Murder at the Summer Fete

Victoria Walters has done it again. What a fun and cozy read! This was an unputdownable whodunnit in the warm, small community style that we know and love the author for. I mean… who else coiled make a series of murders feel so quaint?!

Nancy is a great lead who is intelligent and uses her knowledge of mystery books for the noblest of causes… solving crimes! I was shocked by the ending, but the clues were there all along as I flipped back to certain scenes.

The ensemble cast was well fleshed out, and Walters has the ability to take a large cast and ensure you feel like you know them. The end was a great look ahead to all that is to come! All in all, this was a fantastic page-turner that made my winter night far warmer.

Enjoyable Amateur Sleuthing Ensues..
The second in the Dedley End series of mysteries and life seems to be on an even keel at the Dedley End bookshop. Nancy and Jane are eagerly awaiting the local Summer fete, even more so as a well known author is to launch his new book. As preparations are made something doesn’t feel quite right and when a body is discovered at the fete itself, the death scene hauntingly familiar, it’s clear that someone thinks that they’ve committed the perfect crime. Enjoyable amateur sleuthing ensues. A nice follow on from the first book in the series, still as quaint and just as twee, and with a nicely drawn cast of main characters that one can get to know well.
.

Just when life gets back to normal in Dedley End, the summer fete rolls around.

And what a coup for Nancy and the bookshop! Bestselling author Thomas Green has his first new book out in a decade, and he's coming to the fete to launch it.

But not everyone's happy. Thomas grew up in the area, but hasn't been back in decades. And it seems that someone doesn't want him back now...

And, inevitably, there's a dead body at the fete.....

Can Nancy, grandmother Jane and best friend Jonathan annoy DCI Brown by solving another murder before he does???

This. Is. Brilliant.

Could not put it down :)

I really hope there's more Dedley End adventures!

MURDER AT THE SUMMER FETE is the second book in the Dedley End Mysteries. Bookstore owner, Nancy Hunter and her grandmother, Jane, are looking forward to their summer fete. They have invited popular mystery author, Thomas Green, and it looks to be fabulous event. However, everything goes sour on the day, when a dead man is discovered... in the exact same way as Thomas' latest mystery. Who killed the man and made it look like a scene from "A Perfect Murder"? It will be up to Nancy, Jane and her reporter friend, Jonathon, to find out!

I've read Victoria Walters' Glendale Hall books, and I absolutely love them. Being a longtime fan of cozy mysteries, I was really looking forward to her take on mysteries... especially as this series is set in the Cotswolds. Anyone that knows me knows that I love the Agatha Raisin books, also set in the Cotswolds. So of course, I had to give this series a go.

I dived straight into this one, without reading the first book. Sometimes this is a gamble, but in this case I didn't feel lost at all. The author gives you just enough information, but not so much as to spoil the first mystery. Needless to say I will definitely go back to read the first book.

I really enjoyed the mystery. I found myself easily picking up the clues laid out for the reader. While I did solve the crime before Nancy and her friends, it didn't spoil the ending for me. I love how she had all the characters in one room at the end, for the final denouement! So very Agatha Christie!

MURDER AT THE SUMMER FETE is a perfect read! It's a mystery that will entice even the most seasoned mystery reader. If you're a fan of Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton you can't miss this series. I absolutely can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

Nancy is finally hosting her first author event at the village’s annual fete and she’s excited. A famous author with a very popular series is holding his first event for the 10th book in teh series with Nancy and Deadly End. When a body is discovered at the fete, it turns out that someone has staged the murder to mimic that in the author’s newest release.

Feeling responsible for the fiasco to some extent, Nancy, Jane and Jonathan find themselves sleuthing once again…hoping to figure out why anyone would threaten the beloved author, or kill another person at the fete. Can they solve another murder in Deadly End? They sure hope so, though the killer may have an alternate ending for them, a Deadly Ending.

The second entry in this cozy series is even better than the first…and the first was great! British cozies always have special place in my reading list and heart and this one is right up there at the top. Can’t wait for the next saga with Nancy and the gang.

Great cosy mystery, well written characters with a story that flows well. Easy to work out who did it but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of this book. Great for fans of Agatha Raison. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the second in this cozy mystery series, but the first I read. Despite that, I loved the characters and felt like there was a lot of investigating (some cozy mysteries lack that for me). I'm also a sucker for mysteries that take place in England, especially rural England, and involve books. This one is both!

The whodunit was kind of predictable for me, but I don't mind that as much with cozies! If you are looking for a good cozy mystery to snuggle up with, this definitely fits that!

This was such a quick, easy and funny read that was so fun to read. It was well written with a great plotline and well developed charcaters that I really liked. I really enjoyed reading it.

So lovely to be back with Nancy and Jane in Dedley End.

The second in Walters' cosy mysteries is just as intricate, twisty, and fun as the first. It kept me guessing and I just love the small village settings with no where to hide.

Fab, thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

I mostly enjoyed this book. I thought it was slow in spots. I enjoyed the characters and the story is interesting. I was surprised by who the killer really is. #MurderattheSummerFete #NetGalley

I was hot on the heels of this 2nd installment after having read and enjoyed the first book. In this cozy mystery, Victoria Walters raised the stakes even higher : an author and a complex murder.

It was very engrossing and I read it within 1 day. By no means it was a simple mystery. The plot is more complex than the first book. I love this book and I think now every new mystery by Victoria Walters is an auto-read for me.

One of the reasons why I like the 1st book was also because it was my 1st cozy mystery and what was even better was the fact that the book was easy to get through because it was so simply written. The 2nd book is the same. However, there are several portions of the book that was quite confusing and I have to go back to read it several times. I guess it's because of the British style of writing and the placement of punctuation marks etc in the sentence. It just makes me feel that those portions were a bit unpolished. and can be further simplified. I also wish that there are more murder suspects in this story because it was pretty easy to guess who the murderer is. Once that was determined, I was just waiting for the story to unfold on why and how the murder was committed. Having said that there are also several surprises that I didn't see them coming. .

Overall, I like this 2nd book better because it was so gripping and I hope the third installment will be released this year because I can't wait for it. I will give this book 4 to 4.5 stars

Murder at the Summer Fete was a nicely done, twisting mystery. I was always interested in the entertaining type of murder mysteries like Agatha Raisin, and this book was just as fun to read as it’s plot and cover made me think that.

At first sight I fell in love with the colorful cover and the promising plot of Nancy Hunter’s story. I didn’t read the first part of the series but it wasn’t a problem for me to enjoy this one, and finish in a day.

I recommend this book for everyone who wants to read some cozy mystery.

Nancy and her grandmother Jane are settling back into the bookshop. Thomas Green, agrees to launch his first new novel in ten years there. The ladies are very excited to host the author. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go as smooth as they hoped. Nancy and Jane jump into another mystery.
#MurderattheSummerFete #NetGalley

I received an ARC of, Murder at the Summer Fete, by Victoria Walters. I have read other books by Victoria and really enjoyed them, this book is no different. I love a good mystery and this one has at the Summer Fete. Who murdered Michael? Can Nancy solve this mystery?

This was a good mystery and I enjoyed it very much. The characters have evolved since the first book and the meshing of the protagonist's love of books, bookshop life and the visiting best selling author meshed well together to make for an interesting cozy mystery.

There were some lovely red herrings and I was chuffed that I got close - but not quite. Well done to the author. I will be interested to see just want's next in the series.

Thanks to #Netgalley the publisher Hera Books, and the author for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good cozy mystery and this one was everything I could want it to be. It's got a strong mystery, great characters, and some pretty interesting twists and turns. I did figure out the one big mystery pretty early on, but that didn't interfere with my ability to enjoy the entire book. And there was one little twist at the end that I didn't really see coming. The villagers are so amusing, I loved how they were all itching for another mystery to solve. I had not read book 1 in the series before reading this and there was just enough to give me the background I needed without ruining the ending of book 1 if I wanted to go back and read it. DCI Brown is a great foil for Nancy and there is a nice little moment between them at the end. The secondary storyline with Will and Richard doesn't do much for this story but I'm sure will be included more in the next book (which I will definitely be keeping an eye out for). The villain turns out to be much more vile than you initially think he will be which was another nice little twist. Two big thumbs for this book!

A great lighthearted (sounds strange when speaking about a book containing murder!) read. The second in the series, I hadn't read the first but it didn't really affect the reading of this one - the author provides just enough information about it to help set the scene here but not give much away.

Nancy runs a crime bookshop, and she has arranged for a locally born crime fiction author to attend the village fete. However a murder takes place at the start of the fete - can Nancy, her grandmother Jane and journalist friend Jonathan solve the murder and help the police?

It did feel a little repetitive at times, but I really loved the characterisation - Nancy, Jane and Jonathan work well together, and I loved their relationship. I have the first book in paperback and am now going back to discover their first case!

An excellent return to Dedley End. Jane and Nancy know just how to get to the bottom of a problem and their gut feeling is usually right. Victoria knows how to bring a story to life, with just enough detail you feel like you know the characters personally and want to be friends with them. I want to sit in the armchair in Nancy’s bookshop listening to village life and immerse myself first hand in the magic created by Victoria’s writing. A very worthy 5 star review.

I loved this book, couldn’t put it down once I started. Love the fun and mystery all combined into one. A really fun and easy read! Recommend to all mystery lovers.