Flic Everett

missing-persons, bombing, local-law-enforcement, murder, investigations, journalist, obituary-writer, amateur-sleuth, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, cozy-mystery, multiple-murder, secrets, relationship-issues, relationships, domestic-violence, 1941, England, theatre, actors****

A veteran actor dies onstage but there is no need for suspicion, but the leading lady disappears without her major personal effects on the same night. Obituary writer Edie York becomes involved with the cast and more even as new crises arise. DCI Louis Brennan becomes her contact on The Force and the work well together even as the drama becomes more and more complicated. The characters are realistic and the plot becomes rather twisty in a good way.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you… (mehr)

Murder in a Country Village is the second book in F.L. Everett's wonderful Edie York Mystery series.

What makes it such a wonderful series? Well, all the elements that I quite enjoy are there. Set in the years of WWII, the keep calm and carry on attitude, a plucky female protagonist, a mystery, a crime, an excellent crew of supporting characters - and a dog.

Manchester, London England. Edie is the local newspaper's obituarist. Which is good, but what she'd love to be is a crime reporter. On a ramble with her friend Ethel, they come across a body - and it's someone Ethel knows. Accident or deliberate?

Edie just can't help herself - she starts asking questions. And soon enough, DCI Louis Brennan is called upon.

I really enjoy this type of investigation. Answers, clues, secrets and more are found by interviews, conversations, hunches and instinct. So much more interesting than DNA matches etc.

Edie is such a great lead character and the reader can't help but behind her. Urging her on and sometimes shaking your head at some of her choices. But, it's her curious nature, her kindness and zest for life that makes her such a great protagonist. The supporting cast from the first book return - Lou, Annie her roommate, Lou's friend Arnold and Marple the dog. Everett gives her players personal lives that move forward. Yes, there's some romance afoot for some.

Everett has done a really good job of bringing her setting to life. She gives us detailed locales, food, businesses, the war and much more.

The first book, set the place and introduced the characters. With this second entry there's much more to the crime, the investigation and the characters. I will be watching for the third book!… (mehr)

Thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This is the second in the Edie York Mystery Series but can be read as a stand-alone. The novel takes place in 1941 during World War II in Manchester and the nearby fictional country village of Birchcroft in Lancashire. Edie is working as an obituarist at the Manchester Chronicle but once again becomes an amateur sleuth when she and her friend, Ethel, discover a body while out hiking in Birchcroft.

There are numerous characters in this story, many new ones and several friends returning from the first novel. Friendship is a recurring theme for Edie as she had no family, but thinks that “perhaps over time, good friends made up for that.” This book proves her right.

What I particularly liked about this novel is the writing style. Edie is observant and spunky, with a witty and flippant attitude that often had me laughing out loud. Her friend (and hopefully soon-to-be boyfriend) Detective Inspector Lou Brennan is also clever in his retorts, as when he responds to Edie’s far-fetched suggestion: “Ah yes, Superintendent Hunch. Thank goodness for unsubstantiated feelings, just what we need on this tricky case.”

In addition to the murder mystery and a missing teenager, the topic of war is always present. Author F.L. Everett has done an excellent job of researching this historical period, which she comments on in her note to the reader: “Of course, those who lived through the war didn’t just worry about the big dangers – bombing, their loved ones away fighting, or the threat of a German victory. They worried about coupons and the sugar ration, or how they’d get to work through the rubble, why prices had suddenly gone up, or whether their young man would ever propose. Reading diaries and letters of the time, it’s notable how much people thought about day-to-day life – finding their way home in the blackout, or a cake that didn’t rise and wasted the margarine ration. Even those away fighting dreamed of sleeping in a comfortable bed and going dancing again.

“They were of course, ordinary people, caught up for almost six years in something extraordinary. Writing about Edie and her friends brings the war to life for me – and reminds me that while we have the historical privilege of knowing the outcome, the people simply getting on with life in 1941 had no idea. I admire those past generations enormously, and I feel very lucky to be able to write about them with the benefit of hindsight.”

The novel accurately renders this time period and the “getting on with life” attitude of many during the war. It’s also an entertaining murder mystery that had me trying to solve the case (murders and a missing teen) along with Edie and Lou. Clues and red herrings, bohemians and anti-war activists, humor and thought-provoking “meaning of life” observations – all kept me turning the pages.… (mehr)