I did not think this was as strong a story as the first in this series. The characters are a little hysterical—which I get is the point—but as such this may resonate better with a British audience unfamiliar with Texas than an American one. It needs a sensitivity read for the autism and PTSD references. The main character uses some UK language that would not be used by Americans.

This is the second book in the A Walk Through England Mystery Series. The mysteries are self-contained so you can read them as stand-alone, but I think you will get a better feel for the main recurring characters if you start from the beginning of the series. The story is told in first person by Chase, a former police detective from San Diego who enjoys going on group walking tours through the English countryside as a hobby, though recently his tours have been plagued with murder.

As with the last, Chase is joined by his walking buddy Billie, who is distracted this time around by financial issues surrounding her retirement account, while Chase is disappointed that his new love, Mike, is tied up with work and may not make the tour. This trip will take them on the popular Coast to Coast trail in the picturesque Lake District in Northern England. They are joined on their walk by guide Charlie, his dog Ramses, avid bird watcher Joe, and various members of the Upton family from Texas.

The rambunctious Uptons are often in conflict, quickly getting on everyone’s nerves and almost getting thrown out of the tour more than once. While I admit that the squabbling family livened the tour up a bit, I was rather annoyed with them myself, not to mention a bit of grievance on my part for the Texas stereotypes (we’re not all like that). This group tour would have been my worst nightmare, and I was right there with Chase as he contemplated ditching the group and moving on to a more relaxing hike elsewhere. It’s not surprising when one of them ends up dead, and just about everyone is a suspect, including me. LOL

Recommended to cozy mystery readers who enjoy a good hike and aren’t too annoyed by squabbling Texans.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Another enjoyable mystery from Nicholas George, with compelling mysteries that overlap with gorgeously described scenery and a vast array of colorful characters.

It’s been about a year since Rick “Chase” Chasen has been to England and he is thrilled to be returning. First, he is signed up for another of his beloved walking tours, this time through the beautiful Lakelands area. And second, he is finally going to be reunited with Mike, the coroner he met during his last walk through Devon. Unfortunately, Chase has barely arrived when he learns that a work emergency will be keeping Mike from joining him on the walk, but his good friend and frequent walking companion, Billie, will be with him, and Chase will get to spend time with Mike after the tour.

Chase is excited about the chance to walk part of the Coast-to-Coast path and see a new part of the country. However, he finds his other travel companions less than pleasant. Aside from Billie and an avid bird watcher named Joe, the rest of the group is made up by the Upton party. The group of four siblings, a spouse, and a friend are loud and constantly arguing with one another, even going as far as physical altercations with one another. They also seem to be hiding something about their exact reasons for coming on the trip. Part of Chase is intrigued, as his detective brain finds it an interesting puzzle to unravel, but the other part of him is disappointed that the peace and tranquility he hoped to find on the trip is hard to come by.

Unfortunately, the walk is marred further when one of the group is murdered, seemingly by another of the tour participants. Chase steps in to help the local police with the investigation and they begin to uncover more Upton family secrets and conflicts that make for many suspects. Now, they must figure out who is behind the murder before the killer strikes once again.

A Lethal Walk in Lakeland is the second book in Nicholas George’s A Walk Through England series and reunites us with retired detective Chase. This time, Chase is on a walking tour of the beautiful Lakelands area, but once again, murder strikes someone on his trip. I was intrigued by this series, having spent two weeks in England about six months before reading the first book, A Deadly Walk in Devon. I was overcome by the beauty of the countryside and loved the idea of a cozy mystery set amidst a walking tour of the area. I was lucky enough to visit the regions featured in both the first two books, and I found the natural wonder of the Lakelands district to be an incredibly moving experience. I also go completely wild for the travelogue style artwork of the covers (and actually own a similar style print of England that I bought after visiting). All of which is to say, I was primed for this book and optimistic about Chase’s new adventure. Unfortunately, while parts of this story worked for me, I did struggle overall.

The set up here is similar to the first book, with Chase and his friend Bobbie on a group walking tour, and one of their fellow travelers being murdered. The first part of the book sets things up, letting us meet the group and see a bit of the sights before the killer strikes. While I could just go with the fact that yet again someone is killed on one of Chase’s English walking tours (it is a cozy mystery, after all), I did find the lead in before the murder to be a little lengthy and slow. While we do get a feel for the surroundings and get some information on what the group sees and where they go, there isn’t a lot of time focused on the natural sights. Instead, we spend most of the time just watching this tour group interact with one another. And, unfortunately, I found virtually all of the Upton group so unlikable that it was somewhat of a chore. I get that it makes both the potential victim and the killer a little harder to guess if everyone seems universally awful, but it also made for unpleasant reading when they are so often obnoxious, boorish, and mean to one another. It was hard to root for any of them or gain any real sympathy for these characters. I also found Chase less appealing this go around. Whereas in the first book, we get to know more of his backstory and are able to learn about him as a character, there is much less development or insight into Chase here. And, honestly, at times he just feels so snobby and judgmental, not to mention constantly getting involved with family squabbles and bickering that aren’t really his business.

Once the killer strikes, the second portion of the story once again has the group at their hotel while Chase investigates along with local law enforcement. It is a lot of the same vibe as the first book, with the group hanging out eating meals and chatting, while Chase and the investigator meet with people individually and in groups to ask questions. I still find myself uncertain that an American civilian (even a retired detective) would be brought into the investigation, especially considering he was on the tour and could be a potential suspect, but I get we need Chase involved to keep him in the action as our POV character. And I do again wonder why none of these folks contact lawyers or anyone else while under investigation for murder in a foreign country (let alone seem even vaguely sad someone died or need to make any arrangements in the aftermath). There are some interesting revelations along the way, including the real reason the Uptons are on the tour. And there are definitely plentiful suspects, so the identity of the culprit kept me guessing. But perhaps a bit too much, as I am not sure the groundwork was laid quite enough to feel fully satisfying when we get the reveal.

The book also includes a romantic subplot for Chase and Mike, however this continues to be only the barest of storylines with virtually no real development to the relationship. In the last book, the guys seemed to jump fast into a relationship, given they seemed to have only a few conversations with one another before Chase returned to America. In the year that has passed, the men have continued to talk regularly long distance, so while this is the first they have seen each other since last year, I could believe a solid relationship had developed between them in that time. However, since the timeline between books means it all happens off page, we jump right into Chase and Mike being quite serious about one another without seeing any of it develop.

The plan is that Mike is going to join the tour and then they will spend additional time together after, but that gets immediately derailed by a work emergency. The men then go quite a large portion of the book without seeing one another, and even when they do connect, Chase volunteers Mike to help out as coroner on the new murder case, so they barely spend any time together. I can deal with the romance subplot not being the primary focus, and that is common in many mystery stories. But this is so secondary as to feel essentially non-existent. On top of that, Mike is just the barest wisp of a character, more an outline than feeling like a developed person. He seems blandly pleasant, but we learn virtually nothing about him of substance. Considering this is the second book in the series and the guys are discussing major life changes to be together, I needed more than a few casual conversations between them to feel satisfying.

Honestly, I’m not sure that the book really benefits from the romance at all (and I say that as a romance lover), given how little time is spent on it. What is confusing to me is why Mike isn’t utilized more effectively in this story. Chase’s friend Billie is once again on the tour with him and she serves as his sounding board to discuss the case, the fellow travelers, potential suspects, etc. It would have been so easy to have Mike on the tour and slip him into that role of Chase’s confidant, particularly given that his job as a coroner means he is knowledgeable about murder investigations. Instead, Mike is sidelined off page for almost the entire book.

The last note I want to make here is that I was really not pleased with the way the various characters treat Parker Upton, one of the brothers. Parker is described as often addled and confused, and we see him frequently act in unusual ways, including making comments that seem nonsensical or unrelated to the conversation. It is never clear what is behind Parker’s behavior, and no one in the family seems to be able to explain it. At various times it is suggested he is bipolar, has PTSD from the military, or is autistic. Aside from the fact that these are very different types of conditions, I was bothered by the way both the story and the characters speak about him. For example, Chase thinks to himself, “His halting, staccato-like speech and puzzling statements were exhausting. Were they signs of autism or some other mental condition?” Aside from the lack of sensitivity, autism is not a “mental condition.” Or this exchange among the siblings when Parker accidentally spills a plate, and his brother Brock says “Way to go, pea brain […] You’re supposed to eat your dinner, not wear it.” This is a grown adult in his 40’s making this comment, mind you, not a teenager. Not only is everyone awful to Parker, but there is no real acknowledgement of that awfulness, even from Chase, who is supposed to be this good guy character. Even if all this is in there just show how terrible everyone is, I didn’t feel like the story acknowledges it that way, but instead treats it as reasonable behavior.

I don’t mean to make this book sound like it was awful, because it definitely wasn’t terrible by any means. But for a story that should have been exactly up my alley, I struggled with the unpleasant characters, the slow moving mystery plot line, and the barely there romance. I think this is a story and a series where I really love the idea, but am not sold on the execution. But cozy mystery fans looking for a tranquil natural setting may find this one worth checking out.

Rick Chasen (Chase) has planned a walk on the picturesque Coast to Coast trail in Cumbria, joined by new friend Mike. However, Mike has a work emergency but Chase has old friend Bille and new friend Joe, a birder, to accompany him. Then there are the Uptons, a loud, unpleasant, bickering family from Texas. Although ill equipped emotionally and physically for a days long hike, they have come to England hoping to solve a family mystery. That doesn’t happen and after a death on the hike, there is a new mystery to solve.

A Lethal Walk in Lakeland is pure delight. The Cumbrian countryside location is the star here. Descriptions of the daily walks, the trees, flowers, cliffs and rocks are captivating. I loved reading about the inns where the hikers stayed and the meals served. The characters, especially Chase and knitter Billie are well described. You’ll feel everyone’s frustration with the Uptons. The plot is complicated and will keep you guessing. I’m looking forward to the next in this series. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Nicholas George for this ARC.

i loved the locale and charcters in the A Lethal Walk in Lakeland. Thanks very much for #Netgalley, #NicholasGeorge and, #Kensingtonpublishingcorp for the free arc of this title. This is set in a very picturesque part of England and while I wouldn't probably do the walking tour as described I did love reading about the walk in the comfort of my own home. It takes awhile for the first actual crime to take place but this is due to setting up the cast of characters. Everyone from a family from Texas, to the English people at the town the walking tour is taking place. The plot was a really quick and good read and I will definitely be reading more by the author, Nicholas George. the mystery was really interesting and there was a setup at the end of this book for the next installment. The main characters personal life is a little bit of the book but I found this part charming and interesting also.

Ok, I wanted to read this book as it was set in the Lake district in the UK, one of my much loved places. Chase, an ex police detective from the UK joins an organized coast to coast group walk. His love interest is initially tied up in Devon due to work issues, but another friend from the US is also kon the walk. The group consists of North Americans, mostly a family group and a friend of theirs. The family are pretty irritating from the start and unfortunately, the emphasis was on the family relationships rather than the local area. I did not really get their reasons for being there but was not suprised when one of the family was found dead.
I was not convinced by the investigation. Chase is retired, his partner is a coroner and gets involved (there are no doubt arrangements for cover when the coroner is absent) . I cannot see them being welcomed into a police investigation if they are involved with the group., but this is fiction I suppose. There was not a lot happening until about 40% into the book The cosy mystery genre is not really my thing, so I should probabily give it a wide berth. I do like the Gay love angle.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

I was disappointed in this book because I enjoyed George’s first book about walking-tour-detective Chase a good deal. I found the Upton family okay overall as the family-with-problems, but I felt the mystery itself was a little bland. I also didn’t like the cutbacks to Chase’s past case with the serial killer because… honestly, it just made me want to read the story behind THAT case more than the one I was reading! I also didn’t see how it fit that much with the situation in the book.

I don’t think this is a terrible book by any means, but it just didn’t have the same light, cozy vibe as the first one did.

Having enjoyed reading the first mystery in this series, I decided to give this one a try. It follows a similar format, with Chase, an ex-US detective, and his friend Billie joining a walking holiday group across the north of England. Unfortunately, most of the other main characters irritated me from the start with their family bickering and fighting. I was hoping one of them would be the murder victim! I was also hoping Chase’s love interest would make a more significant feature of this story. As before, Chase assists the local police to uncover the murderer.

I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Retired American policeman Chase takes a guided walking tour of the English Lake District. One in the tour group is murdered, and, of course, Chase works with the local police to figure out the culprit. However, the star in this book is the Lake District — beautifully described by the author. The whodunit was clever, the characters were interesting, and it was fun to take a vicarious walk in England!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is one of the sweetest series around. Widower Chase, a retired policeman, goes on walking tours of England because he loves the beauty of the British countryside. This is the second book in the series and on each walk, someone has been murdered. In the last book, he met a man, Mike, a coroner in the UK (Chase is American) and sparks flew. In this book they are to be reunited, but that’s not the story – Chase and Mike don’t get together again until toward the end of the book. The real focus is Chase’s walk through Lake Country.

Chase is such a nice guy. He often goes on walking tours with his friend Billie, an avid knitter and fellow walk lover. This tour includes Chase and Billie, but also an obstreperous and loud family of Texans who continually fight with one another, disrupting the trip. The family, the Uptons, take over the trip, despite the tour leader threatening to throw them out without a refund if another punch is thrown.

Neither happens – they aren’t thrown out, and punches are still thrown. When there is eventually a murder, Chase’s puzzle instinct kicks in, and when he offers help to the police on the scene they are happy to accept. They even accept Mike’s help – he’s finished with his own work and has come to meet up with Chase, but Chase offers him up as a fill in coroner. With the two men so invested, it’s inevitable that Chase solves the crime.
This is a weird mix of a professional and an amateur sleuth. As Chase is retired, he’s technically an amateur, but he still has the skills and so far local police have accepted his help. The tone is completely on the traditional side of things. There are fair clues, a suspect circle, and even the traditional wrap up by the detective at the end with all the suspects assembled.

The strongest parts of these book are the scenery, as George immerses the reader in the English countryside, and the characters. Chase, while being a nice, decent guy, is also an interesting enough person to hang a series on. As a reader you’re always glad when he turns up to settle things down. His nascent relationship with Mike seems sweet and might provide the kind of yin and yang between partners ranging from Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence to Moyes’ Henry and Emmy to Maron’s Deborah and Dwight. All of these loving couples are the tentpoles of their books and they add heft and believability to the books. I’m guessing Chase and Mike will do the same.

The mystery part was also quite clever and Chase’s wrap up is excellent. It held my interest, threw in some surprises, and the twists were fairly laid out for the reader. These books could not be a more pleasant reading experience.

Having loved the first A Walk Through England mystery, I couldn't wait to read the next one. By now, we're more familiar with Chase and his backstory which allowed Nicholas George to jump right in! While I love a good travelogue mystery, the minor characters in the story annoyed me to no end and it was hard to find any redeeming qualities to care about the ending. Because I felt it got repetitive after the murder, it wasn't my favorite of the series, but I will look forward to more!

What was meant to be a sorta kinda date for Chase, a retired police detective from the US, with Mike, a coroner he met during a previous walk in Devon, turns into another murder mystery for Chase (and his pal Billie ) to solve. Mike can't make the trip (too much death at home) and most of the others on the walk are members of the fractious Upton family. Chase and Billie step up when there's a poisoning. This is nicely done cozy with the addition of the nice atmospherics of a walk through the Lake District. While it's the second in the series, it will be fine as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A genial read for arm chair visitors to the UK.

Chase, a retired detective from the United States, is on a walking tour in the UK along with his good friend Billie. Other members of the group are mostly from one family, the Uptons, plus their friend Carole and one unrelated walker. All of the Uptons are unpleasant, so when one of them is murdered, Chase has a lot of suspects to help the local police investigate and eventually reveals the murderer in a drawn-out scene with all of the assembled suspects. This is the second in a series, but since the series entries are set on different walks, most of the characters are new, so this book can be read as a standalone. The author does a nice job of filling in the backstories and relationships of the three recurring characters: Chase, Billie, and Mike, a coroner in Devon with whom Chase is just starting a romantic relationship. Some of the language is a bit odd; one of the characters, Carole, is supposedly from Texas and has a way of using words that seems like slapstick; it was hard to tell if the author was trying to be funny ("sweatin' like a whore in church"; "he comes across as tough as a nickel steak") by playing up a stereotype.. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Kensington for the ARC.

I actually enjoyed this more than I thought u would. I don’t tend to like cozy mysteries but I was a long for this ride. Great mystery. Great relationships. Enjoyed the characters. I will be back for more.

I really enjoyed this 2nd book in the series. The descriptions of the Coast to Coast walk and the inns really make me want to go there. And I enjoyed the story, if not all the characters. I'll be looking forward to the next one.

Rick Chasen, nicknamed Chase, is a retired American police detective. A fan of walking, he has arranged to meet his friend Billie and love-interest Mike on a shortened Coast-to-Coast walking tour in the Lake District. Unfortunately, an outbreak of some mysterious illness in Mike's home county of Devon means he cannot join them (he's the local coroner). Even worse, instead of the disparate group of walkers Chase was hoping for, the remainder of the group consist of a Canadian bird watcher and six members of the Upton family from Texas.

The reasons for the family joining the trek aren't clear, none of them seem like hikers. The oldest brother appears overly familiar with his younger sister and picks on one of his twin brothers, his wife is ridiculously superstitious. One twin is gregarious and outgoing, although too fond of a quick fix. The other twin is a former soldier who seems to have psychological problems. The only sister is a recent widow, although by her on admission she cheated on her husband while he was dying of cancer. The final member of the family group is actually the sister's best friend, although she gossips incessantly about all the other family members and clearly had a crush on her friend's husband.

The tensions between the family group frequently boil over into arguments, and occasionally physical fights, at one point the tour guide even kicks them all off the tour, although he is persuaded to reconsider.

But when one of the Uptons is mysteriously poisoned at a country hotel suspicions fall on the other members of the walking group and it is up to Chase to give the local police force the benefit of his observations about the group.

I think part of the reason for my average score for the novel is that I have recently read another book about a Coast-to-Coast walking tour, You Are Here so the theme was familiar. Also, given the mention of Mike, I assumed he would play a role in the story, but he only appears towards the end. Finally, although I knew that Chase had retired I assumed he was a fifty-something retiree rather than close to seventy.

I felt that any one of the tour group could have murdered the victim, because they were all given plausible motives, and I was rather irritated that the 'evidence' of the murderer was something that the reader could not have seen (which I am pretty sure breaks one of the mystery writing rules I read recently in another novel).

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I love a good mystery, and this book did not disappoint. It is the second book in the series, but if you haven’t read the first one, you will still be okay to read this one.

Chase, a retired police detective, is returning to England from California for another walk, and to spend some time with the man he met on his last walk in England. Looking forward to getting away from Americans for a bit, he’s a bit disappointed when everyone signed up for the tour is American (with a Canadian in the mix). And not only American, but a Texas family of strong personalities!

Things take a horrifying turn when a member of their group dies. How did it happen? Who would want this to happen? It’s time for Chase to dust off his detective skills and solve another case! So much for a relaxing time with his man.

There are so many twists and turns in this book that you will be guessing who did it right up until the end, as any good mystery should be!

poisons, local-law-enforcement, contentious, unpleasant-family-members, mental-illness, mental-health-issues, bipolar, childhood-trauma, murder, murder-investigation, LGBTQ, mystery-fiction, family-drama, family-dynamics, PTSD, atmospheric, thriller, threats, grieving****

Retired San Diego police detective Rick “Chase” Chasen is a grieving gay widower who is on his second group excursion on the Coast-to-Coast walking trail in the picturesque Lake District in England. He is with his straight friend Billie Mondreau a librarian avid knitter, and fellow Anglophile. Their fellow walkers are a contentious adult family who are burdened with several mental health issues and general family drama. After an extended set-up, we get down to the first murder where things really get going. I really liked it and think that the stories will keep getting better.
I requested and received a temporary review copy from Kensington Publishing courtesy of NetGalley. Thank you! Avail Jan 21, 2025
#ALethalWalkInLakeland #NetGalley #WalkThroughEnglandMysteriesBk2

4.5 upped to 5
I'm loving this series and loving the characters. This one was slow burning and character driven.
I wasn't sure if I was going to love it but there's a moment when, BANG, everything makes sense and you start turning pages as fast as you can.
This reader had to read till the end and it was past 1 am when felt right to close the book as there were no pages left.
The mystery makes me think of some GAD mysteries that introduce the characters and their relationship. This part is usually relevant in understanding the investigation.
I was good to catch with Billie and Chase, the Upton family were a bit too over the top but also an interesting dysfunctional family.
I enjoyed the twists and surprises, liked the solution and how it was done. I also liked the romance which is well played and meaningful.
I look forward to the next one as I want to know what will happen to the characters and the next walk.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine