Bess and Margaret work for rival museums/galleries, but start to grow closer while trying to clear Margaret's name for the murder of Bess's eccentric boss.

This book was fun with a bit higher stakes than other queer romance mysteries I've read. I enjoyed the setting and the side characters, particularly three teens who call themselves "the Midnight Hags" and help to solve the murders. I also liked that the main characters were in their forties.

There were a few points where I felt the romance was underdeveloped and moved forward too quickly, and it felt off that the epilogue skipped ahead three months but the main characters apparently hadn't had a conversation in that time.

Nevertheless, this will appeal to readers looking for a relatively straightforward murder mystery mixed with queer romance. I'd especially recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the show Deadloch!

I received an eARC on NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A Curious Woman by Jess Lea
Murder Under the Gum Trees #1

Interesting, intriguing, intricately crafted introduction to a new cozy mystery romance series

What I liked:
* Bess Campbell: focused in living a positive simpler life, lives off-grid, open, honest, caring, comfortable, good friend, persistent, intriguing backstory, stronger than she realizes
* Margaret Gale: Museum owner/director, protective, strong personality, closed off, controlled, dark, snarky, difficult backstory, loving sister, intriguing and she grew on me
* That the main characters grew on me and were not cardboard but real and though an opposites attract vibe…they also had common ground and balanced one another.
* The Midnight Hags: three young, bright, entrepreneurial, somewhat shady, females that I really enjoyed getting to know – hope they show up again
* The murder mystery with clues and red herrings that had me wondering – though I did read ahead to find out who the bad guy was
* The small-town vibe
* Being able to dislike and like with good reason
* That I was invested in the characters and the outcome of the story
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* Reading a new-to-me author that drew me in and made me feel part of the story
* Knowing that the next book in the series is available now

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* The cruelty of more than one character in the story and the pain it caused others in the story

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Ylva Publishing ~ This is my honest review.

5 Stars

If you are a fan of cozy mystery with some funny moments this is definitely the story. While I would have like some more romance it was still a great story that pulls you in. It certainly kept me guessing on quite a few plot points. Overall, I found myself enjoying this on a nice Saturday where I read the entire story. I hope to read more by this author.

This was such an interesting and entertaining story. It had two strong, complex main characters in Margaret and Tess and an array of quirky secondary characters that kept me amused. Fantastic banter, a “who dunnit “ storyline that keeps you guessing until the very end. These Australian characters are full of humour, intrigue that I was throughly captivated by them. I will definitely be reading the next instalments by author Jess Lea to see what happens to them.

Highly recommend this story. I loved it.

I chose this book to read partly based on the fact that it had a woman riding a bicycle on the cover. And I am glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's a sapphic cosy mystery = so you get mystery and a side portion of romance. Both of which I found intriguing.
So many suspects in a small community. So many people with something to hide in their past - or running when the past just won't let them go.
I instantly liked Margaret - perceived as cold, awkward and arrogant. I mean she had a historical dildo in her collection! Bess is seen as a quirky, sociable, kind woman.
Cancer can be written into any story - it is so present in society and those numbers are reflected in books.
What is not to love about Midnight hags who make Doctor Who references?
Margaret is set up for a murder or 2 that she most certainly did not commit and is languishing in jail.

There's action, intrigue and detecting (by Bess, the Historical hags and Margaret when she is free to do so) which brings the guilty culprits into custody and secures Margaret's release.

And of course there is an epilogue.
This is set just 3 months later. Both Margaret and Bess are moving to Melbourne and they might just see each other there.

I really enjoyed this. There were so many twists and turns, multiple events and suspects to keep you on your toes. And a plausible, satisfactory ending.

I always love a good mystery and a good sapphic story. And here I got both! Love it a lot and I can’t wait to read the other books of the series!

Thank you Netgalley and Ylva Publisher for the arc!

A Curious Woman by Jess Lea is a cozy mystery that hooked me from the first to the last page. Lea knows how to weave a good mystery, so many moments made me think I knew what was happening just to have my theories disproved soon after. Margaret and Bess are interesting characters. They are both strong women who decide to take control of their lives and join forces to solve a mystery that could potentially ruin them both. I like that the characters aren't perfect, they have flaws and make mistakes just like everyone in real life. There are some witty and funny dialogues. I was curious about why there was a rooster in the cover and I loved discovering the reason behind it. If you like mysteries this is a book you cannot miss.

This one kept me hooked from start to finish.
I haven't read a mystery that had such a wonderful romance plot to it before, and this is a new favourite of mine.

This book didn’t catch my attention. The love story is very light. I didn’t feel connected to the characters, but I could worry about them. There’s not much spice either. In general, the romance didn’t work for me in this case, the chemistry between characters was non-existent. The only thing that made me keep reading was the writing and how the mystery make you want to read more and more until you discover why. It is intriguing and angst filled.
<b>Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for gifting me with a free copy. Opinions are my own and are freely given.</b>

I had the opportunity to read this from NetGalley recently. This is a murder mystery novel, not much usual read but actually quite enjoyable. Two main characters Bess who is the all about being positive and bringing goodness to the world and Margaret who really is quite the opposite. This definitely has some twists and turns making you second guess a lot of the motivation as well as linking to several off screen plots. I did find the tale quite hard to get into and felt Margaret quite hard to understand emotionally but once you get deeper in, it is very enjoyable. Also honourable mention to a Roman dildo not something you see in literature everyday!!

A quirky village mystery with unorthodox characters and settings that is quintessentially Australian in nature. Some of the pivotal quirks may not translate well, which would be a real shame as it is a very well written and thought out mystery that has all the elements mystery lovers want.

MC Bess is adorable, if not a little too perfect and Margaret gives true meaning to the words Ice Queen! What an unlikely pair to develop a friendship! However their interactions are so convincingly written that it seems inevitable from the start.

I loved the Hags, the teen misfits that Margaret hires for their technology expertise. They add another level of humour and lightness, while being integral to the solving of the mystery.

They say a good mystery has you guessing until the end. In that case, this book certainly succeeds. It was well balanced in that it satisfied everything I was looking for without overdoing the romance.

This was a good murder mystery. There wasn’t much romance, but the story was interesting. I was surprised to learn who the murderer was. I wasn’t familiar with some of the Australian terms and slang, but it didn’t really take away from the story.

Murder mystery books aren’t my go to genre but I decided to try it. I didn’t like the style of writing or the character although I did like how it wasn’t predictable and kept you guessing who did it.
Thank you netgalley for an advanced copy of this book, all opinions expressed are my own.

Wholly unpredictable story

I didn't read the publisher's synopsis before diving into this book but it barely scratches the surface and only gives a tiny taste of what goes on in the story, the town where it takes place and its inhabitants. The cover of the book gives little to nothing away as well so be prepared to be surprised and to have questions as you read, questions that pile up faster than answers for them. The murders and crime kept me guessing, not knowing whodunnit all thru the book, and being surprised by twists in the plot and reveals around the crimes. Most of the characters are quirky or odd or downright awful personality- and behavior-wise and there are lots of them so those keen to solve all the mysteries may want to take notes as they read. (I thought to do that when I was already too far along in the book for it to be fruitful or of use). Margaret is an ice queen of sorts and clashes with Bess's intentionally optimistic outlook but both are formidable and complex characters in their own right; theirs is an unusual rapport to say the least. Numerous characters' traits reveal themselves as the story unfolds so the reader's feelings about them may shift or change radically from start to finish. The teenagers and animals in this story defy expectations and one animal in particular has a moment of heroism that was both amazing and totally unexpected; all the characters defy stereotypes and are atypical in one way or another so they're fascinating and refreshing to read.

I read this book slower than I normally would in order to try and monitor the characters, watch for clues and guess what would happen next but guessed nothing accurately which made for exciting reading. The story is funny, scary, creepy, mysterious, sensual and so much more.
The goings on in the book are difficult to summarize without spoiling any of it, but if you're wanting a change in your lesfic reading to something wholly unpredictable, dramatic, romantic, quirky, mysterious and suspenseful, this will satisfy that need and pull you into this weird town, its unusual museums and eccentric inhabitants and visitors.
(Reviewed April 14, 2019)