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Posts Tagged ‘cherringham’

‘Cherringham: A Cosy Crime Series – Playing Dead’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , on December 20, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Another short audiobook mystery from the creators of Cherringham. In this ‘episode’ Sarah and Jack investigate when a series of unfortunate incidents threaten the Cherringham Players Amateur Dramatics Society. Sarah’s mother Helen is one of the players and asks the two self-styled detectives to step in and investigate whether or not someone is trying to sabotage them, or if they are just having a run of bad luck. Of course, it’s not very spoilery to say that everything that’s happening is deliberate – but who is behind it, and why?

I enjoyed this story a lot – it’s filled with the usual cast of characters, with their own personal secrets and disputes rising to the surface as events pile up one after the other. Jack and Sarah continue to grow close. It’s not very realistic, but it’s decent cosy escapism. Another solid entry in this series.

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‘Cherringham: A Cosy Crime Series – Snow-blind’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , on November 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »

This is the eighth instalment in the Cherringham Crime Series, narrated by Neil Dudgeon. Our intrepid detectives Jack and Sarah find themselves investigating suspicious goings on at an old people’s home after one of their residents escapes and dies in the worst snow blizzard to hit Cherringham for years.

As usual, this is an enjoyable mystery, with some surprises along the way. The more I listen to, the more I think this would be super as a TV programme along the lines of Midsomer Murders or The Brokenwood Mysteries – quirky and generally inoffensive, but with an interesting plot running through. I don’t know how or if Jack and Sarah’s relationship status as good friends will change, but I do sense the two of them getting closer in this book. We will see…

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‘Cherringham: A Cosy Crime Series – The Body in the Lake’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , on July 25, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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The Body in the Lake is the seventh episode/novella/installment – whichever you want to call it – in the Cherringham Cosy Crime Series. Laurent Bourdain, the mayor of a French village has been invited to Cherringham to pave the way for the twinning of the two small villages. A celebration party at Repton Hall (a large manor house owned by Lady Repton, who has appeared in a previous Cherringham mystery) turns to debauchery and ends with Monsieur Bourdain’s body being found floating in the lake at the manor.

Naturally there are plenty of suspects and an arrest is soon made, but our amateur detectives Sarah and Jack think that the wrong person is in custody and set out to solve the crime for themselves.

As with all the Cherringham series, Neil Dudgeon excellently narrates this episode and the story is enjoyable, although not the best so far but they can’t all be the best. Another fun slice of life in the sleepy Cotswold village with all sorts of secrets lurking below the surface…

 

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‘Cherringham: A Cosy Crime Series – The Curse of Mabbs Farm, by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , on June 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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Book 6 in the Cherringham Cosy Crime Series does not disappoint. Readers (or listeners in my case) will be familiar with the format by now – something suspect happens in the village of Cherringham – which seems to have an awful lot of nefarious activity for such a beautiful picturesque place! – and amateur sleuth Sarah Edwards and retired NYC detective Jack Brennan set out to get to the bottom of things.

In this ‘episode’ Charlie and Caitlin Fox, who run Mabbs Farm, are having a run of spectacularly bad luck with livestock going missing, mysterious fires and all sorts of misfortunes. Caitlin, along with several villagers, believe that the reason is due to an ancient curse which was put on the farm, but Sarah and Jack believe the reason is a lot closer to home and decide to find out who is behind it.

As always, this was a light hearted mystery, and much to my pleasant surprise, just when I thought I had got it all worked out, the ending was a complete surprise. I really do recommend this series to all who enjoy cosy mysteries and TV programmes such as Midsomer Murders or Agatha Raisin. Excellent narration as always by Neil Dudgeon.

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‘Cherringham: A Cosy Crime Series – Last Train to London’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , , on May 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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This is the fifth ‘episode’ in the Cherringham Cosy Crime Series featuring amateur detective Sarah Edwards, and retired New York cop Jack Brennan. I have enjoyed this series very much so far and this episode was just as good as the ones before it.

Otto Brendl, jeweller and puppeteer, who performs Punch and Judy shows for the annual school fair, is found dead, of an apparent heart attack. However, when Jack sees a familiar tattoo on Otto’s body, he starts to suspect that the death was not an accident, and he and Sarah delve into the man’s mysterious past.

Narrated excellently, as always, by Neil Dudgeon, this was an enjoyable slice of Cotswolds drama. I love Jack and Sarah’s characters, and look forward to the next instalment.

 

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‘Cherringham: A Cozy Crime Series – Thick as Thieves’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , on April 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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The fourth instalment of the Cherringham series, was I’m happy to say, equally as good as the three that went before it. I love listening to these stories – they are ideal to keep me engaged during a long run or two, and I really like the central characters of Jack Brennan and Sarah Edwards.

In this ‘episode’, two men find a rare Roman artefact on a farm – it will be sold to the British Museum and the money will be divided between the two men, the farmer and  Lady Repton, who owns the farmland, making them all rich. However, the artefact is stolen and while the police blame a notorious gang of thieves, Jack and Sarah are not convinced. They set out to solve the mystery themselves, but with several possible suspects, it’s not an easy job.

As always, this was an enjoyable and undemanding listen. The mystery itself was well constructed and I did not guess the culprit. It’s not giving anything away to say that there is a part of the story where Jack has to pretend to be a Texan tycoon, which I enjoyed immensely.

Another great story from the Cherringham series.

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‘Cherringham: A Cozy Crime Series – Murder by Moonlight’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , on March 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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This is the third ‘episode’ in the Cherringham series and another enjoyable story.

Cherringham is preparing for it’s annual Christmas choir performance, when one of the women in the choir, Kirsty, dies of anaphylactic shock from eating a biscuit containing peanuts. It is originally thought of as a tragic accident, but Kirsty’s friend Beth has her suspicions and asks the unofficial detectives Jack and Sarah to investigate.

As always, secrets are unearthed and of course the truth is finally revealed.

Expertly narrated again by Neil Dudgeon, this series has continued to delight me, being undemanding enough to listen to while out running, but also keeping me guessing. Bring on episode 4!

 

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‘Cherringham: A Cozy Crime Series – Mystery at the Manor’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , on March 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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I previously reviewed Murder on Thames, which is the first book in the Cherringham Cozy Crime series, and over the past two days I have listened to book 2, Mystery at the Manor. In this book, Victor Hamblyn, the elderly owner of Mogdon Manor, dies in a fire at his house. But when he is found, it appears that rather than trying to get out of the manor downstairs, he went up to the attic for reasons that nobody can fathom.

Meantime his three avaricious children, Dominic, Susan and Terry, are all only interested in one thing – their inheritance. None of them trust each other, and each of them thinks that they will be the only heir. But is that enough reason for them to murder their father? Sarah Edwards and retired NYC detective Jack Brennan are soon on the case…

As with the first book, and indeed the rest of the series, this novella is narrated by Neil Dudgeon, who has a perfect voice for audiobooks. I found this episode in the Cherringham series to be just as enjoyable as the first one, if not more so, especially as at the beginning of this one, we are already acquainted with Sarah and Jack.

I didn’t guess the ending either, and that’s always a bonus, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers for anyone who is thinking of checking out this series (and if you are a fan of cozy crime, then you really should).

All in all, another great read and I look forward to book 3.

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‘Cherringham: A Cozy Crime Series – Murder on Thames’ by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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I listened to this audiobook over the course of two runs. Narrated brilliantly by Neil Dudgeon, who stars in Midsomer Murders (a favourite show of mine although I love the John Nettles episodes best, because well…John Nettles), this is a similar kind of story and I can actually imagine this would work really well as a TV series.

Sarah Edwards is a single mother, who moved back to Cherringham – a lovely little village in the Cotswolds – from London after her marriage broke up. She is shocked to hear of the apparent suicide of her childhood friend Sammi, but soon starts to suspect that Sammi may in fact have been murdered.

Jack Brennan is a retired New York Homicide Detective who has moved to Cherringham after his retirement, to live a quiet life with his dog on their boat. However, when the opportunity to get involved in solving a possible murder comes his way, he teams up with Sarah to find out the truth behind Sammi’s death.

I really enjoyed this book – it comes in at just under 3 hours, but happily there are several more episodes in this series, as well as a couple of fuller length novels.

If you like shows like Midsomer Murders or books like the Agatha Raisin series, I would highly recommend this. I enjoyed the narration but I think I would have equally enjoyed reading it as a physical book. I will definitely be listening to / reading more in the series.

 

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