Cotswolds, local-law-enforcement, local-gossip, small-town, book-club, veterinarian, dogs, retired, divorced, cozy-mystery, gambling-addiction, amateur-sleuth, friendship, pet-dog, labrador-dog, situational-humor, mild-humor, murder-investigation, twisty*****

Julia Bird is a retired social worker who relocated from London to a small town in the Cotswolds after the divorce. She was walking on the path with her exuberant chocolate lab when she discovered the body of the beloved local vet down below. Julia didn't feel right about the conclusions of the local law, but finding the second dead woman from the vet's office in nearly the same place made things both clearer and more muddled.
It's a lovely cozy series with friendly characters (human), and positively delightful dogs everywhere!
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected advance review copy from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you!
#JuliaBirdMysteriesBk6

Julia Bird and her beloved chocolate labrador Jake, loved to walk, and so did a lot of other residents of her little town of Berrywick in the Cotswolds. Chatting to various dog owners along the way, Julia arrived at the carpark below the path along the cliff edge. When Julia spotted the old dog Fergus, seemingly alone and fretting, Julia and Jake tried to discover the reason. He belonged to Dr Eve Davies' mother Kay, and with neither woman around, Julia was a little concerned. She'd only seen Eve the day before when she picked up Jake's treats at the vet, and she was fine. But it was when she spotted the body at the bottom of the cliff that Julia knew something was wrong. With Julia's friend and local detective, DI Hayley Gibson, soon on the scene, it wasn't long before she deemed it a tragic accident. But Julia was convinced otherwise...

Julia did her own sleuthing (as was usual) and each time she uncovered a clue, she would let Hayley know. Until Hayley told her to drop it. But Julia's conviction that Eve's death was suspicious was soon confirmed when another body was found, it the same place as the first. And Hayley decided Julia was right all along. But would they find the culprit? The searching seemed to hit a dead end but Julia's determination kept her on the trail.

Murder on a Country Walk is the 6th in the Julia Bird Mystery series by Katie Gayle and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of red herrings, plenty of gorgeous canine companions, and the odd feline, along with twists and turns - I had no clue until Julia did!! She's a well written character too; sixty years old, a volunteer in the town, her beau is the local doctor, and she loves her garden. I'm already looking forward to the next. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for my digital ARC to read and review.

I've enjoyed this series and I like the town in the English countryside. I find the characters interesting. The mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another delightful book in this enjoyable series. All the essentials of a cosy mystery are here: the rural setting, lovely descriptions of gardens and walks, a retired/amateur detective,and a local tea room with tasty treats. Julia is an empathetic main character, I identify quite strongly with her, and even started a new word puzzle after reading the ones she does each day! Although it is part of a series, (and I hope there are more books to come), I think this book could be read as a stand alone novel, though it is interesting to see how characters and their relationships develop.

I liked this book more than I expected. I usually do not enjoy an old sleuth since it seems too close to copying Mrs. Marple, but the author actually did justice to Julia Bird.

The writing was good and smooth and the pace steady. I liked how the book did not delve into a lot of unnecessary details but still provide enough background of the characters to understand them and get a feel of the location.

Another thing that I appreciated was that the author didn't make Julia act childish but rather she had a presence of mind and worked in a meticulous way to solve the mystery.

This is book 6 in the series, but can be read as a standalone.

I received an advance copy of the book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Something's wrong in Berrywick. Julia, the protagonist of this British cozy that will be just fine as a standalone- is baffled by the murder of Dr. Eve, the local vet, And then the receptionist is killed as well, forcing Julia to reset her suspect list (the list she's working in parallel with the official investigation). It's a classic cozy with a good character in Julia, a woman of a certain age, a dog or two, and a nice village atmosphere (except for that murder thing). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

While on walk with her dog Jake, Julia finds Fergus, her vet's old dog alone and Eve dead as the result of a fall. When Eve's office receptionist meets the same fate, Julia sets out to find out what happened to the women. The police suspect suicide but Julia isn't convinced.
Her sleuthing turns up numerous clues and multiple suspects. There in lies my problem with this title. It's hard to say more without revealing the killer but Julia misses a vital clue early on that is not true to her character's usual skill. A huge plot weakness that lessened my interest in the solution of the crimes. Still, Jake, the chickens and Julia's deepening relationship with Sean keeps me reading.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

When the local village veterinarian found dead, Julia find herself, wondering who had it in for the woman. With quite a few suspects, solid motives, it’s a second murder that tells Julia this is not a coincidence. Can Julia figure out who had it in for these two people and why? Or is this one going to come back and bite her?

I greatly enjoyed this series. There’s just some thing about British cozy mysteries that are so endearing and different than American cozies. Don’t get me wrong, I love them both, but the cozies are just super cozy. Maybe it’s just a far away location, but in this series, it is the mystery and the writing that keeps bringing me back for more!

This is the 6th book of the series. Once again Julie gets to stumble over a dead body (how English, LOL), but this time, it's not the one she wants to, as it is her local vet, and co-walker. But something doesn't seem right to Julie- not how the body landed, nor why Dr Eve would harm herself. As she and the local police try to make sense out of random clues, she soon finds herself being told clues that seem like nothing, yet when strung together, offer a very different picture of what might have been going on around Dr Eve. An interesting look at family secrets, this cozy is a page turner!

This is book six in the Julia Bird cozy mystery series, though it is my first read in the series. The village of Berrywick in the UK’s Cotswolds is lovely, though far from perfect. Julia is a retired, relatively new resident in the town, putting down roots and building a friend network. One day, on a walk with her pooch, Julia discovers the body of the town veterinarian, Eve, at the foot of a local trail. Was it an accident? Suicide? Julia’s got a funny feeling and urges the police to pursue the case (with little assistance from Julia). 

This was readable as a standalone and a great introduction to the entire series. It is truly a cozy, gentle, not gory, with a solid mystery to solve.

My next reads: books one to five!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really do love these books. A wonderful, Cotswolds set cosy crime series that has me smiling from cover to cover. If Julia Bird were a real person, I'd be a tad wary of making her acquaintance of course, or even being in the same postcode, as she does seem to attract trouble. But there is no better person to be investigating your murder, should that fate befall you, as, much like Malcolm the Mountie, Julia always gets her man. She's a fun, modern day, not remotely spinsterly, Miss Marple and if you are in trouble, you could do worse than to run to Julia for her help.

Now it's not just Julia, but her beloved, and troublesome, dog, Jake, who have a key part to play in this particular story. After a disastrously enthusiastic bout of tail wagging, Jake finds himself in quite some pain, prompting Julia to take him to the vets, and introducing us to our soon-to-be-victim, veterinarian Eve Davies. Now, as we, and Julia, both quickly discover, there is something troubling Eve, but we are yet to find out what. And discovering that is going to be somewhat of a problem, given that it's a secret Eve ends up taking to her grave ...

What I live about this series is that, whilst the subject is undoubtedly dark, and in this case sadly very relevant, the authors manage to tell the story in a way which remains light without making light of the fact that a murder has been committed. They balance the sense of scandal and gossip that you can just imagine flying around a small village like Berrywick, with a lovely vein of good humour and the passing of day to day life in Julia's world. This time around she is far more convinced that something dastardly has taken place than her friend, and local Detective Inspector, Hayley Gibson, who is quickly convinced that Eve's death is nothing more than a tragic accident. But anyone who has read any of this series knows to always trust Julia's instincts - she's seldom wrong about the what, even if the who sometimes initially evades her.

There are a good few suspects in play in this story as you might expect. Several different motives come to light, and some of Eve's friends and colleagues seem hesitant to tell the whole truth, adding an extra layer of mystery to the progress of Julia's investigation. There is no doubting something is a foot, but what and why remains a closely guarded secret. There are many clues to uncover, hints at what might be, and a surprising connection between no just the victim, but some of the suspects too. With brilliant pacing, a good dose of humour, and a few moments of threat which will keep you on your toes, it's another cracking addition to the series and definitely recommended. One of my automatic go to series when I need a little light humour but still want my delicious crime based hit.

It's no secret in Berrywick that Julia Bird's pooch, Jake, is a much loved and enthusiastic friend to all. So when he's a bit poorly, Julia quickly takes him to the very popular local vet, Dr Eve, who is on hand to diagnose and reassure in equal measure. A few days later, as they take a more sedate walk than usual, due to Jake's unfortunate injury, Julia is devastated to find another dead body.

With the villagers left reeling by the unexpected death, and the police certain there was no foul play, Julia knows it's up to her to make enquiries, and find out exactly what happened, especially as DI Haley Gibson is also looking for a peeping tom! When another body is discovered, however, the police begin to show more interest, but has Julia found out too much for them to apprehend the killer before another life is taken?

Book six seems to have come around in this series I still think of as new! Once again, the village, villagers, and countryside are as important as Julia and Jake in this lovely story, which was a great summer read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bookouture, but the opinions expressed are my. This is an excellent series which I always enjoy. 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

Book 6 of the Julia Bird Mysteries. I love the Julia Bird series. It's easy reading and relaxing to read. As an older reader who owns a dog and spends time pottering in the garden amongst other things, I can really identify with Julia. She investigates the death if the local vet and gets herself in a bit if a pickle. The characters leap out of the page at you and almost seem to fall into the facts they need to find who done it. A lovely series of books, perfect for summer evening reading. Well recommended. With thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for this advanced copy to review.

Another enjoyable visit to the most deadly village in the UK

Love this series. An excellent mix of humour and cosy crime stories.

Full review on the blog tour

This is one of my favorite cozy series. I especially love Julia's personality and sardonic humor: "Jake was delighted to see her after their long and traumatic separation of an hour and a half." This book is enjoyable, and the only reason it's not 5 stars is that there's a pretty big, obvious clue right near the beginning that it seems weird is not pursued for most of the book. But, still a winner. I'd love to have Julia for a neighbor, and I'd even dogsit Jake occasionally :>D

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the sixth book in the series and I've read lots of the previous books.

Overall an enjoyable read of a cosy murder mystery.

Thank you for the arc.

This was my first book in the series, and it was very readable as a standalone. There are hints of long-running story threads that I'll enjoy catching up on when I go back to the start of the series, but they were easy to jump into in book 6.

This was a nice, gentle read, with a thorough investigation at its heart and plenty of relaxing time in the Cotswolds. Pet lovers in particular will enjoy this.

In this latest outing for Julia Bird, a retired social worker, she discovers a body lying at the foot of a cliff while she is taking her dog Jake for a walk. The body is that of the local vet and appears to be just a tragic accident. However, Julia doesn’t feel that this is right and starts asking questions. When a second body is discovered in similar circumstances, she is proved correct but who did it and why?
This was another enjoyable cosy mystery with its Cotswold village setting and varied cast of characters, most of which are familiar from the previous books. Julia continues to enjoy her retirement spending her time gardening and volunteering at the local charity chop as well as taking Jake for long walks. The detail of her life and the people that she meets make this a very gently paced mystery but also give the characters depth.
The mystery is an interesting one with several red herrings to divert the reader before we begin to see the real motive for the deaths.
I loved this new visit to the village of Berrywick and hope to read about Julia and Jake again before too long.
Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Over the past year I have become quite a fan of the cozy mystery and the Julia Bird series is a big reason why. I love all the characters in these books and how Julia is very much a down-to-earth person who just has the bad luck of stumbling upon dead bodies. I chuckled when Julia makes a comment about not wanting to tell her daughter about the most recent murder because she didn't want her to think the village was full of murderers. Of the books from the series that I have read so far this murder just seemed to be the saddest. Probably because the victim's mother was so upset and blamed herself for not having been there. The author once again put together a list of possible suspects who all had a motive. I certainly didn't put it all together until Julia had her lightbulb moment. On a non-murder mystery note, it was also nice to see Julia and Sean's relationship take another step forward in a very mature and realistic way. As always, I am excited to see what comes next for Ms. Julia Bird.

This is a great addition to the series. Julia, while walking her beloved dog, stumbles upon the body of Eve, the vet everyone knows and loves. Was her death an accident, suicide, or something more sinister? When a second body is discovered, the police decide to take a closer look. But of course, Julia can't resist a little sleuthing of her own.
Love the characters, especially the four legged ones. This plot was captivating, had a great ending. Looking forward to more in this series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.