I thought I was a fan of this author but it turned out not to be the case. I apologize this review took so long to send in.

Thank you for the ARC of the book. I really like this post English-war British murder mystery with it's twisty ride of a story. Pauline's character is very well written with certain nuances that make her real and her reactions to the sub plots very entertaining. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the book.

I am sorry for the lack of a stellar review, but unfortunately, I have a bad taste in my mouth for the genre of cozy mysteries at the moment and would hate it to go into your book with any preconceived prejudices. I have no doubt many readers will love reading In The Beginning, There Was a Murder, but after having recently read another cozy mystery I didn't like at all, I don't think it would be fair to read this book with a closed mind. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I really enjoyed this book, perfect for a lazy weekend as it's not too taxing but it did drag on a little at times, the main character was a little bit of a ditherer, I wasn't sure if she knew whether she was coming or going especially where the mystery was concerned and yet oddly enough that trait endeared her to me, true I wanted to give her a good old talking to but I enjoy the journey of the case.

This is the first book I have read by P.C. James (why is that?) I will certainly be reading more from this author, The mystery is compelling, the writing is very easy and enjoyable to read, I liked the setting and the descriptions - it's a shame about the rather weak main character, I thought that Pauline could have stood better if she supported rather then a main.

Overall a decent mystery!

I found this be be a very good British cozy mystery. The description of the settings was wonderful and really made me feel like I was there. I enjoyed the characters and the story was full of red herrings. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. I received a copy from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Fun, interesting story with engaging characters that held my interest all throughout the book. If you love English cozy mysteries, you’ll love this one. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I liked this well written historical mystery.
It's a bit slow at times but the solid mystery kept me guessing and I liked the characters and the vivid historical background.
I'd be happy to read other books in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I chose this book on a whim, as I was looking for a cosy mystery on Netgalley. Upon closing the book, I realize I chose it for all the wrong reasons. I chose it because the name of the protagonist, Pauline Riddell, spoke to me. Because the author’s name was very similar to P.D. James. Because it was set in a period I found intriguing: post-war Britain (1953) and the Korean war, and because the cover seemed cozy, girly and a bit whimsical. Truth be told, that’s not the recipe for success.

Pauline Riddell is a serious, introspective, rather naive young woman who works as an executive secretary at an industrial plant in Newcastle in Northern Britain. She’s betrothed but she also has ambitions for her career, and at the back of her mind, she’d rather be a sleuth than a secretary, a dream she considers way too fanciful. She often meets with her girlfriend Marjorie for lunch, but when she learns that Marjorie dates a married man, Pauline frowns upon it and doesn’t want to hear her friend’s confidences. The same evening, Marjorie is found dead, not far from another killed man who is the victim of a bar brawl. Pauline wants to investigate, all the more as she feels the police doesn’t take it seriously enough.

There is a lot of potential with this character who is not your usual outgoing, action-oriented private investigator. Instead, Pauline doubts herself at every step of the investigation, and for sure the police isn’t helping by criticizing her every attempt. Still, it makes for a rather frustrating experience for the reader, because for every step forward in the plot, there’s a lot of stalling and a lot of backtracking. In short, it is quite slow. Also, Marjorie is a mere acquaintance to Pauline, and her motivation to investigate this suspicious death doesn’t seem strong enough: it would have been more understandable if Pauline’s project of becoming a private investigator had been clearer from the start, but Pauline’s self-doubts and her moral and religious position clash with the representation of an opportunistic go-getter.

I didn’t really click with Pauline, whom I found a bit pretentious. I enjoyed more her counterpart Detective Ramsay, but he was a bit of a cliché for the good-cop-with-a-trauma-in-his-past. I wished I could give both characters a strong coffee every morning to speed things up, but the story taking place in 1953, coffee was certainly still rationed, which might explain the problem. Mmmh, I should probably also reassess the criteria for choosing my next book.

This book took some time to get into, but was an enjoyable, if predictable, mystery. The main character, Pauline, did make some ditzy moves that moved the plot along but didn't really endear me to her. Nevertheless, I will be on the lookout for more titles by PC James.

This was my first book by the author and it didn’t work for me. I have recently started liking the thriller suspense stories and this was wasn’t as suspenseful to put me on my toes. The story revolves around a murder of a lady named Marjorie. She has been murdered and inspector Ramsay is investigating the murder. Pauline, Marjorie’s work friend, is the last person she met before being murdered. She is also helping the police to investigate the issue, but after a while, she gets impatient and starts conducting her investigation around a guy that she suspects as the killer.

The way the author describes the plot gives the reader a sense of the subject. It felt like unimportant things are described in detail. The same plot dragged for too long, whereas the characters are not introduced properly. The story starts with an unusually brief meeting between Pauline and Marjorie. It didn’t allow the reader to know about either of the characters enough to root for them. Throughout the book, Pauline is actively engaging in the investigation of her so-called friend. But there is no account of their friendship. She repeatedly mentions Marjorie being only a work friend. She didn’t even react strongly or shockingly when she was informed of the murder. All at once, she jumps into the investigation, getting uneasy about everything related to the murder. When to the reader, there’s no context for any of it. The plot was way too repetitive. There’s the same town she’ll visit to spy on Marjorie’s ex-boyfriend, she’ll get scolded by Ramsay, she’ll apologize for interfering with the investigation. Then she’ll do it the same way for the next few chapters.

It didn’t click for me as much I was expecting it. Mostly because of loose character development. There wasn’t a connection between me as a reader and the characters. After a point, I didn’t care.

Thanks to NetGalley and P.C. James for ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a delightful book about a young woman trying to figure out who killed her friend when she realizes the police aren’t doing their job. It takes place during the Korean War in England. She reminds me of a young Miss Marple. Inspector Ramsay was a nice compliment to Miss Riddell in the book. The author did a great job of creating the main character and she seemed quite realistic for the era. I found it a bit slow but it is a different type of murder mystery than the more graphic ones and was a nice change. I thank NetGalley and BookSocial Publishing for allowing me to read this Arc.

I really wanted to like this. The time period, premise, genre, locale ... all things that typically call to me. And they did this time seeing as how I went ahead and got the book off of Netgalley. Unfortunately, when all was said and done the best part of it for me was that it was a fast read.

Having read and loved many cosy mysteries books I was expecting this to be the same but I found it quite slow and I didn't like the main character at all.

Introducing Pauline, Unintentional Amateur Sleuth....
Entertaining gentle mystery, 1950’s set, introducing Pauline Riddell, unintentional amateur sleuth. When Pauline’s best friend is murdered she has no option but to investigate but can she find the killer before another death occurs? Nicely written, engaging tale with a likeable but unlikely protagonist and a colourful cast of supporting characters. Easy, relaxing reading.

I selected this because I like historical fiction. The story is set in the 1950's. The protagonist Pauline Riddell is an executive secretary working at an armament factory. She is determined to solve the mystery of her best friend because she feels the police are not doing an adequate job.
I liked the first chapter which set the tone well and drew the characters. Alternate chapters are from the point of view of Pauling or Detective Ramsay who is heading the official investigation.
Pauline discovers that what looks like a random murder is in fact a tale of international spies as she digs deeper against the advice of the police.
Much of the story comprises the thoughts of either Pauline or Ramsey and there isn't much conversation which makes it dull reading at times. I have to admit I skipped through quite a bit. The pace is slow. I took a dislike to Pauline who kept jumping to all sorts of incorrect assumptions in her efforts to track down the killer. The writing sparkled and there was some much-longer for humour at the end when Pauline and Ramsey work together to catch the killer. In fact, Ramsey seems competent so it is surprising that he is unable to solve the mystery by himself... I would have liked a hint of a relationship blooming between them to carry on to the next book...
I also felt that compared to some other mystery stories set in pre and post war times, this had very little description of place, clothes etc so it actually felt as if it were set in the present.

1953 Northern England. Despite it being after a World War and women coming out in full force into the work environment, things were still quite rigid where behaviour and what was expected from women.

Pauline was someone with ambition. She worked in an armament factory, not on the floor but on the secretarial side but was hoping for advancement. When her friend Marjorie gives her details of her love affair with a rich, married man Pauline really does not want to know very much. Sadly when Marjorie is found murdered, Pauline realizes that she should have paid closer attention to what her friend was saying because other than for a name, she does not know anything else of what went on in Marjorie's life.

Approaching the police with whatever information she had, Pauline is left frustrated because she feels that what she says is disregarded because the Inspector has problems of his own with the hierarchy who want the first possible suspect arrested and charged without going into detail.

The story goes on from there how Pauline follows up on clues, with the help of a relative working for a newspaper. (how we rely on the internet for information is really emphasised here because everything is so very slow!!!) The news of the loss of Pauline's fiancee in the Korean War adds to her distress but also helps her to focus on her findings.

A bit slow but reminiscent of the times the story was set in, this was an old fashioned detective story.

This fun mystery was based in the year 1053 in Northern England. Pauline Riddell works in an armament factory and has a pretty ordinary life in the grand scheme of things. That is until her best friend reveals she is having an affair with a ....married man! She doesn't want to hear more and the next thing she knows the police are coming to inform her that her friend has been murdered.

Pauline becomes the quintessential amateur sleuth and as she finds clue after clue that the police apparently have missed she gets more and more involved in the case to the point that she sometimes risks her own well being.

I loved the author's writing style and really did enjoy this mystery. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free copy for my honest review.

I was a bit slow to get into the story. Ramsey was definitely a character that I was uncertain about until nearer the end. Pauline did seem to jump in with both feet even when on the wrong path. But her heart was in the right place. Marjorie's story unfolded as the story progressed. It wasn't a bad book but it was a bit scary some of the risks Pauline took to gather information.

Pauline Riddell and Marjorie Armstrong work together. Pauline doesn’t quite approve of Marjorie’s latest boyfriend, the latest of many, a married man. Pauline has only heard of his first name, Eric.

Pauline comes to know of the murder of a young man, chalked up to gang violence. Then she hears of a young woman being killed in the same vicinity on the same night in the same manner.

Inspector Ramsay clings to the theory that the two murders are not related even though evidence suggests otherwise. Pauline, impatient and missing her fiancé, Stephen, who is fighting at the front in Korea, makes it her mission to discover the truth about Marjorie. She makes her own enquiries and accuses people of the murder, only to find later that they have rock solid alibis and she has only embarrassed herself. Inspector Ramsay is in despair, pleading with her to let the police do their job and not to put herself in harm’s way.

But then one of her suspects acts like they have something to hide. Has Pauline put her life in danger?



The chapters are a quick read, and alternate between the 3rd person past tense limited viewpoints of Pauline Riddell and Inspector Ramsay.

In the Beginning there was a Murder is set in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England in July 1953, 8 years after World War II ended. It is a war that continues to cast a long shadow on the lives of people.

The book gives us a window to the times. Food is hard to get by and rations continue. Young girls are getting jobs in factories, mostly as secretaries. The war in Korea is on.

The descriptions were more suggestive, rather than literal, just the way I like them. The author roots the book in Newcastle through the link with the football club, Newcastle United. The setting came alive with accounts of the weather, the people and the routines.

Inspector Ramsay has lost his wife and two sons to an air bombing that missed its targeted shipyards, and hit a civilian home. His grief makes him intensely real. The author tells us, it looked as if sorrow had set up home in him. The bereavement explains his grievance against wars and ammunition when Sergeant Morrison thinks forced enlisting will solve all problems. In many ways, he is conservative, and the author tells us that he may have left the church but it hadn’t left him.

I liked Inspector Ramsay from the very beginning. He was patient and hardworking, in spite of the pressures from his seniors. But Pauline I didn’t take to very well, not at first. It was only in Chapter 13 when she started snooping around, following people, and fearing that if this continued, she’d become a criminal herself that I began to like her.

Of course, given the time period, it is very brave of her to even go around making enquiries and trying to do investigations on her own. The bond between Inspector Ramsay and Pauline, once they established a truce, was good.

In his bit role, Major Bertram, Stephen’s father, was also significant..



Some of the author’s observations were astute: lust and alcohol-induced glow.


Some fine-toothed editing was required though. The first murder victim is first named Thomas Bertram and then as Edward Bland. Perhaps the name was changed later, because as it turned out, Stephen, Pauline’s fiancé, was also a Bertram.

2 stars
I could not finish. The book started well but is just so dull. It started well but just drags on and on. I found myself skimming and not caring how anything turned out, so I quit.