While I found Hattie to be quite the character, the book moved too slowly for me to enjoy. I went into this hoping I'd love the book but it ended up as a DNF for me unfortunately.

Hattie moves to Hollywood and no it is not in California but across the pond. Life in a small, quiet English village is a little to quiet for the newly widowed Hattie so she decides to try her hand at running an investigation business. Her first big client is her neighbor who just lost her husband due to suicide. The trouble is that those closest to him think he was not depressed and do not believe he would kill himself.

Fans of M.C. Beaton will love this book. Hattie approaches life head on and knows how to have a good time. There is diverse cast of characters including a duck who adopted Hattie after she made the mistake of feeding him a scrap. Thanks to Publish Hub Ltd and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Having read and loved many cosy mysteries books iwas expecting this to be thesame but I found it quite slow and thought that there was too much background information.
I did find some of this funny and could almost picture the scenes in my mind and found myself laughing out loud.

I loved everything about this book.
The story line was well constructed and unique. The plot itself was gripping and kept me interested and intrigued from beginning to end.
I loved Hattie's character and all of her little quirks!.
An absolute page turner.

Hattie is just such a loveable character and you can visualise every page as you read it. Just hope it won’t be too long before dear Hattie is back with another mystery to solve as I can’t wait. .

I really wanted to love this cozy mystery but instead found it kind of boring. It didn't do anything that excited me or blew me away. The first 20% we are learning more about who Hattie is and how we got to where we are now which is understandable for setting up a mystery series I just didn't care for most of the back story. I think later books in the series will be more entertaining for my taste because there will be less background storytelling. I would be interested in how the next book goes.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I enjoyed going on this mystery. I enjoyed the humor and the atmosphere.

I have to admit that I struggled at the beginning of the book. There was a bit of British slang that I had to look up and lots of characters to keep straight as well as backstory.

I put the book down unfinished and went back to it a month or so later and it all seemed to click. And from that point on, I enjoyed the story and thought the mystery was well done. Hattie is a bit of a character!

When following up on the next book in the series (there is a teaser setting it up at the end) I discovered that Hattie is a developed character from earlier books from the author. That may have explained why I was a bit lost at the beginning.

I received an ARC via NetGalley but any opinions expressed are my own.

This was the first cozy mystery novel I have ever read and I enjoyed it. It was funny and well-written, the characters were developed and interesting, and I loved the setting of the small village of Hollywood. Hattie is a bit prickly at times and that annoyed me for some reason but overall I liked this book.

I went into this book with no expectations and although the mystery was intriguing and looked complicated, it was not the book for me. There was excess lingering on the sex life of the lead character and a lot of the other people and the story itself had not made much progress at the 50% mark.
I did not finish the book because of this simple reason, the writing is good and if you do not have a problem with the descriptions of the lives of the people you will enjoy this book more than I did.

Hattie is a thoroughly delightful character, a woman of a certain age who is sure of herself and enjoys life. Hattie is a recent widow who moves to the English Village of Holly Wood. She buys a house in the area and soon becomes a part of the community.
Her next-door neighbor Marjorie comes to introduce herself and they become friends. Marjorie is a decorator and Hattie has decided to become a private eye. Marjorie agrees to decorate the house if Hattie will help to prove her husband did not kill himself.
The book is rife with wonderful characters that leap off the pages. As Hattie works to solve the mysteries, she uncovers secrets of many of the other residents of the area and confronts all of the protagonists in an Agatha Christie kind of setting where she has gathered them all for a housewarming party. She solves the mysteries and along the way finds a duck and a romantic partner.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to the next in the series. It is a compelling read and is well crafted.

A lovely start to a new cozy mystery series featuring a 50 year old widow-turned-investigator Hattie who has a duck as a pet! A well written story with some romance and fun. The story kept my interest and I will definitely read her next adventure!

Is Hollywood Ready For Hattie....?
Hattie Mulberry arrives in Hollywood, a small Cumbrian village, and that’s where her adventures begin. But, is Hollywood ready for Hattie? A fun filled, jolly romp of a book and the first in a series of cosy mysteries. Enjoyable, light escapism.

What a great story, unique, romantic, very good mystery, very well written. I am gobsmacked with Hollywood, Hattie, and Reggie is smokin! Love the other characters as well, Marjorie, Alf, Harry, and adore Drake, too precious! Moving back to where she grew up, Cumbria, Hattie has inherited an in need of repair cottage by an Aunt, Hattie sets out to do just that, she hires Alf, a great character, one of the stars of the show! He lets her know, she has too much energy and needs to get a job, not for money, that would be nice, but to keep her busy, she decides to do what she is best at, that is being nosy, so, she opens a detective agency! The story takes off, never lets up. I have very few books on my top twenty for twenty - twenty, this has made the list, and I cannot wait for the next adventure, which has a clever segue into Hattie's next adventure!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

When Hattie returns to Holly House in Hollywood, she is isn't expecting a lot of excitement in the small town.

But, the day she moves in is the day of her neighbor's funeral. From suicide, or so it seems.

When Hattie puts her P.I. what on, she has three suicides to work through, a house under renovation, a new duck who has adopted her, and a new fling with the local barkeep.

I loved this, and really enjoyed the resolution.

I am a big fan of the Agatha Raisin series, so I wanted to read this because it sounded similar. It was a good start to the series and I will happily read more in the series if it continues - which it looks like it will. The only thing I will say is it looks like Hattie previously featured in a different novel by the same author. I felt like I was missing part of Hattie’s backstory. That was the downside of the story. Otherwise, it was a great quick light hearted read that I would recommend.

Ive read all of MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin's cozys. This first in a series by Caroline James is a good start for Beaton fans to pick up. A widow-turned-investigator Hattie Mulberry has moved to the Cumbrian village of Hollywood, named after the Holly bushes. There is much to do to renovate her new home left to her by an odd Aunt and with the charming village come charming, quirky characters. 3 suicides are revealed-could they be related? I like this series and recommend this book to cozy lovers who are tired of the old -who poisoned-who formula .
I received this ARC via Netgalley and BooksGoSocial, in return for an honest review.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and BooksGoSocial, in return for an honest review. This is the first book in a new series. Hattie Mulberry is recently widowed. While she’s financially well-off, she’s intrigued by the bequest of her late aunt’s cottage on Lovers Lane, Hollywood, Cumbria, and decides to move there. Overcome by the dilapidated cottage and garden, she hires her old co-worker and friend, Alf, as handyman and gardener. While he works magic outside, she’s completely disinclined to tackle the inside renovations as she’s very much at loose ends since her husband’s death. Her interest is piqued when she discovers that Barry, the husband in the big house next door, committed suicide in the local wood, leaving a feuding second wife and stepdaughter. Alf encourages Hattie to consider investigating the death as she’s long had a reputation as an inveterate amateur sleuth at the hotel where they both worked. When the new widow, Marjorie, engages Hattie to prove that it was murder, not suicide, H&H Investigations is in business. From there on out, events move quickly, everyone is under suspicion and Hattie is on the case. Joined by her able assistant, Drake the duck, she’s ready to solve the mystery.
There is much to like about this book. The book has fun, mystery, love (both requited and unrequited) and lots of interesting Hollywood inhabitants. It’s got more sexual activity than the traditional cozy but that doesn’t overpower the story. It took me a bit to get into the story because I wasn’t sure that I liked Hattie at first. She did grow on me and I look forward to her next adventure. Why was I hesitant? Hattie’s written as a 50- something-year-old woman, with a voluptuous figure – great! However, some of the author’s word choices aggravated me more than endeared me to her. For example – ‘…finding depths of energy that belied her years.’ Really? She’s only in her 50s and is great health; why describe her as enfeebled like that? But Hattie definitely grows on you and is very human. Marjorie is always picture perfect; Hattie is quite happy to be around her house in less than perfect clothing choices. Hattie is great fun and I’m rooting for what happens next to be just as fun as this book.

I took a chance on this book and was richly rewarded! I loved it! Hattie, fifty-something and recently widowed, moves into the cottage she inherited from an estranged Aunt in Hollywood. The English village of Hollywood, is small - filled with curious, hilarious and quintessentially British characters who are quirky and lovable, wonderful pubs and a rash of suicides - or were they murder? Hattie takes on the mystery and nearly finds herself the next victim!

Hattie is one of my favorite cozy heroines - sexy, funny, blunt, a loyal friend, opinionated, kind and wicked clever! Age, to Hattie, is just a number and she has a big heart though she lets few people see.it. Her heart begins to show when she adopts her crime solving partner, the incredible Drake, the Mallard duck! The mystery kept me guessing and reading...it's one of those books I couldn't put down! There is more sexual references than in a traditional cozy mystery, but I was not offended and it didn't overwhelm the story.

I immediately checked to see if the next book was available and it will be soon! I can't wait to see what adventures Hattie finds next!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed, in this review, are my own.

Hattie's aunt left her home to her and after the passing of her beloved 2nd husband, she moved in. Hollywood is full of mischief-makers and quirky people as well as aduckable animals. Hattie gives as good as she gets ... especially when hired to do some investigative work to relieve her boredom. The case is to find out if a suicide is simply that or something more and once Hattie starts asking questions, she discovers more than she bargained for and this village will never be the same! Lots of laugh out loud moments and shaking of head at the peccadilloes people get up to when they think nobody notices.