The Murder Mystery by Alice Castle is the first book in the new promising A Beth Haldane Mystery series and I really enjoyed it especially as it was a cosy mystery and I love these. This new series is based in Dulwich Village, in South London. It was originally independently published in 2017 as ‘Death in Dulwich’.
Beth Haldane is a mother to a sweet little boy, owner of a sulky cat, and she loves to solve mysteries. Beth starts her new job today as an historian’s assistant at the prestigious Wyatt's Boys School. and things have not got off to the best start with her. Beth is waiting for her boss Alan Jenkins, and he has not shown up. She has had enough of sitting in a room with no windows, so she decides to go and look for him. She finally finds him but not how she expected to find him. Alan Jenkins the senior archivist at the school is lay behind the bins, dead. and It looks like he has been stabbed as his tweed jacket was covered in his blood!!!

What a great start to a new series and I was just hooked and looking forward reading the next instalment.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author Alice Castle for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to starting a new cosy series. New beginnings are often the starting point for a great story. But sadly I just couldn't take to the protagonist, Beth Haldane. It felt a little too far fetched for me, to bump her boss off to get her hands on his job - on her first day. Hmmm! And she felt she had to identify the murderer?

It just wasn't my cup of tea and I am a big fan of Agatha Christie. I didn't find it gripping. I'm sure others will enjoy the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is for London Murder Mystery #1 -3:
These books include nice descriptions of London and create a nice feeling for readers while in the story. There are fun characters, gossip, adventure, and written in a charming style. The stories are engaging, and have satisfying endings. The author knows how to write in her sweet spot. I look forward to pickup the others in the series.

I really appreciate the free review copies for review!!

A gripping murder mystery read and a great start to a series that I am looking forward to reading more of

Beth is a young widow with a small son. Having landed a job at Wyatts the local prestigious boys school
in Dulwich she is very keen to establish herself as an archivist in the school and ultimately hope that
it will pave the way for her son to get admission to this school.

What she did not envisage is finding her boss murdered just hours after she started working. The archivist was
unpleasant, unhelpful and a bit of a lecher. When the detectives started swarming the school, it seemed that
there were many undercurrents at play - the murdered man's wife acted strangely, a receptionist at the school
seemed to have been on very good terms with the archivist, the Principal wanted to keep everything under wraps
and maintain the good name of the school come what may.

The story was a good one. I could never figure out why just because Beth discovered the body, she should consider
herself the first suspect and did everything in her power to figure this out. She met the man for the first time
on the day she started work, she had nothing to gain from his murder and she was terrified that she would be
arrested. It seemed a bit over the top.
Beth investigating the crime and being more successful than Detective York is the detective genre at play here
but her trying to show that she had nothing to do with the murder was overplayed.

This was my first adventure into cozy mysteries, and while I don't think they're quite my cup of tea, this was a cute story. I'm not sure Beth had the most common sense, but she is dead-set on solving the murder she stumbled upon. I would like to say if you like cozy mysteries, I would recommend this book, but since this is my first, I don't feel I have the authority to say that. I would recommend the book if you're just looking for a light who-dun-it. And bonus, it's available on Kindle Unlimited with several other in the series. I used the "Alexa" hack and had her read it to me and really enjoyed it as an audiobook while I was working.

I'm a big fan of cozy mysteries so I was excited to receive an ARC of The Murder Mystery on NetGalley - and to learn there were more books in the series.

Beth Haldane is a fun character - a single mom who is just working to get through the days and give her son the best life she can (in a community where her best is not quite what some of the other families think is the best!). Beth's thrilled to start a new full-time job at a well-known private boys school but unfortunately, her first day starts with finding her boss murdered. I admit I was worried the author would put Beth as suspect number one - and though Beth felt she had to clear her own name, our police detective DI York cleared her in his own mind pretty quick, which was a nice change from other cozies. The book had some interesting twists that I hadn't anticipated, making it a fun read. I'll definitely be back to read the next books in the series and am interested in the further development of the characters. Overall, if you are a fan of cozy mysteries, I recommend this one!

I enjoyed getting to know Beth Haldane and DI York in this not-quite-cozy mystery. I specify because while the setting and initial plot felt like a cozy, the investigation abruptly turned much darker at the end of the book. I’ll definitely check out the next book, having a better sense of the potential tone, but hope as the series progresses the whodunnits don’t take such a sharp turn. 3.5 stars.

You need to bear in mind with cosy mysteries like this, that they are not going to be the same as say a Christie or McDermid murder mystery. And both have their merits, you just need to accept them for their own style. This started quite promisingly - Beth has a new job as assistant archivist at a prestigious London school in Dulwich, and her boss gets murdered in he first morning. The mystery itself isn’t too bad (though there’s nothing really to suggest the actual motive… leching at women is hinted at, but a big step away from what actually is revealed…). Beth and Katie are quite likeable, as is Detective York.

And this leads me on to the few niggles.
1) this book is what I’m now going to call a “goldfish” book, where the author assumes you have the attention span of said fish, and therefore repeats things over and over. I lost track of how many times Beth’s fringe was mentioned - the thickness, floppiness, peering out, eye brows shooting up under it, her pushing it aside… it was practically a character on its own. Dial it down, please 🙏🏻
2) it was a bit heavy handed in the whole Yummy Mummy Dulwich posh - every chapter had it laid on about keeping up with the Joneses, the non working mummies, cars, clothes… sometimes less is more, we can still picture the scene.
3) It’s clearly laying the ground for Beth and “Harry” York to get together. I’d not be averse to that, but subtlety would be nice.

I’ve got four more in the series to read, and it was a decent intro to a new cosy mystery series, so I’ll look forward to reading the others!

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

This is the first in the Beth Haldane series, and I really liked the opening. Beth was a fresh protagonist, with her practical voice, recounting daily struggles as a single mother and very excited to have finally found a full time job. Better yet, it's at a prestigious local public school (read private school; this takes place in England) that she's hoping her son will be able to attend in a few years, and having mum on staff can't hurt. I even enjoyed learning that she was not close to her parents; that there was no awful reason why, they were just dissimilar people who weren't involved in each others' lives. I found that refreshing. Unfortunately for Beth, her new boss is murdered the morning of her first day. Unfortunately for the reader, we quickly became quite disenchanted with Beth as she convinces herself that the police think she is the number one suspect because she found the body. She met her boss exactly twice; it is obvious to both fictional police and reader alike that Beth is not and could not be murderer since she lacks any motive. But Beth is almost hysterical about this as the reason she has to investigate the crime, and by the third or fourth repetition of this ridiculous pretext, I was starting to hope the handsome inspector would arrest her to validate her completely unfounded conviction. Beth also accuses others of doing exactly what she is doing ("...amazed at his imperturbability. If someone had decided to put her own archive in order, say, she'd be furious." Yet this exactly what Beth is doing. Americanism: pot, meet kettle.) There are also some weird situations that defy credulity: Beth was never invited to her grandparents' parties as a child staying with them. Really, a child would want to spend the entire evening with people 60 years older than them and no one to play with? And yes, of course, our amateur detective doesn't think the police will investigate the victim's finances (really?) because they are clearly not competent because they are not telling her everything about their investigation. At one point, Beth just flat out admits that she's going to obstruct the police: "Beth wasn't sure whether, if she revealed what she'd found to Inspector York, she'd get into such huge trouble that she would just regret it. And also, if she did tell the police, how could she then get any further with her digging? They wouldn't obligingly tell her how they were getting on." How I hate this attitude in mysteries. Naturally, because he doesn't tell the police what she learns, she gets into terrible trouble after she confronts the murderer on her own. I have two more Beth Haldane mysteries on my Kindle and am not sure I want to read them if this is the attitude of our main character, because it doesn't make me sympathize with her. On the plus side, I did learn some British words I'd love to use, like wodge and Grand Panjandrum. I may just take a break and see if I feel like fi ending out if she grows as a character.

This is the first book in a new series and i think it has got off to a very promising start and will definitely be reading the others.

Beth has started a new job as an archivist at a local prominent school and a few hours in to her first day she finds her boss murdered. Beth then gets her sleuthing cap on to try uncover the murderer.

Yes I enjoyed this storyline and the setting but what i especially enjoyed were the characters in this book. I feel they have a lot of promise and I am already looking forward to reading how the relationship with Beth and Detective York progresses.

Very enjoyable first book and I look forward to reading the next.

I was really looking forward to this book, especially as there is more in the series. This was an introduction to Beth Haldane who is a widow with a 10 year old son. Beth starts a new job and immediately there is a murder and Beth feels the need to clear her name. Although to me she was never in the frame. I don’t want to say too much more about the plot as no spoilers. I was surprised that the murder happened so early on so was quite looking forward to finding out about the person and why they were murdered. I didn’t take to the characters at all really as I felt they lacked depth and we didn’t really get to know them properly. I found that the narration from Beth was quite infuriating at times as there was a lot of description of things that were not really relevant to the story (i.e. comparing the different coffee shops in her mind each time she met somebody for a coffee). The storyline was also a disappointment to me as I felt there was not a lot of substance to it. Overall I was disappointed.

Don't you just love it when you find a book to read
That's just the right one that you now need?
That's what happened for me with The Murder Mystery
And if you give it a go I hope you'll agree!

After thoroughly enjoying reading I'm delighted to discover
That its the first - there are six others!
This is a standalone but it was such a fun read
That I think the others are what I now need.

It features Beth Haldane, a widowed single Mum
Who is excited about her new job that's just come.
She's being an archivist at a renowned school,
But her first day there wasn't so cool...

She discovered her new boss, murdered, covered in blood
And knows that she'll be a suspect - that's definitely not good.
To clear herself she sets out to uncover
Clues to help the killer to discover.

With murder, burglary, mischief, new folks to meet,
As well as the leading detective to greet,
This is a fascinating start to a series filled with mystery and so
I can't wait to read the others and give them a go!

For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

The Murder Mystery A Beth Haldane Mystery Book 1 is a lighthearted cozy written by Alice Castle.

It is set in the English countryside, among the privileged lot where a single working mom is trying to find out who killer her colleague.
The mystery was well presented, characters are well developed, quite realistic and believable.
Pace of the story is steady, it reads easily and is pretty absorbing.
I liked the main heroine as well as some of the side characters. There is also a chance for a possible romantic angle.
I am looking forward to reading next books in the series to see where it will go from here and how is the main character going to continue her amateur sleuthing.

Recommended for everyone who enjoys a well written cozy mystery set in the beautiful english countryside.

Nice cozy mystery and first in a series with heroine Beth Haldane. Beth is a single mum living in an affluent area who starts at an elite buys school as an archivist. On day 1 her boss is chauvinistic and aloof, leaving her to get on with it. Three hours later he is dead and the murder mystery begins.

Good story, easy to read and look forward to reading more in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Setting the Scene: Beth Haldane, widow and single boy mom, lives in upscale Dulwich Village where she barely makes ends meet with various freelance jobs. Therefore, she is thrilled when she lands a coveted position at the posh Wyatt's school. Then, on her first day, first morning, really, she stumbles across the body of the school's archivist (aka her boss). As a prime suspect, at least in her own eyes, Beth initiates her own search for the killer. In her defense, the Police Detective has made it clear that the chances they will solve the murder are slim, at best.

What I thought: The mystery is good, with ample suspects and red herrings, and I so wanted to like this book. It has a classic premise with lots of suspects and secrets. It's a British mystery, something I usually love. So, what's not to like? Several things. First, the author takes 2 paragraphs to describe things when one sentence would be much better. I found myself skipping over paragraph upon paragraph. Then there is the pompous wording. While one might expect such from the overly self important school officials, they are unnecessary in Beth's thoughts. For instance, using "incarnadine" instead of "crimson" and "anodyne" instead of "inoffensive," are just two examples. This is a cozy, not a literary masterpiece. The final nail is the fact that Beth is just not really relatable or likeable. She incessantly chatters to herself and others. She is much too self deprecating. In fact, the only character I actually liked was Beth's friend, Katie. I will not continue with this series, and that makes me sad because it had such great promise. It is unfortunate that the subsequent books cannot be revised.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Murder Mystery’ by Alice Castle.

This is Book 1 in Castle’s Beth Haldane series of cosy mysteries set in Dulwich, South London. It was originally independently published in 2017 as ‘Death in Dulwich’.

The main character, Beth, is a young widow with a 10-year-old son, Jake. Her beloved husband, James, had died seven years ago. She has just landed a job as the assistant archivist at Wyatt’s, a local prestigious all-boys secondary school that was founded in the ‘sixteen-something’s’. She is also hoping that working there might help Jake secure a place when he leaves Dulwich Village Primary.

On her first day Beth is wandering around the unfamiliar grounds at lunch when she stumbles across the body of her boss and it’s clear that his death wasn’t due to natural causes.

Soon Detective Inspector Harry York arrives to lead the murder investigation. Beth becomes convinced (somewhat irrationally) that as she was the one to find the body, that she will be the police’s prime suspect. So naturally she decides to undertake her own sleuthing…. no further details to avoid spoilers.

Overall, this proved a satisfying whodunnit with elements of comedy provided by Beth’s wry observations about Dulwich life. It’s clear that Alice Castle knows this area of London well. (I lived in South East London some years back)

I certainly will be continuing with this lively series.

Excited by her new job as assistant archivist, Beth Haldane, widow and mother to son Jake, finds herself in a strange predicament. She has just stumbled over the body of her new boss Alan Jenkins, and it is quickly assumed that she is responsible for his murder, all in attempts to take his job over. Not only has Beth clearly not killed Alan, she doesn’t feel that she can leave it to the police to sort this out. In fact, she takes her research skills to a new level in order to investigate Alan’s life and to see who could’ve been that wanted him dead.

During the course of her investigation she finds that her office has been ransacked, and this helps her to clearly see that there is more going on than she expected. Something else becomes clear to Beth. The school itself must be hiding a secret, and her knowledge of this fact just might place her in the murderer’s crosshairs.

While being an archivist might be Beth’s latest job, it is clear that she is also rather adept when it comes to amateur sleuthing. The Murder Mystery is the engaging first book in the Beth Haldane Mystery series. Beth is a delightful character who isn’t afraid to ask questions, is skilled at finding the right answers and never forgets her responsibilities.

I've been reading cozy mystery for ages and was curious to read this series. I discovered it was printed some years ago but I think it aged well.
Beth is an interesting character: witty, down to the earth, very different from Dulwich social butterflies. I like how she's a woman who must work, pay for her credit card. She hopes for the better future for her child and her first day at the local top school could help.
Thinks never works in the proper way and she finds her boss killed.
This is the start of Beth's career as amateur sleuth and I had fun following her investigations.
This is a humorous cozy and there's plenty of funny moment even if the mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
I liked the well-developed and relatable characters and the witty and sharp social remarks by Beth.
It's the good start for a cosy series and I recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Beth Haldane gets her dream job at the esteemed Wyatt’s School. She is the school's new historian assistant. During her lunchtime she decides to take a stroll around the beautiful grounds. She finds the gardens of the five hundred year old school to be breathtaking, until she stumbles over the body of Alan Jenkins who happens to be her new boss. Not exactly the first day she was hoping for. No one knows Beth and as the newest employee she is also the number one suspect. Beth must clear her name not only for the sake of her reputation but also for her young son attending the school. She becomes a super sleuth and must find the killer before they can kill again.

What a wonderful and fun story. I really enjoyed the first installment of A Beth Haldane Mystery Series. This well written cozy mystery was enjoyable and engaging. I was hooked from the beginning. The characters were believable and relatable. I loved the detailed description of Dulwich Village, and the beautiful gardens surrounding the school, which sounds like a lovely place to visit. I love the writing style of this author as she kept me guessing until the very end. This is such a fun read and a must read for every cozy mystery fan. I am so happy that this is only the beginning of what I’m sure will be a wonderful series. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Alice Castle for such a wonderful cozy mystery series. This is such a well written whodunnit and I highly recommend it.