A Deadly Walk in Devon offers an escape to the English countryside with stock cozy mystery characters and an appealing gay detective. This is a high-quality audiobook production and the book offers a refreshing perspective from a mature man with a strong sense of duty.

A retired San Diego police detective recovering from the death of his life partner takes a walking tour with his upbeat friend. An unpleasant man tries to pull him into acting as his bodyguard. Suspicious events ensue. He also meets an appealing stranger.

My discovery of Nicholas George came about by chance. I learned about the gay character when I listened to the audio sample. I don't usually look at cozy mysteries. This one caught my interest because of the location and touring aspect. 

As soon as I started listening to this, Donald Corren’s versatile voice performance swept me into the adventure. There's a varied cast of characters, dramatic scenery, and creepy moments. The main character's intelligence and vulnerabilities kept my interest.

Distractions: The book relied too heavily on blatantly withheld information. The plot strains credibility, and I wasn't sure if the overkill aspects were meant to be funny. Aside from Chase, most of the characters were caricatures. His avid-knitter septuagenarian friend Bobbie has great potential and felt underutilized. Chase’s attitude toward her could use an upgrade. For me, the confrontation scene was implausible and melodramatic.

Personal and societal issues related to loneliness, aging, and health care were handled well and added depth to the book without being heavy. For the most part, it succeeds as an entertaining romp, and the detective has a good mix of strengths and flaws. The book has a soothing, old-fashioned feel to it, and I especially liked that the gay men are masculine guys free of stereotypical traits that many outsider authors seem to assume define gay men.

The author’s website shows the next two books in this new series, including the cover for the forthcoming book two. It's good to find a fresh take on a male detective. He drinks, but he's not a hackneyed alcoholic with a messy life. The series has good growth potential.

I highly recommend the audiobook. Corren's excellent narration made this book a pleasure to consume as an escapist binge. His excellent performance greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the book. This debut author's first-in-series novel is a good fit for readers who enjoy #ownvoices LGBT+ books or cozy mysteries. 
Thank you, RBMedia, for the ALC for consideration. These opinions are soley my own.

(rounded up from 3.5 stars)
Have you ever thought about taking a walking vacation? If so, this book might change your mind! Chase is a retired detective from San Diego, still mourning the death of his husband. He has come to England for a walking vacation, something he’d done a few others times so he knows what to expect. He is joined by Billie, a woman he got to be friends with on previous walks. The location is in Devon, England, as you can tell from the title.

We quickly meet the tour leader, Sally, and the other participants. None of the other characters appealed to me at all, so I was glad this was a fictional tour, not one I actually had to deal with! The murder victim (well, the first victim, as there will be ore than one before the book is done) was pretty obvious; he was incredibly obnoxious and he was concerned about threats he had been receiving.

One of the only appealing local characters was a potential new love interest for Chase, so that added promise. This is a nice start to a new cozy mystery series, to add to the increasing number of “quozy” mysteries that have started being published.

I bounced between the print/ebook copy of the title from Kensington Cozies and the audio copy from Recorded Books. The audio was well narrated by Donald Corren, who did a great job with a lot of different accents.

Thank you to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the chance to listen to the audio version and to Kensington and NetGalley for the chance to read a review copy of the book.

Big Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy!!!

'A Deadly Walk In Deavon' is the first book of the 'A Walk Through England Mystery' series. It follows a retired detective, as he goes for a walking trip to the English countryside, only to be encountered with a new mystery to solve.

First of all, I enjoyed the main character a lot. He was the serious type, while struggling with his age and the new stage in his life (retired and questioning whether his skill should retire as well, and struggling to accept the death of his loving partner). The author actually did a good job blending the detective's personal issues with the solving of the murder, with the latter being the main focus of the book.

The mystery itself had many suspects and it wasn't easy to figure out who had done it. The many interesting characters helped as well.

Also, the book had that Agatha Cristie feel to it, with the rich countryside, the cozy atmosphere, and the menacing weather.

Finally, the audiobook was enjoyable and the narrator did a good job with his narration, especially when it came to the accents.

3.5 stars. First thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me the audiobook to listen to in exchange for my honest review. The story had a ton going for it: the characters were lovable and fun, the mystery was engaging, and the ending was satisfying. Chase and Billy are absolutely adorable, but Chase’s narration can be very heavy handed and obvious at times. It seems to me an issue of a new author trying to ensure that his plot points are coming across to the reader, but it could also be the audiobook narrator. He was so monotone it made the plot explication sound quite drab. I think with a more dynamic narrator the story would be much more thrilling. I absolutely loved the addition of obscure hobbies that helped to make the nearly impossible murder happen, and the elements of The Murder on the Orient express were delightful and clever spins on a classic whodunnit plot device! I’ll be excited to read the next one and seeing how this author grows into their great ideas and clever tricks.

This was a well written mystery. I especially like mysteries like this where all the suspects and clues are laid out so that it is possible for the reader to solve the mystery. The narrator did a very good job delineating each character with a different voice and talked as if he were telling a story, rather than just reading one.

A Deadly Walk in Devon is the first book in a new mystery series by Nicholas George. Chase is a retired police detective still grieving the loss of his husband. He decides to take a vacation with his longtime friend Billie in the English countryside. The group is on a walking tour with the Wanderers
company. One member of the group in particular, Ronald Greta, quickly makes enemies quickly with this terrible attitude. After multiple "accidents" Gretz is found murdered. Chase decides to help the local police investigate the murder.

I had a great time with this book. I am always excited to find cozy mysteries that involve LGBTQIA+ characters. Chase was a great lead for this story. He is smart and charming. I loved the setting and all the characters we got to meet within the tour group. I also love the set up for a potential love interest for Chase. I will be keeping my eye out for the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The first in a series this was a fun quick cozy mystery with a beautiful setting. Retired San Diego policeman Rick Chasen and his walking tour friend Billie are very likeable characters, and I enjoyed listening to them try and figure out who the murderer was. While it was fairly obvious who did it early on, it was still interesting to see how the other suspects were eliminated and what motive the murderer had. Thanks to Netgalley for an early listening audio.n a series this was a fun quick cozy mystery with a beautiful setting. Retired San Diego policeman Rick Chasen and his walking tour friend Billie are very likeable characters, and I enjoyed listening to them try and figure out who the murderer was. While it was fairly obvious who did it early on, it was still interesting to see how the other suspects were eliminated and what motive the murderer had.

A Deadly Walk in Devon is a well-paced, classic murder mystery with a good mix of humour, action, and intrigue. While it isn’t outstanding in any particular way, it's the kind of book you'd pick up at the train station or the airport, read on holiday, very much enjoy, and then forget within a week or two. For some readers, the momentary entertainment is enough. Though slightly too long, it’s a breeze to read and easy to finish in a day.

The protagonist, an older LGBT+ man, brings a refreshing representation not often seen in the genre. However, while the narrative isn't overtly political, a few contentious issues are woven into the storyline in a heavy-handed way, which can break immersion by feeling more like the author’s voice than the character’s. Personally, I agree with the author's views, but that's beside the point. It felt clumsy.

The book features a good array of characters, and the classic "everyone-has-a-motive" approach works well for the mystery. That said, the characters — particularly the locals — lack depth. Why would someone living in Devon use Scottish slang, for instance? There are plenty of regional dialect Devonshire words we'd use.

Our protagonist reminds me slightly of Robert Langdon (Dan Brown). We could benefit from hearing more about his background (perhaps something in a current scene triggers a memory?), exploring his "inner workings," and getting to understand what makes him tick. He isn't a genius like Sherlock Holmes nor strange in his mannerisms like Hercule Poirot — baseball is the most memorable thing we know about him (thanks to many references). This isn't enough to build either mystery or relatability around the character. He doesn't feel like a gritty ex-police detective, yet isn't convincingly homely, either. I wasn't keen on the multiple times the character refers to a suspect as a "bimbo" or comments on her breast size (unless there was an intention that he should be characterised as bordering on sexist). More work needs to be done here later in the series.

The writing, although up-to-standard, at times suffers from clunky transitions. A character will up and leave a scene unnaturally or suddenly appear after another character comments that it will be a few hours until they arrive. A character's hair changes colour. Once again, this is immersion-breaking, and an editing issue.

As a Devonshire lass, I picked up the book with high expectations. When a book focuses on a setting (enough for it to be included in the title), I like it to become a character in its own right. Think of the Yorkshire Moors in Wuthering Heights or Coulibri in Wide Sargasso Sea, which both come alive with feeling and atmosphere. There are descriptions of smothering fog, towering cliffs, pounding rain, and bucolic hills, but this isn't enough for the county to jump off the pages. It feels like a sepia backdrop, rather than a living, breathing place.

The issue here is that A Deadly Walk in Devon can't fully decide if it wants to be a pastoral cosy mystery or a dark, atmospheric one. When you don't fully commit to either, you lose the appeal of both.

Despite these shortcomings, the premise behind the series is compelling and unique, with real potential. I'd be keen to continue reading. After more intense literary reads, this is exactly the kind of book you need to wizz through.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an ARC in return for honest feedback.

A cute mystery set in the English countryside. A nice who dun it, I found I enjoyed the story but didn't feel much attachment to any of the characters leaving me not really caring who the killer(s) were. A good work in process to start a series, but I hope the future books have more description to the countryside they are taking place in. That was one of the reasons I wanted to listen to this book but found it slightly underwhelming.

I recommend reading this book rather than listening to it. The narrator needs a do over. I've listen to other books this narrator has done and enjoyed them but found in this particular audio he has a subtle clearing or wetting of the throat that I found hard to get past.

All this being said I would definitely try reading the next book in this series when it comes out because I think the idea of what is trying to be achieved is great.

I went into this book not knowing too much about it, but it was delightful. The characters were enjoyable and likeable. This was a perfect cozy mystery. I loved the background set up with the walking tour and the suspects all kept under one roof. A great whodunit. It seems this is the first in a future series so I will be watching for more books with Rick Chasen!

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook for review.

A very enjoyable cozy mystery! This is the first in a new series by Nicholas George and the second book in the series - A Lethal Walk in Lakeland - will be released on January 21st.

This book follows a retired American detective as he sets out on a walking tour of Devon, England. A fellow member of the group has been receiving death threats and is the victim of increasingly dangerous "accidents."

Donald Corren was a great narrator; his voices and accents made the quirky cast of characters come alive. I also appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation as that is often hard to find in cozy mysteries. This is a solid cozy mystery that I would recommend for fans of Golden Age mysteries and contemporary cozy authors like M.C. Beaton.

Many thanks to RBMedia and NetGalley for providing a free audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you RB Media, NetGalley, Nicholas George and narrator Donald Corren for the chance to listen to an advance copy of A Deadly Walk in Devon. This is the first book in a new series featuring a retired San Diego detective who has come to England for a walking tour with a friend only to end up helping to solve a murder. The tour is made up of mostly Americans wanting to tour England and the countryside. When they group stops for the first night one of the members approaches Chase and asks his help because he feels that someone is after him. Within the next couple of days this man has strange “accidents” happen to him until he is murdered and Chase has no choice but to figure out who in the group had it out for him.
I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from this author, especially more with this detective.

This fun audiobook has the Agatha Christie-like elements that make a mystery engaging: a likeable heartbroken detective, eccentric suspects, and a puzzling sort of locked room mystery which, in this case, is a foggy cliff's edge and a group of tourists on a walking tour. The narrator is engaging and does the handful of non-American accents well enough to mix the narration up a bit. It would be a great audiobook to bring along with you on your own vacation. A cozy mystery where the puzzle is "who killed the incredibly annoying rich guy?" I had fun trying to figure out who the killer was. This is the first book of a new series called "A Walk Through England." The 2nd book "A Lethal Walk in Lakeland" will be released in late January 2025.

"A Deadly Walk in Devon" is an outstanding who-done-it! I was utterly captivated and finished the book in just one day. The pacing is perfect, making it impossible to put down, and the characters are well-rounded and feel incredibly real. I genuinely appreciate that I couldn't solve the mystery in the first few chapters; it kept me engaged and guessing until the end. I'm eagerly awaiting the physical copy, which will be released on December 23rd. I hope this marks the beginning of many more installments in "A Walk Through England Mystery Series." This book is a must-read for any mystery lover!

I absolutely loved the narrator, Donald Corren. He was perfect for this book!

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the chance to listen to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s a good one but I would have appreciated it more if it was known that the main characters were gays.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc of this book.

The book was ok. It is a murder mystery set in th countryside of England with some insufferable characters. The members of a walking tour group, with the main character being a former detective, find themselves involved in a murder case when one of the members is found to have been pushed from a cliff.

The storyline was pretty straightforward, but nothing really out of the box to surprise you. I did not guess who the murderer was, so that was a plus as normally I can tell who it is right away with these kinds of books. I'm being generous and giving 3 stars as I do think it's a decent quick read on a rainy day. However, I do not think I'll continue on with the series.