The story was okay, but the pacing felt slow for me in the beginning before it picked up. Since this was part of a series I didn't follow or read, I wasn't familiar with the awesome foursome and their history so there were moments that had some gaps in between so I would need to read more of the books to get a better understanding. However despite not being familiar with them, I loved how they bounce off of each other and the friendship they shared. Overall this was a fun book to read. I did notice there were some spelling mistakes and netgalley sent a revised copy with the spelling mistakes fixed which was appreciated!

This is the seventh book in the Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe series. I haven’t read any of the previous books, but this one stands alone very well, with just the occasional mention of something that has happened previously, and therefore presumably part of one of the earlier books.
As you’d expect from a cosy mystery, the book is quite lighthearted and easy to read. The characters are, for the most part, good fun, though I will admit to finding Edna rather annoying at times. However, she’s an integral part of the book, and her thoughts and opinions are required.
I enjoyed this book, and will read the earlier stories in this series when I get the opportunity.

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and author, Dawn Brookes for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

For those of you who enjoy the antics of the mystery club phenomenon known as the Thursday Murder Club - a series of novels which feature Elizabeth (former MI6 spymaster), retired nurse Joyce, opinionated ex-union activist Ron, and mild-mannered psychiatrist Ibrahim – have I got a new series for you! Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe Series

Murder on a Bus Tour is the seventh book in the series and I had no problems reading this one as a standalone, thanks to the outstanding writing of author, Dawn Brookes. This is my first read by this author and I'm excited to read her back catalogue. With this and another cozy mystery series (A Rachel Prince Mystery) I know I'm in for hours of entertaining reading and for a bibliophile it can't get better than that.

Let's talk characters: Meet the 'awesome foursome' (their moniker, not mine) – Lady Marjorie (Marge) Snellthorpe, her cousin-in-law, Edna Parkinton, together with good friends, Horace Tyler and Frederick Mackworth.

Now let me tell you that Horace is as charming as Edna is prickly which leads to the pair balancing off each other very nicely. As for Lady Snellthorpe, since the death of her beloved husband she has been feeling off-kilter. Fred, as it turns out, was just the anchor Marge needed to ground her to the present, and the two have very quickly become firm friends.

In this story, the foursome have embarked on a bus tour of Cornwall and its surrounds. Also on the tour, apart from the four friends and the two tour guides, there is an eclectic mix of other vacationers: An older married couple, a local history specialist, a local artist, a PhD student and a crime writing novelist.

All hopes for a tranquil holiday fade rapidly when, on the first day of touring, one of the party slips off a cliff edge and falls to their death. The local police are quick to assume it's an accident, but Marge thinks otherwise. Even though Edna bemoans the fact that the quartet can't seem to ever have an incident free holiday, she very quickly agrees that something is not right.

The suspect pool is not that large – it includes all tour party members, with the exception of the awesome foursome. Very quickly the amateur sleuths begin looking for clues, but what they come up with are just more questions and very little in the way of answers.

Marge realises that she might just be on the right track when a second member of their group barely survives a drowning attempt.

This mystery follows all the rules to ensure that the reader will have an entertaining cozy mystery experience:
🔎 The crime is not exceedingly cruel
🔎 It has a PG rating
🔎 It's on the shorter end of the page count
🔎 It's lighthearted
🔎 Has a small town setting
🔎 Has amateur sleuths that are quaint in character
🔎 Has a compelling plot with an intriguing puzzle to solve.

The author does a great job with introducing the crime early, dropping real clues and then throwing the reader off the scent with red herrings (I always fall for those). As the story develops so does the suspense, heightening both the risk and urgency to solve the case by the protagonist (or in this case our sleuthing protagonists!). Our main characters are smart, but they are also human and make mistakes – a great way for the reader to connect and have involvement.

The plot is not overly complicated and the characters are just enough on the right side of quirky for reader to love.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Storm Publishing 💗 for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for August 28, 2025.

This is the seventh book in the Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe series and is as much fun as the previous books have been.

Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe joins her cousin-in-law Edna and friends Horace and Frederick on a tour of Cornwall with their favorite tour guides, Faith and Nick. Once again, some poor soul dies and Marjorie doesn’t believe it is an accident. Much to Edna’s dismay, Marjorie and the men start poking around, with Edna begrudgingly joining in on the search for answers.

I like the friendship between the elderly quartet and their nickname of the “awesome foursome” given to them by Faith because of their snooping for clues, and them being very successful at closing their “cases.” The description of the countryside is well done and makes you want to take a trip. Most of the characters in this book were pretty annoying, but it seems to add to the charm of the book. I really enjoyed reading about the four main characters and their trip. I laughed when Edna had to get “sensible” shoes. I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble they get into on their next tour and where that journey takes us.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for he ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cosy Cornwall caper, we join Lady Majorie, Frederick, Edna and Horace as they go on a friends bus tour to see the natural beauty and historic sights or so they plan..

A slight slow burner, so some folks who are not seasoned whodunnit readers may get a little antsy, as the dunnit happens around 25% of the way through, but I enjoyed the character building and the detail and research for the locations.

It seems like the awesome foursome love each other despite some prickly personalities and I’d happily read the others as this is my first in the series!

Thank you storm for the ARC

Many thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review.

Book 7 of this delightful series follows our 4 senior citizens on a Bus Tour to the Cornish Coast of England. Even though I had not read the first 6 books of this series, it was easy to figure out the characters and follow along as they go on a one week bus tour.. Even before they arrive Lady Margaret (the lead character) and her friend Frederick get some bad vibes from another couple who will be on the bus with them. Once they reach the departure point for the tour they meet with Margaret's cousin-in-law Edna and her friend Horace. All of the group are in either their late 70's or 80's and the author includes many of their age-related infirmaries as part of the book, which is something I really appreciated. I also enjoyed that within the first few chapters we are introduced to all the main characters, including an author, a professor and an artist. At the first stop the professor dies. Was it accident, suicide or murder. The police quickly decide it was an accident but our group of intrepid amateur sleuths are not sure, and so the rest of the book is made up of the four of them trying go track down the clues to a murder - even if Edna and Frederick don't want to do this. But Lady Margaret is a force of nature and she convinces all to help out but to concentrate on those things they do best - instance Frederick is the computer guru of the group and does deep dives into passengers backgrounds.
We have a lot of the typical cozy mystery plot lines, including the amateur sleuths who are convinced they are correct, as well as the less than inquisitive police investigator, but that is a cozy for you, and author Dawn Brookes pulls everything together by the end, and in an authors note promises more books to come in this series - and I for one plan on reading alll of them, Good job Dawn!!

Quite different from the types of books I usually read, but I found it easy to follow. While the plot was a bit predictable, it still made for an enjoyable, light read. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something quick and easy to get through!

MURDER ON A BuS TOUR, book 7 of the Lady Marjorie Snelthorpe Mysteries by DAWM BROOKES, is fun read, full of drama and mystery, murder and mayhem, as we follow the “awesome foursome”, a group of elderly sleuths, on a bus tour of Cornwall. I like to see the affection amongst these old friends and their very British habits! The other people on the tour are a motley group, and we are kept guessing as to who the murderer is until right at the end of the book. The Cornish coast, with its rather dark history, and smuggling stories, is a good setting for the novel.
This is a light and most enjoyable read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Storm Publishing. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

This was a pretty nice cozy mystery novel. I haven't read any of the previous books in the series, but after reading this one I might. I think all of the characters had distinct personalities which gave the plot some spunk. Marjorie, the MC, was a nice, sensible older lady who radiated grace. The two fellows weren't bad. I tended to feel if at times they blended together. Edna, well, was Edna. At first, I thought Edna to be quirky and found her to be one of my favorite characters. Towards the middle of the novel she started to irritate me. By the end, I really didn't have any feelings for her. I will say I wasn't too pleased about how Edna's appearance and weight were frequently mentioned. The comments about her 'excessive weight' and that she was the only one drinking 'excessively' and was 'shoveling' food in her mouth wasn't needed. Or that of all the elderly friends, only she was the one to almost have a nasty fall/trip. Either Frederick or Horace's weight was mentioned but then disregarded because they were exercising to keep in shape. The ending was a bit anti-climactic. I don't think it blended into how new characters were added in. Still, it was a nice weekend read, and I wouldn't mind reading more in the series.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

A charming cozy murder mystery set in the delightful Cornish coast around Bude and Tintagel. Four old friends meet up to join an escorted tour of the area. On the tour are also a reserved couple who appear to be known to the tour local history specialist, a local artist, a PhD student and an historical crime writer. An eclectic group with tantalising hints of conflict and secrets to be discovered.

Hopes for the tranquil holiday the four friends were anticipating fade rapidly. On the first day of the tour, at the dramatic Tintagel castle, one of the tour party falls to their death. Was it a tragic accident or premeditated murder? The police’s working theory was that it as an accidental death and the tour part is allowed to continue on its way. Marjorie however is not convinced and suspects foul play. The awesome foursome engage on some amateur sleuthing, uncovering potential motives for each of their fellow travellers.

The mystery unfolds with a delightful blend of mystery, intrigue and humour. A very enjoyable light hearted read.

The friends (including one of them who has an astounding number of wigs due to her alopecia) are on a bus trip through Cornwall when the rather obnoxious tour guide goes off a steep cliff. The local police believe that it is an accident, nobody thinks it a suicide, and Lady Marjorie insists that it's murder. Sleuthing by reluctant committee ensues with snarks and a few giggles.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected electronic proof from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Pub Date Aug 28, 2025 #5starreview #goodreads #storygraph #bookbub #netgalley
#MurderonaBusTour by Dawn Brookes #LadyMarjorieSnellthorpeMysteriesBk7 @stormbooks_co
#dawnbrookes #ladymarjoriesnellthorpemysteries #murdermystery #murderonabustour #Cornwall #murdermysterybooks #cozymystery #seniorsleuths #cozymysteryreaders📚 #localcops #humour #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreads #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram

Lady Marjorie and her three friends are on a bus tour to visit Cornwall. At first, they are happy learn a history professor is on the trip and will be offering insights during the tour. When a member of their group fall to his death off a cliff at Tintagel, the group of friends begin digging into motives and suspects. The great thing about this book is that the four friends are all over eighty years old and while their bodies might have issues, their minds are sharp as ever. It’s a pleasure to read about elderly sleuths enjoying life. This is the 7th book in the series, but the first I have read and it works well as a standalone.
Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Although this is number seven in a series, it still works as a standalone book, as I haven’t read any of the previous books. The premise of eighty something people solving crimes is fun, as they deal with issues relating to their age and other people's perceptions. The plot was good, an unpleasant man is murdered and there are a number of people who had good reason to want harm to befall him. Through looking, researching and questioning, the pieces come together. The relationships between the four work well, and I hope to read more of this cozy series. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my ARC to read and freely review.

Lady Marjorie, Frederick, Horace, and Edna are taking a bus tour through Cornwall, a bucket list item for Edna, when one of their fellow travelers dies. The local police are quick to assume it's an accident but Lady Marjorie things otherwise. Most of the other travelers have ties to the dead man and the more they find out about the victim, the less they like him.
I know Marjorie from the Rachel Prince series but this is the first I've read of the Lady Marjorie series, but it won't be my last! I really enjoyed the dynamic between the awesome foursome as they enjoyed their holiday and worked together to solve the murder.
Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.