Cover Image: Death by the Exe

Death by the Exe

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Member Reviews

I liked the premise of this book. Rose travels from New York to meet her British friend, Simon Knight. (I though the surname was a little cheesy- her knight in shining armour)

This book had a bit of everything. I enjoyed following the blooming romance betweem Rose and Simon and watching as the mystery unfolded.

The author gives a nice insight into life in 1950's Britain.

Thanks indeed to NetGalley and the pubkusher for the ARC.

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A crime story with a moderately interesting premise - a young American woman having to discover the hidebound dullness and poverty of post-war England. The scenes in Rose's rule-bound boarding house are the best, and there are amusing scenes of the frustration of Rose and Simon's efforts at romance, but for me personally these don't quite make up for the anachronisms (eg. travel across the Atlantic would be most unlikely to have been by plane in 1953; leaving school at 16 would not have been worthy of comment except by comparison with the still-common leaving at 15), the unconvincing explicatory dialogue with little differentiation in voices, and despite some fairly enjoyable plot developments, the 'tell not show' denouement which I found very unsatisfying.

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It’s the 1950’s and Rose has travelled to the U.K. from the States for a holiday and to meet her British boyfriend Simon in Exeter.
She finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when Simons cousin, her fiancé and his mother are all suspects in the murder of a wealthy businessman.
Rose spends her time on dates with Simon, sight-seeing, making new friends and cracking the case.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The storyline is a good mix of mystery, romance and historical fiction. It is well written and very descriptive so you can picture the scene perfectly. I loved finding out more about 1950’s England, especially what dating was like then. The mystery part to the story keeps it moving along well and is a good slow burning theme throughout the book.
The ending wasn’t what I expected all the way through but it felt fitting to the story and was good closure to the story.

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This book really takes you into the 1950s. It’s strength lies in its capacity to perfectly paint a picture so everything else seems absolutely credible. It’s a decent mystery and the characters are great but it is really that sense of context which I found most appealing,

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Rose is an engaging heroine and the book divides its attention between her romantic interests and her part in solving a murder. The plot is fairly intriguing and the murderer was an ingenious surprise. There was a lot of description - perhaps a bit too much on period details - and not a lot of action but it was an enjoyable read.

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An inventive cozy mystery with a strong sense of place - Rose is a compelling character and even though I haven't read other Rose Pinner mysteries, I was up to speed quickly. A few too many period details that slowed the plot down at times though. I'll definitely be checking out more by this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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