Marrying text by Maureen Johnson and lively illustrations by Jay Cooper, Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village is a charming acknowledgement of an odd and inexplicable truth: if fiction is any guide, the British village is a curiously deadly place. The book is a thoroughly enjoyable read as well as the perfect gift for anyone who loves England or English murder mysteries.

As a huge fan of Midsomer Murders, Father Brown, Grantchester and all the great British TV I loved this. I literally laughed out loud many a time and would love to see more!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me sneak a peak at an ARC. My opinion is my own and is not influenced by anyone but myself.

We all know how deadly quaint British villages are, and we all know we would move to one in a heartbeat! Guess what? Now we can, thanks to Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper, who have risked their lives in the name of research and provided us with the ultimate guide to avoid untimely death in ANY idyllic village.

Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village is a coffee table staple to ANY and EVERY British mystery fans - Written or Televised! Maureen Johnson's tongue-in-cheek, utterly delightful prose is everything I was hoping it would be and more! However, the only thing that could possibly make it better is Jay Cooper's Illustrations. His use of black, white, grey, and red was a superb choice. Honestly, it felt like text and images came out of one brain; they were that in sync.

This is a book that begs to be expanded into a screenplay. I can see it as a British short dark comedy series! (wishful thinking, maybe?). Ultimately, I had so much fun reading this book; I wasn't even halfway through it when I pre-ordered a copy. I am glad I did, as I didn't make it to the end alive! I was literally dead (pun intended as I couldn't stop laughing) and hypothetically dead as the book has quizzes y'all! And I was doing so well until I failed miserably! I guess years of preparing myself wasn't enough. But now I feel I can finally move to the British village of my dreams thanks to this ultimate guide!

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Ten Speed Press, Maureen Johnson, Jay Cooper, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village.

I was so excited when I saw this was being made into a book! Good for Maureen Johnson. The little drawings really added to the text. I thought of the show Father Brown pretty much the entire time.

This illustrated satire visits all the typical cozy mystery tropes, settings and classic motives in an entertaining and clever way. I was so exited to see maps and pictures to guide the reader through the village and manner... Hopefully avoiding the dangers hidden there.

This book is a fun flip through and I would genuinely enjoy a paper copy to show off or give as a gift to Agatha Christie fans and the like.

{Thanks to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for the gift of an eARC in exchange for an honest review.}

I will not provide a synopsis for this book because there is no story in it as such. Is is exactly what the title says, Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village, listing the places, people, and events that usually result in murder in all the books, television series, and films set in English Villages.

As a fan of precisely the kind of books or television series that this books spoofs, I was really looking forward to reading it. However, I was a bit disappointed. While the book is funny, and the illustrations are great, there just wasn’t much in it. It consists of very a very short paragraph, sometimes a single line, about each element listed. I just wish there had been more to it.

Perhaps my dissatisfaction with it comes from the fact that I read it as an ebook. This feels like the sort of book that you could leave on your coffee or bedside table and pick up every now and then to read a page, looks at the illustrations, then put it back. This will sound very odd, but it is not really a book you can read all the way through. (I mean, you can because it’s very short, but it quickly becomes a bit repetitive.)

My favourite parts were the end of chapter quizzes, where a situation is given and you must choose between multiple choices of how you would behave, then learn if your choice resulted in your murder. It’s very fun, and I wish the whole book had been like that, sort of a choose-your-own-adventure cosy mystery.

I honestly don’t know what star rating to give this book. I would normally rate it 3.5/5 because it was disappointing, but then again it does what it says it will do. There just isn’t enough of what it says it will do for it to be a satisfying read.

Cleverly written and odd characters you’ll find endearing this nugget is worth the price of admission and then some. A quaint book club read or vacation book.

I’m a huge fan of Father Brown, Midsomer Murders, and other murder mystery/procedural dramas set in the English country side. However, my family always jokes that someone would clue in about all the murders and dangerous things in town. This book does just that! It brakes down the village into the main part and manor house and then further in to dangerous people, events, and places. Each is written with such humor and the same sense of humor about how these shows work.

For fans of the shows listed above it is a fun, quick, and highly entertaining read. Instead of an episode of your favorite show set in a “Murder Village”, read about all the perils that lie within!

If you read Agatha Christie or cozy mysteries of many sorts or watch Midsomer Murders, you know that rural England is probably a more dangerous place than the worst areas of London. This book gives you advice if you must go to a quaint English village to avoid being murdered, although complete avoidance. With wonderful Edward Gorey-esque art by Jay Cooper, this short funny book is delightful.

[I received an advanced e-galley through Netgalley. The book is due to be published September 14, 2021.]

If you’re a fan of British mysteries, I guarantee this will amuse you! I chuckled through most of the book and laughed out loud through the rest.
Dear mystery-loving friends and family: You ARE getting a copy of this book for Christmas.

This was delightful because I love the genre and this book was one I didn't know existed or that I even needed to read. As someone who has never been to England - understand an English village was so helpful and fun! The creepy illustrations were such a joy too.

Short, fun guide to staying alive in a quaint English village

I had previously noted through reading cozy mysteries, that there were an inordinate number of murders in quaint English villages. It came to the point where even if offered a free trip there, I would decline. But thanks to this well-written and fun book, I realized that my fear was not irrational. In addition, now that I have read the book I feel a lot safer about visiting quaint English villages.The book even has quizzes that made sure I grasped the material. The book isn’t very long but on the other hand quaint villages aren’t very big so that makes sense. There are also great illustrations in the book, so that I could learn visual cues to help keep me safe in a quaint English village. Please note that the author does not indicate if this book applies to larger towns or cities. Seriously, this is a great fun read for fans of cozy mysteries. Thank you to Netgalley and Ten Speed Press for the advance reader copy.

What a fun treasure of a book! The illustrations are divine. The nook is a witty and delicious read. A must read for anyone who loves anything British.

An Amusing "Poisoned" Trifle

There are some clever bits here, punctuated by some very clever bits and lots of amusing Gorey-esque drawings. The author knows her stuff and the individual themed chapters add up to a complete catalogue of just about every way anyone has ever been murdered in a quaint English village murder mystery. Sure it's a gimmick, and it would wear thin if you tried to read this in a single sitting, but as a browsable amusement, or as a gift for a mystery fanatic, this struck me as entertaining and well done.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Cute humor. For example, in describing the village inn, it is said “On the average night, the rooms are occupied by visiting inspectors from Scotland Yard, blackmailers, people long thought dead, and people who are actually dead.”

And the Police Station is just a mug of tea in a cupboard.

Then the book goes on to whom you should avoid, such as the oldest resident, because how do you know how she remained so old. Or the local murder mystery writer, as she needs fodder.

We get a tour of the manor, and what rooms to avoid, such as the kitchen, and the basement, and oh the chimneys are full of missing orphans.

If you like reading British mysteries, this will be our cup of tea.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

A combination of hilarious and macabre (and really macabre).

This book pokes fun at typical English village murder mysteries in a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" style. It's super quick to read because it's short paragraphs interspersed with frequent illustrations, and a couple of tongue-in-cheek quizzes to see whether you would survive your entry into "a murder village."

If you've read more than your fair share of murder mysteries that involve innocent looking villages with a surprisingly high body count, you'll find plenty to amuse here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for this digital review copy.

Cute book. Would make a nice gift for fans of cozy mysteries. I'm getting one for my mom. The illustrations are reminiscent of Edward Gorey.

If you're a fan of Agatha Christie or others who write cozy British mysteries set in quaint villages, you will find much to enjoy in this book. Clever images illustrate all the tropes and characters of the British cozy, along with what to watch out for if you visit such a village. Don't climb the bell tower, for one thing!

This was a quick read and would make a great gift for readers who like cozy mysteries of the British sort.

“You’ve decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the city to stretch your legs in the bucolic countryside of these green and pleasant lands. You’ve read the books and watched the shows. You know what to expect: you’ll drink a pint in the sunny courtyard at the local pub. You’ll wander down charming alleyways between stone cottages. Residents will tip their flatcaps at you as they bicycle along cobblestone streets. It will be idyllic. The author respectively suggests you put aside these fantasies. It is possible that you will find yourself in a placid and tedious little corner of England; it is just as possible that you will end up in an English Murder Village. You will not know you are in a Murder Village, as they look like all other villages. When you arrive in Shrimpling or Pickles-in-the-Woods or Wombat-on-Sea or wherever it is, there will be no immediate signs of danger. This is exactly the problem. You are already in the trap. If you still insist on pursuing this course of action, commit the following information to memory. It may help you remain alive, if anything can.“—from Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village

Meet the buildings, events, and residents of the Murder Village that IS actively plotting to kill you. Then saunter up to The Manor for twenty-seven, or so, other ways you can die. There WILL be a quiz later, or maybe two.

Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village would make a cute gift for the Anglophile mystery fan in your life. It picks up all those traditional English village mystery tropes familiar to Agatha (both Christie and Raisin) fans everywhere. While the text is humorous, don’t forget to look closely at the illustrations. You might find one of dueling pistols in the never-open Antique Shop has been recently fired. Or that two human eyes are hidden in the Pub’s jar of pickled eggs.

Expect many snickers and sighs but only a few laugh-out-loud moments. Still, such a cute idea and great gift. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book plays on tropes from English traditional and cozy mysteries, providing a guide to staying alive if you happen to visit an English Murder Village, where people drop like flies every day of the week. The idea is clever, pairing Maureen Johnson's humor with creepy black, white, and red illustrations, but I didn't enjoy this as much as I would have liked to. Some of the descriptions of places, people, and events in the village are wonderfully comedic, but others are just a sentence or two, with statements that quickly become similar, repetitive, and overdone. The mere mention of death can only be an effective punchline so many times.

Some of the illustrations and jokes are also very gruesome. Many people prefer traditional and cozy mysteries specifically because they are less violent and gory, so this is best for people who enjoy classic tropes and violent details. I particularly didn't care for the jokes about murdered children or orphans. This book will best appeal to people who enjoy dark and morbid jokes, but even then, the book doesn't have much staying power. This seems best as a library book, where lots of people can check it out for a few chuckles.