So excited to read the second book in the Eve Mallow series..I was drawn in again by Eve Mallow an obituary writer and artist..She is once again involved in a mystery and I devoured the mystery in one sitting.Highly recommend this series.#netgalley#bookouture

I'm a bit of a fan of this author having thoroughly enjoyed all her previous books so I was quite excited to get my mitts on this, the second in the series featuring obituary writer Eve Mallow. I do recommend that you read the first in series, Mystery on Hidden Lane, before starting this one as doing so will give you the complete backstory of how Eve came to live in Saxford St Peter.
Things are going well for Eve, she is still enjoying working in the cafe, taking in the scenery and doing a bit of people watching between obituary assignments. Then, one day, a prodigal son returns. Ex-bad boy Ashton Foley returns to visit his mum whilst he is working in the local area. He has turned his life around from jailed teenage tearaway to having his own interior design company which specialises in bringing nature into the home. And by that I don't mean just plonking a couple of pot plants around and about, it's on a whole other scale completely! Anyway, long story short, he asks Eve to write a feature on him, while he is still alive, and she is just about to turn him down again when he is found dead. With the police pretty much believing they have the suspect in their sights, and with Eve now being tasked to do her day job and write his obituary, she starts her own investigation...
I said in my review for book one that having an obituary writer as an amateur sleuth is a very interesting concept. I was also a bit concerned as to how the murders would fall into Eve's lap to investigate but here, as in the first book, it falls naturally to Eve to get stuck in. Especially when the deceased's mother also asks for her help. Eve continues to be as methodical as she was in book one but also comes across as fallible, making mistakes in her, often, amateurish fumblings to get to the truth. This just adds a whole layer of realism into the mix which is a bit of a breath of fresh air at times. The plot is well crafted and executed with aplomb and kept me on my toes throughout. It also gets on with itself very well with not superfluous waffle or padding. The rest of the cast, alongside Eve, both new and familiar are all well drawn and play their parts well. As with most villages we have a good share of secrets, lies and duplicitous behaviour for Eve to cut through to get to the truth.
All in all, a cracking follow up book which completely satisfied although it did leave me gagging for the next in series. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Enjoyable twisty read of murder in a small village. The “detective” is an obituary writer who investigates the life and death of her subject, an interesting and original idea! Lots of twists and turns keeps action going to the end, where Eve finds herself in danger... Pleasantly sinister and unexpected.
I also like the developing insight into life in the village, and wish I could visit Viv’s tea shop in real life! The descriptions of her buns are truly mouthwatering.
I look forward to reading more of this new series!

This is book 2 in the Eve Mallow series and there isn't anything I didn't like about it. There is something interesting about an obituary writer. The village is someplace I want to live and I enjoy the characters. I hope this is a long running series.

Enjoyed the small village atmosphere, someplace I would like to live. Good mystery, likeable characters, good murder mystery. However, Eve is only forty-nine years old, speaking for myself, you don't feel old in your forties! She needs Robin for a boyfriend, or future husband, preferably, then they can gasp, kiss, talk in bed, then you have a reason for them to meet. I don't give away any spoilers, I did know who did it, I liked all the twists that were thrown in, made for an interesting read.
I recommend! Thank you #Netgalley
carolintallahassee.com

Bad boy turned famous horticultural designer is desperate for obituary writer Eve Mallow to write an article on him and his company for a glossy magazine but after turning him down Eve then finds herself tasked with writing his obituary and digging into his background for his murderer

A cosy mystery thriller and second in the series, a very good read and one that you dont put down

If you have a curiosity about people and what makes them interestingly individualistic then writing obituaries could be the career for you. It definitely suits Eve Mallow as she strives to do justice to the memories of the well known newly deceased while having an interest in local crime in and around her new home village and is finding life both idyllic and challenging in equal measure which she loves.

When local boy Ashton Foley was sent to a young offenders' institution for drug dealing no one but his loyal mum was surprised. Nowadays though, he's a famous horticultural designer offering bespoke indoor/outdoor experiences to his client list of the rich and famous but no one changes that much do they?

Staying with his thrilled mum while working locally Ashton wants Eve to do an article on him and his company for a glossy magazine. As she earns her living writing obituaries Eve refuses the work until he is found dead and she begins looking into his murder while commissioned by the same magazine to write a very different piece of work than he could have ever imagined.

This is the second book in what I really hope will become a long series of Eve Mallow adventures. Already the main protagonists have found their place in the scheme of things and fit nicely together. The author has found her footing as a writer of 'cosy' crime almost immediately and in both outings so far Eve has presided over complex, difficult to solve, cases which sit easily in their village location as they draw the reader in alongside them in a deceptively effortless manner.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed any of Ms Chase's previous books or is a crime story aficionado cosy or otherwise. In all cases this is a very good read.

Enjoyed this book. Eve writes obituaries for murdered people. She keeps on getting very involved in the cases as the police don't seem to be able to solve the cases

Book 2 in this cosy mystery series and it's like coming home. I loved the atmosphere of the little village by the sea. People work well together and some become real close friends and of course life is spiced up a bit by the town gossip, who is quite a character. :)

So everything is great except for those murder victims popping up left, right and center. And Eve would not be Eve if she would not stick her nose in not only trying to  solve the cases, but being succesful in doing so. 

I liked the first book, but I liked this even more. I would not mind going for a walk on the beach, enjoy a hearty meal in the pub and settle down for a cup of tea and a selection of those mouth watering, utterly delicious sounding pastries and desserts.

Looking forward the next part. 5 stars.

Thank you, Clare Chase and Bookouture.

cosy-mystery, friendship, murder-investigation, murder, England, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, small-business, small-town, procedural

In early chapters it's easy to figure out who will be the murder victim. It is rather ironic for Eve that this very irksome man is determined to bully her into writing a biographical piece about himself for a trade magazine when her writing is of obituaries for niche market magazines. The worst of it for Eve is that the man's mother is a friend, so when the woman tasks Eve with finding his murderer (the local police detective is a caricature of the kind of short sighted investigator) it poses some real problems. Eve does a great job with the due diligence for her obit and that helps a lot with her investigation as well. She determined who was most likely and actually confronted him. But then. Well, no spoilers, but there are plenty of plot twists, red herrings, and misdirection. Kept me in suspense. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you!

I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters in this book. It was alright but is missing something. It felt like the characters are distanced from each other, there was not really spark between any of them. The mystery is good, I definitely didn't guess who the killer was. #MysteryatAppleTreeCottage #NetGalley