Bunburry - Murder at the Mousetrap

Amusing and well-written, this first in a “Cotswold cosy” series, is full of interesting and intriguing characters.

Alfie has inherited a cottage from his eccentric Aunt Gussie, and a visit there provides him with an excuse to drop out of a London life which has lost its lustre.

He is thrown headlong into a murder mystery and into acting in and directing the village production of “The Mousetrap”.

Which of the characters is responsible for the murder of hateful James Fry and of one of the more loveable inhabitants of the village?

The only downside for me was the use of a trap/ trick to “out” the murderer, one of my least favourite endings, but a method which Miss Marple herself was known to employ.

I look forward to further instalments as there are lots of untold storylines visible here.

Recommended to all who love nicely-crafted English murder mysteries.

I would like to thank Netgalley and be ebooks for an advance copy of Bunburry- Murder at the Mousetrap, the first of a series of cosy mysteries set in the eponymous Cotswold village of Bunberry.

Alfie McAlister, in need of a break from London, travels to Bunburry to inspect the cottage he has inherited from his unknown Aunt Augusta. Once there his aunt's two closest friends, Margaret and Clarissa, aka Marge and Liz, involve him not only in village life but in investigating the unexplained death of the unpleasant James Fry.

I enjoyed Bunburry- Murder at the Mousetrap which is an engaging tale of amateur sleuthing with a dash of humour. As befits a cozy there is a limited list of suspects but all have a nicely judged motive as the victim had knowingly upset every one of them. I did not guess the perpetrator so points to Ms Marchmont for good concealment.

I must admit that cosies are not my favourite genre as I find them a bit simplistic but this is a superior offering. Yes, the plot is fairly simple but the sometimes tongue in cheek humour and the pleasant characters make it a page turner. I would have liked to know more about Alfie as there are hints throughout the novel of secrets in his past but I assume that they will be revealed in future novels. It is a bit frustrating not to know everything but it is a mystery novel!

Bunburry - Murder at the Mousetrap is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Alfie's aunt has died and left him her cottage in Bunburry. He arrives on a cold and rainy night. He also lands in the middle of a mystery. Or, is it? It seems a local man has died. It seems like an accident but there are those in town who aren't so sure, including two of Aunt Augusta's friends. It's up to Alfie and the ladies to figure out what is really going on. Even as they are helping get the annual rendition of "The Mousetrap."
A super-short novel but one that built it's characters out pretty well. There was less of a Christie connection than I expected from the description but aI'm looking forward to the next book.

Four stars
This book comes out September 1
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

This is such delightful old-fashioned whodunnit.

Set in England, it shows that innocent little viilage of Bunbbury is not so innocent at all. Alfie has inherited a charming cottage from his aunt Gussie and as soon as his comes to claim his inheritance he gets involved into investigating possible murder along with two elderly ladies as his sidekicks.

Quiant setting, eccentric and quirky characters and well plotted mystery,all needed ingredients for can't put it down read.
It doesn't get better than that.

This is the first in a new cozy mystery series and I'm so glad I found it! It's well written and I loved the characters! I immediately fell in love with the village and can't wait for the next book to visit again!

I kept thinking as I read it that I could definitely see this as a TV series. It's that good!

What a lovely lovely book! I am awestruck that this writer won a New Writers’ award only three years ago. My only criticism is that it was too short. I wanted it to be twice as long, I enjoyed it so much. However, the author judged the length perfectly.

Alfie inherits his aunt’s cottage upon her death. He lives in London but used to stay with his grandparents in Bunburry thirty years earlier. Ms Marchmont skillfully drips bits of back-story into the novel. It’s done in a natural way and never feels artificial. In the same way, we learn that something awful happened between James and his girlfriend, Vivien, recently – but we don’t know what. Oh, it is so well done!

I think the aspect that made this “cozy” book stand out is the portrayal of Alfie’s Aunt Augusta. She’s dead before the book opens and Alfie barely remembers her, but the other inhabitants of the village loved and admired her. So far, so stereotypical, you might think. Then Alfie takes possession of her cottage: “The parlour walls were covered in a psychedelic nightmare of pink, purple, black and white swirls”. The spare bedroom walls “… were covered in melting rhombuses outlined in grey, brown and orange. Aunt Augusta would have no need to take mind-altering substances – sitting in front of the wallpaper for five minutes would be hallucinogenic enough.” Alfie thinks he should lock the cottage up and sell it but then he finds the master bedroom is “a haven of tranquillity”. Those quotes just don’t do justice to the way Marchmont builds up the contrast.

Then, of course, there’s Aunt Gussie’s book collection. It was so – niche, let us say – that the executors took it to a charity shop in Cheltenham rather than dare to donate the books to a local shop. “That last one she was reading, it made Fifty Shades of Grey look tame.”

Alfie makes friends with some local women of his age but there is no romantic engagement yet. That’s another aspect I thought Marchmont handled very well. It could have been tempting to start a love affair between Alfie and one of the women but that would have been premature and curtailed options for the next book.

The publisher very kindly let me have a free copy of this book for review. I shall happily buy any further ones in the series without any incentive – only please make them longer!
#BunburryMurderAtTheMousetrap #NetGalley

This review will be posted on Amazon.co.uk on publication date

This was a really light, humorous, easy to read, cosy murder mystery.

The plot was fairly simple but the jokes running through and the characters made me want to continue to read,

This is the first in the series and it was at times frustrating as there are hints as to what has happened in Alfie's past - the author was clearly setting up for the next book! I didn't think there was the need for the character outlines at the beginning, I thought the use of the word 'policewoman' was old fashioned - particularly as this is referred to later on in the book, it just read odd to me. The characters are well created so I didn't think this was necessary.

Overall, I really enjoyed this cosy mystery and would recommend.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The first in a series of cosy mysteries set in the Cotswolds village of Bunburry, 'Murder at the Mousetrap' is a short but engaging, engrossing, fun read which kept me reading in one sitting. It really is thoroughly enjoyable. Nicely plotted but mainly character driven - with a warm and wonderfully eccentric cast and a hugely likeable protagonist in Alfie. I'm absolutely looking forward to the next instalment.