cozy-mystery, clandestine-agency, small-town, amateur-sleuth, murder, murder-investigation, PTSD, 1920s, secrets, family, family-dynamics, friendship, England, rural*****

What a tangled mess! It's like a village soap opera with the characters not being honest with anyone Tommy and Evelyn are still trying to adjust to their change in status from private citizen to lord and lady of the manor. It's winter and the roads are too messy for motorcars so Tommy and Evelyn must do what's needed without law enforcement. The publisher's blurb is good so no need to repeat it and spoilers are just rude. I loved it! It's just the right length, too.
I requested and cozy received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ( )

I'll admit I don't usually read cozy mystery series where civilian characters just happen to keep running into murders to solve. However, after I tried one book in this series, hearing which supporting characters would be at the center of this next book got me interested.

Besides, novellas are a big draw for me.

Although I wound up feeling disappointed in the supporting characters in question, I like Tommy and Evelyn as the sleuthing team of leads. While I don't think emotional chemistry between them really comes alive on the page, they've got a good story going as a couple.

What most struck me about this postwar setting is the stark reality of a society now dealing with a shortage of young men, and men who are still alive but severely damaged seem to have been forgotten by the country they fought for.

I enjoyed most of the read, though the transitions are sometimes awkward or abrupt, seeming to miss a few beats or details that would give them a clearer/smoother flow. The writing is sharp and insightful at times but caricatural and a little melodramatic at others. While the preceding book has such a redemptive ending, I feel the ending of this one is tainted. Also, the book is sometimes repetitive, and the frequent grammar and punctuation errors were somewhat distracting for me, but as I read an advance copy, hopefully the errors have since been corrected.

Some fellow ChristFic fans may also want a story with something more redemptive to it, but fans of historical cozies in general may really like this one.
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I received an advance reading copy of this book via BookSirens for an honest review. ( )