Death Plays a Part

Guinevere is excited to begin a new job at a castle on a lovely island off the coast of Cornwall. She and dachshund Dolly, are looking forward to a wonderful summer. But the theatrical costume maker is caught up in a reenactment of a centuries old trial that ends with a real murder. Dolly and Guinevere and a cast of locals sift through the areas long-held grudges and closely kept secrets to unmask a killer. This is the first in a new series and it’s off with a bang, literally! Take your own summer vacation to Cornwall with this fun cozy mystery

An incredibly tightly written closed door mystery that I didn't have the first clue how to solve. Luckily for the detective on the island of Cornisea, Guinevere happened to be working in the castle for the summer, but is normally found in a theatre, often working on murder mysteries, so has a good idea how to try to solve them.

Of course when Guinevere accepted the job in the castle the last thing she was expecting was a dead body on the first night, during a rehearsal for a historical reenactment, where most of the islanders were present. Given the set up of the murder, it was very hard to see past the obvious suspect, but yet Guinevere and Oliver between them try to prove the innocent suspect's innocence.

Unlike in some cosy mysteries, this seemed a lot less bumbling along, and instead had two reasonably intelligent characters thinking aspects of the case through logically and in an informed way. They also seemed to have the ear of the inspector running the case, which seemed odd but useful.

Guinevere doesn't go anywhere without her faithful dog Dolly, who is adorable. I loved Dolly' interactions with other dogs.

Cornisea Island is a lovely setting for a series, and I am intrigued to see where this series is going to proceed next.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.