Mystery at Magpie Lodge by Clare Chase

19^th September 2023.

This is another enjoyable entry in one of my favourite series, featuring obituary writer and sleuth, Eve Mallow. She’s one of the most likeable and engaging sleuths in crime literature and a joy to follow, thanks to great writing, original plots and the wonderful characters in the backstory.

Emory Fulton, a former TV presenter and occasional medium, makes quite an impression when he briefly enters Eve Mallow’s life. After a ghost walk through the Saxford St Peter, he’s found dead in a bath in a nearby cottage the following evening. Eve, who liked Emory, knows he had troubles with his family and his goddaughter. But were these enough to lead to his murder? As soon as she receives the commission to write his obituary, she begins sleuthing once more, determined to uncover the truth.

Only it’s much more complicated than she realises as she uncovers affairs, secrets and plenty of suspects in the neighbourhood. But as she investigates and questions those who knew Emory, the danger to herself increases.

Everything that makes this series a delight and pleasure to read is here in the latest mystery in the series. Gus, the dachshund, never fails to lift every scene he appears in. Viv, who runs the local confectioners and café, is a hoot, offering cakes for updates at every turn. There’s humour, a touch of romance and plenty of familiar characters to keep the story bubbling along.

If you enjoy a cosy murder mystery, packed with entertaining and believable characters, a complex plot that builds suspense and tension as it twists and turns towards an exciting climax, and a delightful backstory that evolves with each book, then look no further than Eve Mallow.

Description

After the black sheep of the Fulton family is found dead, the village of Saxford St Peter is quick to blame it on his past misdeeds. But Eve Mallow is on the hunt for someone closer to home…

When the down-on-his-luck Emory Fulton moves into crumbling Magpie Lodge, and starts running historical tours, the locals are none too pleased. He’s inventing grisly tales about their lovely little village, and disturbing everyone’s peace.

But then he’s found dead in his bath, and everyone is suddenly running scared. Could something strange be happening? After all, the murder mirrors one of Fulton’s stories about Saxford’s dark past…

But Eve Mallow is sure the answers lie in much more recent events.

Accompanied by her stalwart dachshund sidekick Gus, she starts to dig a little deeper. Could it be Fulton’s snobbish bigwig brother, or the suspicious local academic? Why was his goddaughter handing him mysterious parcels, and why wouldn’t his sister-in-law let him in her house?

As Eve unravels the secrets of the living and the dead, one thing is for sure: Fulton was a haunted, hunted man. And if Eve doesn’t crack the case soon, she might find whoever wanted to keep Fulton quiet on her trail too…