There was a lot good about this, the first of the series I have read. I did think there was more of the nice village setting and life than I needed but I will try another and see how it goes.
The mystery was well thought out, with information threaded carefully throughout, though I was rather disappointed at the description of the Roman jewellery that was dug up. These items don't come out of the ground looking pristine. They look like a dirty lump with centuries of encrustation. Specialists have to spend hours painstakingly cleaning them under magnification to bring them back to anywhere near their former glory, and such a collection from one site must have been a record. This anomaly did take the gloss off the story for me, especially as it wasn't necessary.
I did like the main characters, though I doubt very much that Lady Harrington, or any 'lady' of the period, would have sat with her stockinged feet on her husband's thighs in the presence of the vicar and his wife, a police officer and two other men, or that he would have fondled her toes. Simply not done.
There have been some comments about wording in this series, but as I'm an Aussie, the British style is the correct one as far as I'm concerned :) ( )

The author's own assessment of this novel (see below) is pretty spot on.

If you are looking for a cozy to read on your e-book reader this may well hit the spot. In true cozy fashion there is little actual violence, a body, and some mystery threads. In Midsomer Murder style the action is set around some seasonal festivities. The characters are pretty well drawn (I found myself even detecting Beth's American accent), and it is set in a close knit village. Lord James Harrington makes a good if at times annoying and tunnel-visioned sleuth. I did get annoyed at times with his lord-of-the-manor mannerisms.

There were a couple of times when I predicted fairly accurately what would happen next, but that happens a lot with cozies. There were some good red herrings, and the threads came together passably, and just to make sure, the connections are all explained at the end.

From the author

On Lord James Harrington: I devour cosy crime novels. I particularly love the American cosies that involve you in the town activities, food festivals, fashions and suchlike. Having successfully published a number of short stories and articles I decided to create my own cosy mystery series and came up with Lord James Harrington.

I liken these to the mysteries you see on TV - Midsomer Murders, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Miss Fisher Mysteries, that sort of thing.
This is a simple cosy; nothing more, nothing less. It's written for that Sunday afternoon/holiday/bedtime read. I am not a writer of literary prose; so, if you're after the next Booker prize winner, this is not the book for you. However, if you're looking for a light and gentle rose-tinted mystery, this may do the trick. ( )