I like this bake-off-styled cosy mystery featuring amateur sleuths Francesca Eve and Adam. There are many false leads as the intrepid duo helps the police find the murderer. All the suspects have alibis, but the victim had secrets, and many of the characters have motives for murder. The cookery competition setting is vibrant. I like the dynamic between Fran and Adam; both are clever and likeable protagonists. I enjoyed the festive element in this story that makes it a fun seasonal read.

I like the characters, the dynamic between the detectives and the setting.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This is the fourth book in this excellent series. In it we find Francesca Eve and her young friend Adam acting 'undercover' on behalf of DCI Helen Bradley. They are trying to discover who is threatening Miranda Appleby, the famous chef and presenter of a popular TV show called Country Cooks Cook. There is a murder, Fran ends up as a participant in the show, and the mystery is a little bit Agatha Christie like in its solution.

I enjoy the two main characters in this series. Adam gets a larger role than usual in solving this murder as Fran is frequently engaged in cooking for the show. There are many possible characters with motives for murder but all of them have perfect alibis - or do they? Red herring after red herring keeps the readers interest in the story right up to the very last line. And did that last line suggest a romantic interest for Adam? That would be nice. Roll on the next book.

Death at Beresford Hall is the fourth book in The Adam and Eve Mystery Series and this is a series that just keeps getting better and better. It is a lovely cosy mystery with fabulous characters and enough twists to keep you entertained. I highly recommend this and all the books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Fran and Adam are an unlikely couple of amateur sleuth but their differences and their skills make them a highly effective duo. They're so good that DCI Bradley asked them to investigate on some threat that Miranda Appleby, a tv presenter.
This is the start of the 4th instalment in this series and each one is better than the previous as there's always a variety of settings, type of people and different puzzles to solve.
Miranda wasn't a very nice persone and I loved how Fran and Adam were able to discover the culprit investigating but always being realistic and entertaining at the same.
This unlikely couple is well developed and likeable. Fran's social and culinary skills works well with Adam's technical and logical skill.
This entertaining and compelling story kept hooked and guessing. It's full of unexpected turns and I read it in one evening as I couldn't put it down.
I hope there's going to be a lot of other investigations, this one is highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Bookouture for this arc, all opinions are mine

Fran & Adam are asked by DCI Helen Bradley to go 'undercover' investigating strange threats to Miranda Appleby, the famous presenter-come-chef, at the Christmas special of the country’s most popular baking competition but caterer Fran swiftly gets roped into competing herself when another contestant quits. Then Miranda is found with a cake slice through the heart & it seems the popular chef wasn’t the darling everyone thought her to be & as the investigation progresses skeletons crawl out of nearly everyone's cupboard
The fourth book in the series & whilst it’s easily read on its own I do love how the relationships between Fran, Adam & Nell have developed. I also love how Adam has matured & grown in confidence. A well written cosy mystery with plenty of twists & turns, the obligatory red herrings & a cast of suspects some I liked & some I didn't. There are secrets & revelations all of which added to a thoroughly enjoyable read which I devoured on a rainy afternoon
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The beloved cooking show presenter Miranda Appleby is about to begin the filming of her Christmas cook off special. But then someone starts leaving her threatening “gifts”. Fran and Adam are on set to investigate. Things soon turn complicated as Miranda manipulates Fran into stepping in as a contestant on the show. And when Miranda is found murdered, Adam and Fran find themselves investigating a murder..

I love the diversion of a light cozy mystery, and this one made for an entertaining, but slightly uneven read. I enjoyed the unusual pairing of these amateur detectives. Fran, a middle-aged caterer, and the young, socially awkward Adam make a unique combination that works well. But, I found that the story took a bit too long to develop, and I do believe though that this is a book that should be read as a part of the series. I hadn’t read any of the previous books and did feel at times as if I’d been dropped into the middle of things. For example, the author never gives us surnames for Fran or Adam. I had to look up the series to discover that Fran’s is Eve (solving the puzzle of why this is The Adam and Eve Mystery Series).

When a well-known cookery competition judge is murdered, everyone on the show is a suspect and this well-developed plot keeps you guessing until the very end. Highly entertaining read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I love a cosy murder mystery and this one did not disappoint; it contained everything that I love about them!

The book follows Adam and Fran as they are tasked with investigating the mysterious ‘gifts’ that much-loved TV personality and cooking show presenter Miranda Appleby has been receiving. They are undercover on the set of Miranda’s show whilst the Christmas episodes are being filmed. However, things soon take a sinister turn as Miranda is found murdered and Adam and Fran find themselves investigating a murder case. Plenty of characters have motives and we follow Adam and Fran along in their investigations, uncovering the truth and piecing the clues together.

Before I read this book, I didn’t realise that it was part of a series and whilst you can certainly read it as a stand-alone, I will definitely be picking up the other books and can’t wait for the next one to come out!

The writing means the book is an easy and fast-paced read filled with such a variety of characters. I loved Adam and Fran and seeing how well they worked together, despite being complete opposites; they are such likeable characters. There seems to be a never ending list of suspects however each one has an alibi, except for one: Miranda’s assistant, Midge. Therefore, the whole case is proving to be difficult, which is only further complicated when Fran herself is thrown into the competition after a contestant drops out.

I loved the ‘Bake Off’ vibes in this book and also the Christmassy feel to it as they didn’t take away too much from the mystery itself. Davies creates characters that are both likeable and unlikeable, which is what I expect from a murder mystery. I adored Midge, whilst Harrison was certainly not my favourite character. Every time you think you know everything about a character, Davies throws a spanner in the works and complicates how we view them, so for me, I was struggling to work out who it was, but that’s how I like it.

I did have my suspicions about who did it, but it was still a shock when it was revealed because they were not the only one that I suspected. I loved going along with Adam and Fran trying to piece the clues together and seeing exactly how they did it and this journey was just as entertaining as finding out who actually did it.

This book is perfect for those who love cosy murder mysteries and I will most definitely be picking up more of Davies’ books.

This series just gets better and better!
Adam and Fran are back and are investigating some sinister gifts and threats that are sent to Miranda Appleby the presenter / chef of a popular baking competition. They are working undercover under the guise of writing a book but quickly Fran is persuaded to take part as a contestant on the show.
The writing is excellent and makes for an easy read, the characters are amiable and it’s like meeting up with old friends.
The bond between Adam and Fran grows stronger with each book and this helps Adam to become more confident in both his actions and his methodology.
The partnership they have is unique and helps the series to stand alone from other books in the same genre.
An enjoyable and entertaining story with high quality writing and plots !
Highly recommended!
A great read for a winter afternoon curled up in your favourite chair .
Looking forward to the next outing for Fran and Adam !
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture.

I really enjoy this series. It's fresh, packed with mystery and, above all else, just great fun. Adam and Fran are two absolutely fabulous characters you cannot help enjoying spending time with, and, I can't lie, the fact that is it set in an area very, very local to me, really adds that little something special to the stories. Yes, some of the locations are made up (with good reason), but that familiarity that comes with the overall setting and the humour and smiles that are generated from reading about Adam's youthful enthusiasm and Fran's down to earth and sensible approach to crime fighting make settling down with one of these books a real treat.

Death at Beresford Hall is another absolute corker. All of these mysteries have ties back to food and catering - it is Fran's career after all, and the precursor to how the two protagonists met - but never more so than with this latest offering. For once, Fran and Adam are exactly where they are meant to be - right in the middle of a very perplexing case. TV personality and cookery competition presenter, MIranda Appleby, has been receiving some very troubling 'gifts' and Fran and Adam have been asked to 'go undercover' on the set of the Christmas episode which is being filmed in their home county to try and get to the bottom of what is going on. When events turn deadly, the amateur sleuths find themselves caught right bang in the middle of yet another murder investigation without only one problem. Everyone but one of the people involved in the production, Miranda's assistant, Mdge, has the perfect alibi, and yet they know in their hearts that Midge cannot possibly be guilty. Or can she?

With shades of "Bake Off" this is an absolutely fabulous little mystery. There is a finite pool of suspects once again, but with each contestant and crew member providing each other with the perfect alibi, it does make things a little difficult for Fran and Adam in find out who is really guilty. Add to this the fact that Fran winds up as an unexpected contestant on the show and it falls to Adam to do some digging on his own. I love the pairing of Fran and Adam. It is so unconventional, not just because of the age gap between them, but it really does work. They bounce off of each other, and they are tuned into the mysteries in a way which feels real and believable. And with their kind and warm personalities, you can easily see them winning the confidence of others and getting to the heart of the matter.

Emma Davies has done a great job of creating the characters in this book, and capturing the essence of what we all, no doubt, imagine it is really like on the set of Bake Off. We have people it is easy to get to like, Midge being one of them, and others who are perhaps a little less palatable - the victim included. There are secrets abound around set and just where you think you have the measure of someone, the author springs a little surprise that catches you unawares, in a way that is really effective. Did I have my suspicions about the guilty party? Well, yes, but I didn't guess everything about what happened and how. The clues are there, and if you pay attention, you'll guess them too. But the beauty of this series is not necessarily trying to out guess Fran and Adam, but seeing just how they are going to unveil the wrongdoer and watching the mystery unfurl. I enjoy the journey every bit as much as the destination.

Despite this being a story about a TV cookery competition, for once I didn't finish the book ravenously hungry. First time in a while for an Emma Davies book, let me tell you. But I did finish it quickly - read in one afternoon because the pacing is spot on and the mystery pitched just right. Time really does fly when you read this book, and not just for the contestants trying hard to get their delicious delicacies complete in time for judging! This is just such an enjoyable read that fans of cosy crime will eat it up (no pun intended). An absolutely perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon and far more drama than watching a Bake-off showstopper slide off its cake stand. Recommended.

I love this series, and this latest book did not disappoint at all.
Fran and Adam are asked to go "undercover" at a cooking show to see who is sending horrible "gifts" to the shows star. While there, unforeseen events unfold, and Fran finds herself a contestant in the show, the star is found murdered, and no one is who they claim to be. Lots of suspects, lots of motive, but everyone has an alibi!
Great plot, and as always, the characters are awesome. Highly recommend both the series and this book, which can be read as a stand alone.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Another gloriously cosy mystery with Fran and Adam. Very well written and well plotted. The characters as always are well thought through and complex and the plot races along. Enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, a perfect read for a cold afternoon!

A quick, easy and cosy mystery that I loved. it was well written with well developed characters that I loved especially Adam and Eve and a good amount of twists. I was left wanting more and I can't wait to read more from this series.

A good cozy mystery, and another adventure for Eve and Adam. When they are invited to help find out who is sending threatening notes and gifts to the star of the cooking show, then find more than expected when she turns up dead. Good cast of characters and clues leading the reader along nicely. Would recommend.

Rating: 4.1/5

I continue to be impressed by the ability of Emma Davies to be so prolific and yet continue to produce high quality, carefully plotted cosy mysteries without descending into the disappointing cheesiness that afflicts so many examples of this genre.

"Death at Beresford Hall" is the fourth book in this wonderfully engaging series. Shropshire-based caterer, Francesca Eve returns with her young amateur sleuthing sidekick, Adam Smith and on this occasion they find themselves embroiled in a mystery in a setting that has a distinctly "Great British Bake Off" feel about it, but entitled "Country Cooks Cook". The star of the show is the successful celebrity chef, Miranda Appleby. (As an aside, it is fun surmising which real-life personality she may have been based upon.) Having already been engaged by Miranda to look into the source of some unwanted "presents" she has been receiving, Fran & Adam find themselves at the centre of a far more serious investigation when Miranda is murdered while the show is being made.

As with the earlier books in this series, Emma Davies has created a story that is not only entertaining, but also has a perfectly sound murder mystery at its heart. If you are new to the series then "Death at Beresford Hall" could be read as a standalone and be enjoyable enough, but I would suggest that potential readers would derive even more from the experience if they were already familiar with the two lead characters. Although the plot here is not directly related to either of the previous books, there are some references to those earlier mysteries that could be construed as very mild spoilers, if you were to go back and read them afterwards.

I have no hesitation in recommending this to fans of the genre. I will certainly be back for book five in the series and I also hope that a production company picks this up and brings it to our television screens. I firmly believe that this would work far better than some other cosy mystery series that have already made that transition.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

A better than average cosy that is tightly written and more cohesive than many. A bit slow developing, but with well drawn likable characters that are realistic and believable. Fourth in the series, but works perfectly well as a standalone. No offensive language. Easy to recommend to all ages.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I would recommend this book.

This is what I’d describe as a cozy murder mystery. There’s no expletives, violence, or sex, and the story is more about finding the killer, rather than worrying about serial killers striking again etc. This is the 4th book in the series following the characters Fran and Adam, but it’s a stand alone novel, so you don’t need to have read the previous books. I really enjoyed this read, which kept me guessing til close to the end.

Fran is hire to work undercover at a Christmas cook off, soon she finds she is in far deeper than she planned. Could she be competing against a murderer not just to uncover the murderer’s clues, but in the kitchen as well?

When the event Fran was hired to prevent happens anyway, she finds herself jumping out of the pot and into the frying pan as she tries to figure out who killed Miranda. Will Fran succeed or fall flat on her face like a failed souffle?

The fourth installment in this series, each book is better than the last…because the characters are continuously developing and I become invested in them and want to see what’s next for them. It’s like visiting with friends across the pond!

I had heard about other books in this series, and thought they sounded like the type of book I might enjoy, so I very happy to be approved to read and review this.

The cover design is something that would definitely get my attention - if I saw it in a bookshop, I would be inclined to pick it up. I was hoping for a modern cosy mystery, and it was exactly what I wanted. I hadn't read any of the other books in the series, but I warmed to the protagonists and felt that I got to know enough about them to enjoy the story by itself. It reminded me a little bit of the Kitt Hartley series by Helen Cox, which is another cosy crime series that I enjoy.

I would definitely be interested in reading the other books in the series. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my opportunity to read and review this.

This series keeps getting better and better. It was a delight to see young Adam, who once hid in a closet to avoid meeting people, take a major role in this installment. Fran, aka the Eve of the title, Francesca Eve, is roped into participating in a cooking show, giving her less time to devote to the issue at hand. Although it started with Fran and Adam responding to Detective Nell's request that they do some investigating of the delivery of disturbing gifts to the show's hostess, it evolves into a murder investigation when Miranda Appleby, face of the cooking show, is killed. Who killed Miranda? Why? Who had the time, motive, and opportunity to kill Miranda?

Adam frequently finds himself on his own. True, he spends a quality amount of that time in the kitchen scarfing down whatever Beresford Hall's friendly, chatty cook puts in front of him, but that doesn't mean his mind isn't in overdrive. His ability to think outside the box, matched with Fran's observational skills, face a real challenge. Toss in the Fran is discovering that the raised adrenaline rush of cooking in front of cameras during a set time span and, well, she isn't quite as able to focus as usual. Far from being the benign, fun cooking show expected, they're suddenly faced with an array of suspects, some with secrets they'd just as rather remain hidden. The show has a few secrets it'd prefer remain unknown, too.

Nope, not revealing any more of the plot. I will note that we get to see more of the human side of Nell, taxed with solving the case quickly, as well as how much she genuinely feels for those she seems to scare senseless when interrogating them. We also get an interesting look at the unreality of reality show such as this cooking competition. Let's just say, what viewers see isn't always exactly what happened, when. Bottom line, I was impressed by Fran's composure under pressure and Adam's growth from the beginning of the series until now. I mean, he's helped ascertain whether that dead body is really dead, a first for him, and is relying more on observation than his usual gadgets although, okay, there is that one time....no, nope, not telling. You're going to have to read the book.

Thanks #NetGalley and #Bookouture for inviting me back to Adam and Fran/Eve's world again. I'm looking forward revisiting soon.