I enjoyed the DI Hilary Green Books written by Faith Martin and was looking forward to reading this pre publication edition. Faith Martin has a flowing easy to read style and this carries over to this title where the leading participants Arbie and Val, develop as characters as the story builds , in turn stimulating an interest in the reader as to how their relationship will develop.

the first third of the book was a little slow to develop, but the pace then picked up and a thoroughly enjoyable story started to flow. Being critical, the plot at times seemed a little thin, with a slight lack of intrigue around "whodunnit". Whilst highlighting this as a the major downside, the book sets up a number of interesting characters for future titles in the series.

The conclusion of the story seemed a little rushed to me. The reveal of the murderer was rattled through and I had to check to see if the subsequent sudden death was explained (it wasn't). I think a little more tidying of this element would improve the book and I hope that this can be done in the final edit.

Thank you for sharing this copy of the book with me and I look forward to reading more from Faith Martin.

Thank you to Faith Martin, Netgalley and HQ for an advanced copy of the book.

I had so much fun reading this book! Set in the 1920s, in the Cotwolds, we follow along as laid back Arbie and bossy Val solve this genius locked-room murder mystery.
Faith Martin did an amazing job of keeping me on my toes throughout the story. Humor, lots of suspects with lotive, and a nearly unsolvable murder add up to a wonderfully entertaining mystery.
If you love Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse, you'll love this too.
I hope to see more mysteries featuring Arbie and Val!

This is the first in the new series and I was excited to read it as I have loved Faith Martin's other series.

This was a cosy read but not very taxing, I easily guessed what the 'ghost' bell was and straight away who the murderer was.
I also was frustrated that at the end it was Arbie who revealed it all - I was hoping for a bit more girl power from Val and she was totally excluded. I understand the dynamic of the pair but it felt odd that she hadn't been involved at all.

However overall an easy enjoyable read.

Thank you for the arc.

A superbly written story, with lots of very entertaining plot twists and red herrings that kept me guessing, truly brilliant.

A new diversion for Faith Martin. This cosy mystery introduces Arby Swift and his friend Val,the vicar's daughter.

Miss Phelps asks them to investigate the ghost which haunts her home, The Old Forge. When her body is found in a locked room, Arby and Val investigate with the local police inspector.

A "nice" story in the style of Agatha Christie which makes a change from gritty urban murder mysteries!

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ Publishing for the chance to read and review this book

This was my first read by this author after a few recommendations from fellow enthusiasts.

I enjoyed it but found it was a little slow to start. A good array of suspects and motives and the old England vibe made it a pleasant cosy crime thriller.

I'm not desperate to read more of the authors work but enjoyed it enough to give this one 3 stars.

Having read countless books by Faith Martin, I looked forward to yet another good read. However, this one unfortunately did not tick all the boxes, so I was left disappointed.
If ?Hilary doesn’t reappear, hopefully she can conjure up another character in a similar vein.

Cheerio and how’d you do, chaps?
I have to admit, I am as keen as mustard to be allowed to share this review with you all, eh?
Or this is how I would begin my review if I was written by Faith Martin and appearing in her upcoming cosy crime novel, “Murder by Candlelight.”
Thank God, though, that I haven’t been cursed to speak like this 24/7 so be prepared for my usual random snark.
It’s 1924 *ominous ahhhhh voice of recognition* yes, we are in the PAST and in a village in ENGLAND and that is something you absolutely should not forget but if you do: no worries, you’ll be reminded just how quaint, cosy, BRITISH and old-fashioned everyone and everything is on about- oh, every single page.
Miss Phelps, an elderly lady of means, asks Arbuthnot (more like ikidyounot) Swift, recent hotshot author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting, and Val “I don’t remember her last name”, to help her investigate eery doings at her manor. Arbie and Val, old childhood pals though not exactly friends, agree to stay at the Old Forge and keep an eye open for any wrongdoings. A short while later, Miss Phelps is found murdered in her bed. The catch? It’s a looked room murder.
What follows over the course of the novel is Arbie and Val trying to catch the killer before they can strike again and even though from the outset this feels a bit like “The Thursday Murder Club” meets Agatha Christie’s “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?”, the novel can’t hold a candle to either of those two.
I love a good cosy British murder mystery like no other but I do not need to be constantly reminded that we are in ENGLAND, in a small VILLAGE, and that everyone is very QUAINT and adorable yet a BIT QUIRKY. Arbie calls Val (both of them are like, anything between 19-23 years old) “old bean” or “old thing” about every two pages or so, I needed to look up words in a thesaurus more than a dozen times (hey, did you know refractory is just another synonym for headstrong and that “(to) scrump” is a colloquial expression for stealing? Me neither!), and on top of that, I was hit over the head with sentences like:
“So what do you think has got Miss Phelps in such a tizz then? The old bean really is in a flap about something, though she’s determined not to let on of course. Too stiff upper lip for words, isn’t she?”
Sigh. If I have to read stuff like this, can I at least have some ale and actual beans to go with it, too?
What bugged me as well was that I felt the middle part of the plot was basically non-existent. The exposition sets up the murder and haunted house vibes quite nicely, and the conclusion is fine-ish. But even though it’s only been a couple of days since I finished it, but I haven’t retained a single thing from the in-between stuff. To me, it seemed like the novel was more concerned with giving readers an interesting enough exposition so they would keep reading and a satisfying enough conclusion so they would laud the ingenuity of the plot instead of making sure there was enough meat to bride the gap between beginning and end.
Last but not least, and I have to bring this up even though it’s a spoiler…
You have been warned! Avert your eyes if you do not want to be spoiled!
…
…
…
… is the fact that “the gay man” turns out to be the murderer. I wouldn’t have a problem with a queer character being the villain a) if the bad guy wasn’t the ONLY queer person in the novel and b) if was handled with more care and attention. In the end, his only motive was the old lady’s money. I’m not quite sure what to think about it but I know it wasn’t handled as well as it could have been handled.
I just can’t see myself either recommending this book or reading any possible sequels.

I think I’d like to read this book again as I just wasn’t sure. It had all the ingredients of a superb book but I felt it was a touch jumbled at the end. Maybe I rushed it and didn’t quite give it the time it needs.

My next read was Murder by Candlelight by Faith Martin! This is supposed to the first book in a new planned series and was my introduction to the author! I’d never read any of her books before but I’d heard that she’s good so I was excited to dive in! Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Murder by Candlelight follows young Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift, an author of a bestselling ghost hunting guide, and his friend Val as they endeavour to figure out the ghostly happenings at the Old Forge. Set in the Cotswolds in 1924, things take a turn for the worse when the elderly Mrs Phelps, who employed Arbie to solve her mysterious ghost problem, is found murdered in her bed…

Honestly, this was a disappointing read for me. I was super excited to have ghosts and murder and a cast from the past and everything was just very…dull? It was an incredibly slow start where nothing really happened and then after the murder, it just continued to be slow. I wanted to DNF so many times but I wanted to give an honest review so I persevered until the end. It got a little interesting when people’s motives began to be explored but it wasn’t enough. I didn’t particularly like any characters and I didn’t enjoy the writing style either. I was hoping for someone Agatha Christie style, or even something that would be a mystery that was fun to solve, but found myself disappointed.

Unfortunately, for me, this was not an interesting read and not one I would recommend. I don’t think anyone would be missing out by not reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for allowing me the opportunity to read this eARC in return for a fair and honest review 🤍

2.75/5 ⭐️‘s

I’m really confused by the ending. I loved the book up until then. It was really well thought out and a pleasure to read. But then at the end it all seemed a bit rushed and I thought it was cut and dried who the murderer was but then they were never mentioned again. All very perplexing. I thought I hadn’t got all the book I had to keep checking. Such a shame

I do hope this is the start of a series of books featuring Arbie Swift as a ghost hunter/detective, with the vicars daughter Val as his sidekick.
Set in the Cotswolds, the Old Forge house in a quiet village is the location for a locked room murder.. Arbie thought he was invited to the house for a spot of ghost hunting, but his visit turned out to be much more puzzling, can ghosts commit murder? There are plenty of suspects and motives, old resentments and love affairs are brought to light, along with many red herrings.
This is a delightful mystery, a plot with twists and turns kept me guessing until the end.

A country house, locked room mystery, faithfully written in the style of the 1930s mysteries of the Golden Age of crime, this will be a sure fire hit with fans of Christie, Allingham and Dickson-Carr, as well as lovers of modern cosy crime.
Amy Phelps is found dead in her room, seemingly poisoned during the night. The window is barred shut and the door is locked from the inside. Her last meal was shared with guests and she doesn’t believe in eating or drinking in bed. Add in a possible haunting by a disgruntled ancestor and the scene is set for the perfect whodunnit.
As you would expect, secrets are unearthed which provide more than one character with a feasible motive, but who had the means and opportunity? When a further suspicious death occurs, the need to track down the murderer becomes a race against time.
Arbie and Val are the amateur sleuths determined to solve the case, after Arbie, author of a travel book exploring famous haunting sites, is called on by Miss Phelps to investigate supernatural events. Val, his long time friend, invites herself along to help him on his overnight vigil where they meet the cast of characters, soon to become their suspects.
The whole novel reads so much like a classic Golden Age of crime story which, for a massive fan of the genre, really hit the mark. The dialogue was particularly authentic - something which can prove difficult for a modern day author. The research and dedication to writing a novel true to the style shone through.
Any fan of the classic crime genre would be certain to enjoy this one.

It's the 1920s and Arbie Swift has found fame after writing a book about ghost hunting in Britain (written by accident after a drunken evening with a friend who is a publisher).

Now home in the quaint village of Maybury-on-the-Marsh Arbie is approached by Amy Phelps, a very wealthy spinster, who is being threatened by a family ghost at her home in The Old Forge. Amy invites Arbie and his friend Val who is the local vicar's daughter to come and investigate strange goings-on that are happening.

Great book and characters, very enjoyable and I like the way Arbie tries to appear not very bright! Was puzzled at what happened to a couple of characters who seemed to just disappear, Doreen for example.

On the whole a good read and recommended

This book is a wonderful cosy crime novel and I throughly enjoyed it.
Set in the 1920’s it has an Agatha Christie feel throughout with a modern take. Poirot is my favourite detective so this was definitely one for me!
The plot was simple enough to follow which I enjoyed as I don’t always want a particularly complex plot, especially from a cosy crime novel.
The characters are interesting and kept me entertained throughout.
A good old classic ‘whodunnit’ and I would be interested in reading more if this were to become a series.
Thank you for allowing me early access to this little treat of a book!

I love old golden age mysteries and was looking forward to this one but I felt it was really simple and not challenging of the reader. It seemed to pack in far too many cozy mystery tropes and, unfortunately, they didn't add up for me.

Arbie Swift is a rather laconic young man who enjoys fishing and lazing around in the quiet Cotswold village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh, waiting to come into his inheritance on his thirtieth birthday. After a drunken evening with a friend results in him writing a humorous book called The Gentleman's Guide to Ghost-Hunting which saw him travelling the country staying in places reputedly haunted, he has gained some notoriety and considerable success.

When he is accosted by Amy Phelps, elderly spinster and owner of The Old Forge, a large and ramshackle house which was the source of the Phelps family's wealth to investigate the family ghost Arbie is initially reluctant, but the appearance of his arch-nemesis, vicar's daughter Val Coulton-James, forces him to agree. Val and Arbie quickly realise that Miss Phelps doesn't really believe that she is being visited by a ghost, in fact she suspects her nephew Murray Phelps is playing unkind pranks on her. After suffering a fall after one such prank, Miss Phelps changes her will ... but is found dead in her own bed shortly afterwards, with the door and windows closed and locked.

There are any number of suspects. The housekeeper Mrs Brockhurst has a thirty-year-old secret. Miss Phelp's schoolfriend Mrs Cora Delaney has discovered a letter from her one true love in a secret drawer in Miss Phelp's bedroom. Murray Phelps was Miss Phelps' only male relative and was expected to inherit the bulk of her fortune. Miss Phelps' niece Phyllis Phelps had either fortune nor a job and was reliant on her aunt. Mr Reggie Bickersworth is an old family friend, best friend of Miss help's late brother who spends several weeks each summer staying with Miss Phelps in one f her outbuildings while he paints. Allegedly Miss Phelps' brother left all his wealth to Reggie until Miss Phelps persuaded him that it must remain in the family. Last, and not least, Miss Phelps had to sack one of the maids, Doreen Capstan who has been carrying on with Murray Phelps in secret.

Set in the mid-1920s, this is very much in the style of the Golden Age mysteries with a feisty heroine and a hero who hides his intelligence under a bumbling 'aw shucks' exterior.

I enjoyed it very much and I hope this is the start of a new series from Faith Martin.

I receive an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a book that reminded me of Agatha Christie in its style and I really enjoyed it. It is the perfect length for a good book, had wonderful characters and had all that you would expect from a cosy mystery.

Arbie and Val are greats characters who used their skills to help solve a crime. It is interesting, intriguing and even had a dash of humour. It is a bit of a slow burn but this didn't hamper my enjoyment of it. Loved the 1920's era it was set in. A very entertaining and enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a modern Agatha Christie which was very well developed and when the bits are gradually revealed I just kept thinking of course and why did i not see it before hand. The characters were wonderfully escribed as was the setting.
It was an interesting read with many funny parts when Faith was describing the reaction of some of the people. Each of the characters were given very distinct personalities that fitted there roles in the story very well.
Loved all the intrigue that surrounded the different characters and made the plot a good read.

Unfortunately this was not for me. I liked the cover which is why I chose it but it was cheesy and just not what I was looking for.