or someone else. There is also the British ex-policeman who has been friends with the intended murder victim for several years, and is on hand to provide investigations within the English ex-pats in France.

Ultimately, we reach a conclusion, that allows the reader (and also the writer!) a classic “I’ve gathered you here today cos I want to show off” moment, which is what we really want from such a story. Boy do we get it! I wont spoil the ending or those who are involved in the murder plot.

Overall – whilst enjoyable in and of itself and a decent introduction to the author’s way of writing with the “I’ve called you all here moment”….I have read other books by this author (e.g. The Butterfly Conspiracy and A proposal to die for). I personally preferred those worlds as the “i’ve called you here” moment seemed just a little forced. That’s just me however. It will be interesting to hear what others think.

Being an Agatha Christie fan since my teens I couldn't be happier when I found out about "A testament to murder". A murder mystery set in the 1920s with a retired Scotland Yard inspector as one of the characters, it couldn't be more up my alley! And it didn't disappoint. Interesting premise with a nice set of well defined characters and a Poirotesque ending.

Although Poirot is one and only I'm hoping to meet Former Inspector Jasper again soon!

Thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

J'ai aimé la vibe d'Agatha Christie ! L'époque, le type de mystère, le dénouement... ! Je recommande :)

This was an interesting read. What would you do if someone left you everything in their will but only if they died on the day you were named and, if they survived the next day someone else could inherit? It's an interesting twist on the classic country house mysteries. Here no one has killed the billionaire and then been investigated, but rather he seems almost to be hoping to be killed by playing a game with his relatives and potential beneficiaries. 

I have to admit there was the odd occasion on which I got a bit confused with some of the characters, there were two I found quite similar and muddled them up once or twice but aside from that I really enjoyed this story. It was such an unusual premise, I don't know what I would do in these circumstances, would I leave and inherit nothing or stay and risk being accused of murder and still potentially inherit nothing.  The characters are a bit as you would expect in this situation and from classic country house mysteries, all deception, suspicion and red herrings, not to mention the number of hidden secrets that are revealed.  I found Jasper, the investigator to be very methodical and intelligent but I even had my doubts about him in the end. To say more would risk spoilers but let me just say that I'm not sure of his morals after reading this book. He's back in the next one though so it should be interesting to meet him again.

From the very first page of A Testament To Murder it's like being steeped in the 1920s, the Golden Age of detective fiction thanks to writers like Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh. I've read and enjoyed several of Vivian's books now but this one I was particularly looking forward to.

A group of people, seemingly unconnected, summoned to a stunning Riviera location by a dying man. What could possibly go wrong? At first glance, it seems everything is above board and Malcolm Bryce-Rutherford is playing the part of an eccentric billionaire all too well. Who else would be crazy enough to announce they're going to change their will every night?

In this motley group of people are Malcolm's ex-wife, Malcolm's ex-business partner along with his wife and son, his nephew with a new American wife, a long-serving and faithful ex-employee, a beautiful young nurse, a solicitor overseeing the signing of the will, and a collection of servants - including the butler...

None of these people are particularly nice, not even the teenage son of Malcolm's ex-wife, and you don't warm to any of them. However, when people start dying, you start to wonder what is going on, and if these people are really telling the truth when it comes to knowing each other beforehand.

Conveniently next door, in another idyllic Riviera cottage, is Jasper, former Scotland Yard inspector and perfectly placed to insert himself into the investigation. Jasper is entirely unsure who or what to believe but one thing he does believe is that he knows who didn't do it!

Vivian Conroy packs a lot into 210 pages, there are red herrings aplenty, and obvious clues pointing in one direction whilst your mind is going in another. I'm pleased to say that I didn't work out who the culprit was and I very much enjoyed the sting in the tale at the very end. If you enjoy cozy mysteries then do try A Testament To Murder, it's a pleasant read (maybe the wrong word for murder!) and I'm looking forward to Jasper's next case, which I believe is coming later this year.

In “A Testament to Murder” there was double-crossing, death and deceit in abundance, all in this delightful and engrossing murderous mystery. Masterfully written, the novel was reminiscent of an Agatha Christie mystery.
What made this novel special was that it is the first in a new series by author, Vivian Conroy.

I found the ending extremely satisfactory and if old fashioned murder mysteries are your thing, then you must get yourself a copy of this brilliant book.

I am absolutely thrilled that I have found a new favourite author to add to my ever-growing list. Rating: 5 Stars

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my own request from Canelo via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

A thoroughly enjoyable romp through an Agatha Christie style whodunnit set in an atmospheric French Riviera mansion. The characters are well drawn and the sleuth is amiable and engaging. Looking forward to the next one in the series.

I really enjoyed a testament to murder it's a stand alone murder mystery set in the 1020's that keeps you guessing till the end

I have been a fan of Ms Conroy’s work for a while now, in fact it is through her work that I re-discovered my love for the marvellous world of cosy mystery. Each book is always full of humour and intrigue and there is always a real sense of a time gone long gone in her writing, but this one has to be the finest she has written it has a real Agatha Christie feel to it, which I found utterly charming.

Set during the roaring twenties, this fascinating mystery will have you hooked from the onset. Dying multi-millionaire; Malcolm invites a whole bunch of very distant relatives and employees to his Villa in France. As expected those invited all think that as dear old Malcolm is about to leave this mortal coil that they will be into some money. In a sense they could be right, that is until he reveals is precise dastardly plan for them. He will be changing his will every day at midnight, none knows who he will be leaving his fortune to on any given day. Which leaves Malcolm to sit back and wonder who amongst his guests will bump him off to get their grubby hands on the lot.

Amongst sticky fingered and greedy bunch is Scotland Yard Inspector who just happens to be living next door, so when there is a murder he is right on hand to get to the bottom of the case. But with so many people in the frame and so many motive’s can he find the proper killer?

This really is a brilliant mystery, it’s original, highly intriguing and intelligently written. It has a real pull to it, that draws you in and keeps you guessing throughout with it’s articulate and twisty plot. Ms Conroy has outdone herself with this one, it is such a joy to read and a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. It is just like settling in for a afternoon of watching Miss Marple of Poirot, it really is that good! There is a real vintage feel about A Testament to Murder that is both highly addictive and hugely comforting, the character’s are colourful and brilliantly created – if at times they are very nasty but utterly engrossing and it is so much fun to see the mystery play out.

Highly recommended, whether you like your romance or thriller this will satisfy all.

There are lots of Agatha Christie echoes in this 1920's cosy crime mystery. Set in the French Riviera, the scenery is lush and the isolated mansion perfect for the story. The eccentric Malcolm has summoned a selection of his nearest and not so dearest to attend him whilst he dies. Promising to name a different person each day as his heir, he sets the scene for one and all to consider murder. Will anyone take the bait? As the suspense builds as each day passes, the body count begins to rise.

It took me some time at the beginning to get all the characters clear in my mind and to work out any links between them. Greed and deceit are quickly on show but who is an innocent bystander and who is stirring the pot? This is such a well- crafted story. I was delighted when Jasper, the retired policeman appeared with his theories and he really made the story tick along. In fact, without him, |I would never have kept track of all the machinations! There are some real surprises and quite a twist at the end.

In short: A cosy crime mystery to savour!
Thanks to the author for a copy of the book

This is one of those books, for me, that's hard to criticize not because it is completely bad or overwhelmingly good but rather "just okay" in a slightly soggy-bottomed kind of way. I edited my way through the book to be honest. Let's dive in: here's a sentence from the second chapter -"He narrowed his eyes against the bright sunshine that seemed to make everything glitter and shine." 1) Don't use shine twice and 2) Did the bright sunshine falsely make things glitter and shine or did it actually do it because it's bright? Compare this to the next sentence: "The heat was like a barber's damp towel wrapped around his head until he suffocated." 1) Girl, he didn't actually suffocate, he FELT like he was suffocating and 2) Switch this description with the sentence above it - the bright sun ACTUALLY made everything glitter and shine and he SEEMED to suffocate under the damp heat. Gotdamn.

Anyway, the mystery is just okay. Not a recommend.

Let’s take a trip to the French Riviera, shall we! And while we’re at it, let’s travel back in time to the Roaring Twenties! Now we are where and when we need to be, let’s go and visit Uncle Malcolm! Although I don’t think it’ll be a nice visit… He’s a shrewd, manipulative and rather cruel old man, that one. He’s been very poorly lately, so poorly in fact, that he’s requested all his relatives and friends (if you can call them that) to come and visit him before he dies. And to make his last days / weeks (?) more entertaining, Malcolm has decided to play a little game with his heirs: every night he’ll make a new testament, leaving his fortune to one person who is to inherit everything if Malcolm happens to die within those 24 hours. Interesting idea, to say the least, because who knows what effect this little game will have on the heirs in question, who’s to say one (or more) won’t figure out when it’s their name on the testament and try to kill Malcolm? So at first this is a cosy murder mystery without any actual murder but with lots of murderous thoughts. Until… the first person is killed and it’s not Malcolm… Dumdumdumdum! Was the killer just thinning the herd to tilt the odds in their favour, was it some kind of revenge, did the deceased know too much?

I thoroughly enjoyed the Agatha Christie vibe of it all, all the mystery, all the questions raised, and the very satisfying ending, the teensy bit of venom in this tale’s tail. At less than 200 pages, this was a quick and fun read that I’d happily recommend to any and all cosy mystery fans.

Thanks to NetGalley, Canelo and Vivian Conroy for the free eARC! All opinions are my own and I was not paid to give them

It isn't often that I get to start a cozy mystery series with book 1, but Vivian Conroy has created a new series, Murder Will Follow, and A Testament to Murder is the first book in the series. I discovered Conroy a year and a half ago when I read book 4 in her Lady Alkmene Callender Mystery series, Fatal Masquerade. I fell in love with her writing in that historical cozy and was glad to see this new book at Netgalley.

A Testament to Murder is set in the 1920s French Riveria. The era didn't play too much importance in the story. Unlike other historical cozies I've read recently where historical events and people appear, there was none of that in this book. You could tell it wasn't current day, but it could have easily been the 1930s, 40s, or 50s.

Immediately upon starting the story, it felt familiar. A wealthy, elderly man with no direct heirs is dying and has invited his former secretary, former business partner, ex-wife (who is now married to the business partner), their son, and his nephew (who is married to an American "gold digger") to his Riveria villa. A nurse has been employed to look after the old man. Each one hopes to inherit his vast sums (houses, cars, horses, and even a plane!). In fact, when they greet him on his sickbed he in turns tells each one they will be his sole heir. However, at dinner, he has one more cruel twist to announce - each night at the stroke of midnight he will change his will naming one of them (including the nurse, butler, and chauffeur if he has more days in him than friends and family) his sole heir. He goes on to tell them that he has informed a police officer (a former Scotland Yard inspector who lives next door) of his plans should there be any suspicion that his death was a result of foul play. Only the lawyer, the butler, and the chauffeur will know whose name is on the will.

Will the heirs kill to inherit the millions? If not for the money, then perhaps for the secrets each one would rather have left buried?

There are a lot of twists and turns as each one gets their turn in the spotlight as the would-be murderer or cringing from the light that might reveal their hidden pasts. The cast is colorful which helps make a familiar plot interesting.

At one point I did worry that the Butler did it.

The characters and terrific writing style definitely kept me reading and I will say that there is a nice twist at the end that gives the plot a bit of originality.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to more in the series. As Conroy mentions in her acknowledgment at the end, this book is a tribute to Agatha Christie. And I believe Christie fans will be pleased with this tribute.

Oh, thank goodness. The Golden Age of crime fiction is back.

Agatha Christie (people tell me) is passé in these days of gritty crime, but I have a fondness for the gentler, more cerebral crime fiction from the period between the wars. In Vivian Conroy’s A Testament to Murder, the first in a new series featuring retired London detective Jasper, the genre is back with a bang.

The premise upon which the plot rests is as clever and irresistible as any I’ve met. Billionaire Malcolm Bryce-Rutherford is dying and invites a selection of friends and family to spend his final days with him at his chateau on the Riviera. They include his secretary, his business partner and his wife (formerly married to Malcolm himself) and their son; his nephew and his wife. And when they’ve arrived he breaks the news ti them. Each day he will change his will in favour of one of them and that person — unknown — will be heir for twenty-four hours only. He dangles in front of them the temptation to murder. If they kill him on the day they’re the heir they inherit but if the murder is discovered they hang, and if they get it wrong someone else gets all the money.

It’s a fantastic setup, and as the story goes on the characters’ back stories are revelled and it becomes clear that not one of them has a guiltless past. As Malcolm and his lawyer pull the strings the tension begins to mount — and the guests themselves begin to die. Malcolm’s neighbour, retired Metropolitan Police detective Jasper, is enlisted by the local police to see what he can find out.

I thought this was a fabulous book, in the true tradition of the 1920s mystery, from the complicated set-up to the denouement in which Jasper exposes everybody’s secrets, their motives and opportunity, before revealing the killer. Twist after twist in the plot kept me guessing right the way through. I loved it.

The beginning was hard to get into but by the middle, I was interested in the characters and the outcome. However, the ending was handled badly, and I was unable to suspend disbelief that I ended up dropping a star. Also, as much as it was trying to be classic, it mostly felt modern and like everyone had simply forgotten their phones at home. There was no real sense of time or place.

Edited for typo

I hope you are having a great time. The winter is slowly leaving, it’s still cold and windy, and the time is perfect for curling on the sofa with a good book. Today is my stop of Vivian Conroy’s blog tour and I have a review for you, a mystery in Agatha Cristie style, A Testament to Murder. Many thanks to Ellie and Canelo Books and don’t forget to visit all the other stops on this amazing blog tour.

An old rich man is dying. He is all alone. Only members of his staff and distant relatives. He finds no one suitable to inherit his fortune. So, he decides to play a game.

He gathers all of them. Every single one of them wants his money. Every evening he writes a new testament, every time another person inherits the money. But after every document written, he might die. Or be murdered. The person mentioned in the will might be the murderer, or might be not. Everything for the money.

There is the nurse, the ex-wife with her new husband and son, distant nephew with his wife, the secretary, the lawyer. All of them want the money.

But then, people in the house by the beach start to die. Accidents start to happen, or maybe they aren’t accidents at all. Who is Who is getting rid of the possible heirs?

In the house next door lives a retired policeman from Scotland Yard. Accidentally involved in the case, he decides to solve the mystery. He decides to find out what is really going on in his neighbor’s house. And there is another murder again.

This is my first book from this author. I liked the mystery, the plot that reminds me of Agatha Cristie’s books. It’s much more than a cozy mystery, as a thought at the beginning. I liked the story, liked the outcome, liked the unpredictable way the story ended. It was a real relieve after the latest hard-core thriller I’ve read. Overall, I liked it and will read another books from this author in future.

I looked forward to reading this story, as I love murder mystery and especially those written in a similar style to Agatha Christie’s stories. This book delivers in every way.

The plot is clever, fast-paced, full of twists and has numerous suspects, all with motive and opportunity to commit murder. The setting on the French Riveria is ultra glamorous and epitomises the era, the story is set in.

The detective, Jasper, is charismatic, yet mysterious. When you look back at the story you learn very little about him, other than he is excellent at his job. The ending is well-orchestrated and the cryptic thoughts from one of the characters in the final lines, makes you wonder about Jasper and his motivations.

The cast of characters are not particularly likeable, but this is a requirement of this type of mystery. The reader has to suspect everyone at some point in the story for it to be enjoyable, and complex to solve. The narrative and dialogue are easy to read and realistic. The story has wonderful imagery that allows the reader to play it out in their mind as if they are watching it in real life.

An entertaining, compulsive read, I look forward to Jasper’s next case.

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

Oh how I love a good cosy mystery to get the brain ticking and the mind working overtime in amateur detective mode. I must say that Vivian's writing style is utterly charming and engaging. The story wrapped me up in an instant with it's twists and turns on every page, encouraging me to lay blame at each character's door in turn.

The plot was fast flowing and full of exciting moments and cliff hangers and I found that I was reading in haste to get to the all important 'who dunnit' reveal.....and what a moment that was! I won't so much as whisper any hints or spoilers as I want you to enjoy the jaw dropping moments in the way that the author intends you to.

A Testament to Murder is one class act that I for one could not put down. I was living in the moment with every character and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent on the Riviera at Villa Calypso. If you like cosy mysteries written with style and flair then don't delay a moment longer and download your copy today - you will not be disappointed in the slightest.