A Body in the Bookshop
Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries 2
by Helen Cox
Quercus Books
Quercus
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 31 Oct 2019

I am reviewing a copy of A Body In the Bookshop through Quercus Books and Netgalley:

It’s almost Christmas in York but it is as if the Christmas goodwill has not touched anyone yet.

After DS Charolette Banks is suspended from the Police Force after being accused of assaulting a suspect of the burglary of a local bookshop. Librarian Kitt Harley and her friend Evie Bowes know she is not guilty, but why is someone trying to get her in trouble?

Charolette’s boss DI Malcolm Halloran is not in a position to help so Evie Bowes takes it upon herself to help Charolette regain her good name and get her career back. It takes some convincing but she is able to convince Kitt to help as well.
They go from the tight knit community of York’s bestsellers, to the most gossipy bus route in the county. Kitt and Evie are not going to leave anything to chance.

The discovery of a body makes the stakes even higher. For Evie and Kitt the case is as personal as they come. Can they catch the murderer in order to make a bright and Merry Christmas or will they become the killers next victims?

I give A Body in the Bookshop five out of five stars

This is a great series and I love the adventures of Kitt and Evie. DI Malcolm Halloran is interesting to read about as well. I look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Quercus and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Often a reader can dip into a series out of order and never skip a beat. I am afraid that by starting with the second book, this one, it may have delayed my enjoyment. It seemed a bit sluggish as I tried to sort through the backstory and characters. Then the story seemed to take a turn that almost had me give up. I am glad that I stuck with it as I was engrossed in the tale by the end.
What seems to be a simple theft of rare books from a bookstore turns out be anything but simple. First a police detective is accused of beating a suspect and is relieved of her duties while the accusations are investigated. Then the bodies start to turn up. First the beaten suspect is murdered while in hospital and then the bookseller also meets his demise. The more things get resolved, the more convoluted they become until the shocking realization that the mastermind might be someone close to them.
The mystery is well constructed as evidence piles up and it seems the villain is about to be uncovered. Then more evidence turns up and once more the entire mystery is turned on its head. It was very clever and very entertaining.
Four purrs and two paws up.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Perfect cosy mystery set in York. I did not read the first book but did not seem to matter.

To be honest I could not make my mind up about this book. It started off well,drew me in because it is based in York,which is one of my favourite places,but then I became a bit disappointed in it.
The story itself was ok,but I found it very hard to believe that the Police would allow members of the public to get so closely involved with a double murder case and because of this the book was spoilt for me.
I think if the author had carried on with the idea that the main characters were conducting their own investigation which is how the book began,then I would have enjoyed it more.
I did like the quirkiness of the characters,the relationship between Kitt and Evie is lovely and I liked the banter they have between them.

The first book in this series, Murder by the Minister, I thought a good mystery was slightly hampered by too much romance. I wondered what was going to happen in the second book. In a move that surprised me a bit, A Body in the Bookshop focuses on Kitt Hartley's friend, Evie Bowes, a shy woman who has been deeply affected by the events in the first book.

Is there romance in this book? Yes, there is, but it centers on the damaged Evie. Her dealings with both physical and emotional scars as well as her budding romance are dealt with great sensitivity, and I found it more appealing than Kitt's love life in the earlier book.

A Body in the Bookshop is a somewhat puzzling title since there is no body in the bookshop, but the mystery is a good one that contains some excellent misdirection. I also appreciate the fact that I'm getting a good "feel" for the city of York by reading Cox's books. The real problem for me with this series is that I'm not warming up to the characters, so if you're a character-driven reader like I am, you might want to take this into consideration.

A few weeks ago I was invited to join the media blast for the first novel in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series and I enjoyed reading about this librarian turned investigator. So, when I found out that the second book in the series, A Body in the Bookshop, was coming out on 31st October I knew I had to read it right away. Not only because I really love the title (it’s great, isn’t it?!?), but because I fell in love with the characters, the setting of the books, and I enjoy the author’s clear and flowing writing style.

So, in A Body in the Bookshop, we find the three funniest and smartest amateur detectives back for another case. It all starts with the robbery of some valuable first editions at Kitt’s favourite bookshop and the suspension of DS Charlotte Banks for assaulting a suspect. Feeling protective and grateful to DS Banks following the case in Murder by the Minster, Evie convinces Kitt, once again, to do their own investigation in the case. This case gives Kitt the excuse to visit all bookshops in town in search of clues, while Evie is determined to find out the truth and help DS Charley Banks. Helping them are the always loyal assistant librarian and online genius Grace and the 85-year-old psychic Ruby who reads tarots and gets her info on the bus 59.

While Murder by the Minster was more Kitt’s story, A Body in the Bookshop focuses more on Evie. She is still processing the events of the first book and its consequences. On the romantic side, she is struggling with her unexpected feelings for someone and we get to read more about her friendship with Kitt. I wish there had been more about Kitt and detective Halloran’s new romance (I love this couple!), but I enjoyed getting to know Evie better. Once again, Kitt is full of literary references that make me like her more and more (and increase my TBR pile) and I love the character of Grace. She is such a fun character, so smart, resourceful, and full of life and she always makes me laugh.

With good pacing and a few twists, the author addresses themes of police corruption, blackmail, secrets, and, of course, murder. Even though it is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend you read the first book, too, not only because it’s a fantastic read, but to better understand the characters and their story. A Body in the Bookshop is an engaging, thrilling, and addictive cosy mystery and I am already looking forward to the third book in the series which is out next March!

A Body in the Bookshop
by Helen Cox

Paperback, 416 pages
Expected publication: May 19th 2020 by Quercus Publishing




Goodreads synopsis:
A PAGE-TURNING COSY MYSTERY SET IN THE PICTURESQUE CITY OF YORK. PERFECT FOR FANS OF BETTY ROWLANDS, LJ ROSS AND FAITH MARTIN.

Librarian Kitt Hartley and her friend Evie Bowes thought their life had gone back to normal after the shocking events of Murder by the Minster. Then DI Malcolm Halloran breaks some bad news: DS Charlotte Banks has been suspended from duty, on suspicion of assaulting the suspect in the burglary of a local bookshop.

Evie wants justice for Charlotte, who she is sure was not the attacker, and how could any self-respecting librarian turn down the chance to find missing rare books? The two friends team up once again to investigate the rarefied world of York's bookshops and antiques dealers and find out just who has framed their friend.

But Kitt and Evie will soon learn that there are some books people will kill for - will this story have a happy ending?

***

4.75 Stars

This is the second book in a series set in York, England featuring all the same characters but from different points of view. Book one: MURDER BY THE MINSTER featured Kitt and DI Mal Halloran’s romance and mystery. This book centers on Kitt’s friend, Evie Bowes and Mal’s partner DS Charlotte Banks.

Banks has been suspended for assault after a burglary in a bookshop of some rare first editions. We know it’s all a bunch of BS from the very beginning and Evie jumps in and tries to figure out what is really going on. In her mind, if Kitt can solve a mystery, why not her? So, the hunt is on for the missing first editions.

There is a pretty great scene at an auction where DI Mal Halloran, my favorite character of the year, sprints across chairs like Indiana Jones and tackles a suspect. Classic! There is definitely not enough Mal Halloran in this book for me. And I wonder if this series needs a name and a central focus. This could morph into a DI Halloran and DS Banks mystery series fairly easily since they are the main detectives here. Above I called it a series set in York. Maybe Picturesque City of York series would be a good moniker.

I really enjoy this series and was pretty surprised that book two came out so quickly after book one. Usually we have to wait for book two for over a year, so when this popped up, I was excited to dive into it. I am in love with this series world and characters. So ready for book three!

If you love police procedurals and detective fiction with a taste of romance, definitely check this series out.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

📖 Book title is misleading, just like the clues to the crime!🙁
3.5-4🌟stars
The last half of this story picked up momentum and actually kept my interest; the first half not so much. I found the initial crime involving an injured thief, a vilified woman police officer and some missing treasured first editions leading to investigation by the York police and amateur detectives Evie, Kitt and Grace slow going. Plus, where's the body in the book title?!🤔

🔍 Evie is an interesting character, having been facially scarred in the previous book (which I have not read) and accused of murdering her own boyfriend (though later exonerated). She is super sensitive to how others react to her disfiguring scars and unsettled by her previous run-in with the police. I liked that she acquired a new romantic interest and how that relationship is handled by the author. Kitt, her book-loving BFF, was less appealing to me: quite bossy and self-important. Kitt's young colleague Grace, so eager to break into their circle of amateur sleuths, added pep and fun to the mix.

Ultimately there is plenty of action, with chases, false trails, morphing suspects and, yes, some murders, but I personally like a murder mystery with more punch at the beginning. I was tempted to just stop reading until I hit the halfway mark and things started popping.

Thanks to publisher Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

#ABodyInTheBookshop #NetGalley
A thriller that truly thrills you.
Charlotte Banks is suspended from the police on suspicion of assaulting a suspect in the burglary of a local bookshop, librarian Kitt Harley and her friend Evie Bowes refuse to believe she is guilty. But why is she being framed?
Then a body is found in the bookshop. How they'll catch the killer? Read this amazing thriller to know more.
Characters are good and keep you engagrd till the end.
A good read.

Cozy with a ‘z’. I have to admit that I didn’t read the first book in this series, but after reading a quick précis that seemed to cover the ground, and so we plunge into the second adventures of librarian Kitt Hartley, her best friend Evie, assistant Grace, and the ubiquitous policeman-cum-boyfriend Mal Halloran. All the ingredients are there, and this one has the added attraction of being a crime mystery involving rare books. Cue the many visits to the fine bookshops of York, and Kitt’s penchant for name-checking various classic crime novels where their plots seem appropriate.

Once you get past the improbables, this is an enjoyable romp. Forget the fact that the events here come just a few weeks after the first novel – really, all these deaths in such a short space of time? – and that our amateur sleuths always seem to be one step ahead of the police. Again, this is all part of the territory of these books, the formula, so what you see is what you get.

Blackmail, murder, intrigue, suspects galore, red herrings a-plenty – check, check, check. You know you love it. And with the setting of the beautiful city of York, in the run up to Christmas, this is the perfect book to curl up beside the fireplace now that the clocks have changed. The characters are truly engaging, each of them with enough distinctive personality to make them likeable, whilst their vulnerability is also on show.

Sometimes you just have to switch off from the highbrow literary heavyweights (whoever they are!) and just engage with a story, a set of characters, and as much fun as you can get out of murder and dastardly doings. And with one strand of the story left dangling, we are left with an anticipation of what might happen next. This is clearly developing into a well-written series, with the literary references and pun-tastic dialogue an added ingredient. Just the ticket. 4 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

As always, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

I have to admit I was a bit confused by this book when I first started it. I didn't realize it was the second book in a series, and that was 100% on me. However, once I got some back story on the debut novel I went back and restarted this one. The story made more sense, but I felt it was a bit unbelievable in the sense that the police and the heroines in the story share information back and forth as if it is one big casual investigation and everyone is invited to help. Overall, I felt that the story held my attention and was full of twists and turns. Evie and Kitt are an interesting duo.

3.25 stars

This is the second in a series featuring British librarian Kitt and her BFF Evie. This adventure begins immediately after the first book ends, and while there is some explanation, I think reading the debut would be helpful.

The characters are pleasant. Kitt has mellowed since the first book, almost beyond recognition since she was quite snarky before. Evie, having been injured in the previous adventure, is dealing with both inner and outer scars. As with many mysteries of this type, their rationale and machinations for involving themselves in the mystery are pretty thin.

The big issue with this pair is the classic cozy conundrum: how much leeway are you willing to give amateur sleuths? If believability and a bit of realism are important to you, it's unlikely you will be happy with the casual sharing of information between the police and our heroines in this book. At one point several cops actually seek out the women to ask them to become involved in the investigation. This was over the top for me and affected my opinion on the book.

But if the characters are more important to you than plausibility, Kitt and Evie are interesting to spend time with. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm loving this series and I liked this instalment.
It's engrossing and entertaining and, even if it's a bit slow at the beginning, once I was hooked i couldn't put it down.
I'd have preferred some more Kit and less Elvie as I find her a bit too fluffy but I loved the cast of character, well thought and fleshed, and was happy to meet them again.
The mystery is solid, full of twists and turns, and it kept me guessing till the last twist that was unexpected.
I can't wait to read the next instalment.
It was an excellent read even with some small issues, recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I really wanted to love this book but it just wasn't meant to be. I'm sure others will enjoy it immensely but I just didn't. There are a lot if twists and turns in the book that are enjoyable but, the book just kind of dragged on in my opinion. There are also a lot of characters and that got a little confusing at times.

Evie Bowes is very conscious of the scars on her face. They were acquired when she was rescued from a car in the River Ouse by Inspector Halloran. She’d been suspected of the murder of her boyfriend, Owen, and in the process of clearing her name she and her best friend, Kitt Hartley, developed a taste for detection. Kitt developed a taste for Inspector Halloran too, but they’re taking it slowly. Well, sort of slowly.

It’s when Malc Halloran calls to see Kitt one evening when Evie is at the cottage that he tells them that DS Charlotte Banks (Charley to her friends) has been suspended from duty, accused of attacking Alim Buruk, a burglary suspect. Evie decides that her next case is going to be clearing Charley’s name: no one but Supt Ricci believes that she was capable of attacking Buruk. Buruk is supposed to have stolen some valuable first editions from Bootham Books. Evie visits Buruk in hospital to get more information - and manages to make an enemy of Supt Ricci in the process.

Now, I do hope that you’ve been paying attention, because I might be asking questions later. Helen Cox has a real talent for handling what must seem like a cast of thousands, but making them all come off the page well, given that this is cosy crime and you expect the characters to be just this side of stereotypical. You’ll cringe at the way that Evie dashes in where angels (or most people, come to that) would fear to tread. The edge of your seat will be well worn and there won’t be time for too many sighs of relief before she, Kitt and Grace, KItt’s assistant at the Women’s Section of the Vale of York University library, get themselves into the next difficult situation. The police are decidedly more forthcoming with civilians than they would be in real life - but, as I said, it’s cosy crime. Suspend disbelief.

I didn’t work out who the baddie was until the body count was pretty high. The plot was well done and good use was made of the medieval city of York. If you know it at all, you’ll be walking the streets along with the characters.

The story does feature some quite intimate details of a gay relationship, but we don’t get too far past the bedroom door. I was just delighted that fiction is reflecting real life.

This is the second book in the KItt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries. Whilst we don’t get to know who killed Owen in the first book in the series we do know what happened to Evie, but given that it’s cosy crime (did i mention that already?) you might be able to overlook that. Enjoy an easy read - and I’d like to thank the publishers for making a review copy available to the Bookbag.

Not long after the shocking events of Murder by the Minster, Kitt, Evie and co. are about to get involved in another investigation - this time involving the theft of some rare books from a bookshop owned by some of Kitt's friends.

Kitt's boyfriend, DI Malcolm Halloran breaks the news that his colleague DS Charlotte Banks has been suspended after being accused of attacking the suspect in the robbery with a hammer.

Mal is unable to get involved, and convinced that there is no way Charley could be guilty of such a crime, Kitt and Evie set about trying to prove her innocence, but it is not long before the dead bodies start to pile up and the case seems to be a lot more complex that they first thought.

The excellent Murder by the Minster introduced us to the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries and it was an absolute pleasure to fall back in with Kitt, Evie and friends for this second installment of their investigative adventures - just like visiting old friends!

This time around, we are more aware of the roles of each of the team, at the start - Librarian Kitt, with her level head and penchant for literary references that her colleagues rarely get; vintage clothes/decor and language loving Evie, led by her emotions; the ever curious Grace, with her internet skills and constant FOMO; Ruby, with her psychic leanings and finger on the pulse of the gossip-central that is the local bus service; and of course our hard-working detectives, DI Malcolm Halloran and DS Charley Banks. So once the story gets going, we can be assured that no stone will be left unturned in the quest for the truth.

A Body in the Bookshop sees Evie take much more of a detective role than in their first escapade - the one which saw her scarred both physically and mentally - and it was lovely to see her regaining some of the confidence she had lost as a result of her experiences. It was also wonderful to see the relationship between Evie and Charley developing into something more than friendship, especially since this had been hinted at as a possibility at the end of Murder by the Minster.

The pacing is perfect, with endearing gentle humour, and there is a nice build up of tension as the story progresses to the exciting and satisfying climax, with a great little twist too. Something about the way this works really reminds me of the Father Brown mysteries TV series, which I mean as a massive compliment to Helen Cox - even though the Kitt Hartley mysteries are contemporary, there is something about the way the characters operate that resonates with the way Mark Williams plays Father Brown and his relationship with Mrs McCarthy and Bunty when they involve themselves in police investigations to the consternation of Inspector Mallory. Maybe this is just me, but I find it a good thing anyway!

Murder by the Minster and A Body in the Bookshop have definitely got me hooked on the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries, and I am looking forward to the next book very much. I highly recommend them if you are a fan of a cosy mystery!

While I enjoyed the overall story of the book, I felt it dragging every now and again. The story didn't feel as pageturning as I would've expected and could've done with a few pages less.

Even though I felt the story was dragging, it was entertaining enough to keep reading. There were plottwists I did enjoy and overall it was an entertaining read. The only downside was that it was book two in a series and the writer referred to book one a lot, so that was quite confusing for the reader, coming into a book two in a series. It would've been nice to have a short summary of the first book so that you know as a reader what happened before.

As I've read the first book in this series, I just had to read this one too. I must admit that I liked Kitt better in this book, as I struggled a bit with her in the first one. The mystery is well developed, aside som a tiny loose end in relation to one of the minor characters.

I also really liked that it was a slightly diverse cast, as Grace had Indian heritage and Charley was lesbian. I thought that the scene with Charley and Evie at the Stonegate Teddy Bears tearoom.

When a burglary at a popular York bookshop results in the disappearance of some valuable first editions Kitt Harley, local librarian and wannabe amateur sleuth, is horrified. Having recently helped prove her best friend Evie Bowes innocent of murder she decides they need to team up to find the missing books.

Kitt is now dating the lead detective DI Mal Halloran and so has a sure fire way of getting accurate updates on the investigation so far and when one of the lead suspects is found murdered they need all the inside information they can get.

This book, unfortunately, didn't work for me. I found nothing to like in Kitt and Evie and the fact that their friendship foibles were described regularly rather than left to the reader's imagination made me think the author wasn't comfortable with them either. Having Halloran regularly remind his girlfriend not to let anyone know what information he was passing to her didn't make it right or realistic to me and it was a struggle to complete this story.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review but can't, in all honesty, recommend it to anyone.