Mystery at Lovelace Manor

Eve Mallow jumps at the opportunity to volunteer for Lovelace Sunday, a big to-do held each year at Lovelace Manor. The manor has quite the history and romantic legend, and this year popular historian Cammie Harrington will be there as well, so Eve figures it will be worth taking part. What she didn't expect was that she'd be writing Cammie's obituary and working to solve her murder, too.

Clare Chase writes a delightful mystery! It's full of people like you'd expect to find in a small English town, and some you might not expect. Eve's love interest, Robin, is actually in the witness protection program. That tidbit makes their relationship a bit more complicated than most, as they can't do anything that will risk his true identity being revealed.

Eve is one of my favorite kinds of protagonists – intelligent, keenly observant, and just a bit quirky. I mean, she's a professional obituary writer. That's not your everyday kind of job. And she's got a dachshund. That automatically makes her good people as far as I'm concerned.

Eve's job drafting Cammie's obituary gives her an opportunity to ask all sorts of questions to plenty of suspects. It seems like there are any number of people who might have had reason to want Cammie out of the way. Could it be Ralph Roscoe, her university ex-boyfriend, who tried to jump into the hot air balloon at the last minute? What about Diana Pickford-Jones, the owner of Lovelace Manor, who had once been so close to Cammie? Or Diana's drop-dead gorgeous model brother, Sebastian, and the deep dark secret Cammie said she knew? The taciturn gardener, Josh Standish? And what about the mysterious storyteller, Raven, who may or may not be who she seems to be?

The story is also full of twists and surprises, and even more than one death. Some I saw coming, some I didn't, and one or two I suspected.

Is there anything really new and unexpected about the story? No. But it's an enjoyable cozy mystery in a British setting, which I always like. It's set in a small town, full of characters that I feel like I'd like to know. It's a quick, easy read, perfect for unwinding after a hard day at work or relaxing in a comfy chair by the pool. If you like a mystery heavy on cozy and light on gory details, with just a touch of romance, I highly recommend Mystery at Lovelace Manor!

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from Bookouture and NetGalley. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.