The Art Of Murder, the first book in the Village Detectives series, is an entertaining, cosy mystery with two vibrant and undoubtedly quirky amateur sleuths. I thought they were familiar and discovered they were featured in Kiss Chase(Phoebe) and Snap Happy(Juno), which I previously enjoyed reading. The vivid characterisation makes this engaging, especially with a good mystery and many humorous occurrences despite the murder. I enjoyed exploring Juno and Phoebe's backstories, which echoed the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s I related to. Visualising the characters and their antics is easy, adding to the enjoyment. The cast of characters creates a believable community, too.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I tried getting into this book, I really did but something about it just didn't click with me. The chapters were really long and the humor just wasn't for me.

When a murder catches an idyllic English village off guard, the natural suspect is the victim’s partner. Despite dealing with her own share of hardships, Juno is determined to get to the truth. Enlisting the help of crime-writer Phoebe, the two women soon find themselves realizing that the picture-perfect village may not be as “clean” as it appears. Add quirky townies, a suspicious father-in-law, and the pressures of adjusting to modern life into the mix, and Juno and Phoebe are truly in over their heads.

This book featured some very well-written scenes of character interactions and development, as well as intriguing backstories for the main characters. The mystery itself was good, not too out of left field nor too predictable, though as a reader I didn’t have much suspicion toward any of the characters throughout the book as most of them seemed too obvious. This book also features very dry humor and many references to media from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, some of which was lost on me, but was still fun to see.

I found some of the main characters difficult to get invested in at first, which led to the first half of the book dragging a bit until I got a better sense of their personalities. Since this is part of a series, and I assume that the characters will get more development in future books, the fact that some aspects were left unresolved was not a problem for me personally. I would recommend this for fans of cozy and small-town mysteries with unconventional main characters. Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

3/5 An international move, writer’s block, and now a murder on top of it all?

I love cozy crime, so I’m always excited to try a new author.

I found it took me a little while to get into this book, all the different characters were a bit confusing to start with. However, once I’d finally got these established in my brain, I got involved in the story. I suspect my difficulty was down to my brain fog!

The mystery itself is very interesting, and our amateur detectives solve it pretty much entirely without police assistance (or interference!). I didn’t guess who the murderer was until quite near the end.

The cast of characters is different to any other cozy crime I’ve read, and I found Juno’s wild theories particularly entertaining. I didn’t really click with any of the main characters, but I did enjoy the emerging friendship between Phoebe and Juno.

Overall, this was an interesting mystery with an unusual cast of characters.

I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

I loved the setting - a quaint English village. I loved the quirky characters, especially Juno and Phoebe. Having said that, I took some time to get used to the writing. I also found the narrative to be slow moving and Juno having a motor mouth from the time she was first introduced in the story didn't make it any better (gosh that woman can spew words faster than a typewriter!!)

Overall, this an okay read.

Lighthearted and funny book, I was glad I read it during a few less than happy days. The set of characters is a mixed variety, I quite liked Juno who was having trouble to feel grounded after everything she left behind in the States. And then there is Phoebe (or Freddy) who also has her mind occupied, one of the things being embarrassed about her current housing situation. Thankfully, there is Wil who - despite her being her grumpy self - continues to prank her.

There were a few tiny loose ends which has me wondering if this is a first in a series. I would love to read a second book with these three sleuths in their village.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

A very good story, loved the characters and the twists in it. Very well written. A very intriguing story. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this brilliant book.
I really enjoyed this and it left me wanting more.
I love Fiona's other books but this was so different. Still a huge cast of characters as always, but fun and very well written.
More please and hurry!

I really enjoyed parts of this books; some scenes are excellent. However, I found the large cast of characters hard to follow, made more difficult by many of them having a nickname as well as their true name. The story line with Juno relocating and suspecting her mother’s new partner of being a murderer is good, but the book goes off at a tangent with a recent murder in the village and was ultimately too frustrating to finish, despite reading over halfway.

Juno is heading back to the UK after many years living in the USA. Her son Erichas made his home in Oxford and her mother is moving from the family home and Juno needs to help her. She also plans to link up with Phoebe "Freddy" Fredricks, wife of film director Felix Sylvian who live near to the village.
What she doesn't anticipate is being present at the death of one of the locals. Whose dying word was possibly murder. She feels compelled to look into it and drags in Phoebe, Mil, the local landlord and Eric to help. She also suspects her mother's new beau, Dennis, as his previous three wives all died young.
What follows is a tangled web of deceit and family issues. Entertaining and fun to revisit some previous characters from other books.

I really enjoyed this murder mystery. The characters came to life and the final reveal was a surprise.I really hope it is the start of a series as it would be great to see the interactions develop. Even the ‘extras’ and red herrings had depth and it was.a joy to read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

I was very intrigued by this book but ultimately couldn't get into it. The prose was hard to follow at times (things were described in a way that was beautiful but confusing) and there was so much information given in the opening chapters that I couldn't retain most of it, which for a mystery made me worried I might be missing important things in the multitude of details. I ended up DNFing fairly early in because I was just having a hard time following things.

Delicious…
The first in a new series of mysteries, from this accomplished author now turning her hand to cosy crime, set in the village of Inkbury and featuring former stand up comic Juno. Relegated to the village to keep an eye on her mother, who may just be about to marry a serial wife killer, Juno and friend Phoebe decide to conduct some covert investigations. The discovery of a washed up body, however, stops them in their tracks and so begins the ever so unofficial Village Detective Agency. A wholly enjoyable and entertaining first in series with an eccentric and eclectic cast of characters in a delightful and well imagined setting and with a fun and frothy plot laced with lashings of humour. Delicious.

Juno Mulligan is moving to from America Inkbury, a small English village. A widowed, aging former stand up comic she’s moving to be closer to her mum (dating a possible three times wife murderer) and her directionless adult son. She has plans to befriend 90s icon, cancelled journalist now crime novelist, Phoebe Fredericks. Which is helped by them finding a body in the river that Juno is convinced is a victim of murder. She steamrollers Phoebe, and local pub landlord Mil, to help her play detective. Could her mother‘s boyfriend be the culprit?

I found this rather slow to start, there’s a lot of introducing us to the cast of characters. In this early section I wasn’t sure I liked the two main characters. It was nearly a quarter of the way through that the murder occurred and things started to get interesting. Then I found myself drawn into the murder, and village life. The characters grew on me, women in their fifties who are not your typical main characters, who have interesting back stories and a love of Brit pop (which I share). It seems like a set up for a series of books, going for the cosy crime fans (the Thursday murder club fans). It was different enough and enjoyable enough and I found the story nicely plotted. I would read future stories in this series.
3.5 rounded up to 4

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had that mystery element that I was looking for and thought the overall concept was great. It had amazing characters that worked with everything that I was looking for. Fiona Walker writes a strong story and makes characters that I was interesting in reading about.

In the art of murder by Fiona Walker we meet Juno is once a pawn a time comedian who is moving from New York City to inkberry in England to take care of her elderly mother she is worried because her mother is marrying a man named Dennis who she believes is a serial wife killer. Where Juno likes to over share Phoebe on the other hand is a loner and ever since she was canceled by the masses she’s pretty much been a hermit. She also has a secret resentment for her husband Felix who is a filmmaker in for most of the book is not there. Juno and Phoebe, who Juno call‘s Freddy knows each other in passing but promised to show her inkberry when she arrived. Despite the fact Phoebe has made no new friends since moving there and really doesn’t go out enough to be a tour guide but irregardless of the fax Phoebe doesn’t deep take Juno on a tour around inkberry and this is where they come across the dead body of Silas who is holding on to life long enough to say Merde or did he say murd? No matter what he says Juno is obsessed and convinces Fiona they should investigate so along with Mill A local villager they start an investigation. It is mostly Juno trying to convince Phoebe there was a murder not to mention her moms new boyfriend who she believes it is also a murderer. Was Silas murdered? If he was there’s plenty of suspects to go around and eventually Juno and Phoebe will get to all of them until they stumble upon the truth. Let me just start by saying I did not expect the culprit who finally was the murderer to be the murderer and so kudos for that I did find this book funny and engaging it has a little more substance then a cozy mystery so I guess it is just a plain bona fide mystery. I definitely enjoyed The two women together I thought JUNOs personality was awesome I love the way her and Phoebe’s personality played off of each other and again there’s no way you’ll guess the murderer. There’s lots of talk about art and Artist but that doesn’t have to be something you like to enjoy the book it said this is a new series I am definitely down to read another. I want to thank Boldwood books for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources for my copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Another month, another murder mystery book filled with laughs and amazing characters. Our main trio are Phoebe the writer, Juno the comedian and Mil the ex-rugby player/pub landlord. The most unlikely bunch to become amateur sleuths when a local art dealer is found drowned near the pub.

Phoebe doesn’t want to get involved, she’s close to finishing her latest novel but Juno won’t let it go. She thinks it’s Dennis, her mums new partner who has lost 3 wives in odd circumstances already. Mil will do whatever the ladies want, having a soft spot for Phoebe. They set about trying to find out what really happened and won’t stop till they do. This is such a twisty story that it took me most of it to work out who it was.

I really enjoyed this story, I’m hoping there will be more from this author and series as we need more background about the trio too. A quick easy read, perfect for just chilling with a great story.

The Village Detectives and The Art of Murder is the first in Fiona Walker's The Village Detectives Series featuring Juno, Phoebe and Mils (who I think deserves his own POV). This is the first mystery book for the author, who has previously written romances (this is not a romance).

This is quite a complex storyline, as the author is doing a lot with this book. We have the storyline of the murder, the storyline of the book Phoebe is currently writing, and our two main characters, Juno and Phoebe, both have back stories which are so complex I did wonder if this wasn't the first book in the series after all. However, having read the author's notes, it seems both of the female characters have been written about before, and while it's not necessary to have read either book, this does account for their well-rounded and complex characters.

I really enjoyed the storyline for Phoebe's book - indeed - I'd have quite liked a little 'ending' for that book as well in the final concluding pages. It takes a lot to entangle more than one plot line in a story, and it's done very well. Indeed, as the conclusion nears, the little 'tells' reveal themselves to be very well planted. I didn't know who the culprit was. I also always think that writing about authors can be problematic, but Fiona accomplished the task very well. Mind, the thought of cold coffee/tea was a bit gross. I always warm mine up, no matter how embroiled I am.

There are many references to the 1990s which some readers might not entirely 'click' with. The music references were not a problem, aside from the Agadoo one, which I found a little annoying. Equally, the art references from the 1990s somewhat passed me by, but I think the author did a very good job of making the art details both relevant and understandable.

This is not exactly a fast read, but it's not slow either - and it is very enjoyable as the storyline builds in complexity to the eventual 'big reveal.'

I know this says it's perfect for fans of Osman, but I would counter that as I'm not an Osman fan (sort your tenses out, Osman)- this is a much more rewarding read, and the mystery is particularly well-plotted.

I look forward to reading more of this series and seeing what they become embroiled in next.

This is a high 4 stars - more like 4.5.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

A beautiful English Village, a stand up comic and a murder. Add that up and you get a cosy murder mystery with a twist or two. A great read that will keep you guessing and also make you laugh. Yet there is drama and intrigue and the characters work perfectly in this book.

Love Juno Mulligan, love the investigation and found this such a fun and entertaining you that kept me reading from page one right to the end. I really enjoyed this one so will give it 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

cozy-mystery, England, small-town, investigations, friends, friendship, verbal-humor, situational-humor, new-series, first-in-series, murder, relationships****

The characters are delightful, but I got lost in the plot and local interests. I feel certain that the target audience will love it. Unfortunately that does not include this Midwesterner. But it does seem to be a lot of fun.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected digital galley from Boldwood Books via NetGalley. Thanks, anyway.
#TheVillageDetectivesBk1 #BritishCozyMystery #Humorous #TheArtOfMurder