Young widow Minnie Harper living in Corfu in a slowly falling-down house with her teenage daughter and young son. When she finds the body of a young local housemaid, she finds herself investigating her death with taciturn mystery writer Stephen Dorian whose hired her to help type his next book.

I found myself fully immersed in this book and breezed right through it. It was well-paced and plotted and I found all my guesses wrong. Minnie was such a fantastic heroine, slowly coming to terms about her relationship with her late husband. She was well-loved and supported by him after living with her stiffling parents, but was too busy being grateful to not realise that there's a lot she doesn't know about him and why he moved them to Corfu.

I adored the slow-burn chemistry between Minnie and Stephen, and how they challenge each other, freely speaking as equals. I loved that Stephen also revealed his vulnerabilities with Minnie and how he admires her independent spirit.

Emily Sullivan writes interesting, unconventional men and women against a backdrop of strict gender rules. This historical mystery with a subtle hint of romance really hit the spot. I cam now dying to read the next book because I am hooked on Minnie and Stephen.

Thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

“A Death on Corfu” by Emily Sullivan is a cozy historical mystery. Minnie, a widow with two kids and a shrinking bank account, gets a surprise when a famous, scandalous mystery author moves in next door to focus on his new book. Despite his moodiness, she agrees to be his typist. When a local maid is murdered, they work together to sift through the fraught relationships and history of the small Greek island.

I loved the setting of late 1800s Greece—the lush landscapes, the food, the intricate clothing, and the small-town culture with its rivalries. There’s also some interesting commentary on the wealthy English who settle there, bringing both jobs and injustices.

Following Minnie and Stephen (the author) as they tracked clues was fun, even though the murderer seemed pretty obvious early on. There’s a big plot hole about a possible pregnancy that I can’t explain without spoilers. Some loose ends might be tied up in future books, and hopefully, the plot hole will be addressed too. My favorite character is Minnie’s aunt, who we hear about throughout and finally meet towards the end. Hopefully, she will be around a lot in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the digital ARC.
3.5 stars

Book 1 of a new mystery series, Death on Corfu, was an interesting book. Minnie Harper, now widowed, is living on the island of Corfu, contemplating what's next, with her kids ready to fly to coop. She meets Stephen a write, who hires her to type for him. Until a woman is killed and Stephen and Minnie band together to solve the mystery.

Fairly fast-paced, interesting locale, little to no romance, this book was a decent read. The characters were not necessarily strong, just cruised along

#netgalley #ADeathonCorfu

Thanks to NetGalley and Kengsington Publishing for this digital ARC.

What a delightful new mystery series! Set on the Greek island of Corfu, we meet Minnie Harper who is widowed and raising her two children away from her home country of England. Her usual routine is thrown for a loop when Minnie meets author Stephen Dorian. He hires Minnie to help him with transcribing his latest novel, and she is soon pulled into a murder mystery along with Stephen.

A fantastic read, and I can't wait until book 2!

A Death on Corfu by Emily Sullivan is an interesting story of early twentieth century life on the island of Corfu, Greece. Minnie Harper is a widowed mother of two children who gets embroiled, with an English author neighbor, in solving the murder of a young Greek maid. The setting is accurate and the mores of the time are covered well. This was a good historical mystery with lots of good and bad characters that were well protrayed. I am looking forward to the next Minnie Harper mystery.

I am a fan of Emily Sullivan's historical romances and also love getting lost in a historical mystery, especially ones set in pretty places. So when Emily announced this book I was immediately on board!

I honestly stayed up late last night anxiety spiraling, and this book was the perfect thing to pull me out of it. I love our detective team of Minnie Harper and Stephen Dorian. I was unsurprised that their banter and romantic tension was perfect. The mystery itself was also interesting and both easy to understand without being obvious who did it. And the setting and characters were all very strong. This would make an awesome series or movie adaptation.

I have already demanded Emily send book 2 to me as soon as it's done, because I am ravenous for more!!

3.5 stars

This was a good start to a new series. I loved that it is a historical fiction/mystery genre - this is my favorite. This was my first time reading one of Emily Sullivan’s novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and adored her writing style. I find myself eager to keep reading maybe some of her other books. I am intrigued to see where this series goes next. I am definitely hoping for a little more romance in these series after it progresses.

The only con for myself was, I felt the beginning to be a little slow. Otherwise, I genuinely enjoyed the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Grim Discovery..
The first outing in a new historical mystery series (Minnie Harper Mystery) and set on the island of Corfu at the turn of the twentieth century. With Minnie still trying to settle into a new life with two children and finding things a struggle, she is surprised at a job offer from a neighbouring writer, a neighbour that she has already sworn to detest. However, a grim discovery soon takes precedence - and Minnie is not averse to the neighbours assistance. A promising start to a new series with an engaging premise, a pacy plot populated with a well drawn cast of characters and a well imagined backdrop.

This was a pretty good book. I love the mystery in this book, I did predict the ending, but it was not overly predictable like it is in some books. The characters were likable and well written, and the pacing of the book was really good.


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This was a good start to a new historical fiction/mystery series. This was my first time reading one of Emily Sullivan’s novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. I found myself eager to keep reading.

I liked our FMC Minnie; I found her intelligent with a great, sarcastic sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed her daughter Cleo. Mr. Dorian has the potential to be a great leading man, we just need to see him a little more vulnerable. I felt like we only got to scratch the surface of a man that clearly has a lot of emotional baggage.

I am intrigued to see where this series goes next. I am definitely hoping for a little more romance going forward.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

This book was something unique. I really liked Emily Sullivan’s other books so I was excited to give this one a try as well. It’s an interesting historical mystery with lots of intrigue, a little romantic tension, and a determined FMC trying to move forward from a loss. The setting was cozy and interesting. My only complaint is that it was a bit predictable at times, but I very much enjoyed this read overall and was excited to find out what happened next.

This was a really well done novel. it had that mystery element that I was looking for and enjoyed figuring out what was going on. It had a great start to this series and was engaged with what was happening. I enjoyed the way the characters were written and going on this adventure with them. Emily Sullivan has a strong writing style for this type of book and am excited for more in this series.

new-series, first-in-series, historical-mystery, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, amateur-sleuth, island-life, widow, witty, typist, 1900s, Greece, family-dynamics, family, family-expectations, local-law-enforcement, small-town, local-gossip, British*****

An interesting historical cozy mystery set in the land of baklava and spanakopita
British expat Minnie Harper has two children and was suddenly widowed about four years ago. When younger she had gone to further her education despite the conservative expectations of her family, but then married for love to a man in the Foreign Service. British mystery author Stephen Dorian has become her neighbor and asks her to help him out by becoming his paid typist for a few hours a day. He presents as a rather insensitive toad with good investigative skills despite his inability to know Greek. Then came the day when she was out walking and came across the dead body of a local domestic wearing an expensive necklace which seemed to have been the instrument of her strangulation. Together Minnie and Dorian pursue the answers the local police don't feel necessary. Well done start to a new series!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof from Kensington Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
Avail Apr 29, 2025 #ADeathOnCorfu by Emily Sullivan #MinnieHarperBk1 #NetGalley #HistoricalCozy @KensingtonBooks #Mystery

Wow! Emily Sullivan you did such a wonderful job with writing this book. I loved it! It was beautifully written. Such a great story.

What a wonderful start to a new mystery series! I really enjoyed the first book in the new Minnie Harper historical mystery series. Minnie is a young widow living on the Greek island of Corfu who ends up working for a mystery writer named Stephen Dorian. They solve a murder and we learn about multiple other family situations and mysteries that hopefully will be addressed in future books. The characters are well written and were a pleasure to read about. The mystery was well written and it was lots of fun to watch them work through the mystery to find the unexpected killer. I look forward to reading more about Minnie, Stephen and her children. Stephen and Minnie make a great crime solving duo and I hope they will work together again soon!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

A Death on Corfu by Emily Sullivan is the first book in a new historical cozy mystery series. Looking forward to where this goes.

I like cozy mysteries and I like historical fiction…so it is nice to enjoy a book that blends the two together. There was a nice blend of a relaxing, getaway vibe, and the actual murder/mystery. A bit on the slower speed at times, but it is (I think) the first book, so a bit of character and location setting was needed. Definitely room for growth and potential.

It was also nice to have a diff location to be used, Corfu at the beginning of the 20th century. Looking forward to where this goes.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington Publishing | Kensington Cozies for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 4/29/25.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Minnie Harper moved to Greece with her husband and two children, after he retired from his job with the foreign service. Not long after, he dies unexpectedly, leaving her to raise her children alone. With her children growing up, she decides it’s time for the next stage of her life. When well-known mystery writer, Stephen Dorian, moves into the villa next door, she’s intrigued by the handsome author but quickly finds him to be a boorish grump. But when he offers her a job to be his typist, she can’t turn it down, even if it means working side by side next to a man she hates.

Before she has a chance to regret her choice, she discovers the death of a young maid. With the authorities dragging their feet to solve the case, Minnie takes it upon herself to investigate the young woman’s murder. As she searches for answers, she uncovers dangerous secrets that could change everything.

When I saw this on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. Who doesn’t love a historical mystery? For fans of Emily Sullivan, know going in that this isn’t a romance, and it seems Ms. Sullivan is branching out to other genres.

The story starts out at a sedate pace, much like life on an island, things move slowly and lulls you into a sense of security. The slow pace does go on for a bit longer than I wished for, but once Minnie finds the body of the dead young maid, Daphne, the pace begins to speed up. Not all as it seems, and when Minnie notices an expensive necklace on Daphne’s body, she begins to suspect her murderer is part of her social circles. The only person who takes her seriously is none other than Stephen. Together they begin to uncover the clues left behind by the murder.

Minnie was kind of bland as a character. The story is told entirely from her point of view, but we don’t really get glimpses of her personality. She feels quite distant and removed from the story, so it was hard to relate to her. Stephen is your typical brooding, grumpy historical hero. There was nothing about either character that made them truly stand out. It’s uncharacteristic of Ms. Sullivan as she often creates unique, relatable characters in her novels. I wasn’t able to make a connection with either character. Perhaps this could’ve been a result of the story being told through first POV. The murderer is fairly easy to guess. This could be in part because there aren’t many plausible suspects or red herrings.

In spite of that, I did enjoy the story. The ending was left a bit open ended, and I wonder if this will be part of a series. This novel will appeal to audiences interested in historical mystery novels.

I'm not usually a fan of historical mysteries, but this one did capture my interest and was fun to read.
The characters are a solid part of the story, which is well written and enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.