I love Faith Martin books and was excited to read this new cozy mystery (also Historical fiction). While I did not enjoy it as much as her other books, it is a great read with some interesting characters. The plot was intriguing, and had some humorous moments as well. I enjoyed the characters Arbie and his friend Val, who seem to have stumbled into some sleuthing when a crime is committed in their small town. At times the book moved a little slow, but I was glad I read it. Truly enjoyed.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It is Summer 1924, and elderly spinster, Amy Phelps, is being haunted by an ancestral ghost. “Who You Gonna Call?” – the local ghostbuster, Albie Swift. To be more exact, he is the author of bestseller “A Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-hunting”, and is of the stuff that would see him fit right into ‘The Drone’s Club’ if he were in a different book by a different author. It is needless to say that he does not believe in ghosts, has no relevant experience whatsoever, and wrote the book for a bet. Fortunately, Miss Phelps, understands this situation perfectly and hopes to draw out and expose a prankster, in the shape of her nephew, Murray, heir presumptive to the family wealth presently held by his aunt. The plan is to get Albie to do a ghost watch, to which he agrees. The vicar’s daughter, Val, a friend of his since school days, inveigles her way into this arrangement. Nothing happens then but, a few days later, Miss Phelps is found dead by poisoning in a classic locked-room situation. An Inspector arrives, but Val persuades Albie that they should carry out a parallel investigation. A motley crew of servants, relatives and hangers-on were all in the house or its grounds on the fateful night so the game was afoot.
This definitely fits the ‘Cosy Crime’ brief, in fact it is closer to the languid. Albie, the chief protagonist (for want of a better description) is as laid back as it is possible to be without snoring (except on the occasions when he is actually snoring); the role of Val is unclear, probably to direct Albie by feeding ideas and clues, and failing. Frankly, I can’t believe that a 1920’s vicar’s daughter in a small village would have the freedom from censure that Val has. The plot is moderately well constructed but isn’t challenging. Setting the tale in a small Cotswold village is to invite comparison with Christie, and in fact reference is made to Poirot (who, it could be argued was not well known until 1926 when Christie scored her first real success with “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”). Setting it in 1924 is also an exercise in idiom, it must sound a bit like it was written then but mustn’t get drawn into the outer reaches of pastiche. Here the strategy appears to be to use cliché phrases, a reasonable method but carried too far in this case, and overindulgence in adjectives and adverbs. I’d have been looking at 3.5 stars for the story but there were times when I was closer to 1 wading through a concatenation of clichés. I’m at about 2.8, which comes out as 3 on the rounding.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Nice and convoluted cosy murder mystery set in the 1920s. Good fun and interesting. Made me laugh out loud at the antics of some of the well drawn cast members. An ingenious plot too.

Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Yep, Ms Martin has done it again. Another cozy murder mystery set 100 years ago (or it will be when it is released next year. Set in a quaint 1920’s Cotswolds, village. This has it all ' a locked room murder, a wealthy victim, eccentric uncles, village gossip, loads of suspects. Arbie Swift, has recently written a popular book- A Gentleman's Guide to Ghost Hunting, is persuaded, reluctantly to investigate a ghost allegedly threatening the village’s wealthiest spinster. He is ably assisted by the vicars, daughter, who doesn't take any nonsense. .

This was an enjoyable and fun read, with brilliant characters. The crime and its solution were very cleverly thought out and explained. Readers will immerse themselves in the .atmosphere of the period as they try to unravel the many clues and identify the red herrings.

I really hope this the start of another wonderful series by Ms Martin

Arbie and his friend Val fall by accident into the investigation of an unexpected crime in the small village of Maybury where everyone knows everyone else and all have something they would rather not have spread on the all too efficient village grapvine...
Expertly evoking life in a small community for the respectable classes between the wars and the tone of whodunnits of the period, this is an enjoyable page turner with a pair of engaging amateur sleuths who have potential for their relationship to develop. A deftly structured plot and a light touch ensure that this is a crime novel that will not lead to nightmares. I enjoyed it and will be recommending it to my reading community.

I felt like this was ploddy and could use some editing - the lexis is clunky and makes it difficult to read

Cosy crime is a popular genre and one I usually enjoy, however, I found this book slow going and the attempt at period language was annoying and cluttering. A few well placed words would have done the job as well without holding up the story.
Set in the Cotswolds in 1924, Amy Phelps asks the help of a young ghost hunter as she is disturbed by noises in her creaky old house, The Forge. Arbie Swift is the celebrated author of the book, A Gentleman's Guide to Ghost-Hunting. No one was more surprised with its success with the reading public than he was and he is rather perturbed the Amy Phelps looks on him as a ghost authority. With his old friend, Val, he agrees, or rather Val agrees for him, to investigate the goings on at The Forge but the night he and Val are there a crime is committed...
I did enjoy the characters of Val and Arbie and they seemed well set in the period. The plot was slow to get going and the red herrings weren't convincing enough to my mind although the resolution was quite satisfying.
But, what I objected to most in reading this book was the constant use of adverbs to describe how the characters were speaking: he said gently; Val responded gloomily; Amy Phelps said witheringly. It was constant and almost every single phrase that was uttered was clarified in some way. It was completely unnecessary as the words usually showed us the attitude the speaker was taking.
So, sorry, this book was not for me. I couldn't get beyond the writing to enjoy the story.
With thanks to Netgalley and HQ stories at Harper Collins for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

I hadn’t heard of this author but loved the old fashioned cover. Fans of Agatha Christie will love this gentle whodunnit. Set in 1924, it tells the story of a genteel lady of great wealth who is being ‘visited’ by the family ghost - or is she? Arbie and Val are the amateur sleuths who set out to solve the mystery of ghostly goings on. Arbie has just written a book about ghosts so appears well qualified. A murder is committed in a locked room and in a very short time, another! We have an elderly lady living in a very old house with no electric lighting - hence the candlelight in the title. For readers who like a traditional murder mystery, this is ideal.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a prepublication ebook.

I love Faith Martin books and have read virtually all of them so getting an ARC was a dream. Somehow I really didn't connect with this book. It was very slow going and possibly trying to hard? It didn't feel as well put together as her other books . The characters were believable and the premise of the plot sounded right up my street but I just didn't gel with it. Faith Martin is a lovely lady and a great author just this one fell a bit flat

Murder by Candlelight by Faith Martin is a 1920s murder mystery and it fits well in the genre. Arbie, the celebrated author of a book about the paranormal, and his friend Val become involved in a hunt for ghosts that turns into a hunt for a murderer. Set in a small village where gossip is rife and characters are plenty, there's much to enjoy about the book. I confess, however, that for me the resolution came from nowhere and I found the ending a bit abrupt. I'll happily read more, though, if this turns into a series.

I really enjoyed this cosy murder story reading it in one sitting!

The Cotswolds - 1924. Two unexplained deaths, a disputed inheritance and family troubles. Two amateur sleuths - Arbie Swift and Val, the vicar’s eldest daughter, set out to find out who is the murderer by way of ghost hunting. To do so, they must crack a most perfectly plotted crime.

A delightful set of characters in a typical village atmosphere.

A most enjoyable read.

A delicious blend of an Agatha Christie type plot with a Bertie Wooster type character! I loved this.
Set in the 1920's we are introduced to the eminently likeable, and renowned ghost hunter, Arbuthnot Swift and the local vicar's daughter, Valentina Coulton-James. Together they help solve a seemingly impossible closed-setting murder mystery in a small village, with all the style and panache you would expect from a novel set in this period.
This is a page-turning delight with an ending that doesn't disappoint. Highly recommended!

Arbie Swift has written a book about great locations to find ghosts around England. Now, he is considered an expert. The local matron, has a problem. She has a ghost. And she wants Arbie to find the ghost.

Accompanied by his good friend, Val, they stay overnight at the woman's house. But the woman shows up dead. Arbie and Val set out to solve the mystery.

This well-written adventure is quite humorous. The characters are fun to follow. And the solution to the mystery is quite good and unexpected. I really liked this book.

1920’s classic whodunit

Set in 1924 in a quiet Cotswold village with a real feel for the values and behaviours of the period. The main characters are introduced with interesting backstories that run as themes throughout the story. The two lead characters are Arbuthnot Lancelot Swift, Arbie, and Valentina Olivia Charlotte Coulton-James, Val, who get drawn into ghost hunting at The Old Forge, home of Miss Amy Phelps. Murder quickly followers and Arbie and Val take on the role of amateur sleuths. The exchanges between the couple, both verbal and non verbal, are a strong point of the book with a good balance of humour and respect.

The story combines a delightful combination of ghost hunting, murder, past secrets, inheritances, relationships, an eccentric uncle, puzzles and red herrings. I found this to be an engaging story from start to finish and it kept me guessing. There are foundations set for what I hope will be other books based on these characters.

Faith Martin is not an author I’ve read before but I will certainly be seeking out her other books.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing this.

This is a genre I really enjoy. I love a good murder mystery and I enjoy Agatha Christie etc. This does seem to have been written in that vein. I looked at the premise and thought it sounded really interesting. I liked the idea of blending ghost hunting with a murder mystery, this seemed like a really clever premise from the author!

Plot wise, there’s nothing wrong with this book. The murder mystery is structured well, it’s a little slow at the start but really ramps up after the murder occurs. The author had some clever ideas regarding means and opportunity. Sufficient false leads were provided to keep you guessing. It was absolutely fine as a murder mystery.

I did find I didn’t enjoy this as much as I expected to because I didn’t get on with the language choices. This may be personal preference and might not be an issue for others but it was a bit jarring for me. I found it was distracting me from the story itself.

The writing style is trying to be of a particularly time period but it felt too heavily applied. It almost felt like a parody at times. Secondly every time a character spoke an adverb was used to describe their turn. While I appreciate this can be useful at time, when used so liberally it was distracting. ‘She said primly,’ ‘she said gently’, ‘he said manfully’, ‘she said kindly’ etc. Because it was on every single piece of speech I found this was pulling me out of the story.

Plot was absolutely fine, some clever ideas but I found it hard to immerse myself in the story because of the language, this is likely just personal preference though and may not be an issue for others.

Tricky title! A small-town murder mystery with a reluctant one-time ghost-hunting author and an old money family. A quaint read that builds suspense really nicely with a neat solution. This book smells like it could be setting up a loose series.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for providing me with the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder by Candlelight is a light reading whodunnit in the golden age style of locked room whodunnits. It nostalgically reminds the reader of villages like St Mary Mead.

This cosy detective story with engaging characters and lots of gossip is set in the Cotswolds, England in the 1920s.

Arbuthnot Swift (Arbie) is a young man who has recently published a best seller, The Gentleman's Guide to Ghost Hunting. Miss Amy Phelps, the wealthy owner of and old estate, The Forge, asks him to investigate a possible haunting in the house. When Miss Phelps is murdered Arbie and his friend Val are drawn into their own investigation.

The mystery has plenty of red herrings, but all the clues are there to solve the murder.

Maybury-in-the-Marsh is the quaint village that forms the charming backdrop and setting the atmosphere with its gossipy and charming characters.

It is not just written in the style of Agatha Christie’s cosy who-dunnits but includes tongue in cheek references to the ‘Belgian chap’.

At first I was not keen on the main character, Arbie, he came across as self centred and lazy but I did warm to him. The vicar’s daughter, Val, is his long time school friend and off sider in the investigation was delightful and more likeable initially.

They are a perfect pairing with Val pushing him and constantly nagging him.

The dialogue was witty and in keeping with the era.

Murder by Candlelight is a light easy read. It is entertaining but I didn’t find it compelling reading.

I’m not sure if it was written tongue in cheek to appear Victorian or not well written – either way it was still enjoyable.

Rating 3*

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing an early copy of Murder by Candlelight.

#MurderByCandlelight #NetGalley #harpercollins

3.25/5

After writing a book about ghosts and hauntings young Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift is now considered an expert on the subject, even thought he's never seen a ghost and he wrote the book on a bet, so it's no surprise that people wish to consult him about the supernatural. When Miss Amy Phelps, a serious woman and a pillar of the community, asks for his help with a supposedly troubled spirit of an ancestor he's surprised and suspects that something else might be afoot, only to be proven right when Miss Phelps dies under suspicious circumstances in a closed room. Who could have done this? Everyone had a motive, but not really opportunity. Now, Arbie must find the connection between this murder and the ghost, before someone else pays the price.

This was a nice cozy mystery. It had all the elements you could possibly want: A little town, a murder most foul, a locked room, rich people fighting over inheritance, memorable suspects, and red herrings galore. I liked the characters and specially enjoyed the way this was written. The use of period appropriate terms and slang in an effortless manner helped keep me immersed in the story. It was charming and a little funny, campy even.

I did find it a bit slow. The murder doesn't occur until 40% or so and it picks up quite slow. The book also jumps between multiple POVs all the time in a way I found messy. While I liked the murder I think it wasn't that hard to solve and I did feel a tiny bit cheated with some of the clues being more of an off stage thing.

Really enjoyed this book. It’s a really gentle ‘who done it’, with some lovely characters. (I really loved Arbie’s uncle ). Val the vicars daughter and Arbil the author make really good amateur sleuths. The storyline was really engaging and with the usual shoal of ‘red herrings’ you were kept guessing until the final chapters. Hopefully Faith Martin will realise what exceptional characters she has created and perhaps they will be the main characters in follow up murder mystery’s.

Terrific start to a new series, complete with locked room mystery and hints of romance.

Summer, 1924, Cotswold village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh: Wealthy spinster Miss Amy Phelps has a ghost problem. Well, perhaps not exactly a ghost itself, but more likely someone pretending to be the legendary family ghost Wilbur Phelps. As she’s not sure what to do, she turns to Arbuthnot Swift. Arbie is a local to Maybury as well, fairly well off (although he’s not due to get his inheritance until he’s 30), and rather lazy - he’d rather be fishing. He’s also the celebrity author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting and thus the perfect person, at least in Miss Phelps’ mind, to inquire into her ghost. In his attempts to get out of the investigation, he accidentally recruits former classmate Miss Valentina Coulton-James, one of the vicar’s daughters, to aid in his ghost hunting. Unfortunately, Miss Phelps is found dead in her bed a few days later, the victim of cyanide poisoning. The door is locked, and all the windows all shut. She didn’t eat or drink anything different from her guests. How was she killed? There are plenty of suspects: the nephew, heir apparent; the niece, fond of snooping in her very private aunt’s very private room; the old friends, both with hidden grudges; the former maid, still disgruntled about being let go; even the long time housekeeper harbors a secret resentment. Naturally, Arbie and Val have to investigate.

I’ve enjoyed some of Ms. Martin’s books in the past, and Murder by Candlelight was no exception - one of those books that I didn’t want to end.

To start with, Arbie and Val are engaging characters; Val is 22 years old, and given Arbie was a classmate, he’s probably with a year of that at most - old enough to be an adult and having written a book, but too young to be in the Great War and possibly suffering from shell shock or other injuries. Likewise, Val’s an adult, but under constant pressure from her parents to settle down and get married. Arbie’s very intelligent, but also would prefer to do as little as possible. When he’s researching his book, for example, he shifts the focus to also be a travel guide, resulting in him being very well treated as everyone wants a favorable review for their establishment. When describing his own personal experience with a ghost, he leaves out the logical explanation as it makes a better story without it. But since he’s a bit lazy, Val’s character is needed to assist (and encourage) his investigation. There’s also slight hints of romance between the two. Arbie’s frequently thinking of “protecting the ladies” when the only other person involved is Val. Meanwhile, Val has to pretend not to notice how handsome Arbie looks in his summer suit at tea and so forth. In one scene, he astonishes her with his logical thought process.

Other characters were also fun. Arbie’s Uncle is a trip! Miss Phelps was also very interesting as she started off as sympathetic, but then slowly changed as some of the less noble things she’s done to her friends were revealed. I also enjoyed the humor in the book: Arbie’s alcohol inspired idea for a book, for example, being egged on by his friend in the publishing business or the ultimate source of the mysterious bell. I felt like the reader was given a nice blend of clues and red herrings, too, to keep the plot interesting. Most of all, I loved how the climax was handled; rather than facing danger, being chased by the villain and so forth, it was like a classic Christie novel with Arbie presenting his theory to the police inspector and the suspect.

Highly recommended - I can’t wait to read the sequel!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.