Review: THE LIFELINE, Margaret Mayhew

• 
  This edition supplied as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08NWBZ7XY
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime fiction and cozy mysteries (November 18, 2020)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 185 pages
• #6 in the Village Mystery series 

Synopsis (Amazon)

A CHILLING DISCOVERY IS MADE IN ONE OF THE MANOR'S GREENHOUSES

When a chilling discovery is made in one of the manor’s greenhouses, the Frog End villagers rely on the Colonel to reluctantly solve another baffling mystery.
Major Cuthbertson stumbles across a body among the fragrant tomato plants. A bloody spade lies next to the face-down victim.

Ruth Harvey has taken over the manor in Frog End, where she runs a successful plant-selling business and provides gardening therapy for some of her husband Dr Tom

Harvey's troubled patients. They include embittered Lawrence Deacon, lonely Joyce Reed, widowed Tanya Carberry and wheelchair-bound Johnny Turner, the young victim of a horrific motorbike crash.

Gardening at the manor quickly becomes a much-needed lifeline for the group, and all seems to be going well – until the major stumbles across a body among the tomato plants in one of the greenhouses. Once again, the manor is the scene of a brutal murder – and, once again, the Colonel reluctantly finds himself drawn into solving the mystery.

DISCOVER A BEAUTIFULLY DRAWN PICTURE OF ENGLAND WITH A WICKED MURDERER FOR THE COLONEL TO WEED OUT

Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie and Stella Cameron.

My Take:

I have inadvertently read #6 in this series instead of #5 which I will get to later.

The main characters of the series have been well established in earlier books, but, unfortunately, instead of assuming we've all read the earlier titles, the author has resorted to the "potted plots" technique and given readers a short summary of what has gone before. The result is, to be quite honest, a bit tedious. I estimate that as much as 40% of this book is taken up with re-telling what we already knew. Disappointing, although there are a couple of issues for discussion that come out of the main plot.

This is the last book in the series, in fact, the last book the author has written, and I have enjoyed the series. The Colonel (we never do find out his surname, do we?) is a well drawn character, who inadvertently becomes involved in the solving of local murders. His relationships with other members of the village of Frog End provide interest and depth to the book without becoming too personal.

In the main the books are each a quick and satisfying read.

My rating: 4.3 

I've also read

• 4.2, DRY BONES - Village Mysteries #3
  
• 4.4, OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE - - Village Mysteries #1 
• 4.4, THREE SILENT THINGS - Village Mysteries #2 
• 4.3, DRY BONES - Village Mysteries #3
• 4.3, THE SEVENTH LINK- Village Mysteries #4

VILLAGE MYSTERIES SERIES
Book 1: OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE
Book 2: THREE SILENT THINGS
Book 3: DRY BONES
Book 4: THE SEVENTH LINK
Book 5: BITTER POISON
Book 6: THE LIFELINE