Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book felt like an evening in front of an episode of midsummer murders. You know it's completely improbable but you watch (or in this case) read it anyway because it's gentle and doesn't need to much thinking. I didn't particularly like the characters but we'll see how they go in the next book before I make any further judgement.

Murder by the Minster was a GREAT read.

Meet Kitt, a librarian at the University of the Vale of York. Things are fine until Detective Inspector Halloran appears at the library to inform her that her best friend is under suspicion of killing her ex-boyfriend.

Of course, Kitt doesn't believe Evie is a murderer. So, she sets off to investigate and solve the mystery only to find herself in danger.

Great storyline, well-crafted characters, and a surprise ending.

An interesting book, a bit of fun, and not as tough to read as some murder mysteries I have come across recently. Worth a read.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

I love Helen Cox's first book in her new murder mystery series featuring strong, independent, trilby hat wearing librarian, Katherine ('Kitt') Hartley I love how it's set in York. The author did a fantastic job creating well defined related characters. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more installments in the series.

This is Helen Cox's first book in the murder mystery series featuring the strong, independent, trilby wearing librarian, Katherine 'Kitt' Hartley, set in the wonderful city of York. I found the characters to be well defined, carefully described (planned) and relatable. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

A comforting Cozy Murder mystery with a bit of romance thrown in. Librarian Kitt Hartley is not the most likely person to turn detective but when her best friend Evie is accused of murder she feels she has to do something. Set in the wonderful city of York it is an entertaining read.

What is the chance that I happened to download this book on a visit to York and it proved the perfect story to read. Kitt Hartley, Librarian at the Vale of York gets a visit by Dective Inspector Halloran and a female colleague to say that her pal Evie Bowes has murdered her boyfriend Owen with a pen through the heart, And so begins a story full of twists and turns as Kitt wants to take advantage of her reading of Agaatha Christie and Ian Rankin to prove that Evie is not a killer. But she is not helped by the regulars who visit her part of the library who are far from normal. In her quest for the truth, she is supported by her assistant Grace. Unfortunately the body count is mounting and Halloran is even suspicious of Kitt after reading her diary. It romps along a fast pace until an extraordinary end. A great read!

Pretty good start to a new series. I like Kitt and her friends. Plus, the story clipped along with 3 murders.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

This was a cosy murder mystery.

At times it was a little predictable but overall I enjoyed reading it. I liked the dynamics of the friends.

I felt the descriptions of the locations could have been a bit more detailed to really get a feel for the city as it plays a big part. Whilst the minster is a big part of york I didn't feel the title was 100% relevant to the actual deaths or the story. A lot of it was centred actually around the river and pubs!

I don6t think I'll be picking up another book in this series as it didn't draw me in as much as I would have liked.

Thank you to netgalley for giving me an arc.

"Murder by the Minster" by Helen Cox is first instalment in the new "Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries series"mi thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Meet Kitt Hartley: librarian, no-nonsense Yorkshirewoman ... detective?

It's a perfectly normal day for Kitt Hartley at her job at the University of the Vale of York library, until Detective Inspector Halloran arrives at her desk to tell her that her best friend, Evie Bowes, is under suspicion of murder. Evie's ex-boyfriend Owen has been found dead - with a fountain pen stabbed through his heart - and all the evidence points to her.
Kitt knows there is no way Evie could murder anyone - let alone Owen, who she adored. Horrified that the police could have got it so wrong, Kitt decides there's only one thing to do: she's going to investigate Owen's murder herself. She's read hundreds of mystery novels - how hard can it be?

With the help of her assistant Grace, and the occasional hindrance of the library's eccentric regulars, Kitt summons up all her investigative powers (absorbed over years of reading everything from Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin) and gets to work.
She soon discovers that down the quaint streets and snickelways of York lie darker doings than she'd ever dreamed, but she needs to watch her step: the murderer is watching her. And they haven't finished killing yet...

I really enjoyed this British mystery from beginning to end set in picturesque city of York, England. The Protagonist Kitt is clever, well developed and down to earth. There were likeable side characters too. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep me wanting to find out what will happen next. The book is engaging from start to finish..

I cant wait to read the next instalment in the series. Highly recommend to mystery fans.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kitt Hartley works in the York University Library. She becomes involved with DI Halloran when her best friend Evie is charged with murder. You follow Kitt as she takes on the investigation to prove her friends innocence. It has its light hearted moments with good characters as Kitt’s helpers. Romance is at the heart of this mystery for good or bad.
I was given an Arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine (Kitt) is “the librarian” in Helen Cox’s Murder by the Minster. The details were quite intricate and the motive for the murders comes down to a sick mind.
I was a bit bothered by the substitution of “the librarian” for Kitt’s name throughout the book. It brought a formality to the story that pulled me out of the narrative. I’m not sure what the author was trying to achieve by writing that way. Kitt didn’t have super powers because she was a librarian. She was wrong sometimes, and someone besides a librarian could have read as much as she did.
I wanted to really like this book because I love York England, libraries and librarians but I only sort of liked it. It felt overly complicated.
It is decent as a debut novel. I hope for the author’s future success.

This is the first book in the series.
It’s well written and kept my attention from beginning to end. My only criticism is that it is slightly far fetched and difficult to believe at times.

I always enjoy this kind of amateur detective, locally rich setting (this time York, England), with a mildly complicating love interest. Murder by the Minster did not disappoint!

Murder by the Minster
Author: Helen Cox
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
Publication Date: July 1, 2019
4 Stars

Kitt Harrington is a librarian at the Vale of York University. One day two detectives show up at the library. They begin questioning her about Owen Hall, the former boyfriend of her best friend, Evie. Kitt is confused by all of their questions about Owen, but finally ferrets out that Owen has been killed. She is even more surprised to find out that Evie is their prime suspect.

Once Evie is released, she decides she needs to investigate Owen’s death in order to clear herself. Kitt believes this is a terrible idea, but agrees to help in order to help protect her friend from getting into more trouble. Kitt eventually joins forces with the detectives to solve not only Owen’s murder, but the murders of the other victims as well.

I really enjoyed Murder by the Minster from beginning to end. I thought the author developed a well written and very intriguing mystery. The story was unique, and every time I was sure the story was going in a certain direction, the author would surprise me by taking a different path. The only part of the plot that felt shaky was when Detective Halloran asks for Kitt’s help solving the murders. It seemed improbable that the situation would play out that way.

Speaking of Detective Halloran, he plays Kitt’s love interest. I didn’t find out the author is a romance author until after I finished the story. However, I wasn’t surprised as I found the “clean” romance sections superbly written. She does such a great job of describing and balancing Kitt’s desire to become involved with Halloran, and her reluctance to get involved in a new relationship after a terrible ending to her previous relationship. Great build up!

I don’t think that mystery book fans will be disappointed with this book.

I hope the author decides to write a follow up story. I would love to see what these characters do next.

Thanks to Net Galley and Quercus Publishing for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #MurderByTheMinster

The very attractive cover draws you in to the first in a new cosy mystery series set in York, featuring University librarian Kitt Hartley. Enjoyable, light hearted murder mystery with a likeable enough protagonist in librarian and now amateur sleuth Kitt. The pace is very slow and the storyline perhaps lacks depth - it is also almost farcical in places, particularly in dialogue - but it is a relaxing, easy and pleasant read.

I'm a huge fan of cosy mysteries and I'm more than happy I discovered this series.
It's well written, engrossing and entertaining. It was one of those book you cannot put down and I turned pages as fast as I could till I reached the last one.
The cast of characters is well written and fleshed out, Kitt grows slowly on you and you start rooting for her after a bit.
The mystery is full of red herrings, twists and turns and kept me guessing till the end.
The setting is lovely and the plot, even if a bit slow at the beginning, is engaging.
I look forward to reading other books in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Meet Katherine Hartley - Kitt to her friends - Librarian in charge of the Women's Studies section of Vale of York University Library. A librarian with a penchant for a trilby and a cup of Lady Grey tea, who is not inclined to take any nonsense.

One perfectly normal day, Kitt's morning is interrupted by the arrival of the intriguing Detective Inspector Malcolm Halloran at her desk, to tell her that her best friend Evie has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of her ex-boyfriend, Owen.

Kitt is horrified, as she knows Evie cannot be guilty - especially since she and Evie were together at the time of the murder. However, all evidence points to Evie and the police are convinced that the brutal way Owen broke up with her is enough of a motive to want her to get her revenge. In fact, they suspect Kitt of being involved in the murder too.

Unable to convince the police that Evie would never murder anyone, Kitt sets out to investigate the murder herself with the help of her Internet savvy library assistant, Grace and the not-so-psychic talents of the pensioner Ruby. After all, she has gathered a vast knowledge of detective stories over the years. How hard can it be?

Kitt is determined to prove the police wrong, but is finding her developing feelings for Detective Halloran confusing - she is not sure she is ready for another romantic entanglement, after her break-up with Theo, even though it was ten years ago.

Kitt's actions find her drawn into the danger lurking in the narrow streets of York, as she follows the leads she unearths, for the murderer is watching her every move - and they have not finished with their bloody crusade just yet.

Can she save Evie and resist the charms of the handsome Detective Halloran at the same time?

*********************************************************************************

I loved this first book in the new Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries series.

As an ex-librarian myself, I warmed to Kitt's uncompromising librarian ways from page one. I really enjoyed her habit of dropping literary references into her conversations and sympathised with her annoyance when these were not automatically picked up by the less well-read around her!

Kitt has understandably, been damaged by her past experience with Theo and this makes her reluctant to form close attachments, for fear of being hurt again, but she is fierce in her defence of Evie, which is really touching. Evie is her best friend and Kitt is convinced that the police are mistaken in their belief that she has killed Owen, even if all the evidence indicates otherwise.

As it happens, Kitt is a good friend to have, because she has a real knack of uncovering the truth - with the help of her little band of side-kicks - and her skills are soon acknowledged by Detective Inspector Halloran, even if he is not convinced about Evie's innocence.

Of course, Halloran has a past of his own, which makes him keen to want to find the murderer as quickly as possible - it also gives him a vulnerable side that you yearn for Kitt to break through. The developing romance between the two of them was lovely, and the "bridge scene" (no spoilers!) was beautifully steamy!

I thoroughly enjoyed this cosy mystery - especially after my disappointing foray into the Aurora Teagarden mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The Kitt Hartley books promise to fill the space currently in my reading heart for a little band of lovable erstwhile detectives, led by a feisty librarian, and I look forward to many more books in this series.