This was a cute cozy and I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment of the series. This was my 1st book by Katarina Bivald but will not be my last! I am adding all of her books to my TBR!

#TheMurdersinGreatDiddling
#NetGalley

Katarina Bivald’s The Murders in Great Diddling is a delightful twist on the classic cozy mystery, blending humor, intrigue, and charming small-town eccentricities. Set in the fictional English village of Great Diddling, the story follows an amateur sleuth who must untangle a web of secrets to solve a murder that shocks this seemingly idyllic community.

Bivald’s writing shines with wit and warmth, skillfully balancing the suspense of a whodunit with the quirky charm of her vividly drawn characters. The plot is cleverly crafted, keeping readers guessing with unexpected twists while maintaining the lighthearted tone that makes cozy mysteries so enjoyable.

The audiobook, narrated with finesse, enhances the experience by bringing the colorful personalities of Great Diddling to life. The narrator’s distinct voices for each character and spot-on comedic timing immerse listeners in the story, making the audiobook a perfect choice for fans of the genre.

At its heart, The Murders in Great Diddling is more than just a mystery—it’s a celebration of community, resilience, and the joy of uncovering hidden truths. Whether you’re a seasoned mystery lover or new to the genre, this audiobook offers a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying escape. Highly recommended for a cozy, laugh-out-loud listen!

Difficult to rate because while I think the quality of this was good, it wasn’t particularly enjoyable to read.

This is a lovely ode to booksellers and the mystery and its solve we’re fine, but it’s extremely slow, and probably needs a lot of improvement in pacing to be appealing to most readers. There’s too much dialogue and not enough atmosphere, and the plot wanders a lot in a way that feels tedious.

I enjoyed the part of the plot that dealt with the book festival, which was clever and funny, and the mystery itself would have been perfectly fine had it been better paced. A lot of the problem is that this book is just *way* too long for this type of story, and could have benefitted greatly from an editor being a hit more ruthless in cutting down its volume.

The Murders in Great Diddling is a romp through a quaint English village that’s weirder than it first appears. The author blends cozy and cryptic and it’s delightful.
The story revolves around Berit Gardner, a writer struggling with writer's block, who finds herself unexpectedly drawn into the mysterious happenings of Great Diddling. The townfolk decide to use this to revitalize the village.
The mystery is just a nice side benefit and allows for the focus to be on the both the village and its inhabitants. I loved this!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Dreamscape media for a copy of this book.
#TheMurdersinGreatDiddling #NetGalley

Berit Gardner, is an author whose writers' block holds all inspiration captive despite her looming deadline. She moves to the quaint British village of Great Diddling in hopes of finding inspiration among the locals. But when a tea party at the manor’s library turns deadly, with an explosion claiming the life of an unpopular community member, Berit might have stumbled upon the perfect story. Or has she bitten off more than she can chew, with a host of potential suspects and motives?

Told from multiple perspectives, each character contributes a vital clue to the mystery. As with many small villages, Great Diddling is home to a colorful array of personalities, adding depth and intrigue to the narrative. The story feels like the start of a series, positioning Berit as a budding amateur detective—think Miss Marple meets Mrs. Fletcher.

Narrator Helen Lloyd does a remarkable job bringing The Murders in Great Diddling to life. Book lovers, in particular, will delight in the many literary references scattered throughout, especially given that the explosive event occurs in a library.

This was such a wonderful, cozy mystery! I loved the small town without its quirky inhabitants, and the main character was smart and capable. The murder mystery was engaging, and the conclusion was immensely satisfying.

I listened to the audiobook and felt the narration was very well performed. Helen Lloyd brought the characters to life and really let their personalities shine through.

This is a perfect cozy mystery to curl up with and enjoy. I can't wait for more of this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the mystery novel form of a BBC murder mystery set in a small English village, and it worked perfectly! We’ve got a disliked local murdered early on and more than one Great Diddling resident claims that they are behind it. While you might think someone dying violently would make for a dark novel, it is nowhere near as dark as you might expect it to be.

You get several different points of view throughout Murders, and it also is a strong element of the book. We begin with a Swedish novelist who happens to live in Great Diddling, a police officer, and other residents. And you get quite a bit of time for each POV- it doesn’t rotate quickly. At first, I found it a bit odd but it absolutely helps you discover different parts of the mystery. (And you never have a chance to get annoyed with any one character, which I find tends to happen for me with those mystery shows.)

Helen Lloyd’s narration for this audiobook is also great. It’s pleasant to listen to, despite the murder and crime!

The publisher has referred to this as a cosy, but I would say that Murders is definitely not a cosy. (Too many people and publishers use “cosy” when they mean “mystery in general” but that rant is for another day.) This book does have some darker elements running through it (that don’t dominate) and does not have the easily tracked path that a cosy would have. If you are in the mood for a cosy, then this might not be the book for you. However, if you want a broader mystery novel, I highly recommend giving this a chance!

I want to thank Netgalley and author for gifting me the author. I really enjoyed this book. If you love cozy murder myster you will like this one! I love the authors style of writing, it almost felt like I was reading an old fashion type novel. Like Agetha Christi novel. Highly recommend

I just couldn’t listen to this audiobook. Some narrators just annoy me, and this one was one. I was so excited for it, the story line sounds great. I’ll probably try a paper copy of the book in the future.

Berit travels to Diddling for the quiet cozy village to finish her next book. The only issue is that a bomb goes off murdering a man from the village. The village tries to rally and turn this into advertising make a murder and books fair, but as they continue digging into who could have done it, secrets from the villagers start being revealed. Berit provides some clues to the local constable and after a lot of chaos is able to help solve the crimes without revealing too many secrets. This tries really hard to be like Miss Marple, but falls flat in trying to add more twists and turns. I'm not sure what my issue with the book is, but it just wasn't entertaining to me.

fantastically funny and compelling murder mystery. I would highly recommend. The characters develop so well throughout the plot and I truly had no idea who had done it. Beautifully narrated also.

Thank you to @Net Galley and @Mcmillian Audio for the ARC. What a cute read. I listened to the audio and it was so much fun. The accents really brought the book alive. Trying to solve a murder in a town full of book lovers with their own stories was comical at times. This is a sleepy town I would want to visit.

I had a hard time connecting with the main character and I also didn’t find the story as charming as I had hoped for.
Overall a mediocre read.

I really wanted to love this one, but if I had been reading the ebook and not listening to it during a road trip it would have been a dnf for me. I just couldn’t connect to the characters or story, and it felt like it dragged on to me.

I did enjoy the narrator and how they changed their voices slightly for certain characters.

An entertaining cozy crime story featuring Berit Gardner, an author seeking inspiration for her next book, a Cornish village full of eccentrics and a country house full of old books. The large cast of characters results in the plot meandering a bit but in the whole it was enjoyable to listen to and quite engaging.

I have read this author before and therefore knew she could write a great tale, but had no idea how that would translate into mysteries; thankfully, she does an excellent job [I was silly for worrying] with this genre and this was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me.

Berit Gardner is my new spirit animal, and while I don't really want to solve murders [EEK!!], except as the armchair detective I am, and I don't want to write books [I have tried and am complete rubbish at it], I do strive [and am committed to] to be as curmudgeonly as possible [LOL], I would love an assistant [as does Berit once she gets over the "intrusion"], and books REALLY are everything to me [with about 5-6 people ;-) ] and I see the importance of sharing [hoarding is great, but sharing is even better, especially if they are completely taking over your quality of life] and reading them [READ BANNED BOOKS!!!!!!!!!].

The mystery [for me] was very good [I honestly never saw this person coming {I was really fixated on someone else - they SO could have been the killer} and was an excellent red herring; even thinking about it later and knowing what I missed, I had a hard time seeing it. SO excellent], it was a very well-written and had a very satisfying [and slightly ambiguous] ending, which is all us mystery-readers can hope for. It was also really sad in parts; what people will do...smh.

I really enjoyed most of the side characters [there will always be those who rub you the wrong way, even if they are not supposed to LOL] as well and am looking forward to them being fleshed out more should there 1. be a book two and 2. they stay in Great Diddling [crossing ALL MY FINGERS AND TOES there is one!!].

Berit is my new favorite character [I honestly want to be her when I grow up], I love how everything wasn't repeated a billion times [what a glorious thing to read a book by an author who realizes her readers aren't 5 and don't need beat over the head with the same information over and over again - just fantastic], and I finished this book and just sighed because 1. it was over [I didn't have full-blown book hangover, but it was close and I was sad I had to leave that world] and 2. just how satisfying reading it had been [for me].

I am not sure I have listened to Helen Lloyd before, but I sure hope to again - what an absolute treat her narration was. She reads exceptionally well [especially considering there is a rather large cast in this book] and the way she reads really adds to the overall book and made it even more enjoyable. I highly recommend this audiobook [as well as the book].

Thank you to NetGalley, Katarina Bivald, Poisoned Pen Press, and Dreamscape Media for providing both the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

**3.5-stars**

The Murders in Great Diddling is an Adult Mystery that follows the events in a small British village after a tragic explosion kills a not popular local citizen. Berit Gardner, an author, moves to town searching for inspiration. There's got to be stories just waiting to be told amongst the rag-tag group of locals. With a book deadline looming, she needs a story to pop up soon.

Berit never could've predicted she'd become a part of the story herself though, which is exactly what happens after an explosion in the village's grand manor library, where Berit, amongst others, are attending a tea party. A man is killed and the town descends into chaos.

The citizens of Great Diddling, each more eccentric than the last, band together and come up with a plan to turn the town's new found notoriety into a windfall. Thus, the Book & Murder Festival is created hoping to bring some needed tourists to town. Little did they know how much this would end up changing all of their lives.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. While it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I still found it to be entertaining and humorous. I love a bit a chaos. I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend that format. The narration by Helen Lloyd was beautifully done and I swear, I could listen to her voice all day. It was perfectly matched to this story.

I was expecting a more Cozy feel. It def did contain some Cozy elements, but to me the tone, overall, felt more along the lines of The Thursday Murder Club as opposed to say the Nosey Parker Mystery series, in that it has some more serious issues explored alongside the actual mystery.

I feel like this was a good start to a series, although it will take me some more time to get attached to these characters. I did love the setting. I thought Great Diddling was a lot of fun, the town struggling and then coming up with a plan to sort of reboost their economy, even if it was on the heels of a tragedy, was clever and I was rooting for them.

Overall, I found this to be engaging and amusing, even if slightly confusing at times due to the vast cast of characters. Thank you to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, for providing me with a copy to read and review. If this series continues, I will absolutely pick up the next book!

The Murders in Great Diddling is presented as a cozy mystery focused on an eccentric Swedish author who moves to a small town in an attempt to revamp her writing career. Berit is sure that something in her new small town will give her inspiration for her next best seller. When a murder takes place at a well attended event, Berit takes it upon herself to interview all the suspects under the guise of “research” for her new book. But the mysteries begin to compound as no one in town is actually who they appear to be.

I went into this book expecting a cozy mystery, but it does not follow those guidelines closely at all. While there is some perspective from the amateur detective (Berit) and the real detective on the case, every other towns person also seems to get a chapter or two at random intervals, to the point where I began to become confused about the narrative. As a result, this novel falls more into a lit fic book about people who are looking for a second chance in life and people who really love books. This isn’t a bad thing, the novel has some interesting character studies and a good deal of heart, but anyone looking for a cozy mystery may be disappointed.

Too cute to handle!!

Loved the characters! They were so interesting with just the right amount of quirks. It was the perfect cozy mystery!!

I love these kinds of books that manage to get the perfect balance between story and characters and this one nailed it.

Great narration too!

Well done 4 stars

Listening to the audio recording of The Murders in Great Diddling transported me to the cozy evenings of my childhood when I’d curl up to enjoy all the Miss Marple murder mysteries on PBS (played by the one and only Joan Hickson, of course). I mean, can you get any more quintessentially cottage core-esque than a story about an author in a small English village helping the local police force solve a mysterious murder? The story is even set during a book festival that the village is hosting! Come on…simple pleasures at their finest.

But seriously, The Murders in Great Diddling, by Katarina Bivald, was wonderfully fun and intriguing, keeping me guessing who the murder was till the very end. This isn’t a ground breaking story or fine literary fiction, but it is 100% a well written, satisfying read. I loved the main character, Berit Gardner, and her awkward, young assistant. Berit has spunk and a badass grandmother vibe that is addicting to follow along with throughout the audiobook. The scenes with her were my favorite.

And who doesn’t love a book about books? That books and authors and writing is heavily woven throughout the murder mystery provides a relatable theme that all readers will find enjoyable. We all can understand the characters’ love of literature.

The narration of this story was also lovely. Helen Lloyd does a beautiful job at the subtle accent differences and each character felt unique and right. Her voice felt perfectly suited for the story.

The Murders in Great Diddling, by Katarina Bivald, was published on Aug 13, 2024.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me the privilege of listening to the audiobook ARC of this incredibly well written and entertaining story.