Mystery at Farfield Castle, the tenth book in Clare Chase’s Eve Mallow mystery series, is another gem. With an intrepid sleuth, a colorful cast of characters, family intrigue, and a foray into the English countryside, it’s a can’t miss novel.

Obituary writer Eve Mallow is stepping out of her comfort zone to write a review of a newly-created writers’ retreat at the behest of her editor. But when she arrives at Farfield Castle, things are not the pleasant sojourn she had imagined. When host Julian Fisher’s wife, Kitty, is found murdered, her assignment quickly turns from a society piece to an obituary. But first, she must solve not only Kitty’s murder but also the thefts that are quickly discovered thereafter, all of this without the help of the local police who seem bent upon mucking things up. Can she once again fend off danger and achieve justice for Kitty?

As this series progresses, it keeps getting better. Eve is, as always, inquisitive, logical, and intuitive. Equally important, she has a real reason to be where the bodies are – her job as a journalist. I like this realistic aspect of this series. Because the murder occurred at a party at the castle, there are a limited number of suspects. Yet there are so many facets to each of them, that there is plenty of intrigue. From family secrets to hidden relationships, there is always another layer for Eve to uncover. And the climax is particularly good. The writers’ retreat setting adds an extra element of interest. Eve’s relationship with boyfriend Robin has another turning point, and her ever-present dachshund, Gus, is as charming as usual.

If you are in the mood for an excellent British cozy mystery, I do recommend Mystery at Farfield Castle. While it can be read as a standalone, I encourage you to read all of the installments of this awesome series.

Note: I received an ARC of Mystery at Farfield Castle from NetGalley and Bookouture. The above is my honest review.

I enjoy this series. I like the twist this series gives for why the MC is looking into the murder. The mystery kept me guessing. I like the characters and I wonder what is next for them.

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

Enjoyable cozy mystery set in a castle bought to be a writer's retreat. The main character Eve is a reporter on the scene who investigates the death after she is tasked with writing the victim's obituary. She, and her dog Gus, are likeable characters.

After several attempts to read this, I couldn't persevere as I found this story too confusing. Strangely, I bought all the previous authors books in Kindle format and I'll persevere with reading them and maybe come back to this book in the future.

Perfect read for a sleepless night, Twists, turns, atmosphere, and characters meld perfectly to engage the reader and immerse the reader.

Mystery at Farfield Castle by Clare Chase is book 10 in the fabulous Eve Mallow Mystery series of books that could easily be read as a standalone. A warm and engaging cosy mystery, this is a book I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. As always, the gorgeous writing and gentle storytelling drew me into this murder mystery tale from the outset, its gentle twists, turns, shocks and surprises keeping me on my toes throughout.

This time Eve Mallow finds herself trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Kitty Fisher, wife of novelist Julian Fisher, who is the new owner of the beautiful Farfield Castle. It soon becomes apparent that what at first appeared to be a tragic accident is anything but. Can Eve, alongside hapless Detective Palmer, uncover the identity of the killer before it’s too late?

Clare Chase is an author at the top of her game as she brings these people and their stories vividly to life. This time Farfield Castle takes centre stage, with the hunt for a killer taking place within the grounds of the castle walls. Eve is as fabulous as always and this latest cosy mystery tale, with its gentle pace and gorgeous backdrop, is as entertaining as ever. I can’t wait to read whatever Clare Chase has in store for the wonderful Eve Mallow next!

As charming as it is intriguing, Mystery at Farfield Castle is yet another fantastic addition to the Eve Mallow series of books. A gorgeously written cosy mystery tale, this is a book I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

This book starts off with a murder right from the hop. Then Chase teases her readers, making us wonder when the dead body is going to turn up. The story follows Eve Mallow as she was invited to stay at Farfield Castle to write a review on them for their upcoming opening as a writers retreat. This is a change of pace for Eve who normally writes obituaries but it's not before long she finds herself just doing that anyway. After all, man makes plans, God laughs...

What follows is essentially a closed-room mystery as only the handful of people on the grounds could have killed Kitty, one of the property owners. Eve needs to sort through everyone's backgrounds and potential motive if she's ever going to find Kitty's killer. Thankfully she has her boyfriend, trusted friends, and her beloved dog Gus, to talk everything out with.

Mystery at Farfield Castle offers readers a complex cozy with an intricately spun web of a puzzle to solve.

This was my first read of this well-established author and series.

The mystery was intriguing. The book dragged for me, but the story was good. I would have preferred a bit more character development and a faster pace.

Of course the suspect was meant to be someone we would never suspect.... but if you read carefully, you could figure it out.

The book was good, and I'll read another installment.

The tenth book in the series and Eve has another mystery to solve. The story is character driven and the complex mystery kept me completely stumped the whole way through. Eve is a nice character with the ability to mingle in any setting with ease and has a way of ferreting out the truth when something doesn't seem right. She spends a lot of time talking and asking questions and that got a little bit monotonous for me at one stage but the drama and suspense towards the end was exciting.
Her dog, Gus, is adorable and I enjoy it when he's involved. Robin didn't feature much in this instalment but he is also a firm favourite character.
This was a clever mystery and I'm glad to see that book 11 will be out in November.

Mystery at Farfield Castle is the first book I've read from the Eve Mallow series (which has 10 books so far), but it felt like I hadn't missed out on any of the plot by reading it as a standalone. I can't wait to go back and read the rest of the series! It has loveable characters - Gus the Daschund is one of my favourites - a gorgeous setting in a qauint little English village, and a lot of potential suspects to whittle down. The way it's written, and the discussions with characters such as Viv and Robin, made me feel as though I was part of the investigation myself. I had a little mental checklist going of who had done what, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, the twist threw my theories out of the window, and I loved that about it!

I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves a good murder mystery!

Synopsis~
Eve Mallow is a writer, her job mainly consists of writing obituaries, but sometimes she branches out to other subjects. When she is invited to write an article on a new writers' retreat at Farfield Castle, she quickly becomes aware of the tension, resentment, and betrayal surrounding the new owners of the building - and when one of them is killed at the launch party, Eve makes it her mission to bring the killer to justice.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Clare Chase for sending me this book.

Farfield Castle has history for the Marchant family. Nate's and Kitty's grandparents owned the castle when they were young. After a falling out with Benet, their son and Nate's and Kitty's father, they lost all their money to a scammer. Kitty was living with her father at the time and Nate with his grandparents. She never reconciled with her grandparents, but when Farfield was put up for sale, Nate bought it. His plan was to turn it into a writer's retreat with Kitty's husband Julian the writer in residence. The villagers are not happy as they wanted the community to have access to it, so in order to soothe ruffled feathers they decided to have an open house of sorts and wine and dine the villagers. Eve Mallow is a writer who works for Icon magazine, usually writing obituaries, but has been tasked to write an article about the retreat. She and one other journalist, Luke Shipley from Cascade magazine have been given exclusive access and are staying at Farfield Castle for the duration of the gala weekend. When Kitty Marchant is found dead in the icehouse, everything comes to a standstill. Luke and Eve are invited to stay for the rest of the time they were scheduled to be there, and Eve has now been tasked to write Kitty's obituary. Of course, this gives her license to snoop and see if she can figure out what happened and who killed Kitty, assuming that the lazy DI Palmer won't.

Mystery at Farfield Castle was another enjoyable cozy mystery set in a small, quaint English village. I have to say, I loved the eccentric, nosy busybodies in the village who share their information, guesses and gossips with Eve in hope of getting the scoop. Eve is a smart cookie, who uses her intuition to suss out clues and figure out what really happened. She has no faith in D.I. Palmer, but does like the other detectives she works with and gives them the information she finds. Gus, her dachshund is often by her side during her search, but has a girlfriend in the village he likes to spend time with as well. This book had several suspects, who we got to know as the story unfolded. There were several red herrings as well, and Eve had to sort through them all. I kept waffling as I read thinking I had it figured out, but I was wrong, typical for me. The mystery was well plotted and interesting and as Eve discovers the killer and the motive, some sad information comes to light. Eve is also dealing with personal issues as Robin, her male friend is testifying in a dangerous trial in London and not only is she worried about him, but missing him and worried he might want to move back to London when the trial is over. Eve is a woman who is able to juggle a lot of goings on, as well as someone that others trust and depend on, and smart enough to figure out what is really happening. I am already anticipating the next Eve Mallow story. If you enjoy a good British Cozy Mystery, then I recommend you read the Eve Mallow series.

Mystery at Farfield Castle by Clare Chase is another Eve Mallow mystery. Things have changed for Eve. Robin is no longer in hiding and using a fake identity. In fact he is currently in London preparing to testify and to work on some additional projects. Eve missed him and she wondered if he were going to leave and if they were done. She is at Farfield Castle, a local castle that was reopening as a writers’ retreat. The owners were a brother and sister, grandchildren of the long-time owners and the sister’s husband, who was a published author. It was lovely but everyone worried whether they community would have the same access they had in the past. The bidder that lost had planned a community center. Then, a scream. Someone had discovered Kitty, the female owner, dead in the icehouse, a place normally locked.

Eve is a 50-something obituary writer who accepted commissions from large magazines. In this case she had accepted the assignment of covering the grand opening of the castle retreat. The grand opening would obviously be postponed but she and another reporter were invited to stay and sample the amenities despite the murder. This was a difficult investigation, especially given that her partner, Robin, was available only by telephone and text. There were a half dozen suspects, all with motives that were obvious. She also had the responsibility of researching for the obituary, which is how she normally investigated. So, she carried on, visiting her house and her dog as often was possible, as well as sources of information (gossip) in the village. Eve is an interesting, well-written character and it was an intriguing and sad outcome as it all came to an end.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Mystery at Farfield Castle by Bookoutre, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #ClareChase #MysteryAtFarfieldCastle

Before Eve is tasked with writing another obituary, she is asked to review a writer’s retreat at Farfield Castle. But when the owner’s sister is murdered at the launch party, Eve finds herself caught up in the tensions of those closest to Kitty. On the personal front, Eve is wondering if there is a change coming in her relationship with Robin.

Everyone in Saxford may be invited to the party, but not everyone in Saxford will be welcomed there. When Kitty Marchant’s grandparents owned Farfield Castle, they had an open-door policy. Always willing to lend a helping hand, they were beloved, and people were shocked when they lost the castle and their son Benet refused to help them save their home.

The castle changed hands, and has now changed hands again due to Freya Hardwicke’s misfortune. Nate Marchant has bought the former family home, along with novelist and brother-in-law Julian Fisher, and they plan to make it into a writing retreat. So the village may be looking forward to the fete, but several people are unhappy that Farfield Castle won’t be available to the public. Local teacher Ella Tyndall would have allowed for that, but her bid for the castle was turned down.

Eve is on the premises to do a write-up on the writers’ retreat. As tends to happen, she finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation when Kitty is found dead in the icehouse. The officer in charge of the case can’t be trusted to handle it properly, as he’s more concerned with this new venture succeeding than actually finding the killer. So Eve, now tasked with writing Kitty’s obituary, keeps her eyes and ears open and does a little digging of her own.

Clare Chase gives us a wealth of suspects to chase down along with Eve. Seems like everyone has a secret. Why did Bonnie, Julian’s assistant, lie about the necklace Eve saw her wearing – a necklace that clearly upset Kitty? Is Luke, the other reporter on the scene, stalking Kitty? And what is Julian’s story? Everything he does seems shifty, somehow – hardly the actions of a loving husband.

Chase isn’t in a hurry to show us whodunnit here. She lets the tension build and takes us down some interesting rabbit trails and gives us bits and pieces of people’s backstories. The killer’s motivation turns out to have some pretty deep roots, indeed.

I also like that we see more of the relationship between Robin and Eve here. Robin isn’t directly involved in the story too much. He’s off in London, testifying against the people who had him in the witness protection program. But Eve stays in touch with him, and they’re in a good spot by the time the story ends.

This is such a delightful series! Eve is a genuinely likeable character, and she knows she walks a fine line. She can ask for a lot of information in her role as an obituary writer, but if she pushes too much, she risks the killer realizing she may know more than she should. And am fascinated with the idea of being an obituary writer. In my (admittedly limited) experience, the obituary is something written by the family. Maybe that’s because none of us have been well-known or famous!

Five stars for another enjoyable story that kept me guessing!

Twisty and Well Plotted Murder

Mystery at Fairfield Castle is the tenth book in the popular series by Clare Chase featuring the obituary writing amateur sleuth Eve Mallow and her dog Gus. This is the first book I’ve read in the series and the first book by this author. This installment takes Eve to Fairfield Castle which has been purchased by Julian and his wife Kitty to be turned into a writer’s retreat. Kitty Marchant’s grandparents owned the castle at one time but sold it to Freya and her husband to pay off debts. Freya, now in debt herself, was selling it and Julian, his wife Kitty and Kitty’s brother Nate had bought it. Ella Tyndall, a local historian and school teacher whose grandparents had worked for the Marchants had attempted to purchase it but was outbid. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to characters involved in the twisty and complicated plot that is ripe with red herrings. For me there were too many characters to keep track of and they all seemed to be introduced in the first few chapters. My mental murder board couldn’t keep up. I had to go back into the previous chapters I was reading to regain context. Perhaps, it was this initial congestion of information that created the slow pacing which took a while to build to any action. But, when the action did start it was very gratifying because it was unpredictable. Ms. Chase should not be faulted for providing fully developed characters with distinct backgrounds. I just prefer for their backgrounds to emerge over time. I also prefer to know more about my amateur sleuths. I realize this is book ten but I would have enjoyed if more about Eve’s background had been reiterated or revealed than that of the suspects. It would have allowed me to become more invested in her. Instead, most of my exposure was through her internal dialogue and constant “what ifs” in any given situation in the story; too much internal dialogue and too many seemingly unrelated “what ifs”. Despite these reasons I have given the book a 5 star rating because I feel there are readers who, unlike me, will either appreciate or overlook these elements in favor of the twisty and well plotted murder. After all, these are not failings of the book but preferences of one reader. I’d like to thank #ClareChase, #Bookouture and #NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Eve Mallow is exceptional when it comes to writing obituaries. In most cases, however, she finds herself quite adept when it comes to solving murders. Currently, she is attending a launch party for a newly purchased castle. The castle was hoped to be purchased as a writers’ retreat, but the local villagers had another purpose in mind for the castle. As Eve is in attendance at the launch party, it does not take her long to realize how much tension is among the people there.

In fact, the castle was purchased by a novelist named Julian Fisher, and Eve had noticed that his wife Kitty was not happy with several people there. When she is found dead, the police nearly immediately recognize that it was murder. Eve’s attention to the article that she was to write is quickly shifted as she is determined to find out who the killer was. As she now will be writing Kitty's obituary, this affords her the opportunity to dig really deep as to the possible motive, and hopefully discover Kitty’s murderer.

Meanwhile, Eve’s boyfriend Robin is away in the city for a very important matter, and this gives her the chance to evaluate their relationship. For the matter at hand, there was more than one theft at the launch party, and Eve knows that they must be tied to Kitty’s murder.

I love this cozy mystery series, and this book was a true delight and an excellent addition to a very enjoyable series. Eve is the perfect amateur sleuth and I love how she is always accompanied by her trusty dachshund Gus. Pets in these cozy mystery series always add just the right touch, and Clare Chase has done that with this series.

One thing I loved about this book is how I felt like I was working right alongside Eve as she was eliminating suspects. As I was checking off names as to whom I was certain was not responsible for Kitty’s murder, I loved being surprised at the twists as they came through, and loved being proved wrong. Ten books in and this series keeps on getting better and better. I am keenly awaiting the next installment.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Avid readers always hope for a new to them series that has many books to enjoy. This is one of those for me. With ten books in the series and another one due at the end of the year, I see a reading binge in my future. The setting is lovely, the mystery kept me guessing and I enjoyed spending my reading time in the company of Eve Mallow.
Eve writes obits but this time she is asked to write a review of Farfield Castle which has been sold (much to the anger of the community as they wanted to buy it for local use) and is going to be turned into a writer's retreat. At the party the new owners host for the village to win them over it goes rather badly. His wife has words with several locals and then leaves the party. The next time she is seen she is dead in the ice house. Somebody at the party might be the killer and the local plod, Det. Palmer is, shall I say, not up to the task. Eve is far better at solving murders and she starts her own hunt for the killer. The motive and the killer are most likely tied to the Castle as the victim's grandparents once lived in the Castle. Time to search some castle closets for a secret or two and solve both a murder and a theft.
I'm looking forward to catching up on Eve's past investigations. The puzzle was solid, keeping me guessing wrong to the very end and the development of the characters was excellent. My thanks to the publisher Bookouture and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The tenth book in the Eve Mallow series and I was very surprised to discover I had not read any of the previous books. I really felt that I had met Eve before but apparently not.

Eve is a writer, mainly of obituaries but occasionally of other things as well. When she attends a writers in residence week she does not expect a murder to occur on the very first night at the welcoming party. The local Detective is generally considered not to be very smart and Eve quickly gets caught up in the investigation.

It is well written with nice characters and the author provides plenty of possible culprits which keeps the reader guessing. Occasionally I felt that Eve spent too much time theorising and discussing possibilities with her friends, and not enough detecting, which meant the story moved slowly. Still worth four stars and I would like to read more by this author.

An engaging mystery for intrepid Eve Mallow to solve at Farfield Castle. Kitty meets an untimely end, but why? That question faces Eve when she finds her assignment has taken a deadly turn of events. The suspects are many, including the villagers she knows well, the castle has an unlucky history, but when a theft coincides with Kitty's death, the motives and suspects widen. The mystery is readable as a standalone, but the character development is most appreciated if you've read the previous books. The castle setting makes the story atmospheric, and the family dynamic is intriguing too. I like this story's characters, mystery and clever protagonist.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

When novelist Julian Fisher & his wife Kitty & her brother Nate Merchant buy Farfield Castle to turn the charming old building into a writers’ retreat, they want the neighbours onside. But they have their work cut out: Saxford St Peter locals tried to buy the castle for the village, and are furious that only the very rich will be able to enjoy it plus the castle once belonged to Nate & Kitty’s grandparents who lost the castle when they were swindled. Eve Mallow & fellow journalist Luke are invited to write articles to promote the castle. However at the launch party tensions run high & later that evening, Kitty is found dead in the castle’s icehouse & it’s quickly proved to be no accident. Of course Eve has to investigate
The tenth book in the series & whilst it’s easily read on its own the characters & relationships in Saxford have grown & developed. Eve is a delight & is like a dog with a bone, she has her close friend Viv & Robin to bounce theories off plus they are there for back up, Robin less so in this book as he’s involved in the trial of the corrupt officers. Another well written page turner with wonderful characters. There are twists, turns & surprises before the villain is revealed & once again I didn't guess the murderer. I also loved Eve's turmoil over her relationship with Robin & loved the ending
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read