Hello. I hope you had a delightful St. Patrick's Day. The Promise by Susan Lantz Simpson is coming out on March 27 along with Charlotte Hubbard's A Mother's Gift. The Road Home by Beverly Lewis will be available on April 3.
Murder in Thistlecross by Amy M. Reade is A Malice Novel. Eilidh Stewart has
been working for Annabel Baines as her estate manager and assistant for the
last two years in the Welsh village of Thistlecross. There has been a flurry of preparations as
Annabel gets ready for her three estranged sons to visit. Andreas and his pregnant wife, Sian are the
first to arrive. Then they welcome Hugh
and his wife Cadi who do not seem to be getting along. The last to arrive is Rhisiart who is the
writer in the family. The tension can be
palpably felt by everyone and matters are not helped by Brenda, the maid, who
is acting oddly (clumsy, irritable). The
family reunion takes a tragic turn when one of the family members turn up dead
the next day. This is just the beginning
of the misfortune to strike the household.
Eilidh works to unravel the clues and discover who is behind these
deadly deeds. Someone, though, does not
appreciate her nosiness. What will they
do to prevent Eilidh from ferreting out their identity?
Murder in Thistlecross was not
quite what I expected after reading Amy Reade’s previous novels. While Murder in Thistlecross is part of A Malice Novel series, it can be read alone.
Characters from the previous novels are present, but their backstory is
included. The other novels in A Malice Novel series are The House on Candlewick Lane and Highland Peril. I found the story easy to read
with a gentle pace. The main character
has been divorced two years and is ready to move forward with her life (i.e.—romantically
speaking). Thus, enters Griff, the
stable manager as a love interest for our heroine. Eilidh is referred to as an estate manager and
assistant (in the beginning as an estate manager and later as personal
assistant). She acted more like an
assistant (a competent yet bland one). I
wish that Eilidh had more of a presence (stronger personality, braver attitude). She does have a good heart and is loyal to
her friends and employer. The mysteries have
some interesting components, but they are not compelling (did not hold my
attention). The mysteries can be solved
long before the reveal. Eilidh is not as
fortunate as I was in flushing out the culprit’s identity. I did not feel the suspense in the book, and
the ending felt rushed (the author was nearing the end and needed to wrap up
everything within the next few pages). My
rating for Murder in Thistlecross is 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay). I wanted more substance and depth in Murder in Thistlecross. I do look forward to
reading more of Amy Reade’s novels in the future and I recommend checking out
her other novels.
Tomorrow I will feature Searcher of the Dead by Nancy Herriman. Thank you for reading my review and I hope that you have a special day (one void of turmoil). Please consider following my blog. You just have to click the little button at the top right of my page (I added it this week). Make sure you take time for yourself and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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