This is the first in the Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker series that I’ve read and it’d encourage me to seek out the previous books as this was an enjoyable read. The detective turned chef is asked to cater a charity event – a children’s Christmas party – three days before December 25 at a 13th century abbey on Bodmin Moor. The weather is dreadful but the attendees have a ball, as do Jodie’s mum, daughter and friend who are on hand to help out. When a snowstorm descends, Jodie and her crew must stay overnight in the abbey, owned by a notorious millionaire, but they’re not the only guests. Santa is also staying (this will make sense when you read it) plus a few not so friendly faces. The next morning, one guest has been murdered and Jodie is in detective solving mood, with a little breakfast arranging thrown in. Can she question the guests – who are all now suspects – and discover who’s responsible before the police arrive? And what issue did the murderer have at the most wonderful time of the year?

Who doesn’t love a good Christmas book!? I do anytime of the year but this wasn’t my usual type of Christmas book. I enjoyed it. Well done!

I liked the cozy vibes but I don’t think it really fit with the plot of the story. The narration was quite irritating for me, but maybe I just don’t like that kind of humour, and I didn’t feel like the characters had much substance. There was also a few things I found problematic about the story, the only characters of colour (at least the only ones that are described to be of a race other than white) are highly stereotyped. I liked the pacing of the story though and it was a nice, quick read. I kinda guessed the ending but not exactly how it was gonna go down. I wish there could’ve been a bit more suspicion and less fluffy stuff.

I received an early digital copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

A cosy crime book crossed with romance and Christmas - what more could you want from a book.

This book was an easy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Light hearted but with twists and turns that kept me guessing - I never quite worked out the whole solution before it was revealed - the sign of a good mystery.

Jodie and her group find themselves trapped in a Manor House by the snow. When random strangers start turning up you just know that there is going to be trouble. And when one of the guests ends up dead well - who else could possibly investigate?

I haven’t read the previous books in this series (although I will be getting them so that I can) this didn’t stop me enjoying this story one bit. Whilst I’m sure there may be some references they were not so much that you felt you had missed out anything important.

Definitely a book for the cold winter months - curl up warm and escape to Cornwall!

This was a delightful murder/ mystery. It is set in a large, old house where a group of people are stranded due to heavy snow. Very entertaining story, with some great characters that were easy to relate to.. The final twist is uncovered right at the end.

"A Cornish Christmas Murder" by Fiona Leitch is a locked room in a locked house murder mystery. The story is set at Kingseat Abbey, which is being turned into a luxury hotel. Jodie "Nosey" Parker, ex-policewoman, along with a few members of her family are catering a party just before Christmas. Following poor weather the people at Kingseat become snowed in and have to hunker down for the night. The following morning one of the guests is discovered brutally stabbed by an antique sword. Jodie, along with her assistant, begin to investigate while they wait for conditions to improve and the police to arrive.

This is the fourth book in the "Nosey Parker" series but the first one I've read. It works well as a standalone novel but was enjoyable enough to make me want to read the previous three books. The story has everything you would want from a cozy murder mystery.

The characters are a mixed bunch, some known to each other, others complete strangers who just happen to stumble upon the Abbey! The setting is picture perfect, wood paneling, plaster cornices, open fires and squashy armchairs - just the place you would want to be at Christmas when there is snow on the ground. There's also plenty of food (Jodie is a caterer), alcohol and a non-stop supply of tea.

Yes, the story is cliched, but that is just what you would want in a cozy murder mystery. No phone lines to contact the police, guests wandering off when told to stay together, hidden rooms, guests swapping rooms and people with secrets. Thankfully the main character, Jodie, is a modern women who doesn't take nonsense from anyone and finds it impossible to just sit back and wait for the police. There's plenty of humor, particularly between Jodie and her mother. The description of Jodie and her family turning up to the Abbey in her van gave me visions of Scooby-Doo and the gang turning up in The Mystery Machine.

I just love this series and this is probably the best one yet. A country house mystery like the Golden Age, but with up to date humour and a great cast of regular characters. I suspected everyone, which I think should be the case in a mystery novel. Such an ingenious murder too! I can’t wait until the next book.

This is a fun cozy with quirky humorous characters. It has a backdrop of the English countryside set in an old historic home being converted to a hotel. Very enjoyable read! I look forward to reading more from this author.

I LOVED this book! A Murder Under the Mistletoe, or the UK title, A Cornish Christmas Murder is a brilliant 4th installment of the Jodie "Nosey" Parker cozy mystery series (but it can be read as a stand-alone.) Jodie is a former police officer turned caterer, yet, crime still seems to find her. This time, Jodie arrives to cater a party at an isolated 13th-century abbey, now inn, full of secret passages, priest holes, and eventually 12 snowed-in guests. The next morning, there has been a rather unusual murder with an antique sword. Snow-covered roads delay the police, so Jodie and her crew are obliged to investigate. While the investigation takes some turns along the way, the banter between the characters is spot-on and genuinely funny. This locked-room mystery is well written, with a charming cast of vivid characters…particularly Jodie's mother, Shirley. Jodie as a protagonist is witty, intelligent, warm-hearted, and I adored her, as well as every minute of this holiday mystery! I particularly liked that Jodie had a law enforcement background as I felt that lent some expertise to her investigation rather than merely being a sleuth who stumbles into the solution. The descriptions of the abbey/inn were lovely.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and One More Chapter for this ARC; it was great fun!

A fantastic festive read. When after catering a kids party for a millionaire philanthropist, Jodie (an ex met police officer) gets snowed in with an assortment of people......from Japanese tourists to Santa!!! A gruesome murder takes place. She must use all her skills to find out whodunit. The mansion has secret passages and a locked library. She has help from her daughter Daisy 13yrs old and help or hindrance from her mother Shirley, who is such a great character, you can't help but smile. A cosy murder mystery , very enjoyable.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review electronically…the characters are intriguing, and they mystery a journey…this author weaves a story that is difficult to put down at times… although there are red herrings, it is possible to discern the outcome. This is a good read…

I hadn’t realised that this was part of a series of books. It’s probably helpful to read the others before reading this, because of references to characters and previous events.

I enjoy a good mystery and a country house setting, but this one just was not for me. It didn’t feel particularly original or grab me from the beginning. .

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC.

A fantastic read! Full of humour with laugh out loud moments!
A PINCH OF PARANOIA
It’s three days before Christmas, and detective-turned-chef Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is drafted in to cater a charity event run by a notorious millionaire at a 13th-century abbey on Bodmin Moor.

A DASH OF DECEPTION

Things get more complicated when a snowstorm descends, stranding them all, and the next morning they find one of the guests has been gruesomely murdered in their bed…

A MURDER UNDER THE MISTLETOE

Secrets mull in every corner – can Jodie solve the crime before the killer strikes again?

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This was a great read
Part of a series but I read this as a standalone - I now want to catch up with the others in the series

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers! All opinions are my own.
A Cornish Christmas murder is part of a serie which I did not know before starting this book. I believe this can be read as a standalone BUT I still recommend reading the serie because there are mentions of events and people that happened in the previous books so it can be confusing.
Other than that, I have nothing bad to say about this book! It was a nice cosy murder à la Agatha Christie. It was a super quick read and very enjoyable, if not super original. I will definitely read the rest of the serie.

In A Cornish Christmas Murder, Fiona Leitch seems to have lost her way. The book is in serious danger of turning into a parody of itself being full of tropes and characters with super-hyped foibles. And yet, just occasionally, there are glimmers of hope which might pull me back for another book in the series.

I have come to the conclusion that mysteries involving cops, just aren't my cup of tea. I don't know what it is exactly, but every time I pick up a book in where the main character is a detective (albeit a retired one), I am so bored and the story feels like it's dragging along.

Life seems to be going well for Jodie Parker. Her business is picking up, Christmas is coming, and she’s finally dating Nathan Withers. But things can go south pretty quickly, especially when Josie, her Mother, her daughter and BFF Debbie are stuck at 13th century abbey where they catered an event and got stuck during a heavy snow storm. With bad phone reception, the women resign themselves to the fact that they’re stuck there for the night. When they find a body in the abbey, things take a turn as they can’t reach anyone, not even DCI Withers, and they’re on their own, with a killer on the loose.

I love this series! Jodie and her daughter really have settled into life back in Jodie’s girlhood village. The typical cozy characters are here, law enforcement, a female protagonist, a dog, and a few quirky characters. What sets it apart from other cozies is the writing! Fiona Leitch writes so well the you’re not just reading a book, you’re immersed in the story. Those are the best kind to read, in my opinion! Each one reads fine as a stand alone, but you’ll be back for more! f you haven’t checked this series out, now’s the time!

This was an interesting crime-ish book. It honestly felt more rom-com, the writing style very different to what I usually read, and isn’t really my style of writing.

3.5 rounded up.

A few days before Christmas Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker, ex-Met, now a caterer, plus her mum Shirley, daughter Daisy, friend Debbie and the Pomeranian Germaine (great name for a dog!) limp into Kingseat Abbey in the Gimpmobile which is on its last legs and struggling to find traction in the snow. Jodie’s pal from school Lily Swann works at Kingseat which is in the process of being transformed into a luxury hotel. Today’s event for which Jodie is catering is a large children’s party paid for by Isaac Barnes a wealthy entrepreneur and philanthropist. The party is success, the inevitable sugar rush causing huge excitement and a smidgeon of chaos. Unfortunately, post party the weather worsens, the roads are blocked and they’re stranded. The arrival of four young Japanese tourists whose hire car is languishing in a ditch and asking for shelter plus two others who raise Jodie’s suspicion filter up several notches makes twelve guests and of course - one dramatic murder. Ladies and gentlemen we have us a snowed in locked mansion mystery!

This is a fun series peppered with good humour, some of which is the chortling kind, some elicits a wry smile while other comments make you wince - that’ll be you Shirley. You’re a lovely woman but I’m sure glad you ain’t my ma! Jodie is a terrific character, she just can’t help poking her nosy Parker former police officer nose into investigations. In fact we have a sort of Famous Five reincarnation with Jodie at the helm, with Lily, Debbie and Daisy being useful while Shirley is probably hindering! Kingseat Abbey which dates from the thirteenth century adds tons of atmosphere and of course all the ubiquitous features of an ancient building with quite a history. A ghost maybe, a hidden library, secret passages and priest holes all of which are used effectively in the plot. Add in some colourful characters, a murder that gives rise to some vivid mental images in your mind, the cold weather, the inevitable dead phone lines and obviously, no mobile signal. There’s nothing hugely original here apart from the death but it is fun, well, obviously not for the victim. You can guess the whodunnit but you don’t guess the whydunnit and even the howdunnit which is very creative! My only negative is that the author takes a while to get to the main event, it builds slowly, there are some extraneous details but it’s an entertaining if circuitous (snowy) path to the murder.

Overall, this series is fun, light hearted cozy mysteries. I like the way they’re written as if Jodie is talking directly to the reader sharing jokes, secrets and asides.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, One More Chapter for the much appreciated widget in return for an honest review.