A Deadly Dedication
Book Summary
When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.
Penelope Parish thought she’d turned the page on her amateur sleuthing days but when the owner of Upper Chumley-on-Stokes’ proposed first high-end gourmet shop is poisoned, the American novelist starts to wonder if she and her quaint British town are in for another rewrite. It turns out that not everyone was a fan of Simeon Foster’s farm-sourced charcuterie and imported pastries—many of the locals were outraged by the potential new competition.
With a full menu of suspects on her hands, this just might be Penelope’s toughest case yet. Luckily, her friends at the Open Book are there to help with every twist of the poisoned pen.
My Thoughts
A Deadly Dedication by Margaret Loudon returns readers to Upper Chumley-on-Stokes where Penelope Parish finds
herself investigating the latest murder in the village. Simeon Foster wants to open a high-end gourmet
shop in the village which has the shop owners up in arms. Penelope finds Simeon dead during the Guy
Fawkes Night celebration. There is no
shortage of suspects. Pen must sift
through the clues and dig into the suspects’ lives. The mystery is straightforward. The guilty party could be easily identified
early in the story. I wish the whodunit
had been more complex. I would have
liked some action (the story desperately needed it). The mystery is neatly wrapped up at the end. We get to follow Pen as she goes about her day-to-day
life. She works at the Open Book
bookstore, chats with friends, works on her latest manuscript, enjoys tea and
scones, and spends time with her boyfriend.
The story moves along at a leisurely
pace (I believe snails move faster).
The
author captures life in a small, English village. Her vivid descriptions allow readers to
visualize Upper Chumley-on-Stokes and its characters. There is some romance as Pen spends time with
her boyfriend, Detective Maguire. A Deadly Dedication is the fourth book in The Open Book Mysteries. It can be read as a standalone. I wanted to give this series one more chance
before saying adieu. I am not a fan of Penelope,
and the series is just ho hum. I feel
the series needs a jolt of humor and action.
I also do not see where the characters are developing (an example is Pen
or her sister, Beryl Kent). It is evident that I am not the right
audience for this series. I suggest you
download a sample to judge for yourself.
A Deadly Dedication is a culinary cozy with scrumptious scones, upset
shopkeepers, Guy Fawkes celebration, a deceased Simeon, a surplus of suspects, and
vast quantities of tea.
A Deadly Dedication is available from Amazon*. The Open Book Mysteries can be found here. Margaret Loudon is the non de plume for Peg Cochran. You can find her other novels here. While The Open Book Mysteries are not my cup of tea, I do enjoy Peg Cochran A Cranberry Cove Mysteries. The eighth book is Berried Grievances, and it will be out on August 8. Thank you for joining me today. Tomorrow I am featuring Ranch Showdown by Tina Wheeler. Please join me to learn more about the story and enter the giveaway. I hope that you have a cheerful day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
