3.5 Stars
One Liner: Quite good and lighthearted

1924 Cotswold, England
Maybury-in-the-Marsh is a quaint little village with some interesting personalities. Amy Phelps of the Old Forge comes from old money and has a dominant presence. However, she has been uncertain the past few days and contacts Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift for help.
Young Arbie, though the author of the best-selling book The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting, wants nothing to do with hard work. He is happy to be idle and stay away from others’ lives. However, with Amy’s insistent appeal and Val’s (his friend and the vicar’s daughter) determination to help, Arbie has no choice but to do what is expected of him.
Soon, Amy Phelps is dead, and Arbie knows it’s not natural. Someone murdered her. Despite his reluctance, Arbie and Val join heads to solve the case and find the killer.
The story comes in the third-person omnipresent POV.

My Thoughts:
The book is written like it would have been in the 1920s. This works to an extent, and we get a more realistic feel of the setting, language, and people. However, a few phrases (old bean, stiff upper lip, etc.) feel repetitive. Still, I like that the book tries to recreate the Christie and Wodehouse ‘feel’.
Arbie and Val might give vague Tommy and Tuppence vibes, though they are very much different. Arbie is a typical 20-something lad who hates the idea of work. Val is the daughter of an impoverished vicar and a force of nature. Nevertheless, Arbie manages to create a better impression by the end. He is a bit of Bertie Wooster (with no Jeeves to help).
Though the mystery begins early, the murder doesn’t happen in the first quarter. But this adds to the intrigue as I wanted to see when it would happen. That said, waiting that long wasn’t a good feeling.
The suspects are easy enough to track and have varied personalities. However, they don’t get much character development. The setting and main characters have potential, so this could very well become a series. In fact, given the extent of detail we get, this is bound to be followed by more books (I’d be disappointed otherwise).
The (locked room) mystery is interesting, though I wish it was handled better. The middle has filler content, which I skimmed through. The story would read better if the whole thing ended in 300 pages or less.
You see a cat’s silhouette on the cover. That’s Empress Maud, a well-fed, fluffy black feline with tiger stripes. She has a role to play, though not much.
There are quite a few references to Christie and Holmes by the characters. Not that annoying for me, but others may not like it. Also, despite the references to ‘Victorian’ the book is more of a Golden Age mystery.

To summarize, Murder by Candlelight is an entertaining mystery with a good dose of humor. It would read even better if it were not buried under filler content.
This is my first book by the author, though I heard a lot about her mysteries. The book isn’t great, but I will happily read more books in the series.
Thank you, NetGalley and HQ Digital, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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The rating will be rounded up to 4 stars on Amazon

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!

A old-fashioned closed-room whodunnit set in a cosy quintessentially English village in the 1920s. The detective is Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift, the author of a best selling book about ghost stories, assisted by his childhood friend and vicar’s daughter Val. With a cast of village eccentrics, including Arbie’s artist uncle, the story has the feel of a series about it and is part of a current trend of fairly generic whodunnits in the Agatha Christie mould. Good for lovers of nostalgia but at times seems to verge on self-parody.

With thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

I am so confused with the ending, I was actually wondering if my copy missed some pages... still not sure.

For things I liked: the atmosphere and characters. There was a light-hearted quality to the book which made it a quick read and I really enjoyed the characters, goofy as they were. There was a bit too much 'old-timey' speak, making it feel very exaggerated and disingenuous at times. But it did contribute to the 1920s cozy mystery feel, so I didn't hate it too much.

I didn't like the mystery itself, although the method of the murder was interesting, the perpetrator and other suspects were very lacklustre. I feel like the book had so many dropped sub-plots, it must be a first in a series, otherwise this is the most unsatisfying book I read in a long while.

A locked room cozy set in a Cotswald village in 1924 that sometimes overdoes the period speech. Amy reached out to Arbie Swift, a newly published author of a book about ghost hunting for help figuring out why things are going bump in the night at her home. He involves Val, the vicar's daughter and an old friend. And then Amy is found murdered in her locked bedroom! Who killed the elderly spinster and why? There are multiple suspects but one clear reason. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's not too twisty and to be honest it's imitative of others but it's still a good read for a rainy day.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
An enjoyable cozy murder mystery of which I assume the publicity will (as ever) align with Christie, however I felt that Arbie, the main character, put me in mind far more of a grown up Fredrick from Enid Blyton’s The Five Find-Doubters.
The narrative is pretty pacy, and whilst it’s heavy on the cozy aspect it never loses sight of being a murder mystery; so the reader is not bogged down in unnecessary background detail.
The main character and his sidekick have an enjoyable pseudo-partnership, and I could see this being the start of a series featuring them both.

Murder by Candlelight is a quaint murder mystery set in a small Cotswolds village in the 1920s - and it never lets you forget it with the number of genre tropes stuffed into this book.

The main character, Arbie, is the popular author of A Gentleman's Guide to Ghost Hunting, and off the back of this fame he is persuaded to investigate some spooky happenings in a large old manor house in the village. Unfortunately for him, he seems to have bitten off more than he can chew, when the lady of the house is found dead in a LOCKED ROOM with NO OBVIOUS EXPLANATION.

I felt like the story was badly-paced - the murder happens far too late, and then the explanation and reveal of whodunnit comes very suddenly and close to the end of the book. There are a couple of red herrings but they don't really work too well, and to be frank I found the relegation of Val to purely a sidekick (and one who gets forgotten at the end of the book) to be quite disappointing. Still, if you like this type of book, it wasn't too bad - it was definitely funny at times and when the plot got going I was definitely intrigued.

Arbie Swift finds himself caught up in a murder investigation after being invited to ghost hunt at the Old Forge by Amy Phelps the owner. When she is found dead in a locked room, it is first thought that she had passed away quietly during the night. However when it is declared murder, Albie and his old friend, Val, take it upon themselves to solve the mystery.
A nice story set in the mid twenties.

This cosy crime novel, with a setting in a quiet Cotswold village, is designed to simulate a work from the ‘Golden Age of Crime’. Set in 1924, well-to-do gentleman Arbuthnot Swift, who is enjoying professional success as a ghosthunter, is in the process of investigating the alleged hauntings at manor house The Old Forge at the request of its owner Amy Phelps. Arbuthnot becomes her strongest ally in intercepting her nauseating nephew Murray, but their blossoming friendship is cut short when Amy is found dead in bed. Arbuthnot is suddenly catapulted into role of amateur detective, and the suspects he has to investigate are many: apart from Murray, there are Amy’s school friend Cora, family friend Reggie, maid Doreen and housekeeper Mrs Brockhurst. It seems that each of them not only has secrets to hide but also harbours designs on Amy’s inheritance and will stop at nothing in their financial pursuit ….
Nicely written, with humorous, well-rounded characters, this was a lovely read that I can only recommend to fellow lovers of the cosy crime genre. My thanks go to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free ARC that allowed me to produce this book review.

Set in a Cotswold village in 1924 Arbuthnot Swift, known better as Arbie, finds himself sought out by Miss Amy Phelps, a wealthy spinster of the same village they both live in, Maybury-In-The-Marsh.
Arbie has recently became famous because of a book he wrote as a bet, The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost hunting. A mixture of ghost hunting and a travel guide, which to his complete surprise is very popular with the public.
Amy Phelps needs his help, to do a ghost vigil at her home, she believes someone is trying to murder her.

Arbie is frequently joined by Valentina known as Val, who is the local Vicars daughter. They do the overnight ghost vigils in the house, and after a murder occurs think they should try to solve it. Amateur sleuths.
It is a cosy crime mystery which I like, but for myself I found it took a bit too long to get to the point, and the end a bit rushed. Maybe because the characters Arbie and Val are to come back into future books?
It wasn’t for me personally.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

Murder by Candlelight - Faith Martin

Arbie Swift a successful writer with his first book on ghost-hunting is approached by well off spinster Amy Phelps to search for a possible ghost at her home Old Forge. The Vicars daughter Val who secretly likes / loves Arbie goes along for the ride. A selection of relatives and friends of Mrs Phelps are featured in the book and when tragedy strikes they all become suspects in the death of Miss Phelps from within a locked room. Arbie and Val look to investigate in their own particular style.

I found this had a bit more to it than some cosy crime and enjoyed the story and pacing of the book. You got enough detail on the characters introduced and I liked the characters of Arbie and Val and thought they worked well together. There was enough interest around the like / love connection to know that a series was forthcoming.

I did not work the ending out and thought it was a clever construct. Altogether an enjoyable read and I will certainly read more of the series.

This mystery is set in early part of last century. Arthoe has written a book about where to see ghosts around the UK and surprisingly, it has been a success. One day he is accosted by local lady, !rs Phelps who insists that he helps her find her ghost which is p,aying tricks on her. The vicars daughter, Valentine's, tags along to the ghost hunt and so unfolds the story.
A gentle tale with several red herring. Worth having an your reading pile.

Set in the 1920’s, Amy Phelps enlists the help of Arbie Swift, who has written a Gentleman’s Guide to h ghost hunting book, in an attempt to understand the mysterious goings on in the Old Forge, her home. Accompanied by the vicar’s daughter, Val, they watch and listen overnight. Hearing nothing, they are surprised when in the morning they find that Amy has been murdered - her bedroom is locked and the windows fastened tight. Classic locked room murder. Our amateur duo uncover secrets and the suspects mount up.
Engaging read, very like reading an Agatha Christie, the plot develops and the suspects increase.
I really enjoyed it, even if I got a little annoyed with a couple of the characters - but maybe that was the intention? Some characters are well developed as the book goes on.

Murder by Candlelight by Faith Martin is a lovely village mystery book, I would class it as a cosy detective fiction book.

Its a lovely light read and full of very likable characters. From the moment you meet Arbie you just seem to like him. Looking forward to seeing him in more books. The mystery is great with classic red herrings and plot twists along the way.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Digital for the ARC Copy. This review is my own opinion.

A good and fun read. The twists and turns in this book is what kept me turning the pages and kept me hooked on the book. I am unsure if I will read the next book in this series. This book did draw me in but I wasn’t a fan of the story or the characters if am been honest. I am not a fan of historical Story’s and this was set in 1920s. This is the 1st book I have read by this author. Thank you net galley and the publisher for letting me reading this arc copy xxx

A Very good and just fun read very much in the style of Christie etc… Full of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages with plenty of red herrings to confuse you along the way. Can't wait to read the next book and see where our sleuth's go next. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was so good! It was intriguing and really drawed me in. I'll be reading more of this authors work.

Two likeable and unlikely sleuths try to solve a locked room murder. Set in the Cotswolds in the mid 1920s it has a feel of Agatha Christie but for a modem reader.

A nice set up with plenty of twists and turns to keep you entertained and a cast of characters that may just be the killer. I didn’t work out who but I did work out how but it was clever.

Enough of a good story to encourage me to try other books by Faith Martin.

This was a fun read.
A 1920s murder mystery with multiple suspects and likeable sleuths -what is not to like!
An enjoyable cozy read with a well developed story and characters, plenty of clues and a few red herrings.

I found it a little difficult to get a real grasp of all the different characters initially and keep up with who was who, but in the end it was well worth it! I was gripped by the storyline and never would have predicted the ending - it kept me guessing the whole way through. Definitely recommend!