I wanted to love this story but honestly, I was bored to tears. The language was stilted, the characters two dimensional, and the setting generic. I set the book aside and failed to finish it.

This cozy English murder mystery is absolutely perfect! This is The book I have been craving since I last read the Thursday Murder Clumub Series!
I just reviewed Murder By Candlelight by Faith Martin. #MurderByCandlelight #NetGalley
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WOW. I loved this book. Firstly it is not my normal choice but I have read other books by this author so I thought I would give it a try. I loved the characters and the story flowed well. I also loved the setting, which is not overdone, like some books, where it is all about the town / countryside. It is well written and the characters are thoughtfully planned. ( and i could not anticipate the name of the boat, great choice!) I cant wait for the next installment.

Do ghostly goings-on account for the sudden death of Miss Amy Phelps after hosting a dinner party at her home, the Old Forge? Arbie Swift and his friend Val Coulton-James don’t think so after they conduct some overnight ghost-watches, and turn their attentions to everyone’s motivations. I really enjoyed the nuanced period details of life in the village and at the country house, and that the resolution was thoroughly grounded in the clues. This captivating locked-room mystery evokes the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and should appeal to fans of Agatha Christie, Ngoako Marsh, and also P.G. Wodehouse. Will we read more exploits involving Arbie and Val? I certainly hope so.

A charming cozy whodunit during the summer of 1924 in the Cotswolds village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh will have you guessing until the end.

Arbie is hired by Miss Phelps, the village’s wealthiest member, to find the family ghost that’s haunting her. His childhood friend Val comes along to help. Two murders ensue, and Arbie and Val follow the clues to solve the crimes.

I enjoyed the English slang and language from the 20s and the village characters. Murder By Candlelight by Faith Martin is a delightfully cozy murder mystery. I will be on the lookout out for more whodunit's with Arbie and Val.

Thank you @netgalley #MurderByCandlelight #NetGalley #hqd #harperscollins

Like Agatha Christie or G.K. Chesterton, Martin hits so many book sweet spots, a mystery set in a quirky English village full of eccentric characters, during the 1920’s with a dash of other worldliness.

The unique part comes from the author’s rich yet whimsical writing. Arbie is a funny lead to follow, unmotivated & accidentally successful. His cohort Val is a vicar’s daughter, practical & unimpressed by Arbie’s success. When they are tasked with solving the murder of a woman who asked Arbie for help only days before, that’s when the story takes off.

I enjoyed this book immensely, from the first chapter I was drawn in. Arbie & Val are charming characters to go on the journey with. The thoughts they have about each other are hilarious! You get plenty of suspects, motives, inheritance issues, small town gossip & even hints of a ghost.

The book fences the line, reading as something comfortably familiar yet delightfully original, all at once. That winning combination will keep you quite entertained. If you love the Golden Age mysteries, this is a welcome addition to feel that feeling all over again.

This is the first book in a new historical cozy and it's an excellent start as I was hooked since the beginning.
There's an echo of Woodhouse, The Importance of Being Earnest, and some of the lighter golden age mysteries.
Arby and Val are an intriguing couple and I loved them: he's a well plotted character with a an interesting background and a ghost expert by chance. Val is a strong and clever women that knows what she wants.
The cast of characters is well developed and they could have been written by a Sayers or a Allingham.
A solid mystery, lot of humour, a cast of interesting characters.
I hope there's going to be a lot of books in this series, this one is compelling and highly entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

🇧​​🇴​​🇴​​🇰​ ​🇷​​🇪​​🇻​​🇮​​🇪​​🇼​

𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲 Mystery
𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 Murder by Candlelight
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 Faith Martin
𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆
As the sun rises over the Cotswolds village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh, at the Old Forge a cry of anguish goes up. Lady of the house Amy Phelps has been found dead – but with all the windows and doors to her room locked, how – and by who – was she killed?

Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift finds himself in the unlikely position of investigating. The author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Good Ghost Hunting – an excuse for Arbie to indulge his love of travel funded by the owners of country houses who hear the supernatural in every creak and echo – might be more used to dealing with the long dead, but as he’s currently staying at the Old Forge to investigate a suspected spectre, Amy’s murder falls to him too.

With old friend Val, he begins to dig into the old lady’s death, and soon uncovers a sorry tale of altered wills, secret love affairs and tragic losses. But when a second victim is killed, Arbie has to find the killer fast – and to do so will mean cracking the most ingeniously plotted murder…

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀
𝟭. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 3/5
𝟮. 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 4/5
𝟯. 𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 5/5
𝟰. 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 4/5
𝟱. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 4/5

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 4

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄
Those who enjoy murder mystery parties will enjoy Faith Martin’s newest work, Murder by Candlelight. Her main characters, Artie Swift and Val, bring an innocent dash of romance as well as a heaping spoonful of mystery. Her clever use of chemistry (in more ways than one) is sure to keep the reader turning pages rather swiftly (see what I did there?)! A very cunning and gift-wrapped whodunnit, one can’t wait to read the subsequent books in what is sure to be a long and lively series!

What a delightfully clever and witty story. I loved the setting and the author style of writting.

This book is a murder mystery with a ghostly feel. It would seem that a ghost is harassing the owner of the Old Forge and therefore the protagonist of the book, having some experience with this, due to his published book, "The Gentleman's guide to good ghost hunting", is asked to stay overnight to investigate. But the owner of the house, Amy Phelps, is found dead. Soon it is revealed that she was murder.

I love this book it was very entertaining. I liked the setting, and the language used was very funny. The authors style of writting is very precise in her description of the town and its people. I was completely submerged in the story and could not put it down wanting to know who done it and why.
When all was said and done the revelation was a surprise to me because the whole time I thought it was someone else.
Mrs. Faith Martin is a fantastic writer. This book was
Well done and I highly recommend it.

I did not finish this book. I got about 15% of the way into it and it just wasn't holding my attention.

A Golden Age style locked room mystery, this was very entertaining. It features a n appealing amateur detective, several twists, some good humor,and a satisfying solution. Highly recommended!

Oh, hello, Mr Swift, might I just have a quick word with you about my ghost?’

Arbuthnot Lancelot Swift—known to all as Arbie—would rather be indulging in a spot of fishing. But as the author of the bestselling book The Gentleman’s Guide to Good Ghost Hunting he can’t ignore this request, especially when it comes from the usually very imperious Miss Amy Phelps. And so, he soon finds himself promising to investigate her ghostly difficulties—with the help of his childhood friend Val. But his hopes of this being nothing more than the wind blowing or a tree twig scratching are dashed when Miss Phelps is found dead in her locked bedroom. Now instead of investigating a ghost, it falls to Arbie to solve a murder.

Having read Martin’s police procedurals (the DI Hillary Greene and Ryder & Loveday series) I was really surprised by this new series concept. But let me just say that this is terrifically good, and just great fun!

Martin has tapped into the Golden Age of Detective Fiction vibe quite nicely. She’s given us an ingeniously plotted mystery, with a dysfunctional family and old family friends that make for a deep well of suspects. All of the clues are provided, but so are a number of very good red herrings, making it difficult for the reader to figure out who the murderer is. I waffled back and forth right up to the end.

And I absolutely loved these characters. No one expects much of Arbie, not even Arbie, who is well known for his sense of self-preservation and ability “to do the bare minimum required and then make a graceful exit.” But Martin supplies him with a sense of responsibility, the ability to see what others do not, to read situations, and Valentina Olivia Charlotte Coulton-James. Val knows Arbie well enough to know he’d rather not be involved, so makes it her job to assure that he will (with her help of course) find the murderer.

Such a fun and entertaining read. Likable characters, excellent storytelling, and an interesting murder mystery to keep one guessing till the end. I hope this is the start of a new series because I can’t wait to see more of Arbie and Val.

What an utterly delightful and clever mystery we have here. Allow me to set the scene.

The year is 1924 and we find ourselves in Maybury-in-the-Marsh in the middle of the Cotswolds. Mr. Arbuthnot (Arbi) Lancelot Swift is a young man of independent means who has been raised by his eccentric uncle and has recently acquired a minor form of celebrity after writing and publishing a book titled A Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting. As far as Arbi is concerned, the book and its subject are mostly a joke, but he isn’t overly surprised when he’s approached by Miss Amy Phelps, a local spinster who asks him to inspect the Old Forge, her manor house. She has been plagued by mysterious noises and occurrences lately and wants to get to the bottom of what is going on.

Arbi, is less than enthusiastic about the prospect since he had other, far more relaxing plans for his days and nights.

‘Whilst it behoved one to help out one’s neighbours when called upon, of course, it was not something a chap actively encouraged.’

He is about to worm his way out of this invitation but finds his escape route blocked by Valentina Olivia Charlotte Coulton-James, the vicar’s daughter who is also a lifelong acquaintance of Arbi’s. Unsurprisingly, her curiosity is piqued as soon as she hears the words ‘ghostly goings on’ and next thing Arbi knows, she’s accepted an invitation to tea at the Old Forge for both of them.

At the Old Forge, Arbi and Valentina meet the other inhabitants of the big house. There is Jane Brockhurst, Miss Phelps’ housekeeper of about 30 years, Mrs. Cora Delaney, Miss Phelps friend, Reggie Bickersworth, another houseguest, Phyllis Thomas, Miss Phelp’s niece and Murray Phelps, her nephew.

While Arbi and Valentina’s initial night-time investigation reveals nothing, a later over-night vigil at the Old Forge ends with Miss Phelps found murdered in her bed. The question of who might have killed her is overshadowed by the mystery as to how it was done since her bedroom was locked…from the inside. Unable to resist temptation, Arbi and Valentina decide to investigate what happened while trying not to get in the way of, or send away by Inspector Bernard Gorringe.

I would love to get into the ins and outs of Arbi and Valentina’s journey to the solution. It’s filled with clues, red herrings, wonderful dialogue, and delicious sniping between our two amateur investigators. But no matter how much fun it would be to share those wonders with you, it would also thoroughly spoil the story, so I’ll reign myself in and stop my summary here.

What I can say is that Murder by Candelight is delightful book. From the very start of this story, I recognised how closely it matches mysteries written during the Golden Age of Mystery by authors such as Agatha Christie. The manor house setting combined with the locked room closed circle set-up took me right back to that era of amazing whodunnits. I smiled widely when Arbi says something similar while referring to ‘that Belgian chap with spats. You know, the one in the books. With his grey cells’. Having said that, Albie and Valentina reminded me of Tommy and Tuppence more than Hercule Poirot.

I do hope that Arbi and Valentina will follow in Tommy and Tuppence’s footsteps and involve themselves in further mysteries. They are wonderful together. I loved the way they snipe at each other, how much the exasperate each other, and how it is obvious to all except the persons in question that their feelings go much deeper than they are willing to acknowledge.

Apart from being an amazing and well plotted mystery, Murder by Candlelight is also very well written, filled with fascinating characters and sparkling dialogue, and a very smooth and hard to put down story. I liked that the point of view changed between players in this story, allowing me to get a better idea of who the participants were and of their motivations, although I can’t say it also helped me figure out the solution before it was presented.

Long review short: Murder by Candlelight is a delightful traditional locked room mystery. The (main) characters are fascinating, the police inspector not as foolish as we sometimes see, and the clues and red herrings kept me on my toes. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Golden-Age-of-Mystery-style books.

Really enjoyable well written story. The characters jumped from the pages and were written with an expert attention to detail. I didn’t guess the baddie in this stylish, witty 1920’s mystery. Would totally recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the advance early copy for me to read and review.

Arbie Swift, a published author of The Gentleman's Guide to Ghost Hunting, is asked by a neighbour, Amy Phelps, to visit her home The Old Forge to look for a ghost. An old school friend, Valentina, overhears the conversation and decided that she wants to help out as well. One night, Amy is found murdered in her bedroom with the windows and door locked. Then her niece and heir is found murdered too. Arbie and Val investigate with gusto much to the amusement off Inspector Gorringe.

The story is very entertaining to read and is full of red herrings, plot twists and turns. I thought I knew who would the killer but I was wrong. The story ends with a bang!

This story reminded me so much of Agatha Christies' work.

Faith Martin has, once again, written an absolutely fabulous book that is so different from her other series. This book is set in the time and style of the Golden Age, with many a nod to Christie, but this is not a copycat. The vicar’s daughter and the amiable young man of means will certainly trigger reminiscences although this is also peopled by unusual characters, such as an intelligent policeman and a very disreputable uncle. I loved the plot and the characters, Ms Martin has the unusual touch of making the reader immediately connect with her characters. The red herrings are all in place and this is a beautifully constructed puzzle, which is the type of book I love best. No, I didn’t guess whodunnit, which makes it even better. The humour is here too; the name of the boat made me laugh out loud. The location of a small village, where everyone knows all about their neighbours is handled so well, showing the benefits and frustrations of such a life. I so hope this will be the start of a series as I really enjoyed this book.

This was quirky story that has vibes of Thursday Murder Club but sadly doesn’t live up to the vibe. I found myself flicking though to get to the end and as much I really wanted to I connect with the characters they way I have with characters in books of a similar nature( Elizabeth- Thursday Murder Club- My Queen). I can pinpoint what I didn’t like but there was something that didn’t make me really care what the outcome was. It could have been the 1920’s setting but as long time super fan of Agatha Christie I don’t think that was it. It’s a good read but it lacked that spark that made it great. For me it wouldn’t stand out in the overcrowded cosy golden age of crime market. Good effort but I’ll pass on the follow up

I absolutely loved this book. Set in the 1920’s in the small village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh, the story centres around the ghostly goings on at The Old Forge and it’s owner, Amy Phelps. She calls in famous local author and ghost hunter, Arbie Swift to help solve the mystery, but when she is found dead in a locked room, it is down to Arbie and his sleuthing friend, vicars daughter, Val, to help unravel the mystery.
The story grabbed me from the beginning and I devoured it in two sittings. Written very much in the style of Agatha Christie, this book had me suspecting everyone of the murder! The plot twists and turns and had me guessing right up to the end, although I’m left wondering whether they really did catch the correct killer……… could the real murderer strike again?!? I really hope that this is the first book in a new series as it’s certainly left me wanting more - I even cast the characters in my head, imagining it as a tv series as they leapt off the page. Perfect for fans of cosy murder mysteries, Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood and MC Beaton. Fabulous ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lady of the house Amy Phelps has been found dead – but with all the windows and doors to her room locked, how – and by who – was she killed? When a second body is found the plot thickens…..Quite the ride! Very cinematic in scope and very much had me guessing till the very end. I want more! I have been known to throw around terms like “Great book”, “Fantastic Read” etc. But I don’t think I have ever used the term and also fully meant it. “Mind Blown”, because that’s what this book does, it well and truly blows your mind and unlike many thrillers/mysteries it leaves you with that satisfied complete feeling at the end. A well deserved five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author. This is written by a gifted and talented author who can weave a cannot put down novel. The characters are realistic, and they would make a delightful story for television. I enjoyed this book.