Another good addition to the Beth Haldane cozy mystery series. Beth Haldane, a single mother and overall normal person trying to get it right raising her kid, doing her job, settling into a relationship and struggling with her relationship with her mother. The story begins with Beth wrangled into going to funeral with her mom for her mother's boyfriend. Only, things get really interesting--and funny--when the service is interrupted by brawl of fifty-somethings over who was Len's one and only. Well, Len turns out to have had many ones and onlys. Beth's mom is sure that it is murder and begs her to find out the truth. So Beth begins an investigation, but with what seems like half the town on the possible murderer list, she'll need help from her best-friend.

I like Beth. She's very normal, not someone who has it all together or who can do almost anything. (The only slightly unrealistic thing is how her curiosity leads her to investigate murders. Not the thing that your average person will do. But if there weren't these people, there would far less mysteries published in the world).

There are some funny scenes and good relationships. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the story interesting as well. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When her Mum asks Beth to go with her to a funeral one day
Beth agrees but is shocked at what her Mum has to say.
It seems the deceased was her Mum's boyfriend
Who has met a tragic, unexpected end.

The funeral is attended by lots of others
One claiming to be his wife, Beth soon discovers!
There are many other women who are distraught
Making the funeral totally fraught!

When Beth's Mum then asks her to investigate
Beth can't help agreeing, her Mum to placate.
But when she discovers how many girlfriends he had
She starts to think he really was bad!

Her Mum is convinced someone killed her friend
Beth is cajoled and agrees in the end.
Together with her own friends, Beth starts to investigate
But when someone else dies, perhaps she's too late?

With her Mum in mourning and wanting to know,
Harry being quiet and her son more so,
Beth uncovers surprises about folks she thought she knew
And keeps avoiding work and the work she should do!

Another great cosy mystery with family dramas galore
As Beth endeavours clues to find and explore.
With rumours, insinuations and village dramas, too,
A fun read I highly recommend to you!

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

Alice Castle delivers a new mystery in this delightful series: entertaining and compelling. It's a solid mystery, full of twists, and it kept me guessing.
I was happy to catch up with Beth and follow her in this new investigation.
Entertaining and well written, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Another enjoyable Beth Haldane mystery

Castle has once again placed us in another adventure in Dunwich, this time the victim is a bit of a lothario. It’s up to Beth and her friends to clear her mother’s name in the murder of her newly-appointed fiancé.

This is the third book I’ve read in this series. I did skip a few in between. However I’m happy to report that this lapse did not affect my enjoyment of this story in the least.

Castle has an incredible talent for creating small town mysteries with a distinctive English flair. The new characters introduced were thoroughly vetted and very interesting. The action was consistent, and the cliffhangers at the end of every chapter well suitably crafted.

I did feel as though the plot stalled a bit in the middle. I lost a bit of momentum for a while, but was drawn in again about 3/4 of the way through.

An entertaining and enjoyable read.

4.5 Stars
On a rainy afternoon, Beth Haldane accompanies her mother Wendy to the funeral of her boyfriend and local councillor Len Broughton. But as they gather in the church, Beth can’t help but notice how many women are there who look just like her mother. As the service begins it soon becomes clear that all of the women thought they were Len’s special someone – and one of them even claims to be his distraught wife. Wendy suspects foul play and immediately asks Beth to investigate. Then, Len’s secretary Bella is found dead amongst the dahlias. Beth also is coerced into helping at Jake’s Year 8 disco.
This is the ninth outing for Beth & whilst it could be read as a stand alone I’d recommend reading in order to fully appreciate all the characters whom I've grown to love or dislike throughout the series. I love the diminutive Beth & her differing relationships with her son Jake, partner Harry, her mother Wendy, best friend Katie & nemesis Belinda. This was an entertaining & humorous mystery with plenty of suspects as Len did spread himself around! There are quite a few twists & turns with some surprises especially Nina & Wilf, there are also red herrings. I loved the final chapter & that Beth definitely helped Jake
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

An enjoyable murder/mystery. I liked the character of Nina who kept getting her words muddled up. Plenty of laughs as Beth stumbled her way through the clues trying to eliminate the suspects. No graphic descriptions of the dead bodies.

Another great mystery book by this author in this fantastic series. This one is still set in Dulwich and continues on from the previous ones so, you did have to read them in a sort of order. I loved the way the mystery unfolds and meanders along towards the end when yiu finally find out who committed the deed. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review..

Len certainly spread himself around! This is the first book I have read in this series and it is reminiscent of Midsummer Murders - seemingly cosy village but lurking beneath the surface a lot of murky goings on. Deliciously English village. I received this as an advance copy from the author via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.

The Murder Affair by Alice Castle
A Beth Haldane Mystery Book #9

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

In a quiet little village, mourners gather for a church funeral. But some of the tears flowing are fake – and Beth Haldane suspects foul play…

On a rainy afternoon, Beth Haldane accompanies her elderly mother Wendy to the funeral of her boyfriend and local councillor Len . But as they gather in the church, Beth can’t help but notice how many women are there who look just like her mother.

As the service begins it soon becomes clear that all of the women thought they were Len’s special someone – and one of them even claims to be his distraught wife. Wendy suspects foul play and immediately asks Beth to investigate.

As Beth begins to speak to the women she has to ask, was one of Len’s many disgruntled girlfriends out for revenge? Why was Len borrowing money from the ladies he romanced? And why did 

My Opinion

I have been working my way through this series and I feel that I must warn people to not live in or around Dulwich as there is a lot of murder. Beth has accompanied her mother to the funeral of her boyfriend - but it appears that he was seeing a lot of women. Wendy begins to think that there is more to Len's death and asks Beth to look into who could have murdered him.

This is another great, cosy mystery by Alice Castle. I enjoy this series and really like how Beth uses rumours to get to the bottom of the murders that she investigates. I am very happy that I stumbled upon this series and after nine books I really feel at home with these characters.

Rating: 4/5

The Murder Affair is the ninth book in the A Beth Haldane Mystery series. When amateur sleuth, Beth Haldane is approached by her mother who thinks her boyfriend was murdered, Beth finds herself on another case that quickly unravels a few secrets around Dulwich that she would have been better off not knowing. Like the fact that half the senior female population has been involved with the victim at one time or another. As Beth searches the rumor mill and puts the puzzle pieces together she works as quickly as she can to clear her mothers name.

I have read a few books in the Beth Haldane series and I have enjoyed everyone of them. This book did not disappoint. I enjoy the characters in this series and the way that Beth goes about sleuthing and using the rumor mill to search out the truth. I really enjoyed the premise in this book and the way the multiple girlfriends angle played out! This is a great British cozy series and is worth the read!

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

The only other book I've read in this series was the first book, and I had no trouble at all jumping right back into the ninth installment.
Beth is attending a funeral with her mother, the funeral of her mother's boyfriend whom she didn't even know existed until she found out he died. And looking around there seems to be a suspicious amount of women... Well, it turns out ol Len was something of a charming playboy and all these ladies were dating him, all thinking they were his one and only. When Beth's mother (who is in complete denial about Len's activities) says he might have been murdered she asks Beth to look into it.

This takes Beth on a deep very uncomfortable dive into the lives of the many women Len was seeing, any of who could have been behind his death. I loved watching Beth and her friend Katie investigate this one, There are red herrings everywhere, with some crazy twists, with a lot of humorous moments that had me laughing out loud.

I look forward to going back and reading the books I've missed up to this one, along with any new books that come out.

When Wendy’s boyfriend dies, Beth attends the funeral with her mother. But looking around, there seem to be a lot of women there, all grieving. And they have one thing in common, aside from knowing Len…they all look very similar.

With Wendy as one of many women along in Len’s harem, Beth agrees to look into his death as they agree it might just have been murder. Can Beth clear her mother’s name or will they be the killer’s next victims?

This is one of my favorite British cosy series.

This is the first book I've read in this series and it was quite the page turner. Beth Haldane's mother Wendy, talks Beth into going with her to the funeral of her boyfriend Len. Looking around the church. Beth can't help but see that most of the grieving mourners are women, who all happen to resemble her mother. Wendy is convinced Len was murdered and begs Beth to solve his murder.
When the victims secretary is also murdered, Beth follows the clues to discover the murderer and clear her mothers name.. There are certainly plenty of suspects as Len had plenty of lady friends. and even a wife none of his lady friends knew about. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC. in return for my honest opinion. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next

Absolutely brilliant instalment in this fantastic series. Beth Haldane, her friends, family and enemy are always entertaining and it was fabulous to once more catch up with their lives. Great plotting and dialogue too, with Nina’s malapropisms becoming funnier with each book.

This is the 9th in the Beth Haldane series. While at her mother's boyfriend funeral, Beth and her mom notice there are alot of women attending who look alot like her. Turns out the victim was quite a ladies man! As Beth looks into his life alot of things point to him not so great. Lots of suspense. Richly developed characters. A good read. Thanks#netgalley and #Bookoutture for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Another in the enjoyable Beth Haldane series. This one starts with chaos at the funeral of a playboy.

I really like this series, they are enjoyable mystery series with likable characters. I recommend this series and look forward to Book 10.

Well Founded Suspicions…
The ninth in the Beth Haldane series of mysteries and a funeral leads to well founded suspicions. Clearly it’s time for Beth to investigate and this one lies a little closer to home. As Beth begins to dig, secrets will out, bizarre occurrences abound and soon another body is discovered. Another wholly enjoyable instalment with a deftly crafted plot populated by cast of well drawn characters, an ideal setting and a solid mystery at its’ heart.

Another great story in a good cozy mystery series. Beth goes to the funeral with her mother, and the place erupts into chaos. Who knew this dead man was such a playboy, and had women fighting over him in the church. Liked this one, and the trail of clues was good to follow. Would highly recommend this book and author.

On a rainy afternoon, Beth Haldane accompanies her elderly mother Wendy to the funeral of her boyfriend and local councillor Len. But as they gather in the church, Beth can’t help but notice how many women are there who look just like her mother.
As the service begins it soon becomes clear that all of the women thought they were Len’s special someone – and one of them even claims to be his distraught wife. Wendy suspects foul play and immediately asks Beth to investigate.
As Beth begins to speak to the women she has to ask, was one of Len’s many disgruntled girlfriends out for revenge? Why was Len borrowing money from the ladies he romanced? And why did his work for the local council seem so suspicious?
Then, Len’s secretary Bella is found dead amongst the dahlias in the churchyard. Beth starts to suspect Len was involved in something far more dangerous than she’d assumed but what did Bella know about his business that led to her unfortunate end.
A complex, suspenseful plot with tension so thick that it felt palpable. Wonderfully-developed characters with depth and substance. I was immediately drawn in and held captive from beginning to end.

England, grief, grieving, gossip, small-town, pets, small-business, archivist, friends, family-dynamics, family-drama, series, Lothario, detective, frenemy, amateur-sleuth, friendship, situational-humor, gambling-addiction, siblings, investigation, widows,*****

Local Councilman Len died in his office and Beth Haldane is coerced into attending with her long widowed mother, Wendy. Turns out that all of the mourners are women in their fifties who each claims to be his favorite (think Viagra) except for the one who claims to be his wife. Beth is also a widow, her son Jake's at that awkward testosterone age, and her relationship with local DI Harry York (and his massive book collection of Golden Age novels) is getting a bit too comfortable.
Wendy wants Beth to investigate the man's death because she is sure that one of the others murdered him, so Beth gets her good friend, Katy. But then the councilman's secretary is murdered and the sleuthing really gets serious! A really pleasant read about the kind of people you'd find anywhere involved in things we'd rather leave between the pages of a good book.
I requested and received and EARC from Bookoutre via NetGalley. Thanks for the fun cozy!