Thursday, December 15, 2022

A Body at Lavender Cottage

Title: A Body at Lavender Cottage
Author: Dee MacDonald
Published: November 7th 2022 by Bookouture
Format: Kindle Edition, 251 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Kate Palmer #6

First Sentence: Kate Palmer, feeling all of her sixty-one years, yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stumbled into the kitchen of her Cornish Hillside cottage at six o’clock on a grey Sunday morning.

Blurb: Nurse Kate Palmer is Cornwall’s answer to Miss Marple! But when a body turns up in her own garden can Kate solve the crime? Or is the murder a bit too close to home?

Kate Palmer is stunned when she wakes up one morning to discover the body of a man in the beautiful garden of Lavender Cottage. She’s spent the last few years renovating her cozy, clifftop cottage with its gorgeous views of the sparkling Cornish sea. And a death right under her nose is more than a little unsettling…

When Woody Forrest, Kate’s new husband and the village’s retired detective inspector, takes a closer look he realises the victim is none other than Frank Ford – Woody’s old nemesis. Now, Frank is lying dead amongst the daisies… strangled with Woody’s blue police tie.

Kate is certain the man she loves is not a murderer and is determined to prove his innocence. But who would want to kill Frank and frame Woody? As Kate investigates, Frank’s family seem to be the obvious suspects. Could it be Jason Ford, the youngest son, who has an odd obsession with birdwatching? Sid Kinsella, the angry father-in-law? Or Sharon Mason, the troublesome daughter?

When another member of the Ford family bites the dust while Woody is tending his allotment, it’s clear the killer is determined to bury Woody’s reputation. But when a chance conversation on Bluebell Road provides Kate with a clue, she must find a woman named Rose, who could hold the answers Kate is looking for.

But Kate needs to dig up the truth – and fast! – before poor Woody is thrown behind bars. Can she solve the case and save her husband before it’s too late?

My Opinion: Anyone following this series will enjoy A Body at Lavender Cottage, and for those who are new, the author does a good job of quickly catching readers up.

Not a deep or twisty mystery series, but I love visiting Kate, Angie, and Woody. Unfortunately, the secondary storyline did not appear until a third of the way in, and once it emerged, the “who done it” part was apparent. There were no red herrings or misleading the reader since the overall story marched in a straight line.

The only downfall was the ending. Though the reader figured out early who the killer was, after the official reveal, the book was suddenly over. There was not the usual rehashing and putting on a final bow or even a tidbit that would entice the reader into eagerly anticipating the new book in the series.

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