This was my first foray into the "cozy crime" genre and I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the narration and I'm super picky about what makes a great audiobook. The story was interesting, the scenery inviting and the characters rich. I am looking forward to more from this author and I see more "cozy crime" books in my future. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @LisaCuttsAuthor and @bookouture for this advanced audio copy of Murder in the Village in return for an honest review.

Description 🔖

Belinda Penshurst owns and lives in Challham Castle in the little sleepy village of Little Challham. She adores where she lives and makes it her business to know about all that is going on locally. So it is no wonder that she is one of the first to know about the local pub landlord Tipper and his unfortunate death.

Harry Powell is a retired detective and he moved to Little Challham in search of a peaceful and quiet life. However he can’t help but get the investigative itch when Belinda is more enthusiastic about solving the local murder than the police are. So the two pair up in an attempt to find out who killed Tipper and who is behind all of the other mysterious goings on in Little Challham.

General Thoughts 🤔

I know that cozy crime is it’s whole own genre but this is my first cozy crime read and I’m pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so quaint and pleasant (even though it’s about murder) I couldn’t help but fall in love with the village and the villagers.

This book reminded me of Saturday afternoon TV when I was a kid. Being snuggled up on the sofa with my Nan, pretending I’m not enjoying what she’s watching but secretly engrossed. It’s not edge of your seat drama, but it’s gripping and once you’re in, you’re in. You can’t just stop.

Characters 👬👭👫

Belinda and Harry are such a good character pairing. The rapport and friendship that they built during the book was so sweet. I have no doubt that in future books, Belinda will end up getting her way and Harry will give in and go for that drink with her.

What I liked most were all of the periphery characters in the story. Probably because they reminded me so much of some of the people that live in my own village. Everyone knew everyone and made it their business to know what was going on with in their neighbours lives. That may seem annoying to some but what it also means is that everyone tends to look out for one another and that’s the feeling I got from the characters in Little Challham.

Writing Style ✍️

I love how the writing in this book made me feel. It truly did feel comforting and brought out all of the cosy feelings in me. Aside from that the mystery in the book was also cleverly written and kept me entertained whilst I was playing the whodunnit game along with Belinda and Harry. With a sprinkling of a budding romance added into the mix, I was hooked.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I’m so happy to conclude that this definitely won’t be my last cozy crime book and Belinda and I will definitely meet again. I’m so excited that this is just the first in the Belinda Penshurst Mystery series and I can’t wait for more of Little Challham.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy. Belinda lives in Challham Castle in the village of Little Challham. Retired Police detective Harry Powell delivers dog food. They join forces to investigate a murder and dog napping. A amusing and delightful mystery.

Really enjoyable. A lighthearted cosy mystery with great characters and plenty of banter. Looking forward to the next in the series.

I really enjoyed Murder in the Village by Lisa Cutts, it has the charm of other village detective stories such as Midsomer Murders & Miss Marple, and although nothing ever happens in Little Challham. Belinda Penshurst, owner of Challham Castle, soon finds herself caught up in the murder of the local landlord and with the help of retired detective Harry Powell who has moved to Little Challham for a quiet life to deliver dog food, but with murder and dog napping he’s soon going to be thrown in at the deep end again.

I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator Lucy Patterson really helped make the story come to life. I definitely look forward to the next instalment.

Belinda has returned to her family's home, a castle in a small village, joining her father and brother. She's been investing in small businesses there, including a pub. It is there she meets Harry, a retired police inspector who's living in their gatehouse and working as a pet food deliverer. When the manager of the pub is found murdered and dogs are being snatched from their homes, the two join forces to solve the mystery.

The main characters are quite interesting, both with a sad romantic past. Their banter is light and humorous at times. The plot of the story is intricate enough to keep you wondering about who is the bad guy/girl. And the description of the village scene is quite charming. This was fun to listen to, and I look forward to possible sequels!

Sometimes a Cozy Mystery is right up my alley, and this one was perfect for my mood!
Belinda Penshurst is the owner of Challham Castle in the charming village of Little Challham. When the owner of one of the local pubs is found murdered, by Belinda no less, she is drawn in to the mystery and not just for reasons of curiosity, but for reasons that might include protecting her brother. She is joined in her quest by a retired detective who can't resist the pull of solving this case, even as he has his own dognapping mystery to solve.
I've been reading some heavy stories lately, and really wanted to escape into an easy mystery without too many societal commentaries. Can a mystery be fun?! This one felt like it and I was happy to escape into this charming village. The characters were what I would expect with some good and some annoying qualities (like real people), and the plot was just the quick puzzle I wanted. I felt like I was listening to a Midsomer Murders show or Murder She Wrote, of which both I enjoy. As this is the first in a new series, I will be keeping my eye out for the next Belinda Penshurst mystery.
The narration was done very well. Lucy Patterson was great and I was able to follow along her voice changes quite easily. I definitely enjoyed listening to this one! A quick thank you to NetGalley for the audio version in exchange for my honest review.
If you enjoy a cozy mystery, I would rocommend picking up or listening to Murder in the Village by Lisa Cutts.

Murder in the Village has to contain the only amateur detective I've come across that lives in a castle! Belinda and Harry end up looking into some village murders and dog-napping and soon discover the two are related! Recommended for fans of cosy crimes!

Murder in the Village by Lisa Cutts is a wonderful cosy mystery. Fun characters, a great setting, a good little mystery. The narration is brilliantly done by Lucy Paterson.

Murder in the Village is a pretty standard cozy mystery and is perfect for fans of Midsummer Murders and dogs! Belinda and Harry are the main two characters who turn detective and solve the mystery. The story trundles along at quite a slow pace and, as I don’t think it fully captured my attention, I maybe missed a few things along the way. Harry is a retired detective turned dog food seller and has been romantically hurt in the past. I felt that Belinda seemed to look down on Harry at the beginning and then started to see him in a romantic light the more she got to know him, but this didn’t feel quite authentic to me. The story is pretty predictable, but when they found out who the culprit was at the end, I actually couldn’t remember him being mentioned in the story previously – obviously he must have been mentioned during the parts I dozed off. I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator did become more animated when reading dialogue, but at other times, it felt a bit robotic.

Belinda Penshurst is someone I would murder if I were a cozy author. She is pushy, rude and bossy. She is an entitled snot who likes to remind everyone – including herself – how she has saved everyone with her money, townspeople and her family alike. She feels she can do as she pleases, keeping secrets from her “partner” and then being upset when the shoe is firmly on the other foot. Harry, her “partner” seems a bit thick. Overall, not an impressive or convincing crime-solving duo. They do manage to resolve the mystery of the missing dogs and the murders, although they were not that difficult to discern. Ultimately, Harry and Belinda should go their own ways and never ever cross paths again.

Supposedly, there is to be a romance in the offing between Belinda and Harry. But both characters are so juvenile they “flirt” (I guess) by insulting each other, lying and generally being repulsive individuals.

The narrator’s voice was appealing, but to be honest, I kept falling asleep and had to back up and listen to nearly the entire story chapter by chapter. I cannot be certain if that was the voice, the story or a combination of the two.

Do you like British murder mysteries? Do you have an Acorn subscription? This is the book for you. We have a quaint village, multiple Murders, some romance.
I found the characters a little hard to keep straight in this book, and the romance felt a little forced, but on the whole, I loved it. I loved Belinda and the interpersonal relationships in the town.

Nothing ever happens in Little Challham.. Until there is a murder, dognapping mystery, and another murder! Belinda and Henry, a former detective, are on the cases.

It felt good listening to this audiobook, the story was good and the narration was perfect. Though the mystery itself wasn't very exciting!
One of the things I wasn't fond of, is how so many characters were considering stealing dogs are worse than killing another human! Really!! Are you f serious!
And then how Belinda and Henry were always by the crime scene! How the dognappers used her barn on her land to keep the dogs! And how everything happened was just weird..

Nonetheless I may like reading the second mystery book!

I enjoyed this story so much! This the first book I have read by Lisa Cutts. I loved the fun chemistry between Belinda and Harry! I will be posting a full book review on my Book Club Reporter website soon.

Very typical English cozy murder series. It was an easy listen which kept me entertained whilst cooking and driving. It was not taxing to listen to but somehow I wanted to know what happened next.

Looks like it is set up for a series.

The narration was good and fitted in with the story and I liked the tonal changes to represent different people.

I was give an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

*Many thanks to Lisa Cutts, Bookouture, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
An entertaining cozy mystery that has all elements which should be included in the genre: a good mystery, an intelligent heroine and a retired policeman who gets involved in the events despite having other plans. Tha book is narrated with vigour, kudos to Ms Paterson.
This book makes a perfect weekend read.

Murder in the Village brings the books heroine Belinda and local dog food deliverer and former police detective together to investigate a series of dog nappings and murders which appear to be linked in the usually quaint village Little Challham. The audiobook narrated by Lucy Paterson was a super easy listen. Her acting out of the story was superb and I would recommend the audiobook from her performance alone.
The growth of Belinda and Harry's relationship was very cute to see, and I would like to see more in future Belinda Penshurst Mystery books.

The book was well written but for me the person responsible for the deaths seemed to come a bit from left field. It is always a little disappointing to me as a reader when this happens.
I will happily pick up the next book to see what Belinda and Little Challham get up to next.

Recommend for fans of shows like Murder She Wrote or Midsomer Murders.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the chance to review this book early.

Narrator 5 stars

Story 3 stars
This story was ok. I personally woulfnt pay $14.95 (my audible price) but would probably continue the series if it was on KU. I didnt really take to the characters.

I've been hoping to try one of Bookouture's audiobooks and since I love all of their cozy mysteries, I was thrilled to see a cozy mystery audiobook available via Netgalley. I listen to a lot of cozy mysteries as they are usually pretty easy to follow even when I'm somewhat distracted by other tasks. Plus they are entertaining when I'm doing boring stuff like washing dishes.

Lisa Cutts is a new-to-me author and Murder in the Village looks to be her first cozy mystery. She has another mystery/suspense series, DB Nina Foster, and a few standalone mystery/suspense novels.

Belinda Penshurst is a forty-something investor who lives in the family manor in the small British village of Chalham. When the body of a local pub owner is found in the barrel of old ale, she decides to become an amateur sleuth - even though her friend, a retired police detective, Harry Powell reminds her she has no idea how to be a detective. When dogs start going missing, Harry, who now is a dog food deliverer and loves dogs, helps Belinda get to the bottom of the case.

Most of the story is focused on the missing dogs which makes for a nice change in the cozy mystery genre.

I liked both Belinda and Harry and I think they work well together. I look forward to future books featuring this pair. In some ways, Murder in the Village reminded me of MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin series.

National Dog Day was just this past Thursday, and the book does have some cute dogs. With Harry working for a dog food delivery company I'm sure we will see dogs in future books in this series. Cozy mysteries are about the only books that I will read that have animals in them as they usually provide comedic relief rather than tugging at the heartstrings. Even with the dognapping plot, you don't have to worry about having tissues while reading.

The audiobook was well-done. I didn't have any problem figuring out which character was which. Lucy Paterson does a fine job giving voice to the characters.

If you are looking for a new cozy mystery series and want to start at the beginning, then be sure to pick up this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Saturday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/08/murder-in-village-by-lisa-cutts.html

or a murder/mystery, this was such a fun read!

This is the first book in a brand new series featuring Belinda Penshurst who lives in a castle in the small village of Little Challham. I really enjoyed Belinda's character. She is bold and not afraid to speak her mind which gets her into trouble more than a few times! We also meet Harry who is retired from the police force of which the pair join forces after one of the local residents is murdered.

Murder is not the only crime going on in this small village as dogs seem to be going missing also. Being a dog lover, I was in my element with this book and reading of the different breeds of which they also had their own personalities. As the author very kindly states at the very beginning of the story, no dogs were harmed, and can confirm that this is definitely the case.

Murder in the Village has quite a bit of humour running throughout which added to how much I loved this book. It was such an enjoyable first introduction to these characters and setting and has left me very much looking forward to more in the series. If you love crime reads that are on the cosier, light hearted side, then this is the perfect book to dive into.

The narrator for the audio version, I loved how she got into each of the different characters with different voices/tones. She has an easy to listen to voice and I very much enjoyed listening to her narrate this book.