A cozy mystery set in the Suffolk village of Saxford St Peter presents obituary writer Eve Mallow with a complicated set of circumstances that has led to the murder of the famous man she was meant to write about. As she interviews the people in the small town to get some background information for her piece, Eve discovers that there are quite a few people who may have wanted famed cellist, Bernard Fitzpatrick, dead. NO SPOILERS.

This is a slower paced and character driven story with many different characters. The setting provides much inspiration for description and detail and it all sounded quite charming. The novel sets up Eve and puts her in place to continue what appears to be a new series. If you like books featuring amateur detectives who solve crimes, live in a picturesque village, and have a pet dog, then this is one you will want to check out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Mystery on Hidden Lane is the first in a new series by Clare Chase featuring Eve Mallow. Eve is Miss Marple type character, albeit slightly younger and American with an adorable little dog, Gus.

Eve writes obituaries and is called upon the write about the life of Bernard Fitzpatrick, a celebrated but mysterious musician in the village of Saxford St Peter who has recently passed away.

The village sounds charming but also what you would expect from a small close knit community – lots of gossip especially when it is discovered that Bernard was actually murdered!
As Eve begins to dig into the life of Bernard and also the villagers, she begins to get a sense that things aren’t quite right and finds herself doing a little bit of sleuthing…

I really enjoyed this lovely cosy mystery and I’m looking forward to see what the author has in store for Eve and of course, Gus. Despite the murder, the author still gives us the lovely village atmosphere and even though some characters are not what they seem or appear to be, I still really enjoyed reading about this cosy village.

As a big fan of Miss Marple and Murder She Wrote, this particular series really appealed to me as I adored the amateur sleuth side of the book.

A great start from Clare Chase and I’m already looking forward to what will follow.

What a perfect and brilliant start to a great new series! There is a wonderful sense of anticipation about beginning a new series and this one was no exception, though I have have read some of Clare Chase's work before, specifically Death Comes to Call (Tara Thorpe Mystery #3).

I'm a great fan of mysteries so when I saw Mystery on Hidden Lane featuring Eve Mallow being launched, I knew I had to read it.

In this cozy-style mystery, American born obituary writer Eve Mallow is in the sweet little Suffolk village of Saxford St Peter to tell the life story of famed musician Bernard Fitzpatrick. A chance to spend a few days walking the country lanes with her beloved dachshund Gus and meeting new people sounds like a dream. On the day she arrives, news breaks that the charismatic cellist was the victim of a grisly murder. Could this quaint English village be hiding a dark secret? And is one of the friendly villagers a cold-blooded killer or murderer?

In the opening chapter, we are introduced to enthusiastic Eve Mallow who has never done any detective work before. Her natural curiosity gets the better of her so she decides to play amateur detective. I immediately warmed to Eve, finding her ebullience, confidence and intuitiveness very refreshing.

This type of novel is right up my street; the plot was well thought-out and I very much appreciated Clare Chase's superb and varied characterisation, even though some of the characters weren't particularly personable. Clare Chase writes with such flair and an easy style. Also admirable were the wonderful depictions of the setting. There was a plethora of suspects to choose from who were not particularly fond of Bernard and might have had the motive to kill and I enjoyed the way in which Eve evaluated the information acquired from her interviews.

I appreciated the sub-plot that incorporated Eve's personal life, running parallel with the murder investigation. All in all, this was a story that held my attention well and I loved that things came together for a great resolution, wrapping things up very neatly. I am eagerly anticipating what Clare Chase has in store for Eve next!

Reading Mystery on Hidden Lane has motivated me to catch up with the first two books in this talented author's excellent Tara Thorpe Series, Murder on the Marshes and Death on the River.

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

Protagonist ex-pat American Eve Mallow traveled to Saxford St Peter, a quaint Suffolk village to write an obituary for deceased musician Bernard Fitzpatrick. She is 49, divorced and the mother of twins, 25 years old. She's rented Elizabeth's Cottage temporarily. Unfortunately, shortly after her arrival, it's announced Fitzpatrick's death was not a natural one.

This one pulls you in immediately and then begins to describe the village, her vintage rental and its history, totally atmospheric, and the reader is introduced to those main support characters who, I'm sure, will become old friends by the time the conclusion is reached.

Eve is charming and intelligent. She works part-time for a school back in London but freelances obits. She is accompanied by her trusty and free-wheeling dachshund, Gus. Pink-haired Viv, owner of a tea/craft shop, becomes a strong support character and is fairly well-fleshed.

It's clear she's on the right track, but she'll have to work to discover the connection, motive, how and why. No problem! She must meet with those close to the victim to get the info for her obit anyway. There are a number of possible persons who may all have the means, motive, and opportunity.

As the reader meets each new contact, it's fairly easy to add or subtract them from a suspect list. A possible romantic interest is introduced, but too soon for that and while I guessed the perp, guessed wrong. Actually, quite disappointed who was discovered guilty in the conclusion--NOooo.... Darn it! A good start for a new series, a couple mysterious characters will hopefully be given more space next book, which looks promising. I'm looking forward to further development of Eve as well as Viv. My reticence was the question of Eve behind a conclusion that seemed a bit confusing. What will happen to that gorgeous Elizabeth Cottage?

I received this digital download by the publisher through NetGalley in return for a review and these are my unbiased opinions. This novel gets off to a good start and I'll be interested in reading the next.

See my full review at https://rosepointpublishing.com/2020/01/31/mystery-on-hidden-lane-an-eve-mallow-mystery-book-1-by-clare-chase-a-bookreview-cozymystery/

This is the first book I have read by this author, as well as being the first book in the Eve Mallow Mystery series. If you like a cozy mystery book then this could be a book you enjoy. Eve Mallow is a part time obituary writer. Which is certainly something different, and interesting, giving her a good reason to be asking people questions about someone who has passed away.

She has gone to Saxford St. Peter a village in Suffolk, to gather information on the recently departed famous Cellist, Bernard Fitzpatrick. However, before she can glean much information from the people who knew him, a rumour is being spread around the village that the death was the result of murder, not natural causes.

This piques Eve’s interest, as she finds herself getting caught up in looking into the murder and wanting to know who the murderer is. Continuing to interview people, discovering facts not yet known by the police. But when a second body turns up, her questions become more of an urgent nature. The reader is given a lot of information on characters and Saxford St. Peter, setting the scenes for more books in the series.

There are some interesting characters introduce, which some will hopefully be in future books, the scene was also set for Eve to move to Saxford St.Peter from London.

Whilst I enjoyed reading some of the characters, I didn’t really feel strongly about Eve as a character, she is intelligent, I just didn’t connect with her as I had hoped, maybe because this is the first book. Possibly book two will endear her to me more. I felt a little more depth was needed, my mind started to wander, the pace was also a little slow which could also have been my problem.

If you are a lover of a good cozy mystery then I am sure this will be one for you, not everyone wants a fast paced read, this has some good settings, some good characters, some not so good obviously.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Bookouture for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

This is the first book in the Eve Mallow Mystery series by Clare Chase. I was intrigued by the idea of having it revolve around a obituary writer, and was drawn to it because of that. Unlike so many cozy mysteries, where a single person is always stumbling upon dead bodies, the main character in this book, Eve Mallow, will have an endless supply of mysteries to solve without always finding them by herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interesting mix of people in this book and the way they interacted with each other. Also tossed in there are a few pushy emails from Eve’s ex-husband who still feels he can control what she does by bossing her around, but Eve is starting to stand up for herself, and the beginnings of the strong woman she is meant to be are starting to shine through.

There were plenty of suspects in the book, and honestly, I never had a chance guessing who the killer was, but additional clues as the book goes on starts to narrow down the field, and the story is wrapped up by the end.

My only complaint, that may not be shared by everyone, was that the book dragged a bit at times, but it was still a well-thought out book, and I enjoyed it.

4.25 Stars
Seasoned obituary writer Eve Mallow has a new assignment: to tell the life story of famed musician Bernard Fitzpatrick. A chance to spend a few days in the sweet Suffolk village of Saxford St Peter, walking the country lanes with her beloved dachshund Gus and meeting new people sounds like a dream. On the day she arrives, news breaks that the charismatic cellist was murdered. As Eve starts to interview Bernard’s friends and colleagues, she finds that he’d ruffled a few feathers. In fact, from the keepers of the Cross Keys Inn to his own staff at High House, there’s barely a person in town who doesn’t have some reason to hate him. Eve hoped Saxford St Peter would be the perfect escape from her busy city life. When a second body is found, Eve becomes certain that one of the people she’s met must be the murderer.
This is the first in a new series & the first I’ve read by the author. If you love cosy mysteries & murders then this will be right up your street. A well written very well paced book that gripped me from the start & which I read in two sittings. I really liked the author’s style of writing. I warmed to Eve immediately & loved that she was moving on with her life even if Ian was trying to undermine her confidence. There were plenty of suspects to choose from & I enjoyed how Eve sifted through the evidence gleaned from her interviews. I hope there are plenty more in the series.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Murder on Hidden Lane’ by Clair Chase in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in a series of cosy mysteries featuring Eve Mallow, a seasoned obituary writer. She has the interesting background of having grown up in Seattle before moving to London at eighteen and settling there.

Her new assignment is to tell the life story of famed cellist Bernard Fitzpatrick. She decides to book a week’s holiday in the picturesque village of Saxford St Peter. There are country lanes and a nearby beach where she can walk with her beloved dachshund Gus as well as interviewing Fitzpatrick‘s family and friends for her article.

Yet on the day she arrives the news breaks that Fitzpatrick was the victim of a brutal murder. In the tradition of the British cosy, Eve turns amateur sleuth.

I appreciated that Eve was a mature woman of forty-nine and behaved accordingly. I found it an engaging mystery though I did feel that people opened up rather quickly to Eve. Still with no police credentials there needed to be some way to advance the plot and I assumed her personality was one that put people at ease.

Her background appealed to me as although born in U.K. I lived in North America until my mid-twenties.

An enjoyable cosy that I will be recommending to my friends who are addicted to the genre. I felt it was a promising start to this new series.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Easy read cozy mystery.
Eve, an obituary writer, is sent to write about a famous cellist, Bernard Fitzpatrick. Rumors fly around the quaint village that his death was actually murder. Eve, being the nosy writer she is, starts poking around and doing a bit of amateur sleuthing.
I enjoyed Eve as a main character, and loved the setting of this story. Seemed like a great place to vacation! I did however have a hard time initially getting interested in the story. The beginning seemed to drag on a bit. I was glad, however I continued reading.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Mystery on Hidden Lane is the first book in the Eve Mallow Mystery series, and having thoroughly enjoyed the Tara Thorpe set of books I was eagerly anticipating picking this one up. Where this differs quite a bit is the fact that this is much more of a cosy mystery than a gritty or particularly disturbing one. Renowned cellist Bernard Fitzpatrick has recently passed away and Eve has been sent to Saxford St. Peter, Suffolk, to write a fitting obituary to appear in the local paper. However, the status of the death soon changes from a presumed accident to murder most foul. She continues her tentative probe into Bernard's life and most important information and soon discovers details about him that the police had completely overlooked. Then tragically another body drops and everyone involved realises quite how real the threat is.

This is a very different book to those featuring Tara Thorpe, but those who enjoy Chase’s writing style and cosy mysteries will find this appealing. The descriptions of the chocolate-box villages reminded me of those in Midsomer Murders with gossiping grannies and the usual small-town nosiness. The use of a protagonist with no police training getting in on the investigating of a serious case is nothing new but Eve hopefully will grow into her role as time goes on; she certainly appears to be smart and resourceful initially. It’s an enjoyable throwaway mystery perfect for curling up with on a chilly winter afternoon but is not much more than that. That said, Chase creates a narrative with a plethora of possible suspects who were not particularly fond of Bernard and may have had motive to kill. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

Mystery on Hidden Lane is the first book in An Eve Mallow Mystery series write by Clare Chase.

Eve Mallow, a part time obituary writer finds herself in a charming little village of Saxford St.Peter while writing an obituary for a renowned musician Bernard Fitzpatrick.
Delighted to be away from home and from her meddling ex-husband she and her lovely dog are tremendously enjoying themselves. However before she even begins to write obituary rumors that the death of the musician was actually a murder begin to circulate around the village.
Eve, curious and inquisitive as she is, decides to get to the bottom of the rumors. Along the way she meets some lovely characters, like her landlord Viv, Viv's charming brother Simon and a local gardener.Robert.These characters were given enough space so that it is expected that they would continue to appear in the series.

At the beginning there is a longish introduction to the live of Eve, her job and current circumstances as well as her settling in to do her job and I liked this part. Mystery didn't start for quite some time and I found the story quite slow paced.
I mostly enjoyed getting to know the protagonists and seeing how their relationship progressed. Mystery took the back seat for me.
Good beginning of a new series, I would like to see how it is going to develop further.

Eve Mallow is an obituary writer with an extended assignment. She is not only going to write an obituary, she is to write musician Bernard Fitzpatrick's life story. Eve figures that spending time in a small village where Bernard was well known will be enable her to come up with enough detail about his life to do a good job.

She takes her dog Gus along for the trip and she is off. Unfortunately, Eve is not able to turn up much about Bernard's life. Shockingly, Eve learns that his death was actually due to murder and her questions about his life - now death - take on a different turn.

Eve now becomes an amateur sleuth because as she starts interviewing people she learns some unsavory things about Bernard. Things are not adding up. What is more is that another body is found in the idyllic town she is in and Eve now knows that at least one of the people she has been interviewing is indeed a murderer.

I love cozy mysteries and Mystery on Hidden Lane is the first book in a new series that I just know that I will enjoy. Eve's character is perfect, the setting is ideal and the mysteries abound. I look forward to meeting Eve again and seeing what she gets into, because, as is the case with any cozy mystery series, our protagonist will always find murder close at hand. Her job as an obituary writer will most likely be the angle used in future cases. Clare Chase is a new author to me and I am glad to have read this book. I look forward to reading Mystery at Apple Tree Cottage upon its release in March.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

The Mystery On Hidden Lane is a gently paced cosy mystery, perfect to escape reality for a few hours.

It has everything a classic cosy mystery should, a determined amateur sleuth, an idyllic setting and of course a puzzling mystery

Eve was a very likeable main character. Half English, half American, she has an exceptionally annoying ex husband and a very cute sounding daschund called Gus. She works in a school but as a side venture she writes obituaries which makes her a little nosey as every good amateur sleuth should be.

The descriptions throughout the book are wonderfully done, I could almost picture myself in the village of Saxford St Peter, whether it be enjoying a cake at Viv’s tea shop or going down to the beach for a walk. The author also captures the gossipy nature of the village where it seems that everyone knows everyone.

As it is the first book in the series a lot of it was taken up by setting the scene, introducing the characters etc so the pace did slow a little at times.

The Mystery On Hidden Lane is a nice introduction to this series and I look forward to seeing what Eve’s next mystery will be!

Eve Mallow is a writer.   But a writer of a different sort; she writes obituaries of well-known people upon their death.

"‘A lot of people think that, but being an obituary writer doesn’t spring from an unhealthy preoccupation with death. It’s actually people’s lives that we’re interested in – that’s the story we tell.’ A 3000-word article about a body, lying there in its coffin, really wouldn’t have the same impact. To her, obit writing was the best and most fascinating job in the world. And it wasn’t just the obvious stuff that she found captivating; people always had some hidden habit or experience that left her marvelling."

What brings her to Saxford St Peter is an assignment to write the feature length "obituary" of a world renowned cellist.  That she falls readily into an investigation of his murder, is due in large part to her insatiable curiosity, but likely there's an equal measure of defiance for an ex who doesn't seem to know how to stay in his lane.  

Chase has created a cast of characters who are inviting and warm.   I love Eve, and the people she befriends in this small village as she digs for the truth.  I'm drawn to Eve for a few reasons.  She's owned by Gus the dachshund; I am as well, though mine is Miss Lulu.   She has an ongoing group text chat for ease of communication with her children; as do I.  But mostly, I can easily see myself joining Eve and Viv at a table in Monty's and solving all the world's trouble.  The village itself is warm and welcoming and draws out the newly emerging independence Eve is slowly developing within herself.   This is an interesting tale, with several twists, a few red herrings that threw off this amateur sleuth, and a resolution that was as surprising as it was fitting.

I cannot wait to read the next book in what I sincerely hope will be a long lived series.   I have no doubt that Chase and Eve have a good few adventures in store for us.   I'm happy to highly recommend this writer and her books!

[Many thanks to NetGalley / Bookouture and the author for an Advance Reader Copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.]

The first book in the series by author Clare Chase, it had Eve Mallow, an obituary writer.

Eve was in the Suffolk to write an obituary for cellist Bernard when she came to know that it was a murder. Eve got to investigating when she realized a few truths. A second murder had her scampering to get to the truth.

My first book by this author, the story was slow paced and detailed. The book had a tinge of a cozy mystery to it. It was nice to see Eve using her powers of interviewing people to get to the truth. A lot of theories of murder was thrown in the air.

Detailed description of the locale was fun at times. Eve herself was quite sweet and intelligent. She was characterized apty for the cozy murder mystery. The other characters added to the plot line including the eccentric villagers and unlikable victims. Hence the murders, you see.

Overall, it was a good read.

Set in a small seaside East Anglian village, Mystery on Hidden Lane is the first in a series featuring amateur detective Eve Mallow.
Her regular job is the rather unusual occupation of obituary writer and this is what brings her to Elizabeth cottage where she is to spend a few days delving into the life of recently deceased famous cellist Bernard Fitzpatrick. This quickly turns into an investigation for the naturally curious and super organised Eve when it becomes public knowledge that Bernard was murdered.
Eve is a likeable character, if slightly annoying at times (how is she so much more capable than the local constabulary??) and I was quickly drawn into the storyline. I loved the setting for this novel and descriptions of village life where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Full of interesting characters, I particularly liked Moira, who runs the local shop which predisposes her perfectly for the role of village gossip. She reminded me of Susan Carter in the Archers!! Alongside Moira is the larger than life character Viv who runs the tea room and bakes the most mouth watering cakes which made me hungry and wishing I could visit!
I was expecting to be able to work out whodunnit but pleasantly surprised that I couldn’t. Whilst this is no tense, nail biting thriller, the author casts enough suspicion on a number of characters, all of whom have a possible motive for murdering Bernard and events that follow his death.
Definitely a cosy,comforting read, introducing Eve as amateur sleuth and is exactly as the title suggests; a cosy mystery. No gratuitous violence or graphic descriptions here! I will definitely enjoy following this series as it’s lighthearted, undemanding entertainment perfect for whiling away a few lazy hours, the sort of read that doesn’t tax your brain and tie you up in knots. I think this series will easily become my go to read when I’ve had my fill of psychological thrillers and I look forward to Eve’s further adventures.
Many thanks to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

My first encounter with Eve Mallow mysteries and although I found it a slow start to the book the ending was very surprising with lots of twists and turns. Good light hearted read for a winter day.

Eve Mallow is divorced, working two jobs and pestered by an ex-husband who thinks that he can rule her life and pop in whenever he wants.
No wonder she jumps at the chance to visit a picture-postcard Suffolk village to research the obituary of cellist Bernard Fitzpatrick. Her dog is going to love it!
What she doesn’t expect to find is that Bernard’s death is now being investigated as a murder enquiry. Bernard’s talent was equalled by his womanising and the size of his ego. People were there to be used and manipulated, even down to his illegitimate son who lives in the same village.
When the one woman that knew his secrets better than anyone is murdered, Eve knows she had to find out who killed her, no matter what the risk, or what her ex would say.
Problem is, Bernard’s bed hopping has made him a lot of enemies who are willing to strike again. Which one killed him?
When this book opens, Eve is very much a fish out of water but by the end she has been accepted by her new friends in the village and asked to stay.

A reasonably realistic murder mystery, wrapped around an obituary writer. Well written, I could visualise the scenes, the people in the story breathed for me. A good few red herrings scattered around too.

Loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

This was very reminiscent of a Faith Martin book and I enjoyed it.

There were enough characters to keep me on my toes, with plenty of red herrings thrown in the mix. Overall, I enjoyed this cosy, quick, easy read and it made for a good read.

Thank you for providing me with arc.