MoMo Book Diary rates this extremely enjoyable cozy mystery as a four-star read.

This is the first in the ‘Melissa Craig’ series and I am already looking forward to Book 2 ‘Murder in the Morning’ which I have waiting for me on my kindle (thanks again NetGalley)!

Melissa Craig, crime writer and amateur sleuth, has left her old life in London behind and moved to the quaint little Cotswolds village of Upper Bembury. Melissa intends to focus on writing her next novel with less distractions however her lively imagination leads her to ask more questions about those around her….

I enjoyed being able to sit back, relax and read this easy going mystery which has a definite edge and not as predictable as you may imagine. Fans of Agatha Raisin would love this!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this cozy mystery..

*This book was originally published as ‘A Little Gentle Sleuthing’

Melissa buys herself a cottage in the Cotswalds and finds herself living next to an eccentric artist in a small village.

Soon after she arrives, a body is found - is it the missing Babs and is there something sinister happening at the local beauty parlour? Melissa is a mystery writer so she puts on her sleuthing hat and investigates, with the help of a local news reporter.

When I first started reading this book, I was pretty confused about the lack of computers, mobile phones etc, and then I realised that this book was originally written in the 90's - made a lot of sense! I don't know if the references to 90's living were left in the book on purpose, but I found that it really dated the story. I also found the story quite convoluted and although I know this is supposed to be a cosy book, I think it would have benefitted from a tighter storyline. The use of adjectives confused me as well - I couldn't figure out whether Melissa and Iris had a good relationship or not, with some of the descriptions used.

I have to admit that I had no clue who the "baddies" were in the story, until right at the end, the author did a good job of that, although the ending felt a little bit rushed.

Will give the second story a go because I really do want to know what is going to happen with Melissa next, as she settles into village life.

This is an enjoyable start of a new series! I thought the writing was solid and the characters engaging. It started a little slow, but really picked up pace about a third of the way in. Looking forward to reading more!

This book really surprised me. In a good way. Originally published in 1990, Bookouture is re-issuing this mystery series featuring Melissa Craig, a crime writer who moves from London to the Cotswolds and becomes embroiled in finding out about some dodgy goings on. First of all, apart from the obvious lack of technology, this has aged surprisingly well. Great setting, nicely drawn characters, a good mystery. If you like a cosy, then I suggest you get this one in Ready for autumn.

I also liked some of the underlying themes of the book: Does a woman need a man for protection and to look after her? What is it like to move from a bustling city to a rural idyll? Different types of relationships etc.

I am keen to pick up more in this series, I can see myself already curled up on the sofa with a hot mug of tea and wandering with Melissa through the Cotswolds.

Writer Melissa Craig moved to the Cotswolds. Soon her neighbor discovers a corpse near her home. A reporter seeks Melissa's help investigating the person whom he believes to be "Babs Carter" who worked at a local nightclub and disappeared without a trace. A young man interested in Babs suffered an automobile accident leaving him impaired a couple days after her disappearance. Melissa's investigation for her own novel conveniently yields clues for the puzzle at hand. Unfortunately the plot is not very believable. The prostitution and drugs concepts in the novel are not "cozy" at all and seem a bit seedy to include for people who enjoy this genre. While the Cotswold setting is nice, the seediness somewhat negated the sense of place that might have been achieved if the author had stuck to typical cozy plots. I received an electronic galley through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review. This book was originally published as <i>A Little Gentle Sleuthing</i>.

Please see my notes to publisher for my thoughts on this title. Thank you so much for providing me with a copy of this book!

Murder at Hawthorne Cottage

By Betty Rowlands
A Melissa Craig novel

This is the first novel featuring Melissa Craig.

Melissa Craig is a crime novelist and she has moved from London to a quiet Gloucestershire village. She makes friends with her neighbour, Iris, a fabric designing vegetarian and Bruce a local journalist. She has a grown up son working in the US and a ‘boyfriend’ Aubrey, still in London, who wants to smother her with looking after her as he believes she cannot do this herself...

Then, Iris finds the remains of a young woman, while collecting leaf mold for her garden, this starts an amateur investigation by Melissa and Bruce into her possible murder, then drug smuggling and the odd strip club. This has humour and serious moments too, a fun read.

Betty Rowlands writes a cozy yet taut crime thriller, a modern day, Murder She Wrote.... I love all the characters but Iris and Gloria are just brilliant..... looking forward to the next in the series.



I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

A slow start to this story, but when the story evolved it was a good read. A very gentle story, pleasant with a good ending..

It took a long time to get to the actual mystery of the book. While the writing is pleasant in an English countryside sort of way I would prefer a story with more action and actual mystery. The writing is somewhat lengthy with paragraphs that dwell without getting to the point.

Well, this definitely took me back to my childhood. From the minute I started this book I was instantly reminded of Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote. I used to watch the show religiously with my grandmother, and I loved every second of it.

This story was first published in 1990, under the title 'A little gentle sleuthing' and you could definitely see the 90s all through it. It was actually pretty refreshing to read a book that had no mobile phones, no internet, and relied on landlines, town gossip, local newspapers, and typewriters. Our main character is Melissa Craig, accomplished crime writer and as it turns out, amateur sleuth. Melissa has moved to the countryside from London so as to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and hopes that the quiet atmosphere will help her in her writing. However, quiet turns out to be not so true, as soon after, our Mrs. Craig is embroiled in a murder mystery of a body found in the nearby woods by her eccentric neighbour Ms. Iris Ash. The case only ends up getting bigger and bigger as Melissa and her new found friend, Bruce, a journalist at The Gazette , uncover drugs and porn possibly connected to their murder case.

The story was interesting, however dragged a little bit at the start, the body doesn't appear until about 30% of the way in, but once it does, the pace picks up a little bit. At first I found Melissa a bit irritating, as mentioned earlier, this story and it's character brought back fond memories of Jessica Fletcher, though Jess was not so much of a fuddy duddy as Melissa came across to be. Iris I found a bit odd at first, which I'm sure was the aim, however, the way that she speaks put me off her as a character, but by the end, I think I'd settled into the style that the author was attempting to give to the character. A very brash, abrupt person who doesn't dilly dally or sugar coat anything, who is also very domineering. I found the writing style a little stilted in the beginning, but eventually got used to it.

I found myself wondering who the murderer was, I had an inkling of part of what was going on, but didn't work out the actual murderer until right before it was revealed, which I enjoyed. It's not so much fun when you work it all out a third into the book.

Overall, a classic murder mystery and who-done-it, definitely fits the cosy mystery category, it made me want to curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea! I do hope that the writing style gets a little bit better as the series goes on. I'm intrigued to see what other troubles our Melissa Craig and get into, and weirdly enough, I'm actually looking forward to seeing more of Iris, and others, in the next adventure.

This is the first in a new series featuring Melissa Craig and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The setting was delightful, the characters and plot were well written. Can't wait to read the next one!

Melissa Craig writes thriller novels and has moved from London to the English countryside, where she immediately becomes involved in solving a murder. I found this mystery to be an easy read, with lots of local flair. The characters were interesting, particularly Melissa's neighbor, Iris. And, Melissa was inspirational, as she discards an unhealthy relationship and gains strength and independence in her new locale.

An absolutely addictive, wonderful story. Loved it from start to finish. Great pace and a delightful setting, colourful characters and thrilling mystery. This was a brilliant story and I cannot wait for more!

A mystery whilst writing a mystery in a cosy village. An enjoyable read, with lots of twists and turns. Cosy but not so much that it is without merit - the story is well developed, the people are well drawn and the mystery is one that keeps you reading well into the night. I will certainly look out for more books in this series - light but enjoyable.

The quintessential cosy mystery a beautiful rural setting, a village full of quirky, nosy characters and female crime writer who courts danger and trouble in the same way the characters in her books do.

Melissa seems much older than her mid-forties, I have to admit I imagine Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher when I visualise her but apart from this misconception, she is the perfect protagonist for a cosy mystery. Initially published under a different title in the twentieth century, the book is only dated by its philosophy on relationships and women living on their own.

The storyline is fast-paced and engaging. Melissa's independent character and mindset come across well in the story, and the plot twists are just the right side of believable. The suspense in the final chapters builds to adrenaline fuelled ending, full of action and powerful imagery.

An enjoyable, escapist read that I suspect may become my secret addiction.

I received a copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a fast, easy, enjoyable read. It will be interesting to see how the characters develop as the series continues. My only gripe is Melissa is supposed to be in her forties but her characters behaviour is of someone at least 20 years older than that.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Betty Rowland first book in the Melissa Craig Mystery series is Murder at Hawthorn Cottage. Melissa has moved from the city to a small country cottage. She lives beside one neighbor Iris and her cat Binkie. Melissa is hoping the quiet country life will help her work on her next mystery novel. Melissa finds herself in a real life mystery when first Iris and then Melissa herself discover dead bodies and a complicated web suspicious events. It proves that country life is not always so quiet. This book has more depth than the usual cozy mystery, but it is still fun and enjoyable to read.

This is a nice introduction of the new character, Melissa Craig, mystery writer that happens to solve real murder and playing "real detective", while preparing her new mystery book. During that process she is asking what her book character will do in some situations. Very enjoyable catchy book that had me hooked until I finished it in almost one sitting. Perfect book for Agatha Raisin book lovers and all cozy mystery readers!

Melissa Craig is a forty-something writer of crime fiction who moves from London for a quieter life a sleepy Cotswold village and to escape an unsatisfactory relationship. However, in the way of cosy crime novels. she soon finds that the village is not as sleepy as it seems and the discovery of a dead body in the local woods by Melissa’s neighbour stirs up a hornet’s nest of intrigue in which Melissa is soon embroiled, in the grand tradition of a Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher.

This book is delightful. Melissa is a very warm and likeable character with just the right acerbic edge to give the story a bit of bite and make you buy into the fact she gets up to all kinds of derring do that are not naturally befitting introverted author types. The author gives her a variety of fascinating sidekicks including her artistic and slightly eccentric neighbour who plays devil’s advocate to Melissa’s wilder ideas and a young, idealistic reporter from the local paper who eggs her on and provides the useful source of pertinent information through his contacts. I really liked the fact that she is getting her support and information from a reporter rather than a police contact, it was a nice spin on the usual trope and allowed free rein for some unorthodox and possibly illegal investigative manoeuvres.

The plot has plenty of twists and turns and is predictably unlikely but extremely entertaining as it takes in the local vicar, a strip club and beauty salon. The author has a great line in gentle humour to keep the writing light and easy to read and I was engrossed from start to finish. I did feel that the plot sped up a little too much at the end and the crime was solved in a bit of a confused and rapid jumble that could have done with being drawn out slightly longer to make more sense but we got a satisfying conclusion in the end and at this point I was so in love with the characters and the setting that I forgave the author this and was ready to leap in to the next one.

A great book for fans of Agatha Christie and M. C. Beaton and lovely addition to the cosy crime canon.

Hey guys, hope you’re having a wonderful Tuesday! Today is the Publication Day for Betty Rowlands’ book, Murder at Hawthorn Cottage. I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of the first novel to feature amateur sleuth, crime writer Melissa Craig, originally published in 1990. And I am telling you, if you’re looking for a cozy mystery to enjoy over the week, this is your thing. So get a comfy seat and enjoy this wonderful book!

Melissa Craig is a mystery writer. She finally settles into her new home in the country and step after step tries to accommodate to the peaceful and slow life of the village of Upper Benbury . She needs that in order to find herself again and prepare for her new book. Her only neighbor is Iris, a vegetarian, a decorator who gardens, has a cat and practices yoga.

Then, small things begin to bother her peaceful new start. Strange phone calls upset her, someone is asking for Babs. But soon, Melissa finds out that a young woman named Babs is missing. The local journalist-to-be approaches her and together they begin the search for Babs.

But, everything changes when Melissa’s neighbor, Iris, finds a dead body near her house. A body of a young woman.

Can Melissa solve the mystery of the missing young woman?

Whose body has been found?

Was the woman killed, and if so, who was the murderer?

After all, this is the real life, not one of her mystery novels.

Can Melissa solve a true crime?

Murder at Hawtorn Cottage is a lovely, peaceful and funny cozy mystery novel. I say peaceful because there are no cell phones, just land lines, no emails, just ordinary letters, people don’t call when they want to see you, they just pop up at your door. But in everything else, the village of Upper Benbery is far away from peaceful. Mafia, gambling, drugs, strippers. Local people can manage that all. There are plenty very good laugh-out-loud moments. I was reading it on the beach, and some were so funny they made me look weird while I was giggling on the beach :). Melissa reminded me of Agatha Raisin little bit, like she stepped into the Midsomer County to solve some murder. I loved her as character and the characters around her. I loved the writing of the story, the beautifully written descriptions of the village and the nature and the Hawthorn Cottage. I’ll be definitely in the search of other books from this author in future. A perfect cozy mystery!