On Deadly Tides is a well written mystery romance. Well crafted plot and characters. Nice setting. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

This book had such a promising start, I was intrigued from the beginning and was curious as to where it would go. I had worked out who the murderer was part way through, but found the way the crime was resolved, the behaviour of the lead character (Penny) and her sudden disregard for the village in Wales she proclaimed to love and have been so happy in (and her home) odd and disappointing. It all just felt a little incredible.

With thanks to #NetGalley, Crooked Lane Publishing and the author for my free advanced reader copy to review in exchange for an honest opinion.

This latest offering in Elizabeth J. Duncan's A Penny Brannigan Mystery series is spectacular. The mystery is truly heart wrenching in the portrayal of the victim's family. It was painfully real. Also touching was the new relationship that Penny embraces. For those of us who have grown along with her it was lovely to see love come to someone at her stage in life. My only concern with 'On Deadly Tides' was that it might have been the last one in the series. I sincerely hope not.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was my first time reading a Penny Brannigan cozy mystery.

I loved Penny and her home in Wales the description of the places and characters made you feel like you where there. Penny and her friend signed up for a painting retreat and while there meets a fellow Canadian who captures her interest and then finding a dead body on the beach.

Penny feels like she needs to get involved when the mother of the journalist shows up even though it was ruled an accident. With a romance hopefully starting and her looking for a killer how will it all end. I thought this was a charming book. And want to go back and read the rest in the series.

For my first time reading this series I can't wait for next one. I loved the characters and how the author describes the surroundings so it makes it feel like your there! It's a great read.

3 1/2 stars. An entertaining light read that focuses as much on Penny's new love and other changes in her life as much as on the mystery. Charming characters and a beautiful setting add to the enjoyment of this decent mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for a impartial review.

A consistently excellent series is hard to come by, but Duncan's Penny Brannigan mystery series is just that. The settings are always intriguing, and there is often an art aspect to many of the stories, as Penny is an artist, as well as a business woman. This new story does indeed emphasize Penny's artistic career with a weekend painting retreat on the beautiful island of Anglesey, off the coast of Wales.
Readers will enjoy the new setting, as well as a new romantic figure for Penny - a wildlife photographer. These two have an instant chemistry, but a young journalist dies suddenly after a brief meeting with both of them, which means an investigation. There is always a warmly personal element to the Penny stories, and this one provides an even more intimate one. No spoilers! Readers of the series will find this to be a good, puzzling mystery, as expected. And, unexpectedly, a romantic aspect for Penny.

On Deadly Tides by Elizabeth Duncan Reviewed on July 22, 2020 3.5 rounded up
I am a big psychological thriller fan but there are times I am in the mood for a nice cozy mystery.
No nasty language, explicit sex nor real violent. Yep a nice “G” rated story.

In this story, Penny is an artist. She and fellow artists enroll in a weekend painting class in nearby Beaumans on the beautiful North Wales Island of Anglesay. (Sign me up!)


Well this is a mystery so someone shows ends up murdered right?
My first Penny Brannigan Mystery… Love Penny and also enjoyed the sweet romance!
I will read another
Want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 10, 2020

This was a well written book and I would enjoy reading more from this author. The plot moved along at a good pace and there were no annoying loopholes or coincidences (a few annoying characters, but they make up life's rich pageant!).

Penny Brannigan is a Canadian who has made her life in Wales for the past 25 years. Co-owner of a local spa, artist, and amateur sleuth Penny and a friend have signed up for a painting retreat and are set to get their art on. What Penny wasn’t prepared for was meeting a fellow Canadian who captures her interest and finding a dead body on the beach when she sets out to pain the local lighthouse.

While Penny had no intention of investigating the death of the young journalist she had met and found on the beach, after all it was ruled an accident, when the young woman’s mother shows up at the spa, Penny can’t help but get involved. Between a budding romance and sleuthing, Penny has her hands full. But will love and goodness win over evil in this case? Penny hopes so.

This has been one of the best books in this series, and I loved the ending. I just hope that this is not the end of the series though. Either way, another well done and solid whodunit that keeps you glued to the book right until the very end.

This 11th installment in the Penny Brannigan series is the best one yet and that's saying something, considering that they've all been outstanding. Typically, the books are set in the North Wales town of Llanelen where Penny, a Canadian transplant lives, but this one is set elsewhere as Penny and a friend go a summertime painting holiday on an island off the coast of North Wales.

This book features a cleverly plotted mystery along with the usual cast of terrific characters but also a focus on Penny's personal life.

Normally, I read between 75 and 100 mysteries a year but, so far this year, On Deadly Tides is my favorite mystery of the year so far. Very highly recommended.

What a lovely book. It leads you graceful into the mystery of Jessica's death via the life of Penny. She meets her to be future husband while investigating Jessica's death and helping Jessica's mother through her grief. It flows quite easily and leads to the reveal of the murderers. #OnDeadlyTides #NetGalley

Penny and fellow painter friend Alwynne take a weekend course on painting in the nearby town of Beaumaris on the beautiful North Wales island of Anglesey. Sitting in a crowded bar on her first night, Penny first meets Colin, an attractive man, and a young news reporter named Jessica who just arrived from New Zealand to investigate a man who went missing several years before. The next morning, while out to paint a lighthouse, Penny finds Jessica dead on the beach, the victim of an apparent fall. Penny knows this was no accident and when the police have no evidence it was anything but an accident, she picks up the threads to unravel the circumstances that led to the young woman's death.

Found this on Netgalley and snapped it up. I've read this series since the beginning and a few books back, I mentioned that I thought the character of Penny had stagnated, so I was really happy to see her character moving forward! I think this will breathe some new life into the series.

As for the plot, I had a pretty good idea whodunit but eagerly raced through the book to see it all unfold. Lots of twists and turns led to a satisfying conclusion that neatly wrapped up the two cases. It was also a pleasure to watch the romance blossom and to catch up with the usual cast of characters I've grown to love. The sweet ending left a smile on my face and I do hope this isn't the end to the series (felt a little ambiguous to say for certain?) and if not, I look forward to more of Penny's exploits.

This cozy mystery sparked my interest in this entire Penny Brannigan series. Penny is set up to enjoy her her painting retreat but a murder derails her plans. I love the integration of romance into this cozy mystery and the lovely atmosphere of North Wales. I will definitely read more in this series!

This is my first book by Elizabeth Duncan but I didn’t feel like I was missing too much by not reading any previous books. I liked the setting in Wales, it was unique and well described. I liked the characters and the mystery aspect was interesting and well plotted.

Full review to come closer to publication date.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love the cover of this book, it's what made me decide to give it a click, more so after I read the synopsis. The thing that I love the most about this book is the romance between Penny and Colin. It's so warm and genuine, it'll melt your heart! As for the suspense brought about by the murder, it tickled my curiosity but I wasn't the least bit interested in guessing what happened (like I always do when I read mysteries and thrillers). Maybe because. I enjoyed their world so much, I didn't want the story to end. Enjoyed it so much that I can't help but shed a few happy tears as I was reading the last chapter.

Penny Brannigan is on a painting holiday on the Welsh island of Anglesey when she discovers the body of Jessica Graham. Jessica was a reporter from New Zealand who was in Wales to write a story about actor Bill Ward and investigate the disappearance of a fellow Kiwi. Could Jessica's murder have something to do with the stories she was working on? On Deadly Tides is the latest book in Penny Brannigan mysteries series. l

*This book was provided as an Advanced Reader's Copy from NetGalley.

Cozy mysteries are my feed good kind of book. They're not as technical or dark as general mysteries and whodunits, and usually have some fun theme to go along. So when I saw the cat on the cover of this book, I thought that would hit the spot. Although I must admit, it did take a little while for the cat to show up, I was worried for a bit.

Penny is an artist, and while on an art retreat, she and her friend discover a body. While the police don't think it's nefarious right away, Penny just has a feeling. But there's a lot of people in the hotel, including one that takes a special interest in Penny, and no clear motive to be had.

Penny was an interesting character. Sometimes I had trouble placing her age, because she was described in a multitude of ways and could have fit many age genres. Which is probably a weird comment but I went from picturing her as an elderly lady at first to someone my age, and just thought the transition was interesting. She's the main character, with a wide variety of others popping in and since she's technically from a small town, they all had that small town vibe.

I was worried at first because I couldn't tell if this book was the first in the series based on the title (A Penny Brannigan Mystery). Even a quick search didn't make it clearer for me. I discovered at one of the end pages it's actually quite a few books in. But the good news is you definitely don't have to have read any of the other books to enjoy this one. I found it charming and didn't feel like I missed out on too much backstory. In fact, my only real complaint is that there are a lot of side stories that happen and are quickly resolved in this book. I was looking more more depth on some of those and they end up being just blurbs and really don't do much to carry the plot forward.

But it's a quick read, it fits the cozy mystery bill, and there does end up being a cat. Not a bad way to spend some reading time.

Review by M. Reynard 2020

A painting class, on the coast of North Wales, will change Penny Brannigan's life forever. When she finds a murdered journalist the mystery begins!

This was the first Penny Brannigan book I've read and I enjoyed it. The descriptions of the landscape were wild, romantic and slightly dangerous. The characters were wonderfully written and I loved the interactions between Penny and her friends. I was in the mood for a classic style mystery and the book fit the bill perfectly!

I'll definitely read more of Elizabeth J. Duncan's books!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed are my own.

Another great adventure! I enjoyed Penny's adventures before but even if this is your first time meeting her you will find it no problem. I really like Collin she am looking forward to what he' will bring to future books

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books, in return for an honest review. While not the first book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. Penny Brannigan is an interesting, 50 years young, Canadian who transplanted to Wales over 20 years earlier. In her small town, she and a friend opened a very nice salon and spa. Penny and a painting friend, Alwynne Gwilt, take a plein air painting weekend class at a nearby town on the Welsh coast. Taught by a former tv star turned painter, the book opens with a meet/greet in the fairly crowded hotel bar. While there, Penny encounters members of the painting class, the class leader, members of the hotel staff. She shares a table with two other interesting people. The first is a very attractive Canadian wildlife photographer, Colin Campbell, and second is a New Zealand journalist, Jessica Graham. By the next morning, Penny and Alwynne are excited to be the only two participants painting the famous lighthouse. Penny, seeking a different painting perspective, walks along the clifftop and, looking down, discovers a body lying on the beach below. Her quick efforts keep the body from being swept out to the Irish Sea. Was it an accident or something more sinister? With no desire to get further involved, Penny and her friends become more concerned about what happened and by whom. When the murder victim’s mother arrives, Penny takes her under her wing and danger suddenly gets much closer to home.
This is a well-written tale by an author who developed her characters and maintains their long history as she moves them forward in the story. This is a great introduction to this series, with clear character voices and scene settings. It definitely whets the appetite for a visit to the beauty of Wales! I look forward to the next in the series.