The fourth book in the Kitt Hartley series. The book was filled with numerous strong characters as well as the usual ones who were back again. The book was filled with many twists and turns. The mystery was solid and kept me guessing until the reveal. I didn’t guess it.
I hope that there is more in this series to come.

The humour, the characters and the wonderful setting will make this an appealing option even for readers who do not normally turn to mysteries as their preferred genre. One of a series, this book nonetheless stands alone in plot and in character development.

I read this for the Durham setting and it was a pleasant enough way to pass a couple of days, but the characters were a bit too full of themselves and insufferable.

Second only to books about books are books about librarians so a crime-solving librarian is right up my street. This is an enjoyable read - I have read a previous book in this series so it was nice to catch up with the characters again.

The latest book in a series I've very much enjoyed, this one sees Grace, heroine Kitt Hartley's ex-assistant in the library, moving to Durham to further her education at a prestigious private college. Grace discovers that the murder of a student, the previous year, is still unsolved so decides that she should look into it. When Kitt comes to visit her they set out to investigate - interviewing the victim's fiancé, the host of the radio show she was speaking to live on air when she was attacked and staff at the college. It soon becomes obvious that there is a mystery to solve and also that, once again, Kitt and Grace are in danger. With lots of Cox's trademark humour and a satisfyingly obscure plot this is an entertaining read. My only issue was that there seemed to be one or two tiny, weenie liberties taken with the city of Durham itself - and that is only something I noticed because I lived and worked there for over a decade. I think I'm being a bit too fussy...

I have been really enjoying this series which features a librarian-turned-private detective in York who solves cases with the help of a few colorful characters, but this one last book disappointed a little. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the previous novels. Maybe because the story focused mostly on the murder case, while in the other books we saw more of the characters’ personal lives or maybe because I found the murder case a bit far-fetched. Despite all of this, I have no intention to give up on this series and I look forward to reading the next book.

I could not get into this. I tried three times. I did make it halfway but i felt like it dragged. It may well be a "cosy" mystery but i felt it was also too descriptive

Kitt Hartley is back in this fourth instalment of the series by Helen Cox. In Death Awaits in Durham whilst visiting ex-colleague Grace, librarian and PI trained Kitt learns that murder was possibly committed a year ago but is still, as yet, unsolved. Grace started studying at the Venerable Bede's Vocational Academy and four months into a mechanics course, Jodie Perkins disappeared. Jodie had called a live radio show and was about to make an announcement on air when listeners heard her scream. Jodie has never been seen since, nor was her body ever found...

Death Awaits in Durham kept me on my toes throughout as I devoured each chapter. I adored being in the company of Kitt again who is smart and funny. Kitt's boyfriend, DI Mal Halloran is on the periphery of Kitt's investigation but he has to work in York so Kitt and a very keen Grace are on their own with Kitt putting to good use the newly acquired skills she's learned on the private investigator course she has recently completed. With a handy supply of colourful supporting characters, the mystery itself was sound and there was always something going on to keep my attention focused. The clues, twists and red herrings were cleverly placed and with nothing as it seemed, the story was super exciting. This has left me wanting to read the first two books of the series, as well as eagerly anticipating the next instalment.

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

The latest in Helen Cox's series featuring Kitt Hartley, librarian come sleuth, this time about a missing Durham Uni undergraduate the investigation about whom seems to have dried up.
I love the references to the Venerable Bede Academy and Durham in general in this cosy, not too complicated or violent drama. Like all Helen's books that I have read so far, it is well written, thoughtfully designed and researched and smoothly executed.

Recommended

Another enjoyable Kitt Hartley mystery. I particularly liked the fact that it featured Kitt and Grace as amateur sleuths with DI Halloran purely in the background. A really great series.

This is one of my favourite series of crime novels, it has so many things that appeal to me, not least, a librarian and lovely northern settings. The series is also very popular with library customers, I have noticed our copies being borrowed a lot.

I absolutely love this series and number 4 is a joy to read, Kitt Hartley Librarian and budding Pi sets off to Durham to visit her ex assistant Grace Edwards , whilst there she learns of an unsolved murder that she just cannot let pass


Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for the advanced read of this book, please bring number 5 out very soon

Kitt Hartley's assistant, Grace Edwards, has left her library job and taken a place on the Venerable Bede Academy's vocational library studies course in Durham. It's an unusual place to study as students with government grants are not accepted, so most of the people attending are scions of the seriously rich, scholarship students - or they've managed, somehow, to scrape together the money. Grace, who's 22, comes into the last category. Her parents agreed to fund the course but told her that if that was what she chose to do then they were finished with her. Not long after she started the course, Kitt Hartley came for a visit - and immediately discovered an unsolved disappearance of a student from a year ago.

Jodie Perkins was studying mechanics. She'd just received a letter telling her that she'd been expelled from the academy because drugs had been found in her locker. She knew that they were not her drugs and investigated what was behind their discovery. The last that was heard from her was when she rang the student radio station to say that she'd made an amazing discovery about an important person at the Venerable Bede's Academy. She was then attacked and the last that was heard from her was a piercing scream. The police had investigated but found no trace of Jodie, dead or alive.

Of course, Kitt can't resist an investigation of her own. Before long she's spoken to Patrick Howard, Jodie's fiancé, the dean of the academy, Regina Berkeley and millionaire's daughter, Selina Grant. Jodie had been friendly with Selina but something had curtailed the relationship just a few days before Jodie's disappearance. Kitt Hartley's boyfriend, DI Mal Halloran, is on the edge of Kitt's investigation but he has no standing in Durham and still has to work in York. For the first time, we see Kitt Hartley on her own and putting to good use the skills she's learned on the private investigator course which she's just finished.

It's cosy crime and if cosy crime's your bag you'll get a good read from Death Awaits in Durham. We've noticed before that Helen Cox has a real talent for handling what seems like a cast of thousands with skill. You really get the feel of being in a student city - and there's no sense that this is a closed-room story. The perpetrator could be anyone and I was certainly surprised when we found out what was behind Jodie's disappearance.

The plot's good too. You'll need to suspend disbelief on a couple of occasions (did I mention that this is cosy crime?) but you're here for the fun of a good read and not for an intellectual puzzle. I picked the book up because I used to know Durham well - I lived there for three years more than half a century ago - and whilst I only recognised parts of it from the book it was still a trip down memory land and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Helen Cox has veered off onto a slightly new course with this, the fourth book in her Kitt Hartley series. Alerted by her former assistant Grace to a cold case at the college where she is now studying, Kitt takes some time off from the Vale of York University Library to carry out some investigations in Durham. I spotted the criminal pretty quickly but the disentangling of the crime was still interesting. I felt that moving away from York and the library setting gave the book less structure, and I that Kitt and Grace behaved a stupidly out of character way at times. I enjoyed the book and read it quickly enough but it's not my favourite of the series. And I really regretted the side-lining of Evie and Mal. Hopefully they will re-appear in the next book.

An Unsolved Crime....
The fourth book in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series finds Kitt stumbling across an unsolved crime. -what the police believe was a potential murder but the body has never been discovered. Can Kitt and her former assistant, Grace, solve the mystery? Enjoyable cosy mystery with likeable protagonists and a colourful cast of supporting characters. Entertaining escapism.

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. It had a really good plot, great main characters and really keeps you hooked on the plot. I would highly recommend this book.

I received an ARC copy of this via NetGalley and Quercus in return for an unbiased review. I’d previously only read the third book in the series, and that had had a fairly preposterous plot where the victim leaves a cryptic code that Kitt just happens to be able to solve, leading to a Da Vinci type plot across the moors. Thankfully this book was more plausible and so more enjoyable. Kitt has since done some private eye training and agrees to help Grace investigate the disappearance of a young woman at the college where Grace has started studying. There are still a few moments of “suspend belief”, but overall a much better and more plausible book.

I love this series and I was happy to meet again Kit and the cast of characters.
I missed Evie and the York setting but I thoroughly enjoyed the story, full of twists and turns, that kept me hooked.
The plot is tightly knitted and the solid mystery kept me guessing till the end with an unexpected solution.
I liked the humour and I liked the characters even if Grace is not amongst my favorite.
It's a highly entertaining and fun read that made me smile.
It's recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

When librarian and budding private investigator Kitt Hartley visits her ex-assistant Grace Edwards in Durham, she soon learns of an unsolved murder. A year ago Jodie Perkins, a Mechanics student, disappeared after her student-radio broadcast was cut short with a deafening scream. The police suspect Jodie was murdered although her body was never found. Keen to be on the front line of one of Kitt's investigations, Grace convinces Kit to use her recent private investigator training to solve the mystery.
This is the fourth book in the series & is easily read on its own. As I live in Durham this was ideal for me as I could visualise the places & loved the author’s descriptions. Strong characters with depth added to my enjoyment. I have grown to really like Kitt. The story flowed very well, there were plenty of twists & turns that kept me guessing, I’m loving these cosy mysteries set in the North of England & eagerly await more
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Death Awaits in Durham is the fourth instalment in The Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries series and is a cosy crime thriller set in and around Durham, England. It isn't necessary to have read the preceding three books before this as each of the stories are self-contained and enough backstory is provided to bring new readers up to speed. Ex-librarian and amateur sleuth Kitt is back on the investigative trail after going to visit ex-assistant Grace Edwards who is attending Venerable Bede Vocational Academy in the picture-postcard city of Durham in the North East of England. When she learns about the unsolved "cool" case of student Jodie Perkins, she discovers the very public nature in which she was last heard — taking part in a student broadcast via radio the last those listening heard was a terrifying scream and Jodie was never seen again. Now time has passed, a year according to her devastated fiance, with most believing she was brutally murdered... can Kitt and Grace discover the evidence needed to bring closure to the Perkins family or is the case destined to remain unsolved?

This is a superb cosy mystery with more bite and grit than usual but still maintaining the cosy feeling and despite Durham being a city, it is very much reminiscent of a small town. It's simply the perfect book to escape from the troubles of the world and inhabit someone else's even for a few hours. Kitt is a great character who is a force for good and she illustrates just how much of an effective sleuthing brain she has too. As Kitt and her sleuthing sidekicks become ever more involved in investigating they are soon discovering huge secrets and revelations regarding Jodie's untimely disappearance. This is a fun, fast-paced, easy read with an enjoyable and entertaining plot, humour and plenty of twists and surprises; Cox is one of the most accomplished cosy authors writing in the genre today, so if you enjoy taut plotting, stunning scenery and a cast of quirky characters, this is a must-read series. A charming and simply delightful tale. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.