Murder in Haxford is the second book in a light historical cozy mystery series by Rick Bleiweiss. Released 21st Feb 2023 by Blackstone, it's 350 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a quirky Edwardian shopfront cozy with an ensemble cast of oddly charming characters, and none moreso than the titular newly arrived chief inspector Pignon Scorbion. He's a sartorial force-majeur (channeling his hero Monsieur Poirot) with a formidable intellect and backed up by a Greek chorus of barbershop employees, he sets his brain to solving highly outlandish crimes. In this case, he's untangling a ballooning accident with deadly consequences.

Although it's not derivative, stylistically I would place it in the same subgenre with Richard Osman and maybe Edmund Crispin. It's a bit farcical and pompous, but there are some smiles to be found here. I suspect it will engender delight or antipathy in readers and not much in between those two extremes. I found it charmingly silly in places and an engaging diverting light read. I'm looking forward to finding out what comes next. It's definitely a series I will continue to pick up and read as it's released. Readers will not have any trouble following the story if the book is read as a standalone. If it pleases, then the first book will also fit the bill as it's very much in the same vein.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Pignon Scorbion is the new DCI in the village of Haxford in the English countryside not far from London in 1910. He is an excellent detective with an unusual set of deputies including a couple of barbers and a woman who owns a bookstore. The questioning of the suspects is often in the barbershop and while both the murders and the investigations are quirky to say the least, they are also very entertaining. The stories do a wonderful job of creating a time capsule of what life must have been like at the time complete with hot air balloons, bows and arrows and poison.

The crimes are intricate with plenty of twists and turns. The interaction of the various characters is also a treat. And to make matters more difficult Pignon is also plagued by a newspaper editor whose sole purpose seems to be to humiliate Pignon. Naturally, he is the one with egg on his face as the crimes are solved and the public learn of Pignon’s clever deductions. Four purrs and two paws up.

Murder in Haxford is the second entry in Rick Bleiweiss's Pignon Scorbion cozy mystery series set in 1910 in the small market town of Haxford. Haxford may be a sleepy town, but it is a hotbed of murder and criminal activity for the dapper and erudite new Chief Inspector. Being new to the area, Scorbion quickly enlists the aid of an old friend, Calvin Brown, who owns the local barbershop. He also assembles a band of quirky characters who assist in his investigations. They include Thomas, Barnabus, and Yves, all barbershop employees. An ambitious reporter, Billy, at one of the local newspapers also wants to be in on the investigations. Last but definitely not least is Thelma Smith, the beautiful and brilliant proprietor of the local bookstore. The "deputies" make Calvin's barbershop the center of their activities.

Our first murder takes place at the Haxford Market Fair, at a hot air balloon demonstration. One of the balloons plummets to the earth carrying one dead occupant. However, the dead man was not killed by the fall but by an arrow to the heart. The cast of possible suspects includes an assortment of village drunks and "ne'er do-wells," their wives, and relations. But who and, as importantly, why? There are many more bodies to account for before the end of this complex case, and justice is done. Next comes the poisoning death of a moneylender/artist, which has to be the oddest juxtaposition of occupations ever. Several individuals are in deep arrears on their debts, but what of the people involved in his side business of forging the works of well-known painters?

Murder in Haxford is a fun, quirky cozy, as was its predecessor, Pignon Scorbion and the Barbershop Detectives. Pignon Scorbion is a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot with none of their more annoying "tics." The descriptions of his sartorial splendor and two-toned shoes are always amusing. Haxford in 1910s England might never have existed, but it is a charming fantasy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

First, this is NOT a cozy mystery. Not even close. This is a historical mystery [with more emphasis being on mystery here], so if you are going into this thinking it is going to be a nice cozy, you will be disappointed. NOT that the book/story is a disappointment, because it is not, but if I was looking for a cozy and the parameters that those have and ended up with a HM that has more innuendo and language than a cozy, then I would be put out. Thankfully, I read book one [which was also very, very, good] and knew what to expect.

Pignon Scorbion is a unique character [he does have some similarities to Hercule Poirot, but not enough to mistake Pignon for the lovely Belgian sleuth], who has a real love of clothes, cleanliness and solving mysteries in HIS way, no matter how many threats a particularly nasty newspaper man makes [<--HE is really icky] and if deputizing his friends [who just happen to work in a barbershop] and his paramour [A WOMAN DEPUTY!!! Shocking! LOL So refreshing to have a Chief Inspector that knows what is what!] are unconventional, all the better.

As with the first book, there are several stories in this book, all linked and all leading to an end that I certainly didn't guess and I believe leaves us with the format for a third book [along with the idea that a certain someone just might be around after all if my mystery-sense is firing on all cylinders! ;-) ]. I thoroughly enjoyed this book [AND the new narrator {B.J. Harrison<--He is BRILLIANT} - he is SO MUCH BETTER than the previous one! Whew!] and am certainly looking forward to another book should there be one written.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rick Bleiweiss, and Blackstone Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A slow-paced but smart mystery set in 1910 Britain in a small village starring Chief Inspector Pignon Scorbion with a group of deputized friends who solve an Impossible murder type crime involving a body found in a hot air balloon followed by another mystery. Pignon is a "modern" detective who specializes in noticing details others don't and being a somewhat fastidious character who reminds me of Hercule Poirot. There is some fun banter but it is somewhat more serious in tone than most cozies and the amount of characters makes it a bit hard to really get to know them.

I enjoyed it and would probably read another in the series. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

Pignon Scorbion is settling nicely into the position of Chief Inspector in Haxford. After solving several crimes with the assistance of six of the town’s citizens, he has now deputized them. Calvin is the local barber, whose shop Scorbion uses for his suspects’ interviews. He is joined by several of his employees, a young reporterfrom one of the town’s papers and Thelma, the owner of the local bookstore. When a hot air balloon crashes at the town’s fair, there is a body found in the basket. Rather than the fall, his death was caused by an arrow to the chest. The balloon was stolen from a nearby town and the victim was suspected of being involved in a recent murder. Scorbion’s investigation leads to the disappearance of several witnesses and a conspiracy to cover additional murders. Like Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, Scorbion uses his intelligence to draw logical conclusions and solve the murder. It is not long, however, before he and his deputies are also presented with another murder. Archie Williams, the town’s loan shark, falls dead in Calvin’s barber shop, the victim of poison. He was also a talented artist. Was his death caused by his threats against borrowers or was he involved with forgery?

Like Poirot, Scorbion is particular about his appearance and often makes observations that others overlook. Among his deputies, Thelma offers not only support but also valuable resources from her bookstore. Her intelligence is one of her many attractions for Scorbion. Rick Bleiweiss has created a close group whose support and easy banter will have you wishing that you could visit Haxford and join them. My only hope is that Pignon Scorbion will have many more investigations in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing this book for my review.

This is certainly a cozy mystery that moves at a slower pace, without any frenetic scenes (even the dangerous scenes seemed more sedate). I didn;t read the first one, but it was easy to jump into this one and get a sense of the setting and characters. Det. Pignon was an interested man who seemed to act / be regarded as ahead of the times, compared to the bumbling typical policeman. He surrounds himself with a seemingly random assortment of friends who have been deputized to help him and each is definitely a unique character, though I do feel like they could be more developed (maybe I missed this in the first book). It was not a laugh out loud type of book, and definitely felt more serious than some cozies, though overall the vibe was pleasant. I enjoyed the Poirot-esque theatrical reveal with all the players present.

If you like a slow burn mystery with a smart detective and surprising ending, this one is for you!

This is the second in the Pignon Scorbion mystery series, which act like cozies in avoidance of gratuitous detail, but feature a professional detective. The setting is unusual because Pignon chooses to conduct his interviews not at the police station but in the local barber shop, owned by his friend Calvin. Recently relocated to the fictional small town of Haxford, England, in 1910, Pignon has deputized a number of acquaintances in order to assist with his enquiries: Calvin, of course; crime reporter Billy; book store owner Thelma, with whom he’s courting romance (despite the possibility of his ex-wife’s emergence); barbers Yves and Barnabus; and the bootblack, Thomas.

This is a totally unlikely medley of quirk, but it works well. Pignon is a stickler for proper decorum and known for his signature attire. His speech is unhurried, exacting, and outrageously idiosyncratic. Not unlike British murder mystery TV series where small towns suffer an abundance of murders, this story takes place immediately after book one’s unfortunate demises, but there’s no need to read them in order unless you desire a fuller fleshing out of character. In this volume, a blacksmith suffers death by crossbow, after which three more bodies quickly follow, killed by arrow (again), by knife, and by pitchfork. Almost immediately upon the solving of the case, a money lender-cum-art forger is poisoned, so the posse of sleuths is kept hopping.

One small thing that irritated me was the frequent use of the word ‘alit’ (from a carriage) which, given the era, should perhaps have been ‘alighted.’ Slightly shy of the finesse of the first book, the second is a fun and wryly weird contribution nonetheless, sufficient to defy any preconceptions of what a historical mystery is. Enjoy!

Murder in Haxford is a cozy detective mystery that takes place in 1910. Chief Inspector Pignon Scorbion and his group of townsfolk who help him solve local crimes band together when a balloonist lands with an arrow through his chest at the Haxford Spring Fair.

This was my first book in the series, but it was easy enough to jump into the world and characters without reading the first! However, it was hard to connect with the relatively large cast of characters, and none of them really grew on me.

The old-timey language was really fun and entertaining, and I think some readers will really enjoy the 1910's British banter. The mysteries were well developed - it was very satisfying to watch Pignon pull together all the pieces and clues to share his solution in front of his townsfolks. The payoff was lovely!

The pacing was bothersome to me, as one mystery was solved about 60% of the way through, leaving a second mystery for the last half of the book. Without an overarching plot to carry me through, I found it challenging to get completely invested in the second mystery.

For those who like mystery and crime stories, you will probably enjoy cuddling up with a blanket, a cup of coffee, and this read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! I will be sharing my review on Instagram and TikTok closer to the pub day.

My first book in the series and I felt a bit lost. I didn't connect with any of the characters which in turn made it impossible to lose myself in the story. Overall, this was a miss for me.

The story was okay but it felt like several tropes thrown together. It could have worked but wasn't fully developed. I know this is one in a series. I don't believe I will seek out the others.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It’s 1910, and the first day at the Spring Fair in Haxford. Soon after it opens, hot air balloons take to the air and a tragedy occurs – a balloon crashes. Only when the occupant of the balloon is examined, do they realized that he was killed by an arrow.

I love historical novels set in small towns, and this one fits the bill. The language used felt like it was from the period which at times made it hard to follow. It was still entertaining, even if it took some extra attention.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.

Another great book in this series. It didn’t have me chuckling out loud like first, but it was still a delight.

Charming as ever, Chief Inspector Pignon Scorbion reminds me of some of my favorite mystery novel sleuths like Peter Wimsey and Albert Campion. Though not of the nobility class, he is eccentric, smart, witty, full of unusual knowledge and grace.

I love that this strays the typical cozy mystery narrative with short adventures and clever connections to the events of the period. Scorbion’s merry band of deputies also makes for a fun read.

Looking forward to his next adventures.

Thank you #NetGalley and #BlackstonePublishing for this ARC

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC. This is the second in the series set in 1910 about Pignon Scorpion and his six fellow investigator friends. As I didn't read the previous book I found it hard to follow who was who. The town was a charming setting and the barbershop was a nice small town feel. There was a murder that took place during a hot air balloon exhibition. Pignon met with his six friends to discuss the lines of enquiry. There's also the murder of a moneylender. I feel like the author tried to make likeable characters, I just didn't enjoy them as I was hoping to. I had a hard time being interested in the book. 3.5 stars.

If a murder mystery can be classified as “charming” this one fits the bill! A delightful cast of characters led by Chief Inspector Pignon Scorbion work together to solve two cases. Reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, Scorbion is a quirky, perceptive officer with a trusty band of deputized friends. The story takes place in the quiet town of Haxford, England in 1910. Scorbion is unconventional with his Barbershop headquarters, his dramatic flare for fashion, and his unique relationship status. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to delve into a classic Whodunnit full of chuckles and charm.
I will say the format of this NetGalley e-book was extremely frustrating.
I received a copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The second book in this series, and while I did not enjoy the first one, still thought I’d give this one a try.

Unfortunately, I liked it no more than the other. The language is stilted and artificial. The characters are like cardboard cutouts. And finally, the plot was confusing, made up of two disparate stories that never came together.

My thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy made available for my review.

I didn't read the first book, but felt it was no problem to start here. From the cover I was expecting a more humorous read. It wasn't dark, but aside from a smile or two nothing truly humorous.

The book is more two novellas cobbled together, there's a death involving with a hot air balloon backdrop and then the murder of a money lender. I liked the small amount of detail we get about hot air ballooning in that era.

While I was interested enough to finish the book, I wasn't that interested in the cast of characters and setting to look up the first book.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Murder in Haxford is the second novel in a mystery series set in 1910. I had not read the first book in this series by Rick Bleiweiss, but since this book functions well as a stand-alone novel, it was easy to read this mystery without having met these characters before. I did not realize that Murder in Haxford contains 2 novellas, instead of just one novel. The novellas are not set apart; instead the first set of murders are solved and a few hours later, another new separate murder occurs. I am not sure the size of this town allows for so many murders back-to-back.

There is much to enjoy about Murder in Haxford. The 1910 setting includes many references to life during this period, including horse buggies versus automobiles, suffrage, education and jobs for women, men as primary voices of authority, early telephone use, etc. Some of the characters are more compelling than others. Inspector Pignon Scorbion is a man of many talents, including an intuitive understanding of human nature. His female counterpart, Thelma Smith, owns a book store. Most of the rest of the characters, who conduct police business in a barbershop, are less notable. The barbershop setting would likely be funnier on film.

Although there is a bookstore in this cozy mystery, this is a bookstore that does not occupy as demanding a role as in many cozy mysteries. Although Bleiweiss does try to define each of the many deputies as individuals, this is a less successful part of this novel. There are simply too many deputies to get to know any of them. This series would be more interesting with more character development; however, the villains and suspects are especially interesting in the second part of this novel.

I want to thank the author and publish for providing this ARC. My review is an honest review. I did enjoy this novel enough to seek out the first book in the series. Thank you also to NetGalley for introducing me to another author.