Homicide in Herne Hill
by Alice Castle
Beth Haldane, SE21’s premier – and only – single mum amateur sleuth is really pleased to find a new friend at the school gates, in the shape of irrepressibly bouncy Nina. As well as a way with words, Nina has a puzzle she wants Beth to solve, centered on the solicitor’s office where Nina works in Herne Hill.
But as the mystery thickens, threatening to drag in not just Nina and her boss, but the yummy mummies of Dulwich, too, Beth is about to find out just how far some people will go to keep up appearances.
Join Beth in this fourth installment in the London Murder Mystery series for her toughest case yet.
Favorite Quotes:
Beth realised she had never enjoyed a Nativity so much… The Angel Gabriel was extremely reluctant to hand over the Godchild to Mary, as it was her brand new Luvabella doll playing the pivotal role. Once that tug-of-war was over, one of the Year 1 oxen bit a shepherd on the leg and the Three Wise Men got lost, their Sat Nav having apparently failed in the desert. Billy and Bobby MacKenzie, playing the role of bouncers – characters who had oddly not appeared in the original Gospels – had a not very sotto voce fight over who was going to tether Mary’s extremely uncooperative donkey, and only their mother’s blistering intervention from the audience got events moving again. Finally, one of the angels absentmindedly lifted up her skirts to reveal she wasn’t wearing any knickers, at which point many parents gave up live-streaming the event for fear of prosecution on public decency grounds.
She fumbled out the Nokia phone, looking askance at its blocky buttons. ‘Cool,’ breathed Ben, taking it from her with the reverence of an Egyptologist examining a rare papyrus. ‘That’s so… old.’
Poor Janice was starting to get that look of occasional blank terror Beth had often seen on expectant mothers’ faces, and which had no doubt been on her own, as the horrible truth dawned that two people couldn’t continue in one body indefinitely, and there was only one possible exit route.
‘Bet you thought we was all too old for hanky-panky. Well, let me tell you, a Freedom Pass in’t just for the buses, love… It’s like the January sales, sometimes, down at the sheltered housing. And I’m in a good position now that Ivy Penrose has passed.’
How do you even know that much? We’re just piecing things together. Honestly, I ought to just tap your phone line. It would cut our investigation time in half.
My Review:
I have enjoyed each intriguing, humorous, and cunningly penned installment in this series, but I believe I enjoyed this one most of all. Alice Castle has laced her well-crafted mysteries with delightfully amusing wry wit, clever comedic observations and insights, and humorously depicted and enticingly quirky characters. I smirked and reveled in the nimbly described antics and colorfully detailed encounters and shenanigans the highly curious Beth manages to entangle herself within, but she just can’t herself. I totally adore Beth and suspect we would be fast friends if we ever had the chance to meet. She also provided a treasure trove of new additions for my Brit Vocabulary List with blimmin’ - a milder version of bleeding or bloody; boyf – boyfriend; moggie – a common cat; titch – a small amount or small person; cozzie – swimsuit; off-licence – a liquor store; and shirty – irritable and bad-tempered.
Author Bio
Before turning to crime, Alice Castle had a long career as a feature writer on national newspapers including the Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Alice grew up in south London and, after a brief stint in Brussels (where her first novel, Hot Chocolate, is set) she is back where she belongs, dreaming up adventures for her heroine, amateur detective and single mum Beth Haldane. Alice is married with two children, two stepchildren, and two cats. Find out more about her London Murder Mystery series on her website, www.alicecastleauthor.com. Death in Dulwich was published in September 2017 by Crooked Cat Books and was #1 in the Amazon Satire/Detective charts in the UK, US, Canada, France, Spain, and Germany. The Girl in the Gallery came out in December 2017 and the third in the series, Calamity in Camberwell, was published on 13th August 2018. Revenge on the Rye will follow in 2019, with more books in the pipeline.
Social Media Links – http://www.alicecastleauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicecastleauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDsDiary?lang=en
Links to buy books: http://www.MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery.
myBook.to/1DeathinDulwich, myBook.to/GirlintheGallery, myBook.to/CiC myBook.to/homicideinhernehill
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Beth realised she had never enjoyed a Nativity so much… The Angel Gabriel was extremely reluctant to hand over the Godchild to Mary, as it was her brand new Luvabella doll playing the pivotal role. Once that tug-of-war was over, one of the Year 1 oxen bit a shepherd on the leg and the Three Wise Men got lost, their Sat Nav having apparently failed in the desert. Billy and Bobby MacKenzie, playing the role of bouncers – characters who had oddly not appeared in the original Gospels – had a not very sotto voce fight over who was going to tether Mary’s extremely uncooperative donkey, and only their mother’s blistering intervention from the audience got events moving again. Finally, one of the angels absentmindedly lifted up her skirts to reveal she wasn’t wearing any knickers, at which point many parents gave up live-streaming the event for fear of prosecution on public decency grounds.
She fumbled out the Nokia phone, looking askance at its blocky buttons. ‘Cool,’ breathed Ben, taking it from her with the reverence of an Egyptologist examining a rare papyrus. ‘That’s so… old.’
Poor Janice was starting to get that look of occasional blank terror Beth had often seen on expectant mothers’ faces, and which had no doubt been on her own, as the horrible truth dawned that two people couldn’t continue in one body indefinitely, and there was only one possible exit route.
‘Bet you thought we was all too old for hanky-panky. Well, let me tell you, a Freedom Pass in’t just for the buses, love… It’s like the January sales, sometimes, down at the sheltered housing. And I’m in a good position now that Ivy Penrose has passed.’
How do you even know that much? We’re just piecing things together. Honestly, I ought to just tap your phone line. It would cut our investigation time in half.
My Review:
I have enjoyed each intriguing, humorous, and cunningly penned installment in this series, but I believe I enjoyed this one most of all. Alice Castle has laced her well-crafted mysteries with delightfully amusing wry wit, clever comedic observations and insights, and humorously depicted and enticingly quirky characters. I smirked and reveled in the nimbly described antics and colorfully detailed encounters and shenanigans the highly curious Beth manages to entangle herself within, but she just can’t herself. I totally adore Beth and suspect we would be fast friends if we ever had the chance to meet. She also provided a treasure trove of new additions for my Brit Vocabulary List with blimmin’ - a milder version of bleeding or bloody; boyf – boyfriend; moggie – a common cat; titch – a small amount or small person; cozzie – swimsuit; off-licence – a liquor store; and shirty – irritable and bad-tempered.
Empress DJ
Author Bio
Before turning to crime, Alice Castle had a long career as a feature writer on national newspapers including the Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Alice grew up in south London and, after a brief stint in Brussels (where her first novel, Hot Chocolate, is set) she is back where she belongs, dreaming up adventures for her heroine, amateur detective and single mum Beth Haldane. Alice is married with two children, two stepchildren, and two cats. Find out more about her London Murder Mystery series on her website, www.alicecastleauthor.com. Death in Dulwich was published in September 2017 by Crooked Cat Books and was #1 in the Amazon Satire/Detective charts in the UK, US, Canada, France, Spain, and Germany. The Girl in the Gallery came out in December 2017 and the third in the series, Calamity in Camberwell, was published on 13th August 2018. Revenge on the Rye will follow in 2019, with more books in the pipeline.
Social Media Links – http://www.alicecastleauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicecastleauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDsDiary?lang=en
Links to buy books: http://www.MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery.
myBook.to/1DeathinDulwich, myBook.to/GirlintheGallery, myBook.to/CiC myBook.to/homicideinhernehill
Giveaway
Win a signed copy of Homicide in Herne Hill
(Open Internationally)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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