C.S. ChallinorRezensionen

First in a series, typical English cozy. Practically a locked room, claustrophobic setting. Very Agatha Christie. If you like her, tune in. Main character is QC from Scotland, Rex. He is delightful.

When barrister Rex Graves learns that Lord Gordon Murgatroyd, an old mentor has died he agrees to visit the daughter as she is suspicious of his death.
Is his death related to an old case or was his death a complete accident. Rex decides to find out.
A very easy and quick read with likeable characters.
A NetGalley Book

Rex Graves (Scottish barrister and private detective) and wife, Helen, are invited to attend the opening night of an amateur production of a play. Unfortunately by the end of the first act one of the actors is found dead. Graves offers his help to the police.
Although this is the tenth in the series it can be read as a standalone.
An enjoyable, well-written and a gentle read.
A NetGalley Book

3.5 rounded up to 4

Another excellently written and well-plotted addition to the Rex Graves Mystery series. While this is a part of a series, you would be perfectly fine reading it as a stand-alone book. If you are interested in exciting, fast-paced action, you won’t find it in this book. It is a logical progressive mystery where Rex interviews subjects, examines evidence and comes to a conclusion – usually not a conclusion being pursued by the police investigators.

Rex and his new bride have come to London from Edinburgh in order to pack up her old house. It is just to be a quick long-weekend trip to finish the packing up and then heading back to Edinburgh. While in London, Rex and Helen decide to attend the opening night production of a local amateur theater. Rex and Helen are seated in the front row, in the uncomfortable chairs – and Rex can’t help but doze a little bit.

When there is a refreshment break between acts, everyone hears a scream which is part of the play and a loud bang – which is NOT part of the play. The curtains are closed, so the audience can’t see what has happened, but the crew and cast are quickly moving to the area. What caused that loud bang? Well, it was the sound of the gun that took the life of the beautiful, sweet star of the show, Cassie Chase.

There are many suspects including the entire cast and crew. Everybody loved and admired Cassie and nobody can think of anyone who would wish her harm. Rex and the police inspector had to question everyone – and eliminate everyone except the guilty party.

Rex talks to witnesses and suspects and examines evidence until an idea begins to form in his mind. He is sure he knows who did it and even how, but he has no proof. So, he does the type of reenactment that you see in a lot of the old style murder mysteries. He calls everyone together and they reenact the scene at the time of the murder. A classic who-done-it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and hope you will as well.

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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for my review. The views expressed are my own.

The leading lady in a murder mystery play dies offstage during the play's first public presentation. Sitting in the audience is Scottish barrister Rex Savage who is known to engage in "private enquiries". At the request of the playwright, Rex agrees to look into this case and ascertain whether it is suicide or murder. Surprisingly the local police are receptive to him doing so, as long as he keeps them in the loop with anything he discovers.

It's a classic closed room murder mystery with the other actors onstage at the time being the chief suspects. Rex goes about interviewing them and of course some are more co-operative than others. Some have more to hide too. Rex is good at questioning people, I guess that comes from his barrister-training. Along the way to the conclusion, there's several red herrings and blind alleys that keep the identity of the killer well hidden.

It's a howdunit story as well as a whodunit. The reveal includes a re-enactment of the stage play and supports Rex's theory about how the killer managed to carry out the crime in plain sight of the actors and the audience. There's a bit of a chase scene at the end which brings the story to a satisfying conclusion.

It's a cleverly plotted murder mystery that makes for an entertaining read. Cozy mystery story fans will probably find it to their liking. It's one of a series but can stand alone.

I made no notes on this book, no highlights; I remember reading it, but very little about it. (Oddly, opposite to the way these things usually go, I do recall whodunit; I can usually remember plot but not that.) I recall this as a mildly engaging cozy-ish mystery which kept my attention and which didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth – except, maybe, for the main character's girlfriend. If memory serves I found her unpleasant and mentally wore a "Free Rex Graves" t-shirt.

I don't know; I didn't have much to say about the book immediately after finishing it, then never remembered to try to find anything later – in fact, I started it again recently, since nothing about it rang any "already read" bells. It definitely was not a bad book – it did well by me for all that it was the ninth book in its series, meaning I felt adequately introduced to the characters and setting without being clobbered by developments from previous installments. It just made … no impact on me, whatsoever. I'm thinking I won't be reading more of the series.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.

As Rex Graves might say: this is a grand story. Graves is a Scottish barrister called to the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a film star from an exclusive (clothing-optional) resort. This premise alone makes the book a worthwhile read. There's plenty of authentic local colour (at least it accords with my recollection of the island when I was there).

Graves's character is developed sufficiently to make him a likable narrator and protagonist. Other characters are not so well developed, they are merely background. The missing actress does not attract much sympathy amongst her resort colleagues.

The story is similar to an Agatha Christie mystery, with Graves playing a Hercule Poirot role.

It's light entertainment and a good distracting read.½

Guests at a hotel get snowed in over the Christmas holiday and start to die. Barrister, Rex Graves, investigates even as more guests bite the dust and motives for suspects grow.

Amateur detective but not exactly a cozy given rather vivid description of discoveries of four bodies in English suburb. Somewhat unlikely premise brings detective from Scotland to the scene of the crimes. Good dispersal of clues and turn of events.

Rex Graves is invited to spend the holiday at the home/hotel of his mother's childhood friend. When the guests become snowed in murders start happening.

A cozy mystery, this series is not for me. The solution was neither plausible nor probable. Came across several words which were misused which jarred my reading. It was fine for a quick Christmas read, but I won't be pursuing this author.½

The cast of characters in this one were no less colorful than in the previous book so that was terrific but at the same time, the characters were quite different so you didn't feel like you were reading about the same people, just with different names and a different location. It had it's funny moments too; especially considering the island's nudity that caught Rex offguard. Here is how I see it; anytime you read a mystery and you are cheering for a character to NOT be the guilty party, you've gotten a good book because it shows you care about the story and how it's unfolding as you read it.

This is great fun to read. The first book in the series has Scots QC Rex Graves visiting the home/motel of his mothers best friend for Christmas. Arriving in the middle of a snowstorm, Rex is greeted with a dead body and a cast of characters that are as diverse as they are interesting. With more bodies showing up, Rex needs to solve the mystery of who is killing the guests, and why? There are a couple of small "bumpy" spots in the story but on the whole I loved it.½

Scottish Barrister Rex Graves and his fiancée Helen have been invited to a wedding in England after which they play on taking a walking holiday. The bride to be, Polly is a former student of Helen's who lives with her mother in what some might call a faux castle. The bride and her mother were deserted by Polly's father years before in mysterious circumstances.

Aside from the excellent food and beverages, the wedding offers an opportunity for Rex to meet some of Helen's co workers and in particular her old boyfriend Clive. When the festivities re wrapping up and the wedding cake is distributed a hidden scenario comes into play and murder is added the menu.

All the clues are there and it is very fortunate the QC Rex with his sharp eyes, intelligent instinct photographic memory is on the scene. The reader has the same inside tract to solving the case.

This mystery moves a at a rapid pace, is interesting, entertaining and fun.

Rex Graves is a Scottish lawyer who has been invited to visit his mother's best friend, Mrs. Smithings, at her inn for Christmas. Shortly before he arrives, the first guest dies and soon another follows. Rex is determined to solve the mystery of the murders before it adversely affects Mrs. Smithings business or the health of any of his fellow guests. Thanks to a large snowstorm what ensues is your basic locked house mystery.

The characters here are mostly stock and thinly drawn. The plot is not particularly intriguing because we don't care enough about the people who die. This is intended as the first in a series and is the author's first book. Perhaps the rest will improve, but I don't think I'm going to take the chance of reading the second book. If you're a big fan of cozy mysteries though, this could be fine - the violence happens off stage.

This is great fun to read. The first book in the series has Scots QC Rex Graves (attorney for those of us in the US) visiting the home/motel of his mothers best friend for Christmas. Arriving in the middle of a snowstorm, Rex is greeted with a dead body and a cast of characters that are as diverse as they are interesting. With more bodies showing up, Rex needs to solve the mystery of who is killing the guests, and why? There are a couple of small "bumpy" spots in the story but on the whole I loved it and can't wait for the sequel to come out so I can continue to look at life with Rex.

Rex and his fiance Helen are invited to a wedding. The bride is a former student of Helen's and she has invited Rex to be her escort.

Rex doesn't know anyone in the wedding party or any of the guests other than Helen so he is watching as an interested outsider. When several people are poisoned at the reception Rex gets involved, mostly because he was watching all the people around him and he is really good at observing what is happening.

The police are more than happy to get Rex involved.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this story and Rex is kept on his toes to try and follow the various hints, clues and red herrings.

I really like this series and can't wait to read more.

Nice to throw a holiday themed mystery into the usual 'Christmas trash' romances. And here ends the reading of holiday books!

I really liked the first Rex Graves book but don't remember it being particularly funny. This one has some moments that had me laughing out loud.

Rex is called to the Caribbean to help find out what happened to a young woman who disappeared without a trace. First big surprise is that the resort where he will be staying is "clothing optional". Now, I have this picture in my mind of this upright, red-headed Scotchman and the look on his face as he receives this news. There are some other funny scenes with him trying to keep his eyes trained on the faces of the people he is trying to question, especially the women!

It is a complicated mystery with several red herrings and a satisfying ending. I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series.

Rex Graves is visiting his son in sunny Florida. When another student in his dorm is found hanging Rex senses that something isn't right, it doesn't "feel" like suicide to him.

Meantime, Moira is back and has followed him to Florida to try and get back together with Rex. Rex is equally determined to break things off permanently and keep his relationship with Helen on track.

Rex has to work his way through American rules, laws and quirks to try and solve the mystery of who killed Dixon, and why.

Loved the interaction between Rex and his son Campbell. It felt real and natural not forced or stupid. I can't wait to read more in this series.

Fun lightweight mystery.

This novel was so engrossing that I read it in only two sittings. Mr Rex Graves owner of the lodge and a Scottish barrister was almost as good as Hercule Poirot. The cast of characters are marvelous as is the storyline, so true to life.

I would recommend this English cozy to anyone who loves cozies.

Adequate read but nothing special