Now and again, a reader needs a respite with a cozy mystery. The generally accepted definition has these mysteries with a woman sleuthing around as an amateur who is probably dismissed by the professional detectives and police. Usually, the murder takes place only to be discovered after the fact in a small village or community with lots of gossips. I would add to the definition that the murder often doesn’t happen until the book is halfway finished in order to draw all the characters who may be suspects. That gives time to establish that the victim is someone who “deserved” to die.
Isabel Puddles Abroad by M.V. Byrne fits that description, including my addition to the definition. It furnished me a breather from some heavier reading I had been doing. Isabel finds herself across the pond in England in the village of Mousehole, Cornwall visiting her pen pal Teddy Mansfield. She arrives in time for the annual village scone bake-off with Teddy’s housekeeper Tuppence determined to win.
The contest appears to be the biggest thing on the calendar for the visit until a body is found in a neighboring flower bed. The victim is the person who most needs to die, and Isabel’s reputation for recent detective work in her home on Lake Michigan catches up with her as she is drawn into the investigation. She is a kindred spirit to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote and comes from a similar community with eccentric characters. She sorts through various red herrings and clues that lead nowhere until she finds the killer as this reader knew she would.
The book will give some lighthearted diversion and teach you absolutely nothing – perfect for holiday season reading. I loved it!