A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch.
If you're after a light and easy read then you will enjoy this book, it's a cross between a murder mystery and chick-lit romance which is a slightly odd combo and didn't entirely work for me.
The characters aren't really fleshed out and the plot is neither surprising or believable.
There's no real sense of danger or jeopardy, but I know that many people find these 'cosy murder' style stories appealing - and if you're a fan of TV shows like Murder in Paradise or Shakespeare and Hathaway, you will probably enjoy this book.
So if you want a bit of warm, light, easily digestible festive fun then it's well worth a read.
I didn't realise that this book is the fourth in a series, it certainly works as a standalone story, but if you want to get more background for the characters it might be worth starting with the first book.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

What's not to love. A Christmas cosy mystery set in beautiful Cornwall.

Nosey Parker is back solving more mysteries. I really enjoy this series, its a very easy read with laughs and a lovely setting.

Wonderful series that I recommend.

A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch

I really loved this book and I finished it in a couple of hours accompanied by some delicious hot chocolate.. it was the epitome of a cosy murder mystery perfect for a rainy cold and damp day.

This is the forth book in the Nosy Parker but I had not read any of the previous books but it did not matter, Jodie ‘Nosy’ Parker is an ex police officer who is now a caterer, whose latest job is catering a children’s Christmas party at the 13th-century abbey on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall with her daughter, mother, friend Debbie and Germaine the dog.. when the party is over and they are clearing up they are told the roads are too snowy to pass and that they will have to stay in the abbey till they are cleared. So the guests including with 6 more unexpected guests arriving for safety from the snow settle in for a cosy night but in the morning there is one guest is dead murdered by an antique sword.

It’s an old troupe but a good one and one I adore for a cosy murder mystery - a claustrophobic house where no one can go anywhere and the murderer must be one of them!!!

I liked everything about this book, the cover was adorable and really that’s what attracted me to read it firstly, the characters were well developed and the murder mystery was well thought out and there were many red herrings to keep me interested.

A great little book to settle down with on a cold winters day. I will look out for more books by this author.

#ACornishChristmasMystery #NetGalley #murdermystery #cosy #England #Christmas

A decent mystery. I like secret passages. All of the importance of dad stuff at the end was a bit wordy. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

For the 4th book in the Nosey Parker series, Jodie finds herself catering a fancy event for children at a 13th century abbey. Accompanied by her merry band of helpers (her mom, teenaged daughter, friend, and dog), Jodie sets up and serves a feast of every holiday treat a child could want at an event hosted by Isaac, a wealthy former bad boy who is trying to repent, at a location now managed by Lily, Jodie's friend from school. As the day wears on and everyone prepares to finally leave, they realize they are snowed in and must spend the night. Their party soon grows, taking in a stranded group of Japanese tourists and a suspicious couple who had been wandering in the snow. Murder strikes overnight and Jodie must fight her impulses (let's be honest, she doesn't fight them too hard) to investigate, given her former career as a police officer, while attempting to keep everyone calm and contained until the police get there. Oh yeah, and all signs point to the fact that the murderer is still in their midst.

This was my first book in this series but I just couldn't help requesting it because a cozy Christmas murder book sounded just about perfect. I have no doubt it would have been good to read the others, but I wasn't at all confused and didn't feel like I had missed something by not reading the others. This was a super fun holiday book! It had a very old school Christie/Doyle vibe with the fact that it was a closed room situation. Add in the fact that the abbey is incredibly old, possibly haunted, and definitely contains hidden depths and it just gets better and better. My only note was that there was some very odd and out of place stereotyping of the Japanese teenagers that just took me out of it for a bit. Other than that, the characters were great and it was very funny. Also, I would like to adopt Germaine, the dog. She was a delight.

Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. A Cornish Christmas Murder releases in the UK on December 9th. The US version, A Murder Under the Mistletoe, releases Nov. 29th. #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #stlreads #bookreview #mysterybooks #acornishchristmasmurder #fionaleitch

A shabby van called the Gimpmobile with four quirky passengers and a dog arrive at a remote - and possibly haunted - manor. They cater for a Christmas kiddies feast, but after all the little ticks are gone, they unexpectedly have to spend the night as they get snowed in. Of course, during the night: a MURDER most horrid is committed!
Do you get Scooby Do vibes yet?

By chance, the caterers consist of one former detective and three amateur sleuths and they will do everything in their power to find the murderer. Unlucky for them, the evening before saw a whole array of lost passengers driving in, totaling the number to 17. Add a manor with lots of rooms and even more secret passages and they have a conundrum at hand. No surprise that the most read sentence is "I have no idea". Then the real police arrives and together, they manage to solve the mystery.
Scooby snacks anyone?

This was my first so called cozy mystery, but I think it is a genre that I will leave alone. I find it very hard to associate a brutal murder (are there any other?), with giddy characters that make jokes all the time. I didn't like it, but it has more to do with my not liking this genre, than with this particular book. So please, if you are into cozy, pick it up and give it a try!

A sincere thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Harper Collins and the author for an ARC, it is much appreciated.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book. This was the first book that I have read from this author. It was a fast enjoyable book with quite a few laughs.

I haven’t read any of the previous Nosey Parker mysteries but really enjoyed this one. Ex policewoman turned chef, Josie Parker, is catering for a children’s Christmas party in a large country house. They and several others get snowed in and during the night, a murder takes place.
It’s the fairly standard idea of the amateur sleuth with a partner or close contact in the actual police force however the characters are well imagined and there is a good level of humour in the book. The snowstorm makes this a classic mystery where the murder has to have been committed by one of the guests but the plot details and the different characters involved kept me interested all the way through. The relationship between Josie Parker and DCI Nathan Withers is nicely developed and I really liked both of them. I will certainly look out for the next one in the series next Spring.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, Harper Collins UK, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

What a wonderful fictional trip!

An entertaining and spicy whodunit set in Cornwall during a big snowstorm with a disparate group of people stranded inside a big Elizabethan manor and a potential killer running amok within its walls.....

A laughing out loud romp full of twists and turns, lots of verbal pyrotechnics and another great opportunity to spend some hilarious moments with Miss Jodie "Nosey" Parker and her colorful gang. A delicious English fictional dish that definitely deserves to be discovered and enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever! Yes, this is the perfect Xmas gift for a few hours of blissful reading👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins/One more chapter for this terrific ARC.

I love it when the weather plays a part in the story and I love Cornwall and I love snow. To top it all there’s a murder. Really good fun. Not quite what I thought it would be. Probably better than I thought. Will look for authors other books.

I’ve read this entire series and I really enjoyed this one. Jodie and her daughter and mom and Debbie are like old friends to me now! This was a big change in setting and I enjoyed the country house murder vibe with a set number of possible perpetrators. The writing is good and the characters well-defined. A great little cozy series.

I had high hopes for this book. In all honesty, I loved the title and the cover and I thought it might be a fun holiday read. However I could not finish the book. It felt clunky and I struggled to get into the book. Perhaps it was me or the mood I was in but this time, this book was not for me.

A new author for me with this book but the synopsis and style of book captured my attention when browsing upcoming titles on Netgalley and was then lucky enough to be given an advanced readers copy.

Three days before Christmas Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is asked to cater for a charity event run by a famous billionaire in a 13th century abbey. The snow keeps falling and soon the catering team, the venue staff, a Santa Claus impersonator and some other guests find themselves stranded for the night. The next morning they wake to find out one of the guests has been brutally murdered whilst everyone slept but no one has been able to arrive or leave so the murderer must be amongst them…

It is part of a series, the Nosey Parker books, but I wasn’t aware of this at the time of reading and it definitely works as a stand alone book. It’s quite a light hearted, comical, murder mystery without any of the gruesome gore descriptions. This makes it an easy read with a reasonable story and well written, billed as appealing to readers of Richard Osman I can definitely see why, relating to a very similar and enjoyable genre.

I really enjoyed "A Cornish Christmas Murder." It was funny in places and sad in others. Fiona Leitch's novel was also very clever. This book has it all--a good plot, interesting characters, a cleverly devised murder, and even a dog. This was the first Fiona Leitch novel that I have read, but since I have now discovered her work, I am definitely going to read more of her mysteries. I will not give away plot points, as I I think every reader should discover and enjoy this novel the same way I did--one page at a time. I appreciate that the author, Fiona Leitch, and publisher, One More Chapter, provided this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you also to NetGalley for their help in providing this ARC.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of book 1 in this series about a year ago and was hooked immediately to the characters, the humour and the murder mystery. So much so that I promptly ordered book 2 and pre-ordered book 3, which I very rarely do, and loved them as well. So here we are at book 4. The gang are back again - ex-policewoman Jodie, her mum, daughter, dog and best friend. Jodie's lovelife has finally calmed down with just one person in the frame, boyfriend and local DCI Nathan, but her knack of leaving a trail of bodies in her wake after each catering job seems unabated. Not sure I'd be keen to hire her for any function I was organising.

Anyway, this time round we have a classic locked room mystery in a snowed in property. With all the roads blocked, and the police unable to reach the house, Jodie has the perfect excuse to nose around. Despite a finite number of guests the culprit wasn't obvious to me until well into the story and even then I was wrong about the how and had no clue of the why.

I'd definitely recommend reading at least the first book in the series before this one, if only to fully appreciate the humour and family dynamics,

A light-hearted easy read, I'd definitely recommend it, and am counting the days to the release of book 5 in March

I haven’t read any of the previous Nosey Parker mysteries but really enjoyed this one. Ex policewoman turned chef, Josie Parker, is catering for a children’s Christmas party in a large country house. They and several others get snowed in and during the night, a murder takes place.
It’s the fairly standard idea of the amateur sleuth with a partner or close contact in the actual police force however the characters are well imagined and there is a good level of humour in the book. The snowstorm makes this a classic mystery where the murder has to have been committed by one of the guests but the plot details and the different characters involved kept me interested all the way through. The relationship between Josie Parker and DCI Nathan Withers is nicely developed and I really liked both of them. I will certainly look out for the next one in the series next Spring.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, Harper Collins UK, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Merry Christmas to Nosey Parker (Jodie) and her friends. Well it will be once the small matter of a dead body appearing the morning after a charity event in a large abbey on Bodmin Moor, where Jodie had been catering the night before and ended up staying the night due to snow, turns up.

And so within this cosy mystery series we have the sort of mystery that I always really enjoy when I come across one - a locked room mystery. It is clear that the killer is amongst those at the manor that night, and due to snow related delays it takes a while for the police to arrive, by which stage well Jodie just can't help herself.

It was great to be able to catch up with old friends, and I felt right at home within the pages of this book within the first few pages. I was intrigued by the setting and what we learn about the building, while also rather hoping that just one of Jodie's catering jobs wouldn't involve a dead body - they do seem to follow her around!

Although this time even her daughter, Daisy seems to want to get in on the action, and together with their dog, a friend, and Jodie's mum we have a "crack team" of amateur sleuths trying work out just who did what and when.

As there were assorted people not quite acting normally, there are all manner of secrets to be revealed.

Another excellent addition to this series, which I whizzed through as I was enjoying the story so much. A great Christmas cozy mystery and I am already looking forward to seeing what the the next book in the series will bring.

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Hear that? It's the sound of an unpopular opinion coming!

Thanks the Netgalley for an advanced copy for review, unfortunately I cannot say I'm very impressed. I read a third of this before throwing my hands up and reaching for something else.

I came for cozy locked-room mystery ambience and was instead disappointed and off-put before the murder even happened. I mean, in the first few sentences the main character calls their old van the gimpmobile? Seriously? Is that less a derogatory term in the U.K. than here, because as a disabled reader I was offended.

The depiction of the asian characters in this book was horrendous. I am not sure what artistic liberty was being taken or why they were even included, unless it was a very misguided attempt at diversity. They were referred to as one cohesive unit, "the Japanese girls". The ones who can't speak much English aren't even given names? Awful.

Our POV narration took bizarre turns. A weirdly defensive few lines about "being British OK" when she wanted a cup of tea past midnight. Okay? I know I'm reading an English story? There were also a lot of very random anecdotes about cooking class, which...Must be a characteristic of this series? I thought this was a standalone book when I requested it, and I certainly won't be trying the rest.

It’s great being back with Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker and her family again. This time we’ve a locked room style mystery to solve with some bad weather, and a ghostly Manor House thrown in to add plenty of twists and turns. Fiona Leitch always writes about such great characters and this one has them all including of course Jodie’s madcap mother. This is another fun read in the series.

A light Christmas mystery. An ex-cop turned caterer, a locked house in a snowstorm and blocked roads, a murdered Santa impersonator, and a number of people with secrets. All the hallmarks of an easy holiday read.