Tag Archives: British mystery

Review: The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, by C.L. Miller

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Book cover: basically it's the title and author's name. There's also a key, and in the letters of the word "to" there's the silhouette of a bird in the letter "o".

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, by C.L. Miller (Simon & Schuster, 2024)

Twenty years ago, tragedy and betrayal wrenched Freya Lockwood out of the career she loved: hunting stolen antiques and restoring them to their rightful owners. Now, when her estranged mentor dies and the police see nothing suspicious, Freya accepts her aunt’s plea to investigate. Not for the dead man’s sake but for Aunt Carole, who loved them both.

Returning to the English village where Aunt Carole raised her, Freya discovers that Arthur anticipated his death. He left enough clues to draw the two women into a hunt for truth—a truth his letter promises will reveal to Freya what really happened in the past.

As the title suggests, antiques (real and fake) abound. As Freya is drawn into the present mystery, she also finds closure for the past. She’s a 40-something empty-nester with a miserable ex who’s selling her home out from under her, so we can’t call this a coming-of-age story. I’ll call it a rebirth story, a second chance at the career she loved.

I like how each chapter begins with a quote from the dead man, Arthur. Even though he’s dead, his influence is everywhere. I’m not so much a fan of having Freya’s scenes in first person and the peeks into other people’s heads in third person. Some of those peeks felt a lot like overt explaining instead of organically revealing information. Back to the positives: Carole is a former actress who’s not above adding drama to a scene. And Bella is a character who takes on dimensions as the story progresses and who I suspect will return in the next book. There’s a potential love interest who may return as well.

Fans of Connie Berry’s Kate Hamilton mysteries will appreciate this book, which clearly sets up for a sequel. (The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea is expected to release in 2025.)

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder is C.L. Miller’s first novel, drawing on her family history in the world of antiques. To learn about the author and her work, visit clmillerauthor.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: A Quiet Life in the Country, by T. E. Kinsey

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Book cover. A stately British manor house, silhouettes of Lady Hardcastle and her maid. Title: A Quiet Life in the Country, a Lady Hardcastle mystery, by T. E. Kinsey.

A Quiet Life in the Country, by T. E. Kinsey (Thomas & Mercer, 2016)

From the back cover:

Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they’ve just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.

With the subtitle, “A Lady Hardcastle Mystery,” we know the quiet life won’t materialize as intended. Emily and Flo quickly find a body and insert themselves into the investigation.

They’re a fun pair of protagonists (the narration is from Flo’s point of view) with some definitely atypical behaviours and conventions. Although they try to maintain proper employer-employee conventions in public, in private they eat together and banter like the good, long-term friends they are. And this may have been intended as retirement, but we learn near the end of the book that Lady H is only around 40. Flo is likely a little younger.

This is a gently-paced, light-hearted look at historical British country life of the period, with the refreshing take that these two characters bring it.

It’s always a treat to discover a new series to follow, and I expect to read one of the Lady Hardcastle mysteries every so often until I catch up. I think they’re on book 11 now (plus there’s a bonus book 3.5).

T. E. Kinsey is the British author of two series of historical mysteries, the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries (1908) and the Dizzy Heights Mysteries (1925). For more about him and his work, visit tekinsey.uk. And if you visit this page on his site, tekinsey.uk/about.html, you’ll find brief bios not only of the author himself but of Lady Hardcastle and Flo. Well worth the read—then go pick up book 1 in the series 😊

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: A Tiding of Magpies, by Steve Burrows

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Greyscale book cover featuring two black and white birds in flight.

A Tiding of Magpies, by Steve Burrows (Dundurn Press, 2018)

This time, DCI Dominic Jejeune (a Canadian working in England) and his team work to solve a local murder while he’s involved in an investigative review of the high profile case that launched his career. Jejeune is not the only one with regrets about that case… or with a suspicion all might not have been as it seemed.

I’m really enjoying the Birder Murder Mystery series. Each book has a strong sense of place, engaging characters with depth, clever turns of phrase, and complex crimes. The characters and plots keep me thinking about them when I’m not reading.

I’m not a birder (although I do like birds) but it’s interesting to see how they keep finding their way into the books. Also interesting are the environmental and social threads that appear.

A Tiding of Magpies is Book 5 in a series I’d heartily recommend you start from the beginning (A Siege of Bitterns). Or you could dive into this one and then go back to the start.

It’s rare for me to find a longer series that I feel committed to finishing, but this is one of them. Clean and not gory, brutal, or creepy. No risk of nightmares or vicarious trauma. Just good reads mostly set in the British countryside. I’m trying to ration them so I don’t finish too quickly. Thank you, Steve Burrows!

For more about the author and his work, visit steveburrows.org.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: A Shimmer of Hummingbirds, by Steve Burrows

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Book cover: A Shimmer of Hummingbirds, by Steve Burrows. Green cover, three black hummingbird silhouettes.

A Shimmer of Hummingbirds, by Steve Burrows (Dundurn, 2017)

“The cold lay across the land like a punishment.”

How’s that for an opening line to set the scene? In this classic mystery, the cold land is coastal northern England in December. When readers start getting too vicariously chilly, the next chapter will take us to the heat of Colombia.

Not only is there a murder for the local British constabulary to solve, but Detective Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune has left the country. After a rival is brought in to replace him—one who appears easier to work with—will Jejeune have a job to come back to?

And will his impulsive birding trip to Colombia turn up anything that can clear his brother of the serious criminal charges against him?

A Shimmer of Hummingbirds is book 4 in the Birder Murder Mystery series: clean, engaging mysteries with vibrant settings, complex characters, and clever turns of phrase. I am so enjoying this series, which seems to draw me further in with each book.

Readers could begin here and not feel lost, but to fully appreciate the characters’ backgrounds and relationships it’s worth beginning with book 1, A Siege of Bitterns.

Readers with an interest in birds and birding, in the English countryside, and in environmental issues will most appreciate the series, but it’s an excellent choice for anyone who appreciates well-told mysteries that make you think.

To learn about author Steve Burrows and his books, visit steveburrows.org.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: A Cast of Falcons, by Steve Burrows

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Cover art: A Cast of Falcons, by Steve Burrows

A Cast of Falcons, by Steve Burrows (Dundurn, 2016)

Detective Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune is a Canadian serving on the local police force in Norfolk, England.

By this point in the series (book 3) his colleagues are beginning to trust that however erratic his methods, he’ll solve the crime. Except this time he seems distracted by an unconnected death that’s not even local.

This time the mystery centres around rival research groups and a controversial plan to mitigate global warming. The murder victim had switched sides and is found on the property of his former employer. With the company owned by wealthy internationals, Jejeune’s superintendent insists he not turn the investigation into a political crisis.

As the story plays out, it’s interesting to watch the developing relationships between the characters. And as always, readers will find richly detailed natural settings and sightings of birds both rare and common.

There are some continuing threads from previous books, but a person could begin here and not be lost.

A Cast of Falcons is book 3 in the Birder Murder Mystery series, which is at least 7 books long. Book 1 is A Seige of Bitterns. For more about the book and about Canadian author Steve Burrows, visit steveburrows.org.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: A Siege of Bitterns, by Steve Burrows

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A Siege of Bitterns, by Steve Burrows (Dundurn Press, 2014)

It’s always a treat to find a new series I like, and when the books are from a Canadian author it feels like an extra bonus. Enter the Birder Murder Mystery series, recommended to me by a birder friend some time ago.

Inspector Domenic Lejeune is too good at his job. So he sticks with policing when he’d rather be hiking across marsh and cliff in search of rare birds. A Canadian serving in the UK police force, he can at least enjoy the location of his new posting. Norfolk is prime birding country.

He only has to overcome the distrust of his fellow officers while solving a high-profile murder case. On the plus side, the deceased was an avid birder. Minus side: the birding community doesn’t trust him any more than his new co-workers do.

Nicely plotted, with a broad cast of characters and complications, A Siege of Bitterns is a satisfying read. It’s one of those omniscient point of view books that drops into multiple heads in the same scene, which always confuses me a bit. Maybe because of the omniscience, it feels like more of a thinking, or puzzle, sort of story instead of a heart one. My brain appreciated that. I’ll definitely be reading more in the series. 

Favourite line:

It was meant to be a smile, but Maik got some sense of the last sight a swimmer might see when a Great White Shark approached. [page 81]

Book 1 in the Birder Murder Mystery series, A Siege of Bitterns received the 2015 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. You can find Canadian author Steve Burrows here: abirdermurder.com.

[Review copy from the public library. I read the print version, but the digital version is available to libraries through Hoopla Digital.]

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