Wednesday, October 9, 2019

BLOG TOUR - The Flower Show Murder


Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for The Flower Show Murder by Faith Martin.


DESCRIPTION:

Discover a new series of murder mysteries set in an idyllic English village. From million-selling author Faith Martin.

Meet Monica Noble: the vicar’s wife with a taste for solving crimes.

Please note this book was first published as “UNHOLY WHIFF OF DEATH” under Faith Martin’s pen name JOYCE CATO.

SMELL THE ROSES AND DIE!

Monica Noble is thrilled to be asked to judge a neighbouring village’s flower show, even if she can't tell a begonia from an azalea!

Her fellow judge Vicar James Davies inhales deeply from a large bloom and drops dead in the tent. At first everyone thinks he’s had a heart attack, but the doctor on hand is suspicious and calls in the police.

A second murder quickly follows, this time of one of the main suspects.
Monica must help the Chief Inspector Jason Dury to solve the two murders and find the killer —fast, before anyone else pays the ultimate price.

This is the second of a series of enjoyable murder mysteries with great characters and baffling crimes which will keep you gripped till the final page.

Perfect for fans of classic whodunits by authors like Agatha Christie, LJ Ross, TE Kinsey, and J.R. Ellis.

MONICA NOBLE was widowed young, leaving her to raise her feisty daughter on her own. That is, until she met and fell in love with Graham Noble, a country vicar (pastor), who enticed her to leave her high-flying job in advertising in the city and move to the Cotswold countryside. There she found bucolic life very pleasant indeed — until murder started to rear its ugly head. And she discovered, to everyone's surprise, that she had a flair for solving the most unholy of crimes.

FAITH MARTIN is the million-selling author of the DETECTIVE HILLARY GREENE and JENNY STARLING mysteries, which have topped the global best-seller charts.

More MONICA NOBLE mysteries coming soon. Join the Joffe Books mailing list to be the first to hear about the next in the series.

MONICA NOBLE MYSTERIES

Book 1: THE VICARAGE MURDER
Book 2: THE FLOWER SHOW MURDER

MY THOUGHTS:


Title:   The Flower Show Murder
Author:  Faith Martin
Series:  Monica Noble #2
Genre:   Cozy Mystery
Publisher:  Joffe Books
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   207
Date of Publication:  September 30, 2019
My Rating:  4 Stars

Monica Noble is a vicar's wife who left a busy life in London two years previously when she married Graham. She has a  troublesome teen daughter Carol-Ann. Living in the Cotswolds is a serious change for mother and daughter, but Monica couldn't be happier.

When she is asked to be one of the judges at a nearby flower show, she is excited but nervous. Truthfully, she doesn't know much about flowers, but this is a wonderful opportunity and she will be in great company.

When fellow judge James Davies is found dead of an apparent heart attack, it doesn't take long for the local doctor - and Monica - to realize that foul play might have been at hand. This is rather close to home because James Davies was Graham's close friend and a fellow vicar. While the police begin questioning everyone at the event, there is a second murder.

Monica ends working with the police before on a murder, and ended up solving the case. She worked with Chief Inspector Jason Drury before and it certainly looks like her unique skills might come in handy yet again. As a matter of fact, Jason even wonders whether or not Monica is gifted as a natural detective.

As busy as Monica is, she hardly notices that Carol-Ann has an agenda of her own. She is determined to catch the eye of someone at the flower show, a photographer, and really feels that this event will become a turning point in her life. While Monica is hoping that her daughter will pursue higher education, Carol-Ann is determined to become a supermodel.

There are no shortage of suspects and this story is a busy, yet quick read that kept me guessing until the end. I was very surprised as to who the killer was. Although The Flower Show Murder is the second book in the Monica Noble series, it does perfectly well as a standalone. For those who love series as much as I do just might enjoy the first book, The Vicarage Murder. I love this series by Faith Martin and am really looking forward to the next in the series.

Many thanks to Joffe Books, NetGalley and Books N All for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Faith Martin was born in Oxford, and has spent all her life within twenty miles of the university
city, even working at Somerville College for five years before turning to writing full-time. The author of the popular DI Hillary Greene novels, she also writes more classic-style 'whodunits' under the pen name Joyce Cato, but began her writing career as Maxine Barry, winning an award for penning romance novels! A popular writer for over 25 years, she has had nearly 50 novels published so far. Her hobbies include walking her now ageing dog, wildlife-watching, reading and (reluctantly) gardening.

8 comments:

  1. This is on my TBR for this month.

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  2. She is new to me and I like the looks of her work, thanx for sharing her with us.

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  3. I'm not familiar with the book. For a thriller I'm not a fan of the cover as it looks too sweet and innocent.

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  4. I agree with Whispering Stories about the cover. I would pass it over as a gardening book, which would be a pity as this sounds really good.

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  5. Great review Robin, I'm really glad you are enjoying reading this series so far in. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.

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