An enjoyable cozy set in a stately home open to the public and where the main character Cara owns a cafe. When murder occurs, Cara is determined to find out who and why. There are hidden passages (which I am a sucker for), plenty of twists and some local flavor. I will also say I am a sucker for a quirky stately home which this story definitely has. The pacing in the middle was a little slow, there was to much discussion of a certain female artist and some of the characters needed to be developed more. Also, Cara hardly spends any time at her cafe which can be a bit annoying in some of these cozies where the main character is an owner of a small business because there is no way they could get away with this in real life. But, then, there has to be a bit of suspension of disbelief in books.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

A wonderful new series in the cozy mystery genre. Always nice to start a new series that involves tea and murder.

I didn't finish this book. I was about halfway through when I realized I was simply lost, with no clear understanding of the plot beyond the murder. The characters lacked depth, their actions devoid of any meaningful backstory. I found myself knowing next to nothing about them. Beyond the solving of the murder, there seemed to be little else happening.

2.4

I often tell people who have started a series I love but are unsure about it, that the first book is usually the worst. I don’t know if it’s because there’s too much to dive into, people are just so much more invested later on, or if they just naturally get better. Unfortunately, with “Murder at Tanton Towers”, there’s only one way to go. The premise is very intriguing and unique and I loved the setting and some of the locations, especially the idea of her little house, and, of course, DCI Mitchem’s awkward crush on Cara.

Even though this is a shorter book, it took me forever to read, just kind of repeating this constant idea of not knowing who or why but rehashing the same justifications or suspects or what not. We eventually turned a corner and, even though I could not get my head around some of the descriptions of the tower’s new discoveries, it posed a very interesting story. Then, it just disappointed. I won’t say why, but I will say that the ideas in my head were better than what really happened. True, Cara did discover the hidey holes, but she didn’t actually solve the murder or even consider that a possibility. Isn’t that what amateur sleuths are supposed to do?

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

The first book in a new series. This is a book that feels British. If you're into cosy mysteries that have loud and, maybe obnoxious, characters then this is not for you. It's setting is a stately home, and the whole package, from the mystery to the characters and the narrative, have a stately feel.

I quite enjoyed this. It does have it's positives and negatives. One of the biggest negatives is the pacing drops at times. But there are many positives. Firstly, the discovery of a hidden door. That for me is a shiny object that immediately catches my eye. I love things like this in mysteries. Secondly, the characters. You can't deny they feel British, but I also love the interactions of the staff at the stately home. There's intrigue, jealousies, ill-intended gossip, and battling egos. Things you wish to avoid in real life, but all things that make for an engaging mystery. And part of the the structure of this book reminded me of more classic mysteries, which I found added to the overall feel of the story. And even the character eccentricities felt understated and British. I really enjoyed how they were portrayed.

The protagonist did perplex me in not spending much time at her own cafe. Understandably, spending time there would keep her away from the main house and the action, but it felt strange. I'm not sure how that will develop in future books in this series.

And while I enjoyed this mystery, and I thought the plot made good use of the setting, I do wonder how this setting, which is quite restrictive, could be used in future mysteries. Has the author painted the protagonist into a corner with this setting? I'm not sure. But for this book, it is used well, and I thought a good choice to constrain the characters and action to the limited environment.

Link to video review will be shared soon.

There's an awful lot crammed into this slim volume meant to introduce a new cozy series featuring Cara, who owns a bakery. There's a great deal of info about Tanton Towers and too many characters. The mystery - the murder mainly- that she solves is classic cozy stuff and DCI Andrew Mitchem is a gem trope of the genre. While I wanted to like this (the setting along should have been for me), it was just too much. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I know this is the first and that future installments will flesh out the people but here's hoping that the enthusiasm is toned down a bit.

It will be interesting to read more in this series, the mystery kept me guessing and I'll be interested in getting to know the characters further,

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

I don't know if I have just been on a great run lately or what, but this book just fell flat for me. I really liked the premise of this book and had high hopes. We have no way to know the characters and really no setup at all. The murder takes place on page two, and then we get a lineup of suspects that look pretty much all the same. There is no personality to any of these people, which includes our main character, Cara, who I am not even sure why she would put herself out to try and figure it out. There is a strange relationship with the police detective, weird theories that I can't figure out how she came up with, and finally, one of my biggest pet peeves, she is never at her business! Sadly,the manor itself, with all its quirks, is the best part of this read for me. Thank you to #Netgally and #SevernHouse for the opportunity to read!

British Cozy Mystery in which a cafe owner, which is set up in the shadow of eccentric Kentish stately home, launches her own investigation into the strangling death of a coworker.

1/5 stars: Myers' writing and character work are nicely done. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me; leading me to DNF it at 27%.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Severn House in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

I was looking forward to reading this as I've read earlier books by the author.
For some reason, this didn't grip me like previous titles have done. It's not a bad book, but I just didn't find that it caught my attention and made me want to read it as quickly as usual. Will be keeping an eye on the series though, just in case it was just the wrong time for me to read it.

This was a great start to the British Stately Home Mystery series, it had everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the concept and going on this mystery overall. Amy Myers has a great writing style and was able to make the characters unique and enjoyed the feel of this. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from the author.

Every now and then a book comes along that you feel like was designed for you. British non-stressy mystery? Check. A kooky home to explore? Double check. A nosey character, determined to figure out the truth? Absolutely. Staff gossiping among themselves? Plenty. On paper, this book has everything I'm looking for right now. In reality, I think it fell a bit short. It was just looong in certain moments with repetitive, exhaustive detail given on the backstory of the artwork and paintings. The beginning and end both had good pacing and action, but sandwiched together a middle that felt just a bit too jumbled and confusing. The title suggests that this is the first in a series and I'll check out the next one in the hopes things move along at a more consistent pace. Overall, it was fine!

I was really interested in reading this one, but it really missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the British humor, but that was about it. The pace was way too slow. There was overdetailing, most of it unnecessary, that stalled the plot. I love this genre because the stories are always cleverly plotted, making it fun to sleuth along with memorable characters. Sadly, that wasn't the case with this one. Short chapters work best with this genre, and again, that wasn't the case. I did enjoy the setting, but there were too many plot points that just didn't make sense, and the characters were not distinct enough to keep them straight.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this wonderful new mystery series. Cara Shelley has lived in the follies of Tanton Towers for the past 3 years. She runs the local cafe making the famous cherries in a Huffkin. After closing for the day, Alison comes running for help, she has discovered a body and thus begins the mystery. Cara now investigates those she has considered friends the last few years.

The author has researched the painter Lavinia Fontana (yes she did exist) and Huffkins ( a sweet bread roll from Kent with a dimple in the top and served to cherry pickers , with a recipe similar to a brioche ) and this adds authenticity to the story. I have said before that a good ending to a book makes for a great read, and a poor ending to a good book makes for a disappointing read, in my view. This book fortunately falls into the former category, what twists and turns happen in the last few chapters, made even more intense for me, as with a murderer roaming free and only a few pages to read, we were forced to turn off all our electronic devices due to poor weather at the airport for the landing. Three hours later I managed to find out the killer in a twist I really was not expecting. That combined with a little love interest makes this a delicious cosy crime read

I had high hopes for this series, but sadly, I could not finish it. The exclamation points and rhetorical questions abound, and attempt to give some life to otherwise dull prose. In the quest to be eccentric, this book only succeeds in being ridiculous. For readers of British cozy series, this may be a win.

My Thoughts /

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley, publishers Severn House and author, Amy Myers for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review. Publication date is currently set for May 07, 2024.

I had a little trouble with this one, I'm not gonna lie, so I'm over here, sitting on Outlier Island while y'all read my review.

As the synopsis reads: Three cheers for British stately home Tanton Towers! Explore the eccentric, history-filled house, take tea in the Happy Huffkin cafe and visit the site of a recent murder?! Introducing cafe-owner and divorcee Cara Shelly, who bakes a mean cake - and solves impossible crimes - in the first of a brand-new British traditional mystery series with cozy flair.

Now I've read plenty of cozies that have cakes, pastries and baked goods as a sweet element embedded into the story. But I've never heard of a Huffkin, so I was immediately intrigued. Now for all you foodie buffs, a Huffkin is traditional bread roll which first originated in Kent and was most often eaten with jam and cream. Nowadays, Huffkins are likely to be served with bacon or sausage. So, ✅. In this story though, café-owner Cara doesn't bake a single thing, in fact, she spends so little time in her bakery you'd be forgiven for thinking she was a semi-regular customer instead of the bakery owner. So, ❌.

I've said before that a good cozy needs to: 🌟 be cleverly plotted; 🌟 have memorable characters and snappy dialogue; 🌟 have short punchy chapters. Unfortunately, I felt this was severely lacking here.

I'll give props to the premise; it does sound interesting. A British stately home (filled with history, stories, and art), which conducts public tours, has an enticing café; and is now the scene of a murder. There's easily a book or three in there.

My problems lie not with the story, but with the execution.

Every novel needs characters. A protagonist, and something else that isn't, and by that, I mean some other significant figure that needs to be outsmarted, outmanoeuvred, and otherwise overcome. Murder at Tanton Towers has a plethora of characters. Too many I think because there weren't enough pages in this book to develop any of them.

The author spends a lot of time in our protagonist's stream of consciousness. It was one of the first things I noticed and had me wondering…..is there going to be dialogue? I'm not saying that every single novel you are ever going to read must have dialogue, but this is an investigation into a murder, surely you are going to be needing to speak to witnesses and ask questions. Being in Cara's head for so much time was boring, and I was becoming disengaged. I can honestly say that the pages of this book where the written words contained actual dialogue were the most interesting. I was interested and engaged, and just wanted more.

I also think that there was plenty of scope for the investigating officer, DCI Andrew Mitchem's character to be explored more fully. He came across as a suitably experienced officer who knew how to investigate crimes but seemed to grate on Cara for no apparent reason. "Good afternoon, Ms Shelley", he greeted her. Cara gritted her teeth. It was confrontation time. Confrontation? Where? He only said, "Good afternoon"!

The plot was interesting and like I said, you could easily get a book or three out of it. But the pacing was too slow, and the spotlight was given to things that were non-essential to the story. For example, a LOT of time was spent on discovering several 'hidey-holes' within the walls of Tanton Towers. Given this is a 'stately home' built by an eccentric wealthy landowner, that little bit of trivia comes as no surprise.

I think with a bit of tweaking and editing this would easily be a four-star read for this reader. But as it stands presently I can't in all honesty give it any more than 2.5 stars.

I'm going to leave the last words to the author herself when she wrote: "There was, Cara decided, a lot going on."

#MurderatTantonTowers #NetGalley

Cara Shelly rents a former folly at historic house, Tanton Towers, to use as her cafe. Friends with Tanton's owners, she has a proprietary and professional interest in how the house supports itself by various events open to the public. One of these are regular dances performed by the Tanton Twirlers, a historic interpretive group of volunteers. But things aren't as smooth as they appeared and one of the dancers is found dead on the grounds, well after all the tourists had left for the day. That means it was done by one of the staff or the two owners. Cara knew she hadn't done it but otherwise, there were plenty of people upset with the murder victim.
This has an interesting premise that sets the stage for future books. This first novel was slow reading in sections, particularly about the many older male employees having various issues with the victim and almost everyone appeared be writing a book about the house. I'd try the sophomore effort in this series, given the opportunity.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for a copy of "Murder at Tanton Towers" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book in the new British Stately Home Mystery series. Set in Kent we learn that Tanton Towers was built in the late 18th century by eccentric Sir Jeffry Farran. Cara Shelley has set up her Happy Huffkin Café in the old folly in the Tower's garden.

The Towers are owned by Max Farran Pryde and his wife Alison. Alison comes running to get Cara because there has been an emergency with Daphne. She's the wife of the account at the Towers Mike Hanson. She has a lot of "emergencies" and is the leader of a costume clad dancing troupe. Alison found her strangled in the orangery. Was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or did she stumble upon something more serious?

Max thinks that someone is trying to steal his art collection and perhaps his wife stumbled upon a plot. The staff all reflect on how much better things will be now without Daphne. Ewan Chapman the guided tours and events organizer was upset with Daphne because she wanted to run his Smugglers Tunnel tours when that was clearly his job.

We meet DCI Andrew Mitchem who spars with Cara quite often through the story, mostly about cherries in a Huffkin.

We also learn that almost everyone in the story is writing a book about the Towers. There are several hidey-holes in the Towers and they all relate to smuggling of illegal liquor and fake art.

It was an interesting story but it moved along at a rather slow pace with a lot of information that might not have been necessary.

Cara runs the tea shop inside Tanton Towers and, as such, feels almost a part of the staff. When one of the dancers (and the accountants wife) is killed onsite after hours, Cara wants answers!