Fourteen years ago Natalie Grove found her older sister, Sarah, dead in a lily pond at Castle Vyne. She has never really managed to get past her memories and is now an author of mystery novels which she uses to recall the past and try to work through what occurred.

On the occasion of a new book launch Natalie chooses to discuss a few clues and unnamed suspects both in the book and at public events. Obviously the unknown murderer is concerned by this and it leads to more deaths and near misses. There is a lot of action and plenty of red herrings. The ending is totally unexpected and impossible to predict. It made for very interesting reading. Four stars.

Natalie Grove is a successful author and has just launched her latest novel, Obsession, which draws on the suspected murder of her 18 year old sister 16 years earlier. A sense of intrigue is quickly established with the story being related from past events and the current day. Natalie is consumed with her obsession to uncover the truth about her sister’s death and unwittingly puts her own life and that of others in danger.

This is a fast paced, well written story with lots of suspense and surprising twists. There are plenty of secrets to be uncovered and unexpected alliances formed. The ending is brilliant and not what I had anticipated. A great read.

Another superb book from Louise Marley that is set in and round Castle Vyne and Raven’s Edge. This has a dual timeline which flows really well. 14 years on from when Sarah Grove is found murdered her sister, best selling author Natalie is still looking for answers. When her new book is published it looks very much like it’s based on events surrounding Sarah murder and leads for previously hidden secrets to be uncovered. This had me totally hooked from the first page and I struggled to put it down. Twists, turns, at times atmospheric and with some intriguing characters I thought this was brilliant! Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC

Natalie Grove is a best selling author of murder mysteries but her latest book is about to cause ripples across her life that she may not have envisaged. Ten years after the death of her sister, Sarah, Natalie has written a story which is likely to bring back memories and stir up trouble, which is just what Natalie wants as it is, she believes, the only way to finally solve the mystery of Sarah’s death in the ornamental pond of Castle Vyne. What follows from Natalie’s first PR outing for the book is more than Natalie could have predicted. She finds herself in a turmoil of events including a number of dead bodies. As she delves even further into her family history, accompanied by the enigmatic gardener Bryn Llewellyn, Natalie finds out more than she ever thought she would, but would it resolve her need for closure.
In Murder at Castle Vyne, Louise Marley weaves a plot that is complicated and sophisticated. At times it seems that there are more threads than can ever be unravelled, and yet Marley successfully knits them all together. By the end of the final scene the reader is left satisfied and, in the case of this reader, hoping there will be more stories from a writer who brings to mind the greats of the genre such as Christie and Sayers. 5/5

Natalie Grove, successful author has a new book out, it seems to follow a similar theme as that of her sister Sarah’s murder 14 years previously, she hints about her sister’s diary. Whilst having lunch with her PR manager they are joined at the table by a man, who says he is the cousin of the person Natalie is convinced killed her sister.
I was hooked from the start this book is well written, fast paced and with plenty of unexpected twists, an excellent read. My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

18 years ago, Natalie's sister Sarah was murdered, and the killer was assumed to be a fair worker who escaped and hasn't been found since. Natalie has become a writer and never shied away from talking about her sister's death. Her newest novel is bait to try to lure her sister's killer out once and for good.

This was a fast-paced, easy to read mystery! The pacing was perfect to keep me wanting to know what happened next, and there were a few surprising twists! I do think the main whodunnit was a little obvious, albeit the motive was not what I was expecting. And then there was a twist after that made up for it a little for me! The other thing was there were a few times where the info/writing was inconsistent - like a character said something that didn't make sense and I'd flip back and forth. A few times it was explained, but there were a few others that were just out of place. Maybe this was just in the arc though! Either way, this is a really good mystery, especially for someone looking for something quick and easy to read!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The fourth Louise Marley book I have read and enjoyed. Always interesting to know where ideas for books come from and I was impressed with a note in the acknowledgement explaining in the inspirations for this book. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy this series and this book is just as good as the rest, if not better. Natalie has just released her new novel based loosely on the murder of her sister, Sarah, fourteen years before. This gets a good reception but also dredges up memories that for some are best left buried.

This book is littered with family secrets, twists that you don’t see coming and people who are not who or what they seem to be. I flew through this in no time, difficult to put down after a while as you can’t leave it in the midst of a reveal! I think I guessed it early on but, as usual, changed my mind a few times too.

Looking forward to the next book already, even though the village can’t have many secrets left!

An enjoyable murder mystery. Natalie is haunted by her sisters death, 14 years prior. Seeking closure, she herself becomes a target as she tries to reveal the killer. Plenty of twists and turns as Natalie gets more than she bargained for. Thought-provoking throughout.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Louise Marley for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder at Castle Vyne coming out July 15, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really love British cozy mysteries. I definitely love castle settings! I really loved the book right before this one. So I thought this one would be just as awesome. I enjoyed parts of it, but it didn’t hold the same attention for me. The characters were different and it was a little long. I thought there would be more of the gothic castle vibes. I would read other books by this author though.

Fourteen years ago, the body of eighteen-year-old Sarah Grove was found floating among the water lilies in the pond at Castle Vyne. The case was never solved. Now her younger sister Natalie is determined to finally uncover the truth. Natalie is now a successful author & when she appears publicly to discuss Sarah's murder, she never expects it to unleash a deadly chain of events. Within hours, bodies start turning up in the nearby village of Calahurst. As Natalie delves deeper into her family's history she finds that nothing is truly what it seems.
WOW talk about twists & turns! Just when I thought I was making headway in guessing who the villain was, the author sent me back to square one with another twist. Wonderful characters, a well paced story & (I’ll say it again) those twists & turns had me glued to my kindle. I took a little while to like Natalie but the more I read the more I liked her. I must admit I definitely felt like was there as the descriptions were so good. Whilst this is the fourth book in the series it doesn’t feature any of the characters from the previous books & is connected just by the location of Castle Vyne, which is in the same region as the other books.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for allowing me to read this book. This is the first book by Louise Marley that I have read. It Natalie has been haunted by her older sister’s death 14 years ago. She has now made a name for herself writing mysteries and had decided to write about a book about her sister. Everyone is against this and fear things will be brought up that should be left in the past. Natalie is unable to do this and now her book is about to be released. She hopes by publishing the book it will stir things up and she will finally find out what happened 14 years ago. Her wish has been granted. She learns more about her family and those she called friends so many years ago. The story was well written and had some twists in it. I look forward to the next book by Marley.

Natalie Grove has spent her entire adulthood trying to figure out who killed her sister, while also writing mystery novels. Her latest novel is a fictionalized account of the story of her sister's murder, and with it's publication, Natalie becomes embroiled in a number of fantastical plots perpetrated by different people in her community who are trying to keep their own secrets from coming out. The characters were interesting and the resolution of this mystery was very satisfying, but at moments it became hard to follow all the side plots and schemes of those around Natalie who weren't involved in the actual murder plot.

I didn't enjoy this book, although I am sure there are others who will. For me, it was confusing in parts with unlikeable characters. I think because the story began with the death of her sister, and subsequent attempt to find out who had killed her, we never really get to know any of the characters in any depth which made it difficult to care what happened to them. Even scenes where Natalie was in jeopardy just felt flat and predictable. I would have liked more layers to characters like Magda to find out why she was so standoffish, and although that is revealed later, it is almost as an aside. In parts, when the plot seemed to be going somewhere, it just seemed to veer off elsewhere.
I hope this book does find its audience.

A fourteen year old murder that was never solved. Natalie refuses to give up on finding Sarah’ s killer. Sarah was eighteen and Natalie’s older sister. Once Natalie’s starts looking into the murder many of the people around her are becoming suspects. Once Natalie’s book is out many of these people are running scared. Why is everyone around Natalie trying to derail her? Her own father wants nothing to do with her. Her mother has marred and moved on yet Natalie feels that her mother is hiding something. What can it be? Then another young girl is found dead the same way Sarah was killed. Has the killer returned? Natalie doesn’t know who to trust. She needs to find out the truth. Yet the truth can get her killed.

Natalie never gave up in finding the truth. Have so many road blocks thrown in her way she pressed on. That is what I liked about her. The people around her were horrible. Her father who she visited every week despised her and was a miserable father. Once Sarah died her mother left remarried and wanted nothing or no one from her old life especially her daughter. The ending was a BIG SURPRISE which I didn’t see coming. It seems like Castle Vyne has many secrets. I’m sure Ms. Marley can write many more stories for us to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. Who would have known all the secrets a castle was able to keep. I’ would love to read more. 4.5 stars

Natalie’s sister died fifteen years ago. Since that day she’s searched for her killer. Told through dual timelines we follow as she searches for answers.
I thought this was a good mystery. It had a bunch of surprises that caught me off guard. I couldn’t put it down .

Lots of twists and turns with this. Natalie is a writer determined to find out what happened to her sister. The secrets keep coming with this and more than one person has a skeleton or two in their closet.

Natalie is a bit of a mess in a way as she's seemingly reaching the end of her tether with her sister's murder. I felt like it was a 'now or never' moment where she's baiting the killer in hope of putting it all to bed.

There's a lot to unravel with this and it's not a clear cut case to be solved, particularly as there a few unsavoury characters in this.

The murderer wasn't too much of a surprise as I'd picked up on red flags around the perpetrator anyway and I felt something was off with them. I still found it a good read and enjoyed the low burn as Natalie unearths it all.

Murder at Castle Vyne is my first Louise Marley novel. Initially I thought this novel was part of the author's English Village Mystery series, which I have not read, but it is not. Murder at Castle Vyne is a stand alone novel, and so for readers who expect Marley's novel to be book 4 in the author's mystery series, some may be disappointed.

Since Murder at Castle Vyne is a thriller I will take care to not provide spoilers. Natalie is the protagonist in Murder at Castle Vyne. She is a published author, whose most recent novel is about her sister Sarah's murder. When Natalie begins working to solve her older sister's murder, which occurred fourteen years earlier, havac entails. Reminding people of this unsolved murder causes several more deaths. As Natalie discovers more details about her sister and about these recent murders, secrets are revealed and deceptions are more convoluted and layered than I expected. Readers might keep in mind that the diversity of deaths lead to a tangled mess of revelations and possible suspects. I felt like I was missing something. There is a second narrator, who is completely unneeded. Why is Alicia providing a POV that is actually meaningless? Some of the characters are confusing, as well as 2 castles? I felt like that had missed something?

Although the first third of the novel was rather slow, the rest of Murder at Castle Vyne moves along faster. I did think the last part of Murder at Castle Vyne was unnecessary. It was a distraction having even more tangled revelations unfold.
Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing a ARC of Murder at Castle Vyne, in exchange for my review. The comments included reflect my honest thoughts about Murder at Castle Vyne.

3.5 = 4 stars

Another great one from Louise Marley. And of course I’ve continued to read this series out of order, but this one can definitely read as a stand alone because it only slightly overlaps with The Village of Raven’s Edge, but the characters are just as intricate. Natalie found her 18 year old sister dead in a pond near her home, she was only sixteen. And in the fourteen years since, she’s done nothing but try to find her murderer. The bodies stack up fast, and I love the little bit of evil in everyone. I would have liked a little more to wrap up one part of the story, but still fantastic. 4 ⭐️

Ms. Marley does a deep dive into the affects of trauma influencing our decisions far into the future - whether we realize it or not. A tightly plotted, convoluted tale, Murder at Castle Vyne takes us into a small village in the English countryside where everyone knows everyone else, but no one knows who the murderer was. And then is since Natalie's latest popular murder mystery is a lightly veiled retelling of her sister's murder many years prior. Suspects abound as identities are swapped, hidden, hinted at, and finally revealed. Thankfully, most of the 'gory details' remain off the page.

I received an ARC; this is my honest review.