Review: BITTER POISON, Margaret Mayhew

• 
  This edition on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• #5 in the Village Mysteries series
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08N6Z98LQ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books cozy mysteries and crime (10 November 2020)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 156 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN COZY VILLAGE MYSTERY FROM A BESTSELLING AUTHOR

An absorbing Christmas mystery

The Colonel (few people call him Hugh) is busier than ever this Christmas. The Frog End Players have enlisted his woodwork skills to build a set for their annual Christmas pantomime.

This year, it's Hans Christian Andersen's dark fairytale The Snow Queen. Local busybody Marjorie Cuthbertson is on the hunt for her leading lady — and who better to play the icy queen than beautiful new resident, ex-model Joan Dryden. But as interested as they are in their new neighbours, the residents of Frog End remain wary of the Dryden family, considering them snooty Londoners.

But tragedy strikes at the village party . . .

One moment, one of the guests is enjoying a festive mince pie. The next, they are on the floor, clawing at their throat.

A tragic allergic reaction or did someone mean to kill?

The Colonel must find out if this was just a terrible accident . . . or bitter revenge.

DISCOVER A BEAUTIFULLY DRAWN PICTURE OF ENGLAND WITH A BAFFLING MYSTERY FOR THE COLONEL TO UNRAVEL 

My Take

I've now finished this series although I read the last 2 books out of order.

If you take them on, do read them in order to get the best out of them. They are quick cozies and seem to capture village life as I imagine it to be.

I have enjoyed meeting the people living in the village of Frog End, and reading through the various scenarios. I did get a little tired of the re-capping of the plots that occurred before books 5 and 6.

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
• 4.3, THE LIFELINE - Village Mysteries #6

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

Review: THE SEVENTH LINK, Margaret Mayhew

• 
  This edition the fourth of 4 e-books that came on Kindle (Amazon) as a set
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09YDK88MJ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime thrillers and cosy mystery (April 19, 2022)
• Originally published 2012
  
• Book 4: THE SEVENTH LINK: THE VILLAGE MYSTERIES
• 139 pages
  

Synopsis 

BOOK 4: THE SEVENTH LINK

A WEEKEND AWAY IN LINCOLNSHIRE WITH A SHOCK

The Colonel’s old friend Geoffrey Cheetham invites him to the village of Buckby for the weekend, to coincide with an RAF reunion event.

After depositing an outraged Thursday at the Cat Heaven cattery, the Colonel drives up to stay at the Cheethams’ rambling B&B.

The guests include a Lancaster bomber crew, reunited for the first time. But everything is not as harmonious as it seems.

Then someone is found drowned in the lake . . .

My Take

As I said in my previous review, as the reader you begin to wonder where the body is going to come from in this book. Well, I had the body picked out well into the book, but not the method or the motive.

The book is really a novella rather than a full length novel.

One of the themes of this book appears to be how the airmen in Bomber Command were treated by the government after the War, no medals, and not really given credit for saving Britain. The people of the village of Buckby want to remedy that in some way, but at least one of a Lancaster Bomber Crew that survived 30 operations feel that their praise is undeserved.

Again this is a murder mystery where the resolution is unexpected.

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

Review: DRY BONES, Margaret Mayhew

• 
   This edition the third of 4 e-books that came on Kindle (Amazon) as a set
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09YDK88MJ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime thrillers and cosy mystery (April 19, 2022)
• Originally published 2012
  
• Book 3: DRY BONES THE VILLAGE MYSTERIES

Synopsis (Amazon)

BOOK 3: OLD BONES
A friend of the Colonel’s wife writes him that ‘something horrible has happened.’ Cornelia Heathcote, whose wealthy husband is away on business, has discovered a body buried under the floor of her barn. First the Colonel must work out who the bones belong to. But that’s just the beginning of his problems. For this victim had many enemies in the wealthy village. Which of them wanted him dead? 

My Take

To my surprise I discovered that I had read this book before, possibly soon after it was published, although I hadn't read the two earlier ones. The author actually gives quite a bit of background in each book so it is possible to read each on its own.

It is possible that, knowing the "full story" of the series, I enjoyed this one a little more than I did originally.

This is the third body the  Colonel has been associated with in 3 books, and it is interesting that you spend your time trying to work out where the next body is going to come from. They are not conventional murder mysteries, because the murderer is not always "caught".

Identifying the body is relatively easy police work, particularly as the villagers manage to come up with a possible identity to be confirmed by dental records. And then there are any number of possibilities about who the killer might be, just about all the adult males in the village 4-5 years ago. It is the Colonel who finally works out who it was, and winkles out a death bed confession.

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

Review: THREE SILENT THINGS, Margaret Mayhew

• 
  This edition the second of 4 e-books that came on Kindle (Amazon) as a set
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09YDK88MJ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime thrillers and cosy mystery (April 19, 2022)
• Originally published 2008
  
• Book 2: THREE SILENT THINGS, THE VILLAGE MYSTERIES

Synopsis (Amazon)

BOOK 2: THREE SILENT THINGS
The Colonel discovers the ageing acting legend Lois Delaney dead in her bath. Her eyes are wide with surprise, her mouth a little open. It appears to be suicide, yet she was looking forward to a grand comeback on the London stage. Why would she kill herself? Haunted by the look frozen on Lois’s face, the Colonel won’t rest till he uncovers the truth.

My Take

These be three silent things:
The falling snow
The hour before dawn
The mouth of one just dead.

The Colonel has been living in the Dorset village of Frog End for nearly a year, made some friends, and is taking part in village life. He is collecting money for a charity when he accidentally discovers  the body of an elderly actress who appears to have committed suicide, or at least that is what the police and the coroner believe.

But the Colonel is among a number who believe that Lois Delaney had too much to live for and that it is murder not suicide. While there is nothing to disprove the suicide theory the Colonel can't get away from the nagging thought of murder.

Another quick and fairly satisfying read. This novel was first published some 15 years ago.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

• 4.2, DRY BONES - Village Mysteries #3
  
• 4.4, OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE - - Village Mysteries #1
  

Review: OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE, Margaret Mayhew

• 
  This edition the first of 4 e-books that came on Kindle (Amazon) as a set
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09YDK88MJ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime thrillers and cosy mystery (April 19, 2022)
• Book 1: OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE, THE VILLAGE MYSTERIES 
  

Synopsis (Amazon)

If you enjoy Stella Cameron, Faith Martin, Agatha Christie, Simon Brett, Frances Evesham, Jeanne M. Dams, Betty Rowlands or M.C. Beaton, then prepare to be hooked from the first page of this bestselling series.

WELCOME TO FROG END, A BEAUTIFUL ENGLISH VILLAGE WITH SOME DARK SECRETS . . .

BOOK 1: OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE, first published 1999

Meet the Colonel. He moves to a quiet country cottage in Dorset, which he visited with his late wife. He decides that the upcoming fete will be the start of his mission to fit into village life. But when Lady Swynford is found dead, it becomes clear that Frog End has a darker side. And as Inspector Squibb investigates the case, the Colonel finds himself more involved than he could possibly have imagined.

MEET YOUR NEW FAVOURITE AMATEUR SLEUTH.
At the grand old age of 55, the Colonel was put out to grass by the British Army. In the same year, his beloved wife, Laura, died. He found himself facing a bleak and lonely future. One summer, years before, he and Laura visited a village in Dorset called Frog End, which had a spit-and-sawdust pub called the Dog and Duck. Laura had fallen in love with a stone cottage across the village green. Years later, after her death, the Colonel had revisited the same village alone and seen Laura’s dream cottage. Against his better judgement, he bought it.

THE SETTING
The cottage was called Pond Cottage and the Colonel soon discovered that he had made a big mistake. The two-hundred-year-old building had deathwatch beetle, rising damp, a falling roof, rot and decay throughout. There was no heating and the wiring was a dangerous disgrace. There was no sign of any pond. But there were compensations: a view over the beautiful village green, clusters of other stone cottages, a Norman church built on Saxon foundations, a graveyard of ancient tombs leaning at perilous angles. And, of course, the Dog and Duck.

My Take

While there was a murder in this first novel, with an unlikely murderer, much space was given over to establishing the nature of the village, and setting up the central character, and his neighbours in the village. There are quite a few human interest strands and it really was a quick read.

My rating: 4.4

About the author
Margaret Mayhew was born in London and her earliest childhood memories were of the London Blitz. She began writing in her mid-thirties and had her first novel published in 1976. She is married to American aviation author, Philip Kaplan, and lives in Gloucestershire. 

I can see that she is quite a prolific author. There are 6 titles in the Village Mystery series and then a number of stand-alones, many of which are set in World War II

Review: DRY BONES, Margaret Mayhew

• Published Severn House 2012
• ISBN 978-0-7278-8180-9
• 151 pages
• source: my local library
• #3 in her "village mystery" series

Publisher's Blurb (Fantastic Fiction)

The Colonel returns, in an atmospheric village mystery from best-selling author Margaret Mayhew.

In his time living in the peaceful village of Frog's End, the Colonel has learned that although the place looks as lively as a stagnant pond, there is plenty going on. When he receives a letter from an old friend of his late wife, telling him that '-something horrible has happened' and asking for his help, he is intrigued and happy to assist her.

But when he travels up to see Cornelia, he is shocked by what he uncovers, and soon realizes that he must take the investigation into his own hands . . .

My take

From what I can see on Fantastic Fiction, Margaret Mayhew has been writing for over three decades, but she has generally produced books set in the second world war, gentle romances set against the the horrors of war. For the first 10 years of writing she seems to have produced Regency romances.

The Colonel who is the central character of DRY BONES emerged in 1999 in OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE. His wife Laura has recently died and he has been forced into retirement, and gone to live in the village of Frog's End. I haven't read this one, but I assume it is the first of her "village mystery" series. In DRY BONES, there is reference to another title, THREE SILENT THINGS in which an ageing actress was electrocuted in her bath on New Year's Eve. An interesting feature of the plot of DRY BONES is that in "real time" the Colonel has not moved on much: his wife Laura is still quite recently dead.

It is hardly surprising that someone with 22 novels under her belt, so to speak, has produced a passably readable cozy. Without revealing too much of the plot, the dry bones from which the book takes its title are discovered under the floor of a barn that Cornelia, his wife's friend, is having renovated, and they are not nearly as old as the locals hoped. There are plenty of suspects who might have put them there.

In short, a pretty easy, undemanding read with an interesting plot.

My rating: 4.2