The Cornish Village Murder

After to long, continuing the Noisey Parker Cozy Mysteries series. I love a good ‘whodunit’.

‘I always liked feeding people’ still running her catering company from home and the Gimpmobile and catering to the town of Penstowan. Catering the local art festival she meets Duncan, the quest of honor. A esteemed painter.

During this town festival, the body of a writer is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs. Of course Jodie sticks her noisey nose into the investigation. And is helping Nathan unravel the events with all her copper experience from working at the London Police for years.

I did not enjoy this book as much as the first book. I did not like Jodie’s love triangles that much.

Fiona never fails to keep me entertained with her books from her Bella series to her now Nosey Parker series, I have loved every book. The writing, I don't even know how to explain it, she writes how I would expect her to talk. It's so conversational and inclusive. She doesn't beat about the bush, she says it how it is... I LOVE IT!

I have been such a MASSIVE fan of Fiona's for years, and I can't see that changing. She has created a series with Nosey aka Jodie, where you are invested. You are so invested in her life, and you want her to be happy.

As much as she had a nice seductive love interest in this book, and I was excited for her, there is only one man (well maybe two) she should be with. They both know it, and it's actually fun watching them skate about the fact. However, it was lovely to see Jodie get a love interest, she got some romantic spotlight and it just made me love her even more.

I also have to give a shout-out to the narrator Zara - what a woman and what a voice. She kept me engaged in the book and at the moment with my current frame of mind, that is hard to do. It took me far too long to listen to this book but she kept me going. She kept having a conversation with me, telling me what Jodie was doing and how the hell she would get out of this arty mystery.

I am looking forward to the next book, as I need to know what Jodie is going to do next. I love her catering business and at the end of the book, to read the latest recipes by Jodie is such a fab addition to the book!

This series is fun, yes it is about a murder, but it's not the focal point. It's lighthearted, it's a mystery and Jodie is always at the centre of it all! Keep them coming Ms Leitch, keep them coming!

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

A group of strangers are stuck at a B&B after a Christmas party when a snowstorm shuts down the roads. Will Nosey Parker be able to use her investigative skills to figure out which guest killed Santa?

I loved the clever writing, the plot, and the characters in this book! It was a great Christmas read. The murder scene was very descriptive and a little gory for me. I also felt it got a little repetitive with all the guests being kept at the hotel until Police could arrive and Jodie finding all the secret passages in the old house. The ending was a great surprise and cleverly written. Can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins- One More Chapter for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love a good cosy mystery, and this book is an excellent example of the genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

‘A Brush with Death’ by Fiona Leitch is the second Nosey Parker cosy mystery and the first I’ve read. Jodie Parker, ex-Metropolitan police officer, and newly single mum has returned home to Cornwall. It’s the week of Penstowan’s inaugural arts festival and Jodie, no longer working for the police, is doing the catering. The festival’s main attraction is painter Duncan Stovall, famous for his Penstowan series of sea paintings.
This is a story with instant fizz. Written in the first person, Jodie’s, I loved the sly sometimes saucy asides that pull you straight into the jokes, the personalities and the action. If it were an item of food on a menu catered by Jodie, this book would be a mash-up of a Cornish saffron bun slathered with butter and clotted cream, a mug of steaming tea and a glass of scrumpy. Cornwall is a part of the book’s DNA, not just the dialect of the Penstowan residents or the food but the wonderful descriptions of coastal scenery that make you want to get into the car and head south on the M5.
When a visiting author is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs Jodie can’t resist sticking her nose in and asking questions, much to the annoyance of DCI Nathan Withers and the irritation of Jodie’s daughter Daisy and mum Shirley.
This is a silky read, one of the best of its genre I’ve read. A brilliant community of family, friends and townspeople, a beautiful seaside setting, with a witty detective, plotted on two levels. The foundation is Jodie’s life settling into the town of her childhood, a triangular-shaped romantic entanglement, and her burgeoning new catering business. Overlaying this is the case in which she becomes entangled; the art world, not just the creation of art but the finance, promotion, sales and investment.
I particularly enjoyed the joshing with childhood friends Debbie and Tony, including lots of cultural references from the Eighties that are lightly handled without huge signposts saying ‘laugh here’.
Read it and chuckle.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

This is the second book in this series and it is even better then the first. This series has great characters and is set in a wonderful location. I cannot wait for the next book.

Unfortunately this book is not on my kindle app either. I will get it from the library to read. I'm sad it's not on my kindle to read.

When a dead body shows up at her last catering job Jodie Nosey Parker it put people off the hor d’ oeveres. So with a reputation to salvage Jodi is determined her next job for the village festival will go without a hitch. The body of a writer from the festival is discovered at the bottom of a cliff. The prime suspect is the guest of honor esteemed painter Duncan Stoval. With her police background Jodieis on the case to solve the mystery and she knows things are rarely as they seem. Can she find the killer before the village faces another brush with death. An enjoyable mystery to be solved well written story easy to read.

It could have been a 5* but love triangle is one of my pet peeve in a cozy mystery.
It's a fun and entertaining read, fast paced and plotted.
The character are well thought and fleshed out.
The mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was an okay cozy. The mystery plotting itself was good, and I liked the humor of the main character. What mostly ruined it for me were 2 things: 1) Jodie's instant schoolgirl crush on Duncan; and 2) the fact that this former cop supposedly has a fledgling catering business--Banquets and Bakes--and yet her "job" only appears when it's convenient to the plot, which makes the whole setup less believable.

I didn't read book 1 in this series, but book 2 worked as a stand-alone. Not sure I'm interested enough to go back and read book 1, though.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I recently reviewed the first of this series and, as I said then, I do have a soft spot for a cozy crime.

‘A Brush with Death’ picks up fully where the opening installment left off. Having left the Met, Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is still down in Cornwall and trouble is never far away.

Leitch is a charming observer of small town mores, in fact the opening line: “Whatever you do, don’t call it a fete,” is the sort of thing which people who have lived in small villages where appearances matter, will certainly recognize.

As Parker goes about trying to find out who has bumped off the guest of honour at the definitely NOT a fete, Leitch reintroduces us to the light hearted ways of her catering detective, this time in a narrative sprinkled with even more pop culture references spanning the decades (“Terminator… Abigail’s Party”)

In lockdown, many people appear to have returned to Agatha Christie or the cozy crime genre to take advantage of escapism in its purest form. Leitch is becoming one of the best at taking the minutiae of village life so beloved of the Golden Age legends and putting a humerous modern spin on it.

I liked the first book which also had a bit too much jabber about men and mild sexual banter between Jodie and her mum, but it's ratcheted up here with the addition of a third man who Jodie is attracted to. Lots and lots of romance fills the pages and wounded suitors, but the mystery manages to keep one's attention and it's quite interesting.

3.5/5.0

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

A Brush with Death is a very well written cozy mystery. Well crafted plot and character dynamics. Mystery fans will love this book.

The little town of Penistowan is holding their first arts festival (don’t call it a fete) and Jodie is ready to cater to the needs of guests and organizers. Known for her curiosity and never looking at situations as everyone else (and a previous history of help in an earlier case) has Jodie adding questions and hours of thought above and beyond her own worries for catering to the menu.

My first introduction to this slowly developing story as both the place, characters and Jodie’s relationships with friends and family is building, also brought us an instant attraction that was hard to deny between a visiting famous artist and Jodie, and the never-ending tension and questions that seemed to arise with him and his relationship with his also famous wife. When a body goes over the cliff, and the behavior of some of the spectators to the festival is more than a bit suspicious, the story spins into a two-parter: discovering the secret that the artist is hiding, discovering who pushed the author over the cliff, and Jodie needs to discover just what is between her and the newly arrived DCI - is that just sparks in proximity or is there more?

Not having read the first in the series, there wasn’t a ton of adjustment time needed to meet the characters or feel comfortable in the setting: Leitch did a good job with providing just enough backstory to introduce her characters, and the dialogue went a long way toward fixing their personalities and relationships in ways that felt natural and plausible. The setting of the place as well as the influence / interference of the locals added to the small town/village feel and allowed us to see how Jodie’s familiarity with her childhood home also influences and sometimes deters her from action, albeit momentarily. This was fun, funny and clever – and while the red herrings were frequent, the reveal of culprit and secrets desperately hidden was entertaining and well worth the read.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aSs /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This is the second instalment in Fiona Leitch's new Nosey Parker Mysteries series, following on from 'Murder on the Menu'. Set in a Cornish coastal town, Jodie 'Nosey' Parker has moved back to her small hometown for a more peaceful life. She has served in the Metropolitan Police force for longer than she cares to remember and is in Penstowan after her retirement along with her daughter Daisy, aged 12, as new residents. Passionate about baking, she wanted to own and run her own catering company so she has retrained as a caterer, setting up Banquets and Bakes.

In this instalment, the Penstwowan Art Festival is looming. Well-known artist Duncan Stovall is a special guest and his work is being featured as part of the festival. He and his glamorous wife, Genevieve Lorre, are staying at Lowenna cottage and Genevieve will be giving a book talk alongside journalist turned author Robert Holmes. When Robert is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs near Lowenna cottage the finger of blame is pointed in the direction of Duncan Stovall. And so Jodie finds herself juggling murder and mini fruit scones.

This is a riveting cozy, rich in mystery, intrigue and deception. The police are called in to investigate and Jodie is eager to offer her expertise and help in whatever way she can. I continued to warm to the character of Jodie and found her extremely down-to-earth, with a terrific no-nonsense attitude. The lead detective, DCI Withers is amenable to Jodie helping out and she shares the details of what she's gleaned with him.

Fiona Leitch's writing style is imaginative and the story has a great flow. The author did a brilliant job of transporting me to the Cornish countryside and I felt the rustic charm whilst easily visualising the chocolate-box setting. It is refreshing to have a sleuth in a cozy that is not an amateur as this brought depth to the tale. Love is in the air for ex-copper turned caterer, Jodie, smitten with the roguish Duncan, though childhood friend Tony Penhaligon is still around and there's the odd romantic rumbling from DCI Withers who's happy to let Jodie assist in the case unperturbed by her presence and wheedling into police matters. I enjoyed that all of the vivid characters had something to contribute to the story and this engaging mystery was a pleasure to read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended especially if you like your cozies with a delectable dash of romance.

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

There is a certain art to cooking, especially cake decorating and there is a certain art to actual art. Jodie (Nosey) Parker, former Met beat cop now a sleuthing caterer with a wicked wit, who also has excellent recipes at the end of her stories, is doing what she does best, using her nosy/investigative skills. This time though there is a little bit more involved as she feels inexplicably drawn to guest artist, Duncan Stovall. His marriage is a joke but his art is amazing and Jodie figures that he might just be her cabbage picker, if he isn't a murderer that is. An author who said he had a hot lead dies, the book writing wife who seems like an ice princess, and a financial wizard turned art seller who is obviously the guy who defrosts the princess. DI Withers is becoming accustomed to Jodie's help but he is sending some mixed signals on a personal level and then there's her best mate, Tony, who says he will be there to help pick up the pieces and promises not to judge when her fling is flung. So why does Jodie feel twinges of guilt? In addition to the men in her life, Jodie has her Mom, daughter Daisy, and to keep her grounded. Excellent story and ended just the way I was hoping and somewhat expecting, I was surprised by who did the deed and why.

Romance is definitely on the menu in book two of the Nosey Park Mysteries. Jodie determined to make a success of her new catering business secures a civic function but not unexpectedly, things don't go to plan. It's lust at first sight with Duncan, a local artist, but unfortunately, he's married and a suspect in the village's latest death. Her relationship with Tony, her childhood friend, is strong, but her new friendship with DCI Withers is tortuous though, they do move closer to a professional understanding.

Humour underscores the cosy mystery plot with memorable contributions from Jodie's mum and our catering detective's internal monologues. However, it's the romantic relationships woven into the plot that dominates this story. The mystery is more straightforward than in the first book but still entertaining, and the character development and dynamics keep the reader invested in the story.

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

Set in beautiful Cornwall, a body is discovered at the bottom of the cliffs. Did he jump, was it an accident, or was

he pushed? Ex-copper, Jodie 'Nosey' Parker returns to investigate alongside the very fanciable DSI Withers. She

must find time to sort through many clues and red herrings to piece together what happened..

With an arts festival, financial issues and a new person in her busy life we are party to a very cosy murder and

at the same time are with Jodie as she struggles to keep her catering business afloat and take care of her

lovely family. I really enjoyed this book as it is full of surprises and lets you travel to lovely places.. It is warm

and funny.

I enjoyed the second foray into Nosey Parker's life in Cornwall as much as the first installment. She continues to make me smile. It's like everything that could go wrong does, but she still comes out on top and helps the handsome DCI solve the crime!

The characters are well developed. Some of them are quirky, some not so much, but I loved learning more about them!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.