The Murder Museum, the second book in the Beth Haldane mystery series, is just as good as the first and I am already looking forward to reading book number three in the series. This is a true cozy mystery with all the things that make you love a cozy mystery…descriptive English setting, a wonderful cast of characters with very interesting back stories and an intriguing relationship between the handsome Detective Inspector investigating the crime and our protagonist Beth. The writing is gentle and funny and paints a very clear picture of the lengths some parents will go to make sure their children have every elite opportunity possible. This is a series to sit back and enjoy.

This story kept me interested in the why's and wherefores, however I would hesitate to call it a cozy. For me, cozies do not kill off innocent girls. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it.

The second outing for our quirky accidental detective finds her visiting her local museum and art gallery where she is on good terms with several of the paintings. However, passing by the crypt section she spots a flash of scarlet which is reminiscent of her recent finding of a bloody body. Determined not to be alone in the event of another gruesome discovery, she drags the reluctant young receptionist away from contemplation of her hangover and makes her accompany her when she goes for a closer inspection. They are confronted by the lifeless body of a young girl, draped artistically and very close to death. Once again our intrepid heroine is drawn into the world of detection and uncovers the murky secrets lurking in idyllic Dulwich. Her handsome sidekick, detective Harry is once again drawn into her orbit but any tender feelings get subsumed in his irritation at her habit if putting herself in danger. More please!

I could not wait to read the second book in this series and it did not disappoint. I love Beth and all the new characters that were introduced in this book. The only downside for me is that some of the chapters are too long and would definitely be better broken up.

I really enjoyed the first in this series however this one fell flat for me.

I did like all the characters however there were a lot of sweeping statements and I felt there needed to be more warning about what the book would cover. I didn't think the author handled the issues described in the book with any sensitivity at all and that really detracted from the overall murder mystery which was a shame.

I'll look out for more in the series and hopefully the third installment will be more of a cosy murder mystery vibe again.

Thank you for the arc.

Beth comes across a young girl [assed pit pm a bench at the museum where she has been enjoying the exhibits. Why was the young woman posed and why are her friends are keeping mum? Beth needs to figure out what is going on quickly before she becomes the prime suspect.

This is this second book in this great series. The books are quick reads and Beth is a highly likable and intelligent protagonist. If you haven’t read one of the books yet, each works fine as a standalone, so grab a cup of tea, cuddle up on the couch and enjoy!

Book 2 in the Beth Haldane series is a fact. It has previously been published as The Girl in the Fleet and it will be republished as The Murder Museum on 22 August by Bookouture. I received a copy via Netgalley .

We again follow Beth who somehow manages to stumble across a terrifying scene: a girl unconscious lying posed in a museum. From there on it only gets worse and events follow each other rapidly to an ultimate conclusion.

The author once again managed to grab the reader from the beginning. It is fun to read about the personal things of the main characters because it gives a different insight into the dynamic of Beth and her friends but also with Inspector York. The little quirks of Beth are closer to home because she is just a normal person, not an officer of the police or anything like that. So, the characters are well-worked out and the story is also quite interesting. One minor flaws is that the ending was rather abrupt.

Another fantastic cosy mystery starring Beth Haldane, her friends and Inspector York. Very clever mystery, good characters and plenty of sly humour. Loved the first book and this one is just as good. Having worked in a secondary school for many years, the interplay between pupils rings very true.

The Murder Museum is the second mystery in the A Beth Haldane Mystery series. When Beth discovers a body of a girl in one of her favorite museums, she is on the case as she tries to unravel the mystery behind the girls drugging.

I just read the first in this series and enjoyed that, but I found The Murder Museum to be even better. I really enjoyed the layout of this book and the different POVs. It made the book so easy and quick to read. The mystery behind the girls drugging and the dynamics of Year 9 girls was an interesting approach and I think it helped add a different element to this mystery that was perfect for the story. I would recommend this to cozy mystery fans, this is a good series so far and I look forward to seeing what is in store for Beth in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Bookouture and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Second in the Beth Haldane cozy mystery series. Lovely character, quaint story, enjoyable to many fans of mystery, cozy or any crime theme.

This was a enjoyable cozy mystery although I struggle with extremely long chapters i still very much enjoyed this book I loved the setting and atmosphere and I love Beth and DI Yorks characters and the relationship between the two as they work to solve the mystery cant wait to read the next book in this seris!

Book 2 in the series! The writing style is great and it's fantastically written. A wonderful story, beautifully told. I absolutely tore through it!

Beth Haldane is someone you can root for. She isn't perfect, which she acknowledges to herself rather frequently, but she cares about people and wants justice done where there is injustice. This brings her into contact and frequent conflict with Harry, the Detective Inspector. What I particularly liked about this story is that we get to spend time in not just Beth's head, but Harry's, giving us insight into who he is as a human being, too. Heck, we get to visit quite a few different minds in this installment of the series, including that of pouty, self-centered, and, oh, so spoiled and neglected schoolgirl Sophia. Even her drug wasted "boyfriend" gets a turn and, quite frankly, I hope he doesn't pop up again. Let's just say, bad news.

The mystery begins benignly enough. Beth, playing a childhood game in her head of "Which work of art would you save in a fire?" is making a quick visit to the upscale school museum where she works. Instead of a fun, relaxing visit, however, she finds a body. Well, not quite a body. The mystery girl is still alive but in what appears to be a coma. She's wearing a flowing white dress and has her hands folded against her chest, recalling several works of art that Beth is familiar with. It's the folded hands that won't allow Beth to let the image go and next thing we know, she's off on her own investigation. Her budding friendship with Harry is already shaky but this time it takes off on a roller coaster of a ride as he alternately shoves her away and allows her into his world as the investigation goes along.

The case is baffling. How did the comatose girl get into the mausoleum? Who arranged her so picturesquely? More importantly, who is she? Why haven't her parents reported her as missing? Why is she comatose? Drugs? Why is the upper crust school so shaken? How does a parent make the horrendous decision of life or death for the child they carried within them? What does the Blue Whales challenge have to do with anything? Is social media to blame? How powerful does being a known influencer make a teenage girl feel? Do we blame society? Busy, distracted parents? Seriously, what sort of nasty secrets are lurking under the veneer of upper crust Dulwich? I know I didn't see the ending coming, that's for sure. It was at once satisfying and saddening. Author Alice Castle made me care about her characters, even the ones we only meet in passing, and I was fully, intently invested until the end. And, hey, what about that ending?

If you like multi-layer mysteries with well-defined characters and suspects, you will surely love this one. Go into it with an open mind and be prepared to think, "Whoa!", sit back and think periodically. There's a great deal to this book and this is just an overview of all that is tackled. The world we live in is a complicated one and one never really knows what is going on behind closed doors, be they at home, school, or elsewhere. This one made me think, reflect, and as a former teacher, feel the pangs of knowing I can't gather all my students under my wings and protect them from real life. Kudos to Alice Castle. This series has me hooked.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for inviting me back to Dulwich. It was an uneasy trip occasionally but I adored the moments when the prose flowed and we saw the world through Beth's whimsical, romantic eyes. I'll be diving into book three asap.

Another wonderful book! Beth Haldane is once more thrown into the path of a disturbing mystery, a young girl is found posed on a sarcophagus but who put her there and why? There is also a definite frisson between Beth and the rather lovely Harry to add a bit of spice! Well written with a clever plot line, definitely a winner!

This book was sent to me elevated by Netgalley for review…second in a series of cozy mysteries…quirky main character…fun to read…murder and mayhem…bodies keep turning up around her…enjoy.