This read was enjoyable, and a fun murder mystery type of read. I will say I didn't realize it was part of a series until looking it up on Goodreads so it was a bit confusing with the storylines at first.

M.H. Eccleston writes excellent cozy mystery and each one features a different setting and something new.
This one is an entertaining read but we also see a more personal side of Astrid meeting her father.
The description of expat colony are hilarious and the solid mystery, full of twists, kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This book was my holiday read and I really enjoyed it although it took me a little while to get into the story, I stuck with it and I really liked it. Definitely the perfect holiday read and really engaged me after the first quarter of the book

I received a complimentary ARC copy of Death Comes to the Costa del Sol (Astrid Swift #3) by M.H. Eccleston from Net Galley and Head of Zeus Publishing in order to read and give an honest review.

"…characters are incredibly quirky and entertaining as is finding out the identity of the troll…"

Desperate for some R & R after the events of book two Death on the Isle Astrid decides to visit her estranged father and stepmother Jennifer in Estipona on the coast of Spain. One of her main reasons for visiting Costa del Sol is to mend fences with her father and get to the bottom of a family feud. When her stepmother Jennifer asks for help with an online troll whose been terrorizing both Jennifer and her tight-knit group of ex-pat friends, Astrid feels obligated to help. On twitter, a troll keeps posting the victims’ deepest secrets with threats of more to come. The eclectic group begs Astrid to get to the bottom of it before everyone becomes aware of their deepest darkest and potentially damaging secrets. When it seems that her father is keeping secrets of his own, Astrid needs to solve more than one puzzle.

Having absolutely loved the previous books, I was looking forward to reading this entry into the series but for me although it still had its usually brilliant and quirky characters, the plot fell somewhat flat for me in comparison. The murder which occurs after the halfway point is answered in the end but more in passing and the ending felt rushed. I would recommend this alone for trolling storyline, the characters are incredibly quirky and entertaining as is finding out the identity of the troll, but the murder mystery was lackluster and felt like an afterthought in my opinion.

An easy to read cosy mystery.
An expat community in Estepona Spain is plagued by an online troll , threatening to expose secrets.
Astrid has come to visit her father in the hope she can strengthen their relationship.
Astrid is asked to investigate to try and identify the troll.
The writing is easy to read and the descriptive writing enables the reader to imagine themselves in summer climes.
The characters are amiable and I look forward to the next in the series.
An enjoyable read
Thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries.

Sun, sangria and sleuthing are all in store for art conservator Astrid Swift when she decides to make an impromptu visit to her estranged father at his new home in Estepona on the Costa del Sol. Having previously tackled murder and mayhem with aplomb in The Trust and Death on the Isle, Astrid is expecting to enjoy a far more relaxing time by the beach in Spain, even if she does hope to also find the answer to a long-running family mystery. However, there is evil under the sun far beyond controversy over the vagaries of Brexit and the appropriate components for a full English breakfast, and in MH Eccleston’s Death Comes to the Costa del Sol Astrid once again finds herself on the trail of a nefarious criminal.

The prospect of reconnecting with her father, Peter, is a welcome one for Astrid, although having to also deal with his new wife, the much younger Jennifer, is far less palatable. The reunion gets off to a frosty start, but the possibility of a rapprochement is raised when Peter asks for Astrid’s help in tracking down an online troll who has been sending Jennifer sinister Twitter messages. The troll, who variously goes by the Twitter handle @TheAllSeeingEye7 and the moniker Costa del Troll, has repeatedly messaged “I know your secret” and, despite claiming to have no secrets whatsoever, the situation is getting Jennifer down.

Astrid might not know how Twitter works, but she is keen to impress her father and so agrees to investigate, and while she’s at it, she also agrees to draw on her other skillset and restore a copy of a Perugino painting for him. Although the technical aspects of the investigation prove tricky for Astrid, it quickly emerges that Jennifer is not the only one in Estepona being watched by @TheAllSeeingEye7, which means that tracking the troll necessitates ingratiating herself with the regulars at Shakespeare’s Bar and Grill, a distinctly un-Spanish establishment that caters to British expats (seriously, they’re definitely not migrants).

The regulars prove to be an eclectic but welcoming bunch, and despite them also completely lacking secrets, they’re all keen for Astrid to unmask the troll. Both of her investigations to date have involved her making friends with an eccentric group of people who are able to help her in strange and surprising ways, and this time round that role is entertainingly filled by the expats. From an acerbic septuagenarian former B&B owner in search of a religious revelation, to a pair of former teachers who frequent the local nudist beach, to a socially awkward detectorist with an unbeatable knowledge of risk, and several more charming oddballs besides, Eccleston has assembled a delightful cast of Brits abroad.

While gentle fun is poked at them all throughout Death Comes to the Costa del Sol, the shenanigans of the troll are no laughing matter. Before Astrid has a chance to make much headway with her investigation, the troll begins to reveal the expats’ secrets, which range in terms of their severity and peculiarity but still cause much upset. When things take a surprising turn towards the more macabre and Astrid stumbles across a dead body, she realises that the troll must be stopped at all costs, although the expats remain focused on their personal concerns. At the same time, it becomes clear that the provenance of her father’s painting is questionable at best, suggesting that there are powerful forces at work in Estepona.

There are two major strands of mystery running through Death Comes to the Costa del Sol—the activities of the troll and the significance of the painting—which both allow Astrid to take centre stage and show offer her powers of deductive reasoning and her keen eye for detail. She might not have embarked on the investigation into the troll with the best of intentions, being more interested in discovering Jennifer’s secret than on stopping the trolling, but as she gets to know both her stepmother and the expats better, she recognises their pain and truly dedicates herself to the case. Through a combination of skill and luck she is able to get to the bottom of things, and her approach to closing the case this time round is particularly satisfying.

While it would be nice to revisit some of the characters from earlier books (shoutout to Kath and the volunteers at Sherborne Hall!), the device of immersing Astrid in a new setting in which she is surrounded by a whole new closed-circle of potential allies and suspects means that it is not possible for her to rely on prior knowledge of people and places to crack the case, which gives readers a good chance of solving the puzzle alongside her. In addition to the expats being well-drawn and amusing characters, Eccleston does a great job of evoking life on the Costa del Sol, particularly the contrast between life for the Brits abroad and life for the Spanish and how the two groups rarely interact.

Like Astrid’s prior cases, the mystery of the Twitter trolling is a very human and intriguing one, starting off as an almost comical matter and then morphing into something far more serious. The poison pen letter has long been a staple of both classic and cosy crime, and Eccleston has brought the concept into the 21st century with the antics of the Costa del Troll. Similar to attempts to uncover the identity of the letter writer in classic tales such as Agatha Christie’s The Moving Finger, Astrid attempts to identify the troll based on psychology and likely characteristics, albeit with a technology-savvy twist. Death Comes to the Costa del Sol also reflects well the fact that poison pen letters have typically been perceived as a gateway crime leading to more serious offending, again with a twist.

Beyond allowing Eccleston to include insights into art restoration and the market for religious artworks, the intrigue involving the painting adds another layer to the story and brings additional machinations to the fore, again highlighting how a beautiful and tranquil landscape can provide the background to myriad sins. Although the interactions between Astrid and Peter are rather stilted and cold at the beginning, as their relationship warms up they find themselves in a kind of cat-and-mouse scenario wherein both parties have secrets, know secrets and pretend to be unaware of the other’s secret-related activities. This new dynamic suggests that interesting things could be in store in future books.

Death Comes to the Costa del Sol is another excellent cosy mystery from MH Eccleston. With Estepona turning out to be more Midsomer than Malaga, there is crime and grime aplenty for Astrid to investigate, to say nothing of the weird and wonderful people that she encounters while doing so.

This was a cute cozy mystery set in an expat community in Spain. It was light and amusing and an overall fun mystery.

Have never read anything by the author before. That was my first mistake. My second mistake was thinking it was not my kind of book. I loved it! Am finishing writing this review then looking up the authors back catalogue. Light fluffy funny and brilliant!

"Death Comes to the Costa del Sol" by M.H. Eccleston is a story centering around British expats living in Spain. Astrid travels to Spain to visit her father and ends up investigating who is trolling their community on Twitter. An entertaining novel that is both humorous and heartwarming.

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

This is the best Astrid Swift book so far – absolutely loved it!. Astrid sails to the Costa del Sol because she wants to reunite with her estranged father, but she ends up on the hunt for the Costa Del Troll.
She’s sucked into the crazy world of the British expats who've made Spain their home, including a lonely metal detectorist and a Bed & Breakfast owner from Blackpool who almost steals the show. The Troll is threatening to reveal the Brexpats’ darkest secrets – secrets that will ruin them.
This is the perfect beach read – a twisty and funny third book in a terrific whodunnit series. I hope there will be many more.

Amateur sleuth Astrid Swift swaps the sporting summer in England for a British expat enclave in Spain, where everyone has a secret reason for leaving the UK. I really enjoyed this one and the beautiful place. Astrid is a fun character that is easy to like. She tries to re-build a relationship with her father all the while dealing with an internet troll. Solid cozy!
#DeathComestotheCostadelSol #NetGalley

Someone is trolling the British ex-pats in Estipona. Astrid had planned to spend the summer there chilling after a tough time the Isle of Wight as well as building a bridge to her father, with whom relations have been chilly. But then her stepmother Jennifer asks for her help finding who is behind the trolling and Astrid is off. Oh, and there's a robbery too. I liked the humorous stops around town, the characters, and the mystery, while not tough, was topical. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a light, easy read that worked especially well on a cold rainy day.

I was commissioned to review Death Comes to the Costa del Sol by MH Eccleston by booking recommendation and selling site LoveReading.co.uk, please see attached link for the review.

Such a fun holiday mystery. Characters were amazing and how I expect a lot of expats are. Found it funny and heartwarming

Thank you Aria & Aries, Head of Zeus and NetGalley for approving my request to read and review this book.

It is the 3rd book in the Astrid Swift Series. Astrid is visiting The Costa Del Sol in Spain to catch up with her Dad after becoming estranged!! She becomes entangled in a mystery and she outs to investigate and solve the crime!! The descriptions brought this area of Spain alive and I could see it very well. All in all, this was a fun to read book, filled with interesting plot twists and turns with a serving of humour!! I will be recommending this to my fellow book worms!!!

Ex-pats on the Spanish coast. Astrid travels there to visit her dad, and is asked to help her step-mother and others who are being trolled on twitter. Enjoyed this one, although at times hard to keep track of who was who. Otherwise, a fun mystery.

Small Town Spain…
The third in the Astrid Swift series of mysteries finds Astrid in a small harbour town in Spain - in an effort to reunite with her estranged father - but is soon embroiled in much more as hate campaigns and death descend upon a small community. So begins a catalogue of unforeseeable events and the kind of chaos that only the feisty Astrid can deal with. A cosy mystery with a sharp edge and with a wonderfully eccentric and well drawn cast of characters and laced with a subtle humour, Our protagonist, Astrid, is not immediately likeable but that’s rather the point. The mystery itself is solid and engaging and leads to a satisfying denouement. An enjoyable read, thoroughly entertaining and a solid follow up to the first two books in this series

Astrid Swift is back when she goes to a resort in Spain. When poison pen letters start showing up and she gets involved with a mystery involving her estranged dad, she must investigate.

I think it took a bit long for a cozy to get to the mystery. Overall, a sold cozy though.

When I’ve got the January blues, I find myself longing for sunshine and warm beaches. So when I came across Death Comes to the Costa del Sol by M. H. Eccleston, I was excited to escape endless rain to the seaside resort of Estipona. (Thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the digital review copy!)

Death Comes to the Costa del Sol follows art conservator Astrid as she docks her boat in Estipona to reunite with her ex-pat father. The story follows a major mystery involving Internet blackmail and a subplot involving Astrid’s father himself. This premise - seaside town, art conservator protagonist - felt like a bright antidote to dreary weather. And after reading, I found a lot to love in this cozy resort mystery.

A resort town riddle

Death Comes to the Costa del Sol takes place in Estipona, a Spanish resort town off the Mediterranean Sea. The protagonist, Astrid, sails in after a harrowing adventure in the Isle of Wight. She’s hoping to spend some time with her estranged father whole unwinding a bit. She quickly learns that the town’s ex-pats have been targeted by a Twitter troll, and her father asks her to investigate.

This requires Astrid to meet each ex-pat and explore Estipona as she does so. As she travels between ex-pat’s homes, trying to find a common thread between the targets, we’re treated to a lovely description of the setting. Eccleston brings the small town to life, both the idyllic sun-drenched resort and the less-glamorous reality of ex-pat life. We get to see a British import store, a golf course, and a British pub in Estipona. It’s the classic case of escaping elsewhere only to recreate your home.

As someone who grew up in beach towns, this is extremely familiar territory. It serves the same niche in my brain as American Chinese food - not the authentic experience. but there’s a particular nostalgia there. Read this as a resort town novel, not a holiday novel - this is about slightly sunnier home comforts. (An apt setting for a cozy mystery!)

Another way to balance cozy and mystery

Quite often, cozy mystery authors create a cozy atmosphere around a murder. So you’ll have an ice cream store owner, thinking cozy thoughts about ice cream and family members, as they solve a gory crime. “Cozy” and “mystery” describe parallel tracks in the novel.

Eccleston takes a different approach, downgrading the crime while maintaining all the social intrigue. Like other authors who take this route, Eccleston instead focuses on a community insider revealing dark secrets. In earlier years, these were poison pen letters; today, it’s a Twitter troll. There’s some coziness inherent in the cute resort town setting, but the mystery stays cozy with this lower-stakes crime.

That’s not to say it doesn’t work - lower-stakes doesn’t mean bad. If social intrigue and community are the core of the cozy mystery genre, a mysterious Twitter account revealing dark secrets works pretty well to generate tension. The secrets (and their holders) are a nice balance of interesting and familiar: I found myself thinking about local counterparts and engaging more to guess each secret.

Technical difficulties

Perhaps I have too high a bar for technical accuracy in stories, but I found the technical elements in Death Comes to the Costa del Sol a bit lackluster. For a book that centers on a Twitter troll, it contains remarkably little Twitter investigation.

Astrid, the protagonist, knows very little about Twitter, so she quickly stops trying to investigate online. Instead, she chooses to investigate the secrets of the twin, deeming it more expedient than trying to learn a new technology. Which is fair, but then why have a Twitter troll in the first place? Blogs or anonymous emails or letter or public posters would work just as well. (Also, Twitter’s not too different from any other social network - and they’re all designed to be very easy to adopt. For a thirty-something to be unaware of the idea of “following” someone online strains credulity.)

It’s not that I need some massive hacking subplot - solving this mystery via technical methods would make a pretty boring story. But the constant references to Twitter kept breaking the otherwise cozy atmosphere of book. I would have been perfectly happy with either more or less Twitter - but this amount did not do it for me.

Reader's notes & rating (⭐⭐⭐✨)

This was a lovely little read and I’ve actually gone ahead and bought the first two books in the series. Astrid was a fun protagonist and I’m curious to see if her background as an art conservator comes up more in the other books. The book put me in mind of a warm summer day and would be an excellent beach read in warmer months. (Or as an antidote to atmospheric rivers…) 3.5 stars. If you enjoy beachy cozies, I’d give this a try!

Read this if...

You’re excited for resort-town vibes

You think mysteries are about intrigue - not murder

You’re ok to start in the middle of a series

Skip this if...

You like to start a series from the beginning

You’re more excited about the Spanish setting than the ex-pat closed circle

Technically confused protagonists irritate you

Death Comes to the Costa del Sol will be published on March 2, 2023!

This book felt like a bad rip off of an Agatha Christie novel and it deeply upsets me. The writing felt like I was reading fanfiction. Where’s the mystery? I want to root for the detective not be royally annoyed by how much of a child they’re being.