The Rockpool Murders by Emylia Hall

 

Rock legend Baz Carson has assembled a party of close family and friends to celebrate his 70th birthday, and publication of his 'tell all' memoir, in his cliff-top Cornish house, but the morning after their arrival, his dead body is found floating in the swimming pool. It seems to be just an accident, perhaps exacerbated by health issues or partying the night before, and the police seem ready to dismiss it as such though at least one of the guests, Tallulah, Baz's first love from California, isn't convinced. Hearing of the Shell House Detectives, she hires them to uncover the truth, but this time Ally and Jayden may have got themselves into something a little too dangerous ...

And then a second body is found; very definitely murdered.

I really like this crime series from Emylia Hall, and this latest is no exception. There's a little change of pace from the previous two, with what is effectively a 'closed room' murder as if there is a murderer, they have to be one of those invited to Baz's party. There's an array of suspects - his ex-wife, their grown-up children, folks who knew Baz back in the old days - any of whom could have had motivation to murder, especially after reading Baz's memoir, and there's a series of twists, turns, and revelations before the murderer is pinned down.

There are changes afoot in the lives of the Shell House 'regulars' - after years of just considering her art as a hobby Ally has her first exhibition, and Jayden's former police boss turns up reminding him of the challenges and rewards of 'real' police work. Are things about to alter completely for the Shell House Detectives? I hope not.

There's everything here that I look for in cosy crime - a relatable cast of characters, an intriguing mystery, and a gorgeous setting. 

Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull

While Jane Austen is surreptitiously meeting her admirer Tom Lefroy at Lord and Lady Harcourt's ball, other guests are discovering a woman's dead body hidden away in a linen closet. Shocked to find this is a women she's met, although only briefly, Jane decides to investigate.
 

Official suspicion moves from an unknown itinerant worker to Jane's brother George, but really fails to investigate. Jane on the other hand sets about learning more about the deceased woman, and finds her suspicions landing on a variety of local gentlefolk.

The story weaves details of Jane Austen's life - her family and circumstances, and her romance with Tom Lefroy - with an intriguing murder mystery, and I must admit I found the murder side of things more engrossing. In part, I suppose, this is due to having seen the film Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy  and being aware of the romance between Jane and Tom Lefroy. The murder mystery though was gripping and satisfying. As Jane's investigations progress the suspects seem to multiply rather than reduce, until it seems like almost everyone outside of Jane's immediate family might have had a motive for murder. A book that I'm sure will appeal to lovers of cosy crime

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

 Having published her Encyclopedia of Faeries, Emily Wilde is deep in research for her next project - a Map of the Otherlands - but the scholarly peace of Cambridge is disrupted when Emily's fellow scholar and would-be-lover (and incidentally an exiled faerie king), Wendell Bambleby, is attacked by faeries sent by his step mother - having claimed his throne as her own isn't enough; she needs to destroy him. To save himself, Bambleby needs to confront his step-mother, but he can't do this without rediscovering the lost door back to his faery realm.

For Emily this is an opportunity to pursue two, or perhaps, three things at once - to find the door, to add to her knowledge of the Otherworld (particularly with reference to her map project), and, maybe along the way, find a long lost scholar believed to have disappeared into the faery realm many years before.

So, with Bambleby still suffering from the latest assault, they head off to the Austrian Alps, to encounter more hostile faery folk and put themselves in not a little danger. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the first in this series of faery adventures, and its successor didn't disappoint. It isn't a dark academia style of story, full of brooding passion and handsome untrustworthy men/angels/demons but something far more cosy; a grown up fairy tale, or maybe an adult Alice in Wonderland. It isn't all sweetness and light though - danger seems to be stalking at every turn. In search of a cure for Bambleby's continuing illness, Emily must enter the Faery realm, facing down his step-mother in the heart of her own kingdom.

As a little piece of escapism from real world problems and the current freezing weather I'd highly recommend it.