Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this wonderful historical cozy mystery.
I’ve been enjoying Kitty’s and Matt’s adventures and was thrilled to see the latest instalment in this series but to my horror I discovered I had missed not just one but two of the books in this series. I cannot believe how fast Helena Dixon is writing them and still managing to maintain the high quality in the mysteries.

In this story, the murder happens in chapter 1, when Kitty stops at a farm to buy some cider and comes upon the dead body of the farmer. When she and Matt are asked to look into the murder by the farmer’s family, they discover there are many people who might have had a reason for killing the man.

I continue to love this series and one of my favourite things in it is the friendship between Kitty and Alice which had evolved as well since the first books. In my opinion the depiction of life in 1930s Devon is perfectly done! I will keep my eyes wide open as to not miss the next Kitty Underhay mystery. They are delightful!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read "Murder in the Countryside" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was the 17th book in the Miss Underhay series and the stories keep getting better and better. It's always difficult to put down a Miss Underhay story. As always it starts with a selection from the Torbay Herald - this one dated September 1936. Kitty's friend Alice (the former chambermaid at the Dolphin Hotel, owned by Kitty and her grandmother) has an ad for her new seamstress/dressmaking shop. There are ads for cider - one from the Wassail Farm, owned by Titus Blake and the other Blossomdown Apple Butter Farm owned by Hedley Blake. All of these ads will play a large part in this story.

Kitty is heading home after visiting with Alice. She stops by Wassail Farm to exchange some empty cider bottles. She finds someone crushed under an apple press. The Wassail Farm has no phone service and no electricity. She goes over to Blossomdown Farm to use their phone and learns that it is owned by Norma and Hedley Blake - Hedley being the brother of the victim. Chief Inspector Greville arrives to investigate and sadly Inspector Lewis who doesn't think much of Private Investigators and especially not female ones.

There are so many secrets in this story, so many complicated relationships. We learn a lot about Norma and her relationship to the Hedley brothers. Her nephews Micah, Saul and Adam. Micah worked with his father at Wassail Farm, Saul lives and works for his aunt and uncle at Blossomdown Farm and Adam works for a solicitor's office. A lot of what happens in this story is down to land and inheritance. There are some very exciting scenes as Matt and Kitty put the pieces together (ahead of Inspector Lewis as usual). This time Kitty is the voice of reason and someone else is put in grave danger.

As always I can't wait for the next adventure that Kitty and Matt get involved in!

1930s, amateur-sleuth, private-investigators, suspense, cozy-mystery, secrets, lies, pet-dog, historical-fiction, relationships, family-drama, family-dynamics, family-history, unpleasant-victims, local-law-enforcement, local-gossip, investigations, siblings, murders, England, contentious, ex-military, extortion*****

Kitty finds another body! Out in the barn the nasty owner of the farm is obviously murdered. Kitty and
husband Captain Matt Bryant are asked by the neighboring farmer/brother of victim to work with the police to find out who did this. The investigation was filled with suspects and red herrings, but the dramatic plot twists were astounding!
This is hardly an unbiased review as I really love the Missy Underhay series.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected advance review ebook copy from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you!
#MissUnderhayBk17

When Kitty Bryant promises her husband Matt, she'll pick him up some cider while she's out for a drive in the countryside she has no idea how much trouble she's getting herself into!  Unfortunately, after she completes her errand, she spots something which up-ends her day, puts her, once again, on the hunt for a ruthless killer, and, not for the first time, at odds with the local police inspector.

Book 17 finds Kitty and Matt looking for a killer in a small seaside village. There are plenty of red herrings for them, and us, to sift through at the same time as catching up with the other main protagonists who have made this series the wonderful multi-faceted success it has always been. The killer’s identity was a surprise and I enjoyed Kitty's thought processes as she worked through everything. I hope there are plenty more adventures to enjoy in the not too distant future.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bookouture, but the opinions expressed are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this and happily recommend it.

An enjoyable edition to this long running cosy historical mystery. Kitty and Matt stay very close to home in this one, that sees family relations and land on nearby farms, lead to two deaths. More of our favourite characters and locales feature in the book, with a little cameo from Gram and Mrs Craven. Already looking forward to the next one!

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

MURDER IN THE COUNTRYSIDE is the next book in the Miss Underhay series written by Helena Dixon. In this historical English cozy mystery, Kitty goes to Wassail Farm in Stoke Gabriel to restock her and husband Matt’s cider. She finds Titus Blake, the owner of Wassail Farm, dead with his head crushed between plates of a cider press. Kitty doesn’t believe Titus Blake’s death was accidental. She and Matt investigate. Who murdered Titus Blake?

It is such a pleasure to return to Kitty’s world. It is 1936 and Kitty Underhay is married to Captain Matt Bryant. The couple are private investigators and now own their own detective agency. I like how their story has evolved in this series. This book is a welcome addition. Not only does it continue the backstory of Kitty and Matt’s life, but also includes an interesting who-done-it mystery. I look forward to reading future books in the series. Thank you, Bookouture and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of MURDER IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.