Murder in a Country Village by F.L. Everett

An Edie York Mystery #2

318 pages

Publisher: Bookouture

Publishing Date: November 23, 2023

 

Blurb

England, 1941. With World War Two shaking the nation, rookie reporter Edie York wants to write the front-page news. But she ends up as the headlines when she stumbles over a body on the moors...

Eager to follow Churchill's order to keep calm and carry on, Edie York has left the bombed-out streets of Manchester behind for a stroll in the countryside. But her rationed picnic lunch turns to ashes in her mouth when she discovers Joyce Reid, a well-known anti-war activist, lifeless at the bottom of a cliff.

Despite infuriatingly handsome DCI Louis Brennan's less-than-amused warnings ringing in her ears, Edie is unable to leave the conscripted local bobby to do his work. Heading off to investigate, she immediately uncovers potential suspects galore. From alleged black-marketeers to the local land girl, a shell-shocked artist to Joyce's on-off lover, Edie is sure the murderer is right under her nose.

Then Edie makes another gruesome discovery, and realises she needs long-suffering Louis on the scene to officially investigate. Can they uncover the killer hiding in plain sight, before it's too late? Or will Edie's own obituary end up featured on the front pages she's coveted for so long...?

 

Review

I should start this review by saying that I haven’t read A Report of Murder, the first Edie York mystery, yet. While there are references to that first book in this story, I’m very happy that I never felt as if I missed out on vital information.

Murder in a Country Village is a charming, well-plotted, and fluently told mystery. It is also somewhat of a slow burner. While the first body is discovered fairly early on in the story it isn’t even qualified as anything other than an accident until well beyond the midway point of the book. Having said that, Edie has her doubts from the very start and can’t help but investigate both the death and the controversial community of pacifist artists Joyce, the victim was part of.

It isn’t until much later on in the story and Edie’s discovery of a second corpse that things speed up. That is also the moment when her friend, DCI Louis Brennan starts taking an active interest in the case.

There was quite a lot to enjoy in this story. Edie is a very likeable, be it at times exasperatingly impulsive, main character. It’s quite refreshing to encounter a DCI encouraging the amateur investigator to do more sleuthing rather than sternly forbidding them from such action. Edie’s roommate, her colleagues, her friends, and the girl she fell out with years earlier were all interesting and vividly described secondary characters. What’s more, Manchester and its surroundings during WWII made for a fascinating setting, just as the conflict between pacifists and the rest of the population added extra tension to the story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written and easy-to-read mystery. The crimes were enticingly mysterious, and the solution was satisfying. What’s more, the author played fair with the reader; the clues were there and I’m happy to say that Edie and I reached the same conclusion at more or less the same time. It’s highly probable that I will revisit Edie and Louis in the not-too-distant future.