2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of A Seaside Murder.

Sarah is a retired GP and recent widow. Her and her best friend Daphne seem to keep finding dead bodies of residents of there town. They take it upon themselves to try to solve the case. But they may find their lives may be in danger.

This is the second book in the Sarah Vane Mysteries. I just found it really hard to connect with the characters. I also felt like the book was pretty slow moving in some parts.

It was lovely to catch up with Sarah, Hamish her dog, Daphne, Mephisto her cat, and Charles in Sarah Vane Mysteries book 2. I love how Sarah and Daphne bicker and make up and their new friend, Charles is a great new friend for them both. One early morning, Sarah makes a decision to go to Daphne's shop to do a spruce for her as a surprise. However, instead, Sarah comes upon a young lady in the doorway. Sarah and her friends begin their amateur sleuthing into who she is and how she ended up there.. I read this in one day and there are a few laugh out loud moments and along with a few red herrings, the subplot knits together to a surprising conclusion. I highly recommend this book! More please!!!

I really enjoy a good cozy mystery and I was hoping that I would continue to like this series as much as the previous books.
Book one in the series was enjoyable and we return to the seaside with he familiar characters of Sarah, a retired GP and her best friend Daphne. Whilst I enjoy the setting, I am still struggling with the characters. I find Daphne is too over the top for me and Sarah just seems to bumble along as a sleuth. How they manage to actually solve a case I don't understand.

The second in the series of this character driven cosy crime which has a seaside location and a cute dog. I confess to feeling sorry for the ‘devil’ cat though. I love eccentric characters, but I’m afraid Daphne is too much for me, and, I’d imagine, would be far too self obsessed to have a friend like Sarah. The plot is solid, but the resolution puts our sleuths in peril.

Murder At The Seaside is the second book in a cosy mystery series set in the fictional English coastal town of Merstairs.
Dr Sarah Vane is a recently retired GP who has also recently been widowed. Wanting something to keep busy, Sarah decided to help her old friend Daphne, by giving her shop a clean and tidy up. However, she gets more than she bargained for when she discovers young schoolteacher, Adi Moffat on the shop steps, mortally wounded. When Adi dies, before the arrival of the ambulance, Sarah vows to investigate and help bring the perpetrator to justice. There are a few twists and turns, then to complicate matters further, another body turns up.
This is the lightest of light cosy mysteries. This means it is a little short on plot and long on quirkiness and humour. Sarah can be quite annoying and I’m not sure how the police in the book put up with her. There are plenty of quaint, eccentrics; both investigating the murder and as suspects. Plus I’m a firm animal lover, but I found the antics of an anthropomorphic cat and dog just too twee to bear.
The book is well written though and I like the seaside setting. It’s just not what I am looking for in a cosy mystery as I like mine a little darker. However, if you want an undemanding story with lots of quirkiness, I highly recommend this one.
My sincere thanks to NetGalley, Alice Castle and Bookoutre for the much-appreciated ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

I’m a sucker for a good cozy mystery series, so once I saw that this was book 2 in a new series, it was immediately on my radar. I quickly read book one so that I could have the background going into book 2. A Seaside Murder, Sarah is more settled but still getting to know the people in her small English costal community. The story was adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed Hamish, her dog. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy.

Now I have to go back and read book 1 - good and twisty! Fun new series for sure. Love books with this type setting and the story surrounding the last words of woman was clever.

A very enjoyable and entertaining book. A decent mystery, the characters are likeable and work well together. My favourite is Hamish, who could resist him. Look forward to the next instalment.

Retired doctor Sarah Vane is feeling more settled in the small seaside town of Merstairs even though she still misses her late husband terribly. With her little Scottie dog, Hamish, to keep her company and her best friend from school, Daphne, living next door life is pretty good. She is, however, wishing she hadn't had the bright idea of popping into town early to give Daphne's seafront shop a bit of a once over!

Discovering one body had been a big shock, but now it seems to be a bit of a habit! Determined to give the police a hand, once again, Sarah ropes Daphne and fellow amateur sleuth, Charles, into helping her investigate. Nothing seems straightforward however, and before long they are all losing focus. When another body is discovered however, everyone knows they must up their game before anyone else dies.

Book two in this new series is a delight. The main protagonists are complex, annoying, likeable, and personable, just like most of us, in fact! The actual story twists and turns from start to finish and there are no shortage of likely suspects. Daphne is a delightful nightmare, keeping Sarah on her toes throughout. A brilliant series already I enjoyed this enormously.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bookouture, but the opinions expressed are my own. This was a great read and is highly recommended.

The second book in the series, finds our retired doctor again discovering a crime. This time Sarah experiences a young woman dying in her arms from a stab wound. In addition, the body is on the doorstep of her friend Daphne's shop. Before dying, the young woman whispers one syllable which sends Sarah and Daphne on a journey to find the killer. The setting along the English coast in a small community adds to the ambiance of the story. Sarah with her dog, Hamish, is slowly becoming part of the close knit community. Sarah and Daphne are friends from childhood but two distinct and unique personalities which adds humor and realism to the story. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

Book 2 in this fantastic series….. I can't wait for this to come out and for y'all to lose your minds. if you had doubts about preordering, don't. you're going to want to read this one. I raced through it this weekend. Such a smart idea. Twisty, warped, credible. Brilliantly plotted and compelling. Deserves to be such a hit.

retired-doctor, widow, amateur-sleuth, Scottie-dog, friendship, friends, local-law-enforcement, cozy-fiction, mystery, investigation, verbal-humor, situational-humor, small-town, witty, family, family-dynamics, murders, Kent, suspense*****

Retired and recently widowed Dr Sarah Vane moves out to the seaside in Kent and gets back together with her old school chum (daffy) Daphne of the Tarot and Tea Leaves. They live next to each other, and one day Sarah gets the idea to help Daphny by doing a little house scrubbing of the shop area. But when she gets there, she finds what she thinks is a pile of donation clothes which turns out to be a dying young woman. The local constables are rather self-important bumblers who give the women a pat on the head and tell them to keep out of any police business. Daphne’s daughter, PC Mariella isn't very impressed with her mother's snooping, but she will listen. Daphne did know the murdered girl from the local crafting group and while snooping they find another dead woman also involved in the group! Daphne was afraid she was on the murderer's list, too. Nice slow and sneaky read.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you!
#SarahVaneMysteriesBk2 Sep 05, 2024

Name of Book: Seaside Murder at an English Pub
Author: Alice Castle
Series: Sarah Vane Mystery - Book #2
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pub Date: September 5, 2024
My Rating: 3.4
Pages: 327

Sarah Vane recently retired Doctor and additionally is a recent widow.
She and her Scottie dog, Hamish, have moved from London to live in a small cottage by the sea which is also next door to her best friend Daphne Roux.
Sarah and Daphne have known each other for sixty years. True Daphne is a bit eccentric -always dresses in spectacularly outfits and insists that the spirits from beyond tell her things.

Sarah has settled in to the point her cottage is pin-neat and organized down to the last spoon.
Since she has some ‘free time’ she decides to surprise Daphne by helping with some spring cleaning her shop “Tarot and Tealeaves’.
When Sarah arrives at Daphne’s shop she finds someone huddled in the doorway. Her thoughts are it was someone homeless. As she tries to awake up the young girl she sees blood and knows the girl is injured. As a retired GP, Sarah knows to call for an ambulance. She discovers that the girl is beloved teacher Adi Moffat. Before she died she utters one word ‘Wits…’
Is ‘Wits’ the name of the person who murdered her?

Amateur sleuth Sarah wants to know - - What does Adi means by Wits? Is it a name of a thing, a town, etc.? Sarah seeks help from Daphne and Charles Diggory (who seems to be a romantic interest},

Awww another nice easy enjoyable Alive Castle mystery! Love these characters as well as the setting – I look forward to next in this series!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 5, 2024.

I enjoyed the first book in this series so decided to give book 2 a go. Once again I enjoyed the read but had a few more frustrations with it this time around. I do like a cosy mystery but it was a bit too over the top and bumbling for me. Sarah is a terrible sleuth and if I was in the police I would be mightily unimpressed by her actions, taking and tampering with evidence and getting in the way the entire time. All of the characters are eccentric other than Hamish the dog who I like a lot. I’m still not entirely sure how it all reached its conclusion.

The 2nd book in the series has Sarah more settled in her new life with her dog Hamish and best friend, Daphne. Yet again, Sarah stumbles upon a murder victim though this time she hears her last words, “wits”. Sarah and Daphne, and sometimes Charles, set out to try to figure out what these words might mean and how they are connected to the beloved murdered teacher. There are several wrong turns, leads that don’t pan out, and then another murder that does not seem connected to the first. Sarah is still getting to know some of the townspeople and their backstories so she is able to question them to try to find a reason why someone would want to cause these deaths. Some amusement is brought through some parts of the story being told through the perspective of Hamish, which is quite enjoyable as he only has eyes for Tinkerbell, Charles’ chihuahua. Despite always commenting on how Daphne’s daughter, Mariella, is the sole of discretion regarding sharing police information, she often shares details that help the amateur detectives along.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

A Clue…?
The second in the Sarah Vane series of cosy mysteries, seaside set, and another dilemma for Sarah to solve. When she finds a dying schoolteacher at the storefront of her friend’s shop, she is flummoxed- particularly when the dying woman utters one word. Is it a clue? Sarah thinks so and she begins to dig. As clues come thick and fast, the bodies begin to pile. Enjoyable and entertaining with a well crafted cast of characters, a nicely plotted storyline and a delightful and well imagined setting.

When I saw that this was only the second in a new cozy mystery series set along the English coastline, I couldn’t resist. It takes place in a fictional seaside town where GP Dr. Sarah Vane has retired and fancies herself an amateur sleuth. When Sarah discovers the murdered body of beloved young teacher Adi Moffat on the doorstep of her best friend, Daphne's shop, she is hot on the trail of the killer, enlisting the help of Daphne and possible romantic interest, Charles.

A fast, engrossing read, with twists and some red herrings, the perpetrator is not immediately obvious. Castle paints a perfect picture of a quaint, seaside village and its denizens. I really enjoyed the humor and quirky characters in the story. Bonuses are the anthropomorphic dog, Hamish and the terror of a cat, Mephisto. And, of course, there are the requisite tea and biscuits.

Grateful to Netgalley for this ARC, due to be published on 05/09/2024. First book of Alice Castle that I've read although this is the second in the series.

Such a great cosy mystery to follow with great characters. Mephisto the cat is probably my favourite but only because I'm a crazy cat lady 😂

The plot develops well and the murderer is a surprise. Didn't expect things to unfold the way they did. Looking forward to further adventures in this series as I can see potential for more adventures