Murder at the House on the Hill

By Victoria Walters

What it’s about?

Nancy Hunter and her grandmother Jane Hunter run the Dedley Endings Bookshop, selling crime, thriller and mystery books, in a small, quiet Cotswold village where nothing ever happens…

That is, until the wealthy and reclusive Roth family open up their mansion for the first time in twenty years, inviting the people of Dedley End to a lavish engagement party.
While everyone is thrilled to finally look around the mansion on the hill, the festivities are quickly cut short when beautiful Lucy, recently married to young Harry Roth, is found dead after being pushedover the first-floor balustrade.

But who among the guests could have been capable of her murder – and why?

Nancy and Jane decide to investigate – after all, not only do they own a crime themed bookshop, they were also both named after famous literary detectives – but soon wonder if they’ve taken on more than they can handle. Especially when it seems the killer has worked out that they’re hot on
their heels…

Can they catch the murderer before the murderer catches up with them? Or will there be a deadly ending to this story?
Join the unlikeliest detective duo for the killer opener of The Dedley End Mysteries series, by a major voice in women’s fiction.

What I think:

This has all the ingredients cosy mystery: small town where people love to gossip, mysterious outsiders and a fabulous protagonist who is plucky and likeable and the fact that she runs a crime book shop is an added bonus!

This was such an enjoyable read. Time is spent establishing the main characters, Nancy and her grandmother Jane. Together they run the bookshop and have a passion for Agatha Christie style whodunnits.

When they witness the death of glamorous newly wed Lucy Roth, they decide to put their sleuthing skills to the test and win a bet to see who can solve the crime first.

It soon emerges that there was no love lost between Lucy and the rest if the Roth family who were concerned she was a gold digger. But none of them seem to have a strong enough motive.

I really loved the relationship between Nancy and her best friend, local journalist, Jonathan. They are a great team and despite their differences really compliment each other. It will be interesting to see how this relationship develops in the future.

There are enough twists to keep you guessing as Nancy begins to piece together events – and a few red herrings along the way. Despite the brutal murder, there is no gore and things are brought to a satisfying Poirot style drawing room conclusion.

Walters sets it up nicely for a sequel and I will definitely be reading it.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of this intriguing blog tour and for my gifted digital copy of the book.

If you fancy solving Murder at the House on the Hill use the links below:

Purchase Links
AMZ: https://amzn.to/3yJqSKk
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2SzAN4h
Apple: https://apple.co/3yJGkWE

About the author:

Victoria Walters writes up-lifting and inspiring stories. She’s the author of the
bestselling GLENDALE HALL series, which continues with its third book HOPEFUL HEARTS at GL

ENDALE HALL in September, as well as two other standalone novels – SUMMER at the KINDNESS CAFE, and THE SECOND LOVE of my LIFE. She has been chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent and
shortlisted for two RNA awards. Victoria was also picked as an Amazon Rising Star, and her books have won wide reader acclaim.

Victoria is a full-time author. She lives in Surrey with her cat Harry, and loves books, clothes, music, going out for tea and cake, and posting photos on Instagram.
Find out more about Victoria by following on Instagram at @vickyjwalters, on Twitter
at @Vicky_Walters or by visiting her blog at: https://victoria-writes.com/.