Bodies and Battlements

[cornerofmadness]

Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There is a good bit of wish fulfillment in this setting but since I could see myself wishing for this too I didn't mind. Case in point, Nora Asquith's family has been in this Yorkshire seaside castle for centuries, as the guardians of the town. Her family and Ravensea castle are chocked full of history and ghosts (yes, there are interactive ghosts in this) but of course now they have to find new ways of making money to keep this big pile of historic homestead going.

To that end, Nora and her father have turned parts of it into a B&B with just a few rooms at this point, mostly supplementing the renovations and start up with Nora's herbalist career using the castle gardens (see what I mean about wish fulfillment. Who wouldn't want to be able to live in a haunted castle and putter in the herb garden and somehow make enough to survive). It's now opening week and Nora has a few guests filling up all three rooms, Brian the birdwatcher, a wine merchant richie rich couple (installed for free by Nora's mead-making brother trying to get a wine contract) and Finlay Cole, new to town and waiting for his apartment to be ready for him.

At the first social, Hilda, a woman relatively new to town and huge in trying to prevent the B&B from opening, runs from the castle only to turn up dead in Nora's garden with her head stoved in. Naturally fearing being accused of murder (or her father being the same) Nora sets out to solve the case with the help of her tv star sister, Tamsyn.

And her guest Finlay who turns out to be a DI (no spoilers there, it's in the blurb). It does contain some nice twists and I did like that it didn't strain the suspension of disbelief you have to have to read cozy mysteries. I liked the characters and as I've said in many a cozy mystery review, these only work for me if the actual detective isn't hardcore anti-amateur sleuth or too stupid to be a detective. Finlay is neither of these things. He's naturally telling Nora to stay out of it but he's also sweet on her (cue romantic subplot) so it worked for me.

I had fun with this one and I'd gladly read more.

I received the arc for this from publisher which in no way influenced my review.



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