Warm, Witty, Rather Delightful.....
Hope Taylor, first female pastor in Apple Springs, has high aspirations when arriving in the small town. Instead she becomes suspect number one in a murder investigation. Can Hope clear her name and settle properly in the town? Engaging cosy crime with a likeable protagonist in Hope as well as adorable Labrador, Bogie, and a colourful cast of supporting characters. Warm, witty and rather delightful reading.

Well, what do you know, this book caught me by surprise, I was expecting it to be a run of the mill afternoon tea read without much excitement, but it proved me wrong. Hope was a loving character, a Pastor who just loves solving mysteries and doing her ordained work, of course. I liked her true to form jovial vibes along with her straightforwardness, no shimmy shammy with her. In Apple Springs, everyone seems to be in love with the 70s oldies movies and songs, a bit too much for my liking. In my opinion, this book had a great storyline, but sad to say, not much excitement, and it needed a teensy bit more intrigue, but nonetheless it makes an entertaining read.

This was a page turner for me with plenty of twists and turns and suspects. I loved the descriptions of Apple Springs and its residents.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Well, this is certainly one of those mysteries that will have you rooting for the protagonist pretty early on. Hope Taylor will be the first pastor of Faith Chapel Episcopalian church and is very excited to get started meeting everyone. That is until she meets the church elder Stanley King. While Stanley was a church going man, his ways were not God like at all. As Hope enters the columbarium, she finds Stanley deceased after his head had been crushed by an urn. Hope had had the unpleasant experience of meeting Stanley prior to his death when he was on a drunken binge and shouted that she would preach at Faith Chapel over his dead body. So, now she has become a suspect and must find a way to prove her innocence. This was a great book that had characters that blended well together and the writing was very fluid and at a good pace. I enjoyed reading this and did not expect the ending at all.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery by an author new to me. The story was very good, and the characters who were supposed to be likable were likable, and the characters who were supposed to unlikable were unlikable. I had no idea until the end of the book who the actual murderer was. That person was never on my radar! I like a book where the guilty party is not known until the end. I marked the book down by 1 ⭐️ because of all the references and quotes from movies. They left me in the dark and not knowing why they were referenced. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Enjoyed the book, would recommend if you enjoy 'Midsomer murder' type stories. The culprit had me guessing till the end which I enjoy. The main character is warm and likeable. Lovely little story if you want intrigue that's not too heavy.

On her first day of work in a new town, Pastor Hope run into quite a few mysteries. First, how did Elvis manage to give her a black eye; next, where exactly is her boss; and finally, why is there a dead man laying on the floor of the church? From there, it gets much worse. As she's discovering the body, life-long churchgoers come across her and think she's the one who killed him!

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about a murder mystery set in a church, but I LOVED IT! The book is really focused more on the community and people with the church being a gathering point for many of them. The story is really well told and absolutely adorable. I am looking forward to reading so much more from this series, and I hope that means I get to see more of Pastor Hope. The only reason this isn't a perfect 5/5 is that the ending felt a bit rushed for me and not fully explained in a way that further developed the story. Otherwise, it was absolutely perfect!

4/5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received this e-ARC on NetGalley for an honest review.

The first book in a new series is never easy. Not only are you coming up with the plot, but you also have to introduce the location and all the characters involved. Sometimes when I read a book such as this, I find myself overwhelmed with way too much info and I don't enjoy the book as much as I'd like. That was not the case with this book.

The author does a good job of setting the scene for the mystery, the town, the main character and all the supporting characters. She even gives us a bonus mystery thrown in part way into the story, but it didn't take away from the main plot.

Unlike other cozy mysteries, this one doesn't (overtly) have a romance element for the main character, but that in no way detracts from the story. I actually found it kind of nice to not have the "will they or won't they" for once.

I definitely recommend this book if you like a good solid mystery with some quirky characters. I look forward to more in this series!

1 star
Hope, Faith, and a Corpse
by Laura Jensen Walker

This book sounded good. I enjoy a good cozy mystery but this one fell flat. I did not even finish.

Hope Taylor has a new town, a new house, and a new job. But it doesn't take long for problems to arise in Apple Springs. After being smacked on the head with an Elvis garden gnome on her way to work at Faith Chapel, she discovers a dead body. When she is discovered holding the murder weapon leaning over the body, things get worse. But when the remains of another murder victim are found buried in her back yard, Faith needs to figure out who is actually responsible.

This book is has suspense, but it is funny. Nearly everyone in Apple Springs hated Stanley King, which makes nearly everyone in Apple Springs a suspect. I am looking forward to more stories about Hope!

This book wasn’t that great story started off ok but I got bored half way through and could not finish it. The characters however were cute and relatable. I will try more in the series if other were to come out though.

What an enjoyable read! 4.5 stars! Pastor Hope is witty and modern and smart, and when she arrives at her new church, one of her first acts is to stumble over a dead body. I love the uniqueness of her job (in the world of cozy mysteries, anyway), and her relationships with the various church-goers. Good plot, excellent dialogue, and a fully-formed world make this a series I'll look forward to new books in.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hope, Faith and a Corpse is the first in a new cozy mystery series by Laura Jensen Walker.
Pastor Hope has just arrived in Apple Springs, California for her new job and beginning a new life after being widowed. Her first day in town, she gets hit by a gnome named Elvis and finds the dead body of a member of the congregation. What follows is a great mystery with some wonderful characters. Not everyone is happy to have a woman serving the congregation, while others are very happy to be progressing with the times. As Hope begins to meet everyone and explore the town she works on finding a killer. This is a great start for a new series and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Although the book had a slow start, it was a interesting mystery with a cast of characters. It will be interesting to see how the characters grow as the series progresses.

Hope, Faith, and a Corpse was a fun start of a new series. There's plenty of quirky and relatable characters that's fleshed out. The mystery was well crafted with a few red herrings thrown into the mix, which made me guess until the end who the culprit was.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I would love to read more of this series.

A fun mystery. The main character, a vicar, is very down to earth and relatable. She is by no means a saint and religion is not forced down your throat, though, of course, there is some mention of it. There are some very quirky characters and funny moments. As appropriate for the first in a series, Walker spends time developing the town and the relationship between the characters. Although this is enjoyable, it does make the mystery drag in places.

It was a decent mystery. One red herring, I thought, took up too much of the book and some other suspects and motives could have been developed a bit more. The murder victim is described as being a horrible person over and over again. It didn't need to be repeated so often.

Overall, a good book and great characters. I would enjoy reading more of this series.

Pastor Hope is a young widow and the first female clergy member in the small town where she's moved for a fresh start. Unfortunately, not all members of the congregation are happy she's joined and she finds the body of one of her biggest critics in the church. Hope becomes a suspect, not the best way to start a new job!

The characters are fun and it's an enjoyable cosy mystery. I look forward to the next book in the series.

This book gave me a "mental tickle", which in my world means it made me smile. Probably because it was so refreshing to me. I enjoyed the characters, the mystery and the ending. I'm hopeful that the follow-up books will be released quickly.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Hope, Faith and a Corpse by Laura Jensen Walker was a lovely and engaging cozy mystery that kept me turning the pages all afternoon.

Ms. Walker's descriptive writing clearly sets up the community of Apple Springs in northern California and I felt like I was walking along the streets with Hope and Bogie. Many of the residents came to life while reading this book and I could easily see myself moving there. Hope Taylor is a strong and capable pastor if the community will just give her a chance. I liked her immediately and found her to be easily relatable. I confess that I adored her sister-in-law, Vickie who is vivacious, honest and often snarky. Together Hope and Vickie make quite a team. A quickly paced plot with numerous suspects, twists that kept me guessing and a surprising reveal made this book a winner for me.

Hope, Faith and a Corpse is a charming cozy mystery. The main character, Hope Taylor, is an Episcopalian minister, newly assigned to a small town in California.

Suspicions of a female vicar are only heightened when Hope discovers the body of the town sleazy VIP in the church. Many had reasons to resent him, but who actually did it?

Hope is refreshing as a 42 year old widow, who takes her spiritual duties seriously. She is just starting a new phase of her life and beginning to make friends in the close knit small town. Yes, there are gossips, but also kindred spirits.

The setting of a church is unusual for a cozy, but it works well. Hope encounters many characters in the congregation that span all denominations--the Queen Bee who aims to control all the social occasions, the older gentleman who resents any females in the ministry, and a choir in need of a good soprano.

The church staff are also engaging, from the aging vicar to the teen age office worker.

The mystery and the start of Hope's new life intertwine for a intriguing read.

I look forward to visiting Hope again, where she continues to solve mysteries with compassion, insight and prayer. A respite in these trying times.