Blog Tour – Death at the Abbey – Emma's Things to Read

Death at the Abbey

By Jan Durham

What it’s about?

A cliff-top murder. A clever canine. A seaside sleuth.

After the death of her husband, Liz McLuckie has taken early retirement and moved to Whitby, a picturesque fishing town on the North Yorkshire coast. She thinks the renovation of two ramshackle fishing cottages will take her mind off things, but soon discovers Whitby isn’t quite the peaceful retreat she imagined.

When she discovers the body of a local Professor near the medieval Abbey, Liz reluctantly finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation. The post mortem reveals death by drowning. So how did he get onto the clifftop? And why did he have a fish in his pocket?

Liz follows the trail of the murderer, and many red herrings – both literal and metaphorical – in the company of her friends, including an almost-reformed burglar, a disgraced archaeology student and Nelson the bull terrier – the ugliest (and bravest!) dog in Yorkshire.

Book 1 in the Kipper Cottage Mystery Series. Book 2 in the series, Death at Neptune Yard, is now available.

What I think:

Bit late posting thus one as I hadn’t quite finished and was desperate to find out who the murderer was. I honestly had no idea!

This is such a start to a new cosy mystery series. It has everything I like in a mystery- a great protagonist who is clever and warm and up for adventure, an interesting supporting cast, fantastic setting and a dog with a big personality.

Liz is out for a dog walk at Whitby Abbey when Nelson the English Bull Terrier finds a body. It appears that the victim has drowned, but how did it get to the top of the cliffs?

With the help of her mahjong playing friends, Liz sets out to solve the case. There don’t seem to be any obvious suspects, but the more they find out about the professor , the more secrets are revealed.

I loved Tilly and Liz’s investigations, there are some really funny moments as they set out to snoop around Whitby. Nelson the dig definitely steals the show – he’s a great judge of character!

The setting is perfect for a crime series – so many quirky shops and winding alley ways. Having recently visited the town it was so easy tonpicture the places that Liz was exploring.

Overall, thus was a great read. A really intriguing mystery that kept me guessing all the way to the end. And I have already downloaded the second book in the series.

About the author:

Jan lives just outside Edinburgh with her husband, three kids, a one-eye whippet, and a fat black pug. Born in a colliery village in the North East of England, she cut her literary teeth on the great storytellers of the 60’s and 70’s – Wilbur Smith, Frank Yerby, Mary Renault, and Sergeanne Golon. She began her writing career as an advertising copywriter and has since had novels published by Random House and HarperCollins, and original audio series produced by Audible UK. She also writes for tv.

Jan enjoys psychological thrillers and crime fiction of all kinds, from the coziest of cozies to the blackest of noirs.