This was a refreshing mix of cozy murder mystery with omance. Martha Waters absolutely nailed the cozy historical vibe while still giving a little thrill of suspense. If you like your whodunnits with a healthy dose of sarcasm and heart this one if for you. As this grumpy-sunshine duo team up to solve the latest mysterious death and uncover any connection between them, Georgie begins to see past Sebastian's superficial facade to the intelligent and thoughtful person beneath.

Martha Waters doesn't miss. Her Regency Vows series is so good, and I enjoyed her Christmas book, too, but it's really fun to see her tackle a different era and some different genre trappings here. I love her consistently exasperated heroines.

I was really excited to read And Then There Was The One, but unfortunately the book ended up falling flat for me. The idea of a cozy romance murder mystery sounded like the perfect blend but it just felt like neither part was done particularly well. The murder mystery plot felt a little convoluted, at least in the sense that for a majority of the book there’s no real evidence of the murder the characters were investigating, and it was hard for me to feel invested at all in the mystery. On the romance side, I LOVED Sebastian and found him appropriately charming and funny, but Georgie, who we follow for the entirety of the novel, just felt draining. She was constantly the contrarian and at times pretty antagonistic towards almost every other character she came across, and it was hard to invest myself in the romance when I didn’t care for one half of the pairing. Negativity aside, I think this book could do really well with an audience of romance readers who might want to dip their toe into mystery, rather than a mystery reader branching into romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC!

Welcome to Buncombe--upon-Woolly! Come for the mystery and romance, stay for the Egg!
What a charming and cozy historical mystery with a generous side of romance! Set in a lovely English village that makes you want to pack your bags and take up residence, even if it is overrun by murder tourists! Which begs the question, why <i/are> small villages such perilous places?

Filled with and endearing cast of characters, our main duo, Georgie and Sebastian, were a delightful pair! His jubilant nature paired with her no nonsense practicality made for many giggle-inducing moments. And Egg, dear Egg, Georgie's beloved beagle, stole the show and my heart!

I am a big fan of Martha Waters’ historical RomComs, so it is no surprise that I adored her latest with a murder-mystery twist! It was super cozy, light, full of sarcasm and wit, and just what I needed! It features murder tourists, a charming village, a lovable himbo, amateur sleuths, a beagle, and a bestie reporter.

This releases October 14th and you don’t want to miss it! Thank you, Atria Books for my advanced copy.

A fun historical mystery with a dash of romance! In “And Then There Was the One” we meet Georgie, a mid-20s woman living in a quaint English village who has used her love of plants to help the police solve 4 murders within the past year. After a 5th death occurs and is deemed to be a heart attack, Georgie, her reporter friend Arthur, and local Constable Lexington try to enlist the help of a famous PI to help them figure out if their suspicions this was actually a murder are correct. Instead of the PI arriving, his assistant/secretary Sebastian is sent and the crew must work together to figure out what really happened with this most recent death. I’ll start by saying this was the perfect combination of all my favorite genres - historical, cozy, and mystery. The descriptions of the village gave me all the cozy vibes, and the cast of characters - especially the murder tourists - was so fun to read about. I also loved the relationship between Georgie, Arthur, Lexington, and Sebastian and seeing how they all worked together. And the romance was just so cute! I will say this is reverse grumpy-sunshine, which I don’t usually love, and Georgie was very, very grumpy for basically the entire book, so heads up if that’s something you don’t like. Overall, I’d recommend for any historical mystery lover and really hope this turns into a whole series!

Martha Waters takes on a rom-com mystery and it hits all the right cozy, autumnal notes. We follow Georgia in her hometown on Buncombe-upon-Wolly in the English countryside, where several murders have occurred in a very short span of time. While Georgia is an amateur sleuth and solves the murders on her own, she cannot seem to figure out the culprit of the latest and writes to a famous detective, Fitzgibbons, to request his aid. Unfortunately, the assistant to the detective, Sebastian, intercepts the email and brings himself to the quaint village in place of Fitzgibbons. What ensues is a sort of enemy-to—lovers romance intermixed with an Agatha Christie -esque mystery. As usual, Martha Waters uses witty dialogue, engaging plot lines, and beautiful descriptions of the English countryside to draw readers in and kept me voraciously reading until the last page. This was the first time reading a mystery-romance novel, so I was a bit thrown by the combination of the two. The romance was solid but felt a bit rushed and the mystery plot lines seemed a bit thin. I enjoyed reading “And Then There Was the One” for the witty dialogue and the cozy setting, and would be a great autumn read for anyone looking for both romance and mystery.

This was cozy, a little boring, but enjoyable overall. A good palette cleanser read but forgettable.

This was such a cute, cozy mystery book. I wanted more from the romance and even the mystery. Overall I enjoyed the setting of the book and really liked Georgie!

This one was so cute! I loved the characters and the setting, and the mystery and romance were intertwined well. I will definitely continue with these characters if there is a series—I would love to see Georgie and Sebastian in London, hopefully with Arthur, Lexington, Miss de Vere, and Miss Singh making appearances as well. Thank you for the opportunity to read before publication!

By Martha Waters
Digital/Kindle

Publishes October 14, 2025

Martha does it again. I loved this cozy mystery rom com. I loved all the mystery and adventure Martha paired with her English countryside. Georgie and Sebastian were such a cute couple. I truly hope this series continues where Georgie and Sebastian solve mysteries! And I love how she included her beloved sheep!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

1930’s Small village murder mystery ala Agatha Christie with a romantic subplot. Georgie is an amateur sleuth who has solved murder cases in her town. So much so that there is a tourism draw due to the murders. She suspects the latest death was a murder even though the cops ruled it a heart attack. She reaches out to a famous detective who sends his overly flirty, womanizing, constantly eating secretary instead. I’ll be honest, I really had trouble getting into this book. I started it at least 5 times before I made myself read it. I would have abandoned it had it not been an arc. I just found it hard to read anything related to Sebastian and found his interactions with Georgie super cringy. The murder mystery plot wasn’t bad once you got into it, but I just feel like his character ruined the story.

Thank you, Atria Books, for providing this book for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

there is something to be said about the dissonance of a romance set in a murder mystery narrative. It’s the adorable sweetness contrasted with a gory and gruesome details that pack a really weird one to punch I cannot seem to rid myself of. Martha Waters has always had a captivating style of writing and while this is a step away from her Regency novels I have previously read it is a stunner nonetheless.

And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters is a cozy mystery set in the 1930’s in a small village in England. Georgie, a young woman in her 20’s, finds notoriety solving a string of murders in the town. She writes to a famous detective requesting he come help her investigate a new death as she has a hunch it might be another murder.

This was a fun, lighthearted story full of hijinks, funny characters, and sweet sappy moments. It’s a low-stress cozy mystery with a romantic subplot. If you want a fun entertaining read that isn’t emotionally devastating, this is a good option!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for granting me a complimentary advanced reader copy of the ebook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and based off of this draft; the final publication may be different. Expected publication date is October 14, 2025

This one grew on me! The main characters love plot is generally stereotypical - Rico suave, attractive, blonde pompous man falls for Booksmart, cuttingly-clever, average towns girl. The dialogue is very witty and cute. It started a bit slow and with a lot of characters, but once Sebastian entered the book, it was much quicker and more enjoyable. Overall, a four out of five. Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC.

Super cute historical fiction cozy romance mystery. Slow paced but i was never bored. The characters were entertaining and i enjoyed their dynamic!

And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 1/5 🌶️

Thank you to Atria Books, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

And Then There Was The One is absolutely delightful! Certainly one of the best new reads of the year. With loads of mystery and adventure paired with a wonderful setting in the English countryside and a sweet romance, everything about And Then There Was the One is perfection!

Georgiana, who resides in a village in the Cotswolds, has accidentally become an amateur detective after helping solve four cases in a year. When the chairman of the village council dies, it’s thought to be from a heart attack, but Georgie thinks that he is the fifth victim. She reaches out to a famous London detective for help solving the mystery, but he instead sends his secretary, Sebastian, a posh womanizer. Georgie immediately thinks he won’t be much help, though she does reluctantly agrees to let him try to solve the mystery with her. As they inquire into what’s going on in Buncombe-upon-Woolly, Georgie discovers that her initial judgment of Sebastian may have been incorrect. Soon enough, she finds herself falling in love while trying to solve the mystery.

First, the setting in the 1930s English countryside is amazing, with its sheep on the village green, multitudes of scones and tea, as well as the tourists and townsfolk. Second, the abundance of wit and banter, the determined and intelligent FMC, the classic mystery plot, as well as the twists and turns all work to make this an incredibly entertaining book!

When it comes to the romance element, Georgie and Sebastian are such a cute couple! An opposites attract, slow burn romance that is excellently balanced with a mix of historical fiction and cozy mystery.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read! Can’t wait to see what Martha Waters writes next!

And Then There Was One is a charming mystery set in a 1930s English village with a suspiciously high murder rate and one nosy amateur sleuth, Georgie Radcliffe. The town's cozy yet deadly atmosphere comes complete with poisonings, secret letters, and delightful side characters. The murder mystery is fun and layered, and the village dynamics are pitch-perfect. However, the love interest....umm, he's described misleadingly as a “posh himbo”, but comes off more as a bragging womanizer, which dulled the romantic subplot for me. Still, this is an entertaining start to what could be a fantastic cozy mystery series just don't think of it as a romance!

This book felt like being dropped into a PBS Masterpiece show. Like Grantchester and Call the Midwife decided to be sexy (or I guess even sexier).

“Except for the fact that occasionally, when she glanced sideways at him, she caught him smiling at her, in a way that felt like a conversation, despite no words being spoken.”

And Then there Was the One by @marthabwaters is out Oct 14 and is a PERFECT cozy murder mystery for autumn. Or really whenever.

Thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for the eArc!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🫑/5
🥐🥚🐑🔪🪴/5

CW: death of a parent (in the past), emotionally abusive parents, parentification of the eldest daughter, sexually powerful forearms and knees, uncooperative sheep, murder (poisoning), murder (stabbing), true crime enthusiasts and the societal implications, a dog named Egg

Yes yes yes yes yes!!! It's a cozy romance but it also has a murder and even though it has a murder it is actually about the romance! I find myself reading cozy romances and wishing there was a murder in it and this kind of exactly fits the bill. And it didn't disappoint! I loved it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!