I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. This was my first Penny Brannigan cozy mystery and my introduction to Elizabeth J. Duncan's work, and I'm so glad I found them both!

Although On Deadly Tides is part of a long standing series, it works well as a stand alone. I was easily swept into the world of amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan and her lovely town in Wales. Duncan's well developed characters and rich depictions of life on the Welsh coast made for an interesting, refreshing read. The book is beautifully written and the characters are realistic and well defined. You won't find the cartoon caricatures here that you might find in other cozies, and that's what kept me reading. The protagonist, Penny, is clever but non-intrusive while she sets about solving a crime, and I liked that too.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC to read and review.

Wales, amateur-sleuth, cosy-mystery, women-s-fiction, murder, contemporary, artist

Think Jenny Colgan in Wales with an unusual murder weaving throughout. There are the wonderful Welsh of the village and the island retreat, two peripatetic artistic Canadians, and a probably murdered New Zealand journalist. The author writes in a way that made me feel like I knew everyone, especially the main characters. The mystery and sleuthing are very well done and not the clinical or procedural sort. I really enjoyed it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

4/5 stars

I received On Deadly Tides from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

On Deadly Tides is a part of the Penny Brannigan mystery series and is a murder mystery set in Wales. In the book, Penny finds herself on a painting retreat in Anglesey where she meets a Canadian photographer named Colin and a journalist from New Zealand named Jessica, who is researching a story on a missing New Zealand man. On her second day there, Penny is in search of a good view to paint from when she stumbles upon a body at the bottom of a cliff. Did this person accidentally slip or was something more sinister at play?

Overall, I found On Deadly Tides to be a good read. It is your classic murder mystery starring an amateur sleuth determined to get to the bottom of the case. The author did a great job of plotting out this well/written story and making it flow nicely. The attention to detail in the surrounding area made the reader feel like they were immersed in the environment right along with Penny.

The only thing that kept tripping me up through out the book were some of the names (i.e. Llifon and Alwynne). I found myself trying to figure out how to pronounce them instead of reading the sentence in full. I know it has to do with the fact that I don’t see names like this on a daily basis, but it was the only thing I found distracting as I read.

On Deadly Tides is the latest in the long series of Penny Brannigan mysteries. As someone who has not read any of the others in the series I can say that this can be read as a stand-alone mystery. But beware, it may make you want to go back and read the rest of the series! This was a good read and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to read and review!

My second book by this author. I enjoy that it is set in Wales.
Good premise, characters had chemistry.
Will read more from this author and series.