I really enjoyed this - reminded me of early Agatha Raisin. It was cozy, funny and kept me guessing the whole way. I highly recommend this to fans of MC Beaton, Richard Osman and Hannah Dennison!

I enjoy this series. The mystery kept me guessing and I like the characters. Julia is a great character.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review

I love this cozy mystery series. Julia Bird is the type of character I would enjoy being friends with. She is fun, clever, and always up to solve the latest village mystery. Each installment of this series is like catching up with old, beloved friends. Julia, Sean. Hayley and Jake are always greeted with a smile. The latest installment is suspenseful with laughs sprinkled throughout. Heartwarming, intriguing, entertaining, and enjoyable describe this original cozy. This is a must-read for all cozy mystery addicts. Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The annual village celebration at Berrywick House promises to be an exciting and fun event for Julia Bird to participate in and enjoy with her pet labrador Jake and Dr. Sean, who is becoming much more to Julia than just a friend. While taking a romantic walk in the maze they come across a woman seated with her head down on a bench. At first and from afar it looks like she is resting but it soon becomes clear that she has been killed by strangulation and she is Ursula Benjamin, a teacher and one of the participants of the baking competition. Julia Bird wastes no time getting herself involved yet again in the murder investigation!

This is the third book and the series is turning out to be consistently fun and good. We also see Julia invite her daughter to visit Berrywick so hopefully we will get to meet her soon in future installments.

I received an e-Arc of the book from the publisher Bookouture and the author Katie Gayle via NetGalley.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A Village Fete Murder is another great instalment in the cosy Julia Bird Mysteries series by Katie Gayle (the joint nom de plume of South African authors Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel). The series seems to be getting better and better with each book!

Could a dispute over a cake competition at the local fete really have led to murder, or was there another motive behind schoolteacher Ursula Benjamin's sudden demise? Having discovered the body, retired social worker turned amateur detective Julia Bird can't resist launching her own none-too-subtle inquiries into Ursula's past and present enmities. There's plenty of speculation at Berrywick's Buttered Scone tearoom, the hub of the local community, and Julia's volunteer position at the charity shop also presents her with opportunities to indulge her inner sleuth. As in the previous books, DI Hayley Gibson allows Julia a surprisingly long leash when it comes to interacting with witnesses and suspects, the two frequently sharing information as to the progress of their parallel inquiries, although on several occasions Julia oversteps her amateur status, earning Hayley's ire.

A Village Fete Murder is a quick and enjoyable read, the details never gory or overly confronting, but with a satisfyingly twisty mystery plot. The cast of characters, led by the irrepressible Julia, is delightful, and there's plenty of light relief in the shape of the antics of her boisterous chocolate Labrador, Jake. The bucolic Cotswolds setting brings to mind many beloved examples of the cosy mystery genre, including the late M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series and Caroline Graham's Midsomer Murders. Katie Gayle quickly draws the reader into the story with the winning combination of a well-placed plot, quirky characters and an evocative setting.

I'd highly recommend A Village Fete Murder to any reader who enjoys a high standard of cosy mystery, fun characters and intriguing "whodunnit" plots.

My thanks to the author Katie Gayle (Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel), publisher Bookouture and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title. I can't wait for the next one!

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Cute cover on this one!

A Village Fete Murder by Katie Gayle is a charming cozy mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end!

This book follows Julia Bird, a well-known member of the community who has a reputation for stumbling across dead bodies. When she discovers a dead body in the maze at the annual village celebration, she again becomes embroiled in another murder investigation.

The plot is well written and well paced, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you engaged throughout. The characters are likable (mostly) and the setting is beautifully described. However, I found Julia to be more annoying in this book than in previous installments. She constantly throws accusations around on flimsy evidence and comes across as more of a busybody and know-it-all than before.

Overall, I enjoyed A Village Fete Murder just as I enjoyed the previous book I read in this series. It's a light, entertaining read that's perfect for fans of cozy mysteries. If you're looking for a fun whodunit to curl up with, then this book should be on your list!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Enjoying a walk through the maze at the local fete, Julia and Sean stumble upon a lady sat upon the bench, upon closer inspection she is not sleeping or admiring the view she is in fact stone cold dead and is actually one of the cake competitors, has she been killed by a disgruntled rival or is her death natural causes ?

As usual Julia takes it upon her herself to help the investigation along its way

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc

The annual village celebration at Berrywick House is underway, complete with over-decorated cake stalls, fiercely contested flower competitions, and even a maze for the disappointed losers to hide in. Julia Bird, now a well-known – even notorious – member of the community, with her trusty Labrador Jake, has thrown herself headlong into the festivities. But her reputation for adding drama to any event stands up yet again when she discovers a dead body in the maze. Overall this is a delightful mystery with wonderful characters that feel like old friends.
#AVillageFeteMurder #NetGalley

Julia Bird and her significant other, Dr Sean O'Connor, along with their dogs, Jake the chocolate Labrador and Leo, Sean's much calmer dog, attended the annual fete at Berrywick House, Julia carrying the chocolate cake she had baked for the competition and to raise funds. They both wandered around, checking out the various stalls until they decided to head toward the maze for some quiet. But it was when Jake pulled away from Julia and ran off, with her chasing him, that they discovered the body of a woman, with Jake sitting guard by her side.

With the police on the case, Julia set her mind to looking for clues. The victim was a school teacher, one who was soon retiring, but there were also other things about her that maybe led to her demise. And when a second body was found, it seemed the two cases were linked. Could Julia find the answers before anyone else lost their life?

A Village Fete Murder is the 3rd in the Julia Bird Mysteries by Katie Gayle and I enjoyed it very much. Light and entertaining, with a great murder mystery, the characters are fun, especially Julie, Sean and their dogs. I'm looking forward to #4 when it's published. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

The third in this entertaining series about Julia Bird, a lady who has retired to a small English village and has a habit of discovering dead bodies.

In A Village Fete Murder she is at the local fete with her friend Sean, exploring a maze, when they come upon a woman seated on a stone bench. An inspection by Sean declares her to be dead and she is identified as one of the competitors in the cake competition. As a fellow competitor Julia feels obliged to assist with the investigation.

I rather like Julia Bird as a character. She is mostly logical and sensible in her investigative measures and is more careful than many other cosy main characters. This was a short, interesting and easy read with a pretty setting (take a look at the cover).

Julia and Sean--retired people--but only recently a dating couple, go to the local Berrywick Spring Fair and check out the hedgerow maze. They believe they're lost until Julia's dog surges ahead and leads them to the center of the maze...and a dead person.

Who is the dead woman, and did her past (even recent) sins deserve this punishment? Julia finds or happens upon clues, then shares them with DI Hayley Gibson, because she has promised not to investigate. (Maybe just asking a few questions will be okay? She can't stand the suspense of an unfinished mystery.)

The story and mystery slowly evolve, and it feels like Jake (the large puppy) enthusiastically drags Julia toward changing her life with his joy.

4/5 Stars

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the temporary digital preview of this uncorrected galley; any review is voluntary and my own opinion.

#AVillageFeteMurder
#Bookouture #NetGalley
#KatieGayle #KatieGayleAuth
#JuliaBirdMysteriesBook3
#AnEnglishGardenMurderBook3
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What an excellent read. It pulled me in from the start. Sometimes cozy mysteries can be a little slower to get going or involve a lot of theorizing between main characters. This one steamrolls right along.

Our sleuth Julia Bird sure does have a way of finding herself in the right place... or wrong place... a lot. Even if she has moments when she's determined to leave the murder investigation to the police something niggles at her that she just has to explore. So are the exploits of Ms. Bird.I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to the next installment in the series.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

This is the third outing for retired social worker Julia Bird and her partner in sleuthing, naughty chocolate lab Jake. Along with her new beau dr Sean, Julia attends the local show with a cake for the competition, which she has had to remake due to dog disasters!

At the show Julia and Sean escape with their doggie companions to the maze and on reaching the centre find a body. Julia is unable, as usual, to stop conducting her own investigations, much to the chagrin of the police and especially her friend Hayley who is in charge of the investigation.

Great characters, amusing writing style and a good plot. I would definitely recommend the book and although it would work as a standalone it is better to read the others in the series to get a background of the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in series, but first I have read. Julia is an older character, taking on a new house, new romance anda new way of life. her daughter is halfway acrosss the world in Australia, and she has time on her hands.Little does she know that a village bake off will embroil her in a murder investigation.The more she learns about the victim, the less she likes her, but the search for the truth is like a record that can't stop in her head. This is a fun little cozy, that is a quick read, that will have you going back to reading books 1 and 2~

A big thank you to Sarah Hardy and Bookouture for sending me my review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part on the blog tour.

It is no secret that I am big fan of this series - it ticks all the boxes for me.... A retired would be sleuth, a quiet country village, a suspicious death and a dog called Jake! We once again follow Julia as she tries to help investigate the suspicious death of a local woman at the annual village fete. Innocently dropping off a cake for a competition, Julia finds herself, along with Doctor Sean, getting involved in the latest village murder when they both discover a dead body in a maze. Although it appears to be natural causes, the more Julia delves, the more we learn about the dead body, Ursula, and her life and that there could actually be quite a few people who wanted to get rid of her.

With this being the third in the series, we welcome back some of the villagers along with DI Hayley Gibson, who by now is used to Julia 'helping out' and encourages it as she knows how good she is with her instincts. Julia is a modern day Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher rolled into one with some added humour and funny touches that keep the book nice and cosy and the gore to a minimum.

I loved the pace of the book and felt it flowed brilliantly as you are determined to figure everything out, even though I never do! It was also lovely to read just how settled Julia is in her new life and has become an integral part of village life (if not just to sniff out any village murders!)

A Village Fete Murder is another wonderful addition to this series, I'm already eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Julia Bird and the broader village community keep me invested in this series. I thoroughly enjoy the writing style of the authors @KatieGayleBooks.

However, I found myself asking whether the local police and the detective in charge should not have contributed a little more to the investigation, As a civilian, perhaps this ex-social worker is [perhaps going just a little too far.

The underlying theme of bullying may be triggering to some, so perhaps something for readers to be aware of BUT I do love the quirkiness of this team (Kate and Gayle) so it will be interesting to see what is next on the agenda!

I did enjoy reading a little more about Juli'a's family life and of course, we all love her mischievous labrador, Jake!

This is the third book in the series. Set in an English village, a #cozymystery series from @KatieGayleBooks.
I give it FOUR out of FIVE on the enjoyment scale.!!!

My thanks to #NetGalley, @Bookouture and the author @KatieGayleBooks for my Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

From the cover design and description, I thought this book sounded like something I would enjoy.

This was a charming, entertaining cosy mystery. I hadn't read the previous books, but I warmed to the characters easily. I found Julia very endearing, and she had a relatability that appealed to me. I thought Sean was a very nice character too. This was light, easy reading, and it satisfied my cosy craving. I would probably be interested in reading some of the others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

A Village Fete Murder is the third book in the Julia Bird Mystery series and I enjoyed this one as much as the first two. Julia is a retired Social Worker living in the small village of Berrywick, dating the local doctor/coroner, Sean O'Connor, but she can't stop getting involved in situations. In this book, she and Sean are attending the Berrywick Spring Fair, and they find a dead body in the middle of the maze. It is suspicious, and it doesn't take long to figure out that is murder. Julia begins to investigate and finds out that the victim, Ursula Benjamin, is a teacher with a reputation for being a great maths teacher, but she has also been bullying students for years. Did one of those students kill Ursula?

I really like Julia and her place in the village. She is a volunteer at the local charity shop, is in a book club with her best friend who is also the librarian, has a dog that failed service dog training and wreaks havoc on his walks and is dating the local doctor. DI Hayley Gibson is the police officer she works with, much to Hayley's chagrin. I do like Hayley, she becomes more real with every book. This story has a storyline that deals with mental health issues and it is realistically done. The mystery was well written with some red herrings, some twists and more than a couple of suspects. I had no idea who the murderer was, but as the reveal takes place, it all makes sense. Another enjoyable visit to Berrywick and I recommend this book if you enjoy a good cozy mystery.

I really like this series! Julia is a former social worker, so she's got some chops when it comes to examining relationships and trying to solve problems. She's smart and instinctive, and her own relationships with her friends, her boyfriend, and especially her daughter make a compelling backdrop for a traditional British cozy. (Not to mention her goofy but lovable dog, Jake.) I like that Julia's coming to grips with things in her past and working to make her current relationships and her community stronger. The plotting is logical, and I love how one of the village's quirky characters plays a pivotal role. It's another fun outing to the village, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

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

I am a big fan of Katie Gayle’s previous series but I haven’t settled into the Julia Bird one the way I hoped despite Julia and her labrador being lovely characters. This one was particularly jarring for me. I struggled with the bullying of children as I found it triggering and the resolution flippant in the handling of both the bully and the bullied.

As Julia is a social worker, I find her behaviour incongruent with her history. I found the police’s response lacking. The perpetrator didn’t feel plausible to me either.

The writing itself is good and you may well enjoy this cosy mystery but just not for me.