– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –
Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘Spruced Up for Murder’ blogtour, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing a guest post written by the author, but first I have some information
About the Author :
Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.
I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it.
It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes.
Social Media Links:
Instagram
TikTok
Website
Facebook
About the Book :
Death at Francis Court Now Confirmed as Murder!
Speculation is rife that the victim, estate manager Alex Sterling (44), was found by Lady Beatrice (35), the Countess of Rossex, niece of King James. Lady Beatrice, who has finally come out of hiding following her son’s departure to boarding school, has been managing the project to refurbish and redesign the Events Suite at Francis Court, alongside Perry Juke.
Heading up the murder investigation is Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam. Rumour has it that he and Lady Beatrice have a fractious history…
Awful man! How dare Fitzwilliam suggest Lady Beatrice’s sister is the number one suspect for Alex’s murder. It could be any one of the staff who were on-site that morning. Well, she’ll show Mr High and Mighty Fitzwilliam! With her attention to detail, her clever dog Daisy, Perry’s imagination, and his partner’s contacts at Fenshire CID, they’ll find the murderer before him. And then they’ll see who’ll look like a fool. Because it won’t be Lady Beatrice, will it?
A cozy British Whodunnit with a hint of humour from new author Helen Golden.
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
And now it’s finally time for the
Why I love cozies
As I’ve got older, I’ve found I have less appetite for gritty, catastrophising drama that is ‘real’ than I used to. I don’t want to think about what would happen if we were invaded by blood-thirsty aliens or if some biological infection turned a proportion of the population into zombies with a taste for human flesh. I don’t want to hear people screaming in fear. I don’t want to listen to the c-word. I don’t want to be bombarded with violence and sex. I want nice, happy people. I want birds tweeting. I want sunshine. I want to be entertained and comforted, not sacred to sleep with the light off. Basically I want to live in a Disney movie. Is it just me?
But fear not. If you’re like me, then there’s a world of books that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. The characters don’t eff and jeff their way through life. They live in villages and country houses where everyone knows each other and are (mostly) friendly. Any sex and violence occurs off stage and, even though there’s bound to be at least one murder, it’s not described in gory detail. The overall feeling is light and humorous. Yes, I’m talking about cozy murder mystery books.
The cozy murder mystery book also has my favourite type of character — the amateur sleuth or sleuths. Think Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple; M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin; Simon Brett’s Charles Paris, and Richard Osman’s Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim. They all have a reason to investigate a particular murder or murders because they have an emotional investment in the result. Whether it’s to prove they’re not guilty or to save a friend or family member from being arrested, our main protagonist(s) is driven to find out who the real killer is. They overhear conversations; they know their friends and neighbours’ little quirks and habits; they draw out confidences and eventually they work it out, presenting the final solution before the police can say “You’re nicked!”. Ta dah!
And the fun part is that we, as readers, get to solve the murder along with them. We’re given the same clues at the same time, so even if we’re not as quick and don’t get there before the reveal, when we do finally find out who the murderer is and how they did it, we gently tap ourselves on the forehead and say “Of course!”.
What I also like is that there are no loose ends with a cozy. No trilogies to wade through. No waiting until the next book to find out if so and so has survived. Even if the cozy is part of a series featuring the same characters, everything is wrapped up nicely at the end regarding that particular deadly deed. We will hopefully catch up with our sleuth or sleuths in their next adventure. But for now, we can close the book satisfied and comforted that all is right with the world. Cue Disney theme tune.
So if you’re like me and you’re weary of the brutality of the real world, then grab a cup of tea, snuggle up under that blanket and get lost in a cozy book tonight.
The Magic of Wor(l)ds
The Magic of Wor(l)ds 