I am always ready to start a new series, and cozy mysteries have their own allure. When I saw that this was the first of a series I was tempted to request and read it. 

This introduces Sukey who is a SOCO which translates to being a Scene of crime officer or the person who collects forensic evidence. Her dream was to be higher up the investigative chain but life got in the way and now she makes do with what she gets. It is an interesting position to be in and so was the basic plot line. There were multiple things going on simultaneously in the story and Sukey puts pieces in the lead investigator's hands and while she gets into trouble herself she does not do much of the solving. This probably might change later down the series but at this point, she literally just collects the evidence either by coming to physical harm or noticing small things. The actual mystery itself is best approached blind for the best impact.

I liked the narration and the characters. It seems to be a good way to start a series, unfortunately, I guessed a lot of the twists and that took away a lot of the shock factor. I would recommend this to those familiar with the genre.

Betty Rowlands has created another great character with Sukey Reynolds a wanna be cop who is juggling being a single mum and a SOCO scene photographer. I can see it being a great series of books and the innocent charm of it is lovely in this day and age of gratuitous violence and bad language that is usually in modern stories. I look faorward to reading more.

I was very sad when I read the last of the Melissa Craig novels, I needn't have worried, as I now have the Sukey Reynolds series to work my way through.

If you have read and enjoyed Betty Rowland's Melissa Craig series, then I think that it's highly likely that you will enjoy these too. There is something that is familiar with the books, while at the same time they have a new and different feel to them. Unlike Melissa, Sukey actually has a reason to get involved in crime and trying to work out who done it. She is a scene of crime officer, primarily a photographer, but she also seems to take fingerprints and other similar jobs. In addition to having this role herself, she also has a relationship with a local policeman. This is the first in the series and at this stage, they seem to be more friends than anything. I suspect that this will develop into something more as the series progresses.

This story is perhaps a little more modern than the Melissa Craig books. Characters have mobile phones and other 'modern' inventions. It still has that charm that made the other books so appealing. Sukey herself is an interesting and engaging character and it's the little things, such as her relationship with her teenage son that add to the appeal and readability of the book.

I have to admit that I didn't solve the mystery this time. I had a few ideas that were in the right direction, but I hadn't got it all. This is less like a puzzle mystery to solve though, the story unfolds and there is a mystery, but there is more to it than that.

All in all, this was a great start to a series and I'm looking forward to reading more about Sukey soon.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I do enjoy Betty Rowlands books, this is the first of the Sukey series, and to me, feels a little more modern than her last book I read. A good mystery with more tension in the storyline, therefore making it feel less cozy.
Well written as always, I look forward to the next instalment in the series.

I really enjoyed this book - it has a great plot, excellent main characters and is a real page turner. I would highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this author's series of the mystery writer Melissa, so decided to give this new series a try. Really liked it, and to be honest even better than the other series. This one has single mom Sukey, who does photography for the police getting caught up in a murder mystery. A fun British cozy mystery, that allows the reader to follow along quite well on the action. Highly recommend this book, series and author.

I was a bit apprehensive at first to read this as was not sure if it would be as good as the Melissa Craig series.... but it was just as good and cannot wait to read the next instalment

With thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the ARC.
Description
Meet Sukey Reynolds: police photographer, proud mother… and amateur detective. Years ago, Sukey was hoping to become a detective but life took a different turn. Now she’s happy to be involved with the local police force, as long as she still gets to work the occasional murder case... When Sukey arrives to photograph the body of Lorraine Chant, the beautiful wife of a wealthy businessman, she’s baffled. 

This was my first book by Betty Rowlands. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Sukey a civilian SOCO, her son and her colleagues in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire. There are a lot of chacters in this book along with various psuedonyms and familial relationships and I was a little concerned that I might not follow the story and remember who did what and when. I have to say that the author has structured the tale well and whilst I did have to stop (for bed!) I was able to pick up and finish reading without having to flick back. Over all this was a jolly good murder mystery with a satisfying number of clues and twists. I would not hesitate to recommend this book and I will be reading more of this author's work as I am planning to read a Melissa Craig mystery in the very near future.

This is a new edition of the first book in the Sukey Reynolds series by veteran cozy mystery author Betty Rowlands. It was originally released in 1997 as An Inconsiderate Death. From the 3rd of May, it will be available for the Kindle, retitled as Death at Hazel House.

The story is set in the village of Marsdean in Gloucestershire, where we are introduced to Scene of Crime Officer Sukey Reynolds. She is in her thirties, with a teenage son and an ex-husband. She is also dating a CID officer, Detective Inspector Jim Castle. Her job is to collect evidence, not solve crimes, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying her hand at detection, almost becoming a victim herself in the process.

The first murder is that of Lorraine Chant, the wife of a wealthy businessman, who is found spreadeagled on her bed, strangled. This is just the beginning. As the novel unfolds, Rowlands presents us with a packed programme of villainy: illicit affairs, tax evasion, a double-crossing bank robber, fake identities, domestic violence, burglary, assault and another murder. There is plenty going on and motives galore. And we see it all at first hand, because Rowlands has chosen an unusual structure for a mystery novel.

Instead of following Sukey or even the CID officers, as we would in a police procedural or a typical amateur sleuth story, we dip in and out of scenes shown from the point of view of several other characters, most often Hugo Bayliss, Lorraine’s former lover. Thus, we discover situations, relationships and motives that Sukey and the police know nothing about until much later. This adds variety and suspense, and gives the story a lot of forward momentum. It’s a page-turner in a way that cozies often aren’t.

However, it does mean that we see relatively little of Sukey herself. What we do observe of her home life and relationships is well drawn, and I especially liked the relationship she has with her son, Fergus. But sometimes, it doesn’t feel as though she is the protagonist, merely one character among many. I didn’t mind this, but some readers may prefer a more typical approach.

Rowland’s style is simple and straightforward, with no flashbacks or other complications. Her writing is very fluid and quick to read, but she does stop now and then for some nice snippets of description:
“A hand like a slab of concrete landed, none too gently, on his chest and forced him back among the cushions, where he lay staring up into eyes like grey pebbles set in flesh-coloured granite.”

And then she’s off again at a rapid pace, with dialogue and action. She spins many threads and confidently keeps them all in her hands until she ties them up neatly in the end. She makes it look easy.

Death at Hazel House is a quick and satisfying read, and a whole level above the typical cozy mystery, in characterisation, plot, pacing and complexity. I thoroughly recommend it and I’ll be catching up with more in this series.


A digital A.R.C. of this novel was supplied to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, the Publisher and most importantly Betty Rowlands. Another new character to follow. I really enjoyed this cost mystery story. Roll on book 2

A new investigator from Betty Rowlands with a difference. A very enjoyable story. Looking forward to more from this investigator.

While this series has been published in the UK, we’re now getting them released with new titles and enjoying them here in the U.S. BRILLIANT!

Sukey Reynolds is a SOCO (scene of crime officer) photographer and single Mother doing her best to raise her teenage son. When she is called to process a murder scene, she ends up connecting multiple dots that brings a different picture to light than her boyfriend, the DI (Detective Inspector) assigned to the case. Before long Sukey finds herself attacked twice before she and Jim connect the final dots and solve the mystery.

Having read and enjoyed the Melissa Craig series as well, I find the Sukey Reynolds even more engaging and I can’t wait to ready more in this series!

Yay a new Series by Betty Rowland’s a new heroine to cheer for Sukey Reynolds.I am a huge fan of this authors books and this one with all its twists and turns another delicious book and series to follow.# netgalley # bookouture

Thank you netgalley and Bookouture for an electronic arc. I really enjoyed this start of a new series by Betty Rowland. Definitely a police procedural rather than a cosy and she really nailed it. The main characters were likeable and realistic. The story had lots of twists and turns., and it was hard to put down. The settings is still Gloustershire, but more urban rather than village.
Sukey Reynolds is a 30 something single mum to teen-aged Fergus. She works on the SOCO team of the local police force usually taking photographs and dusting for fingerprints. A murder and a suspicious death happen close together and Sukey and DI Jim Castle work on the cases simultaneously. What Sukey discovers is the suspicious death is a guy who was chatting her up at the gym. She had just been at his home as he had hired her to photograph his house and garden. While there Sukey was attacked by a man in a motorcycle helmet. Is he the killer, and how does he fit into the other murder? Sukey and DI Castle follow the trail of evidence.
Highly recommend.

Sukey Reynolds, police photographer. And amateur detective.

When called to photograph the body of a rich woman beside an open safe, it looks like a robbery gone wrong. But her husband claims nothing is missing....

Death at Hazel House is a start of new series that will draw you in to all the action. The characters will give you a lot of incite into their motives and actions. Lots of twist to unravel.

I ARC received via NetGalley and in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good cozy mystery. I look forward to reading the next book in this series. Betty Rowlands does it again.

Sukey is a single mother who a police photographer she dream of becoming a detective but her life took a different turn.

Sukey is proud of who she is now when she called to photograph the body of  Lorraine Chant it look like a burglary gone wrong especially when the husband said nothing been taken. As Sukey becomes suspicious she gets attack by a masked man. As she tries find out why she is a target while being amaze at how much her son Fergus is growing up even if she doesn't like it.

Betty Rowlands is a terrific author. She can really set the scene where you feel you are there with the character. Her characters are interesting and you can relate to them. In this series, the main character, Sukey, is a single mom with a teenage son. I do feel this book is a little darker than her Mel Craig series, but you are dealing with a main character that has some ties to the police so it works.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. - I look forward to more in this series.

Death at Hazel House is the first in a series focussing on the awesome female protagonist character by the name of Sukey Reynolds.

This is an amazing start to a series that gives us an honest and relateable character that is part mom/part non-official investigator.

Intriguing, gripping, suspenseful to the end, as well as (which is important for me) a likeable female character that I want to read more about.

Well done. 5/5 stars.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this in return for my honest review.

After reading and loving Betty Rowlands' Melissa Craig series I was delighted to discover her Sukey Reynolds books were also being re-released. In the first of them we are introduced to Sukey, her son Fergus and love interest Detective Inspector Jim Castle and I think I'll get along with them all just fine.

There is a different feel to these books, not quite so cosy and as Sukey is the mother of a teenage boy there are difficult discussions to be had! The fact that Sook (as Jim Castle calls her) is a Scene of Crime Officer means she has a reason to be at crime scenes but not to actually investigate them, of course that doesn't stop her! In this first installment she seems more hesitant than Melissa but still ends up in danger as she helps clear things up.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the Melissa Craig series and wants to immerse themselves in Ms Rowlands' world once more. I am looking forward to becoming as involved in this series as I was the previous one.