Thank you for the opportunity to preview Bodies and Battlements.
This reminds me of an Agatha Christie book. Set in England I found this to be very interesting and suspenseful.
This is not my typical ‘cup of tea’ however if you favor these complicated yet deliciously complex novel, this one is for you. 3.5 stars

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Since 1138, the Asquith family has called Ravensea Castle in Monkwell, Yorkshire home. Sitting above Robin Hood’s Bay the castle, with its towers and battlements has become a bed and breakfast destination that, Nora hopes, will delight guests and keep the family from losing the castle.

Things are moving along smoothly, much to Nora’s delight and the herbalist is set to welcome the castle’s first guests. Then the unthinkable happens and Hilda Dibble, a local woman who’d fought to stop the development of the bed and breakfast, is found dead in the knot garden. Nora finds herself the prime suspect.

Can Nora and her sister, Tamsyn, find the real culprit and solve the murder mystery?

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Serving as the first in the author’s projected series, this narrative is both laid back and intriguing. With so much at stake for the Asquith family, the concern for making a go of the bed and breakfast is easy to understand.

With a strong setting and some delightfully quirky characters [especially the ghost, Sir Percival], this cozy mystery keeps readers guessing as the unfolding narrative offers a few unexpected surprises.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#BodiesandBattlements #NetGalley

Bodies and Battlements is the first in a new cozy mystery series. Ravensea Castle has recently been converted into a Bed and Breakfast and they are welcoming their first guests. Everything is going fine-ish until a local woman is found murdered in the garden and the Asquith family, guests and staff become potential suspects.

Nora has potential to be a great character. She’s determined to keep the castle in the family by making the B&B a success. She also grows herbs and flowers in the garden that she makes into lotions, soaps, etc. She is sane and solid, in the midst of her actress sister, eccentric father, quirky staff, and resident ghost, but that does make her seem a little boring. We do have the start of a romance that might be fun, but it’s with a cop, which I’m a little tired of.

The setting is fabulous – the castle, the town, the seashore. And the pets – two cats and a dog, are adorable and helpful.

The plot moves along at a nice place. There a few shenanigans going on and it all wraps together well. I appreciate that Nora works with the police and lets people know where she is going. Overall, it’s fine, but not outstanding.

I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read! It's fast paced and kept me entertained the entire time.

The setting of an old seaside castle really made this for me. I also found the relationship between the sisters to be quite a lovely addition to the book.

I highly recommend this book for lovers of low intensity mysteries and have already told my mom she needs to read it!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the ARC copy of Bodies and Battlements in exchange for an honest review.

Light-hearted mystery about a woman who has transformed her family castle into a Bed & Breakfast only to have a murder intrude on her plans. When a vocal opponent of the castle-hotel is found dead, Nora knows she has to find the murderer or watch her dreams go up in smoke. The first in a new series by this author and it shows promise.

Kindle Copy for Review from Net Galley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

In this new series about a mysterious castle turned bed and breakfast. Secrets will be had n this rustic background. What ghosts wlll lbe discovered in thd castle? A cast of quirky characters who run the place.