Despite the title, the murder of a politician at home is not the main plot, though it still has to be investigated by the team and resolved. This is the first book in a brand new series featuring Belinda Penshurst who lives in a castle in the small village of Little Challham. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. A brand new cosy mystery series from the bestselling author of Murder at the Lighthouse, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Betty Rowlands and Joy Ellis.

So when irritable pub landlord Tipper is found dead in his cellar, she’s shocked… and also perfectly placed to investigate. More to the point was the subplot of whatever new Superintendent Raleigh is up to, culminating in the near-disastrous result of a raid on local crime boss Fletcher's house during a drug exchange with other criminals. The narrator was great, no silly whiney voices for different characters but you could tell the difference when someone else spoke.

The one thing I thought unrealistic was the denouement concerning her late husband's ill gotten gains, because previously it seemed that only Hilary with her knowledge of his likes and dislikes etc would have worked out exactly where to look for them. But all the leads came to nothing while her team became more frustrated with the second and third interviews they were holding. Born in Oxford, Faith has spent all her life within twenty miles of the university city, even working at Somerville College for five years before turning to writing full-time. If I were to compare my reading to a Sunday lunch, Faith Martin's books are the potatoes - a safe bet and, quite often, the best bit of the meal in a very understated way. Opening ‘Murder In The Village’ felt like being reunited with old friends, all apart from DS Ross that is.

During the course of the first three books, the regular crew of the Thames Valley force have become well established. not seriously, the team get together with still lots of dead ends, Hillary goes through the case over and over then suddenly there's the answer, Meanwhile her new boss.This was not one that worked for me at all, but other reviewers have enjoyed it, so don’t let me dissuade you from giving it a try. Just as she's about to make a breakthrough, everything is turned upside down by a fatal development in another case she is working on . Harry Powell, now retired from the author's previous East Rise series, was the only likeable character with his little chats with the villagers. Her team is not an easy one to manage with two young, eager detectives and one old lazy one, who was a friend of her husband and is now mostly seeing out his time until he can retire, but somehow she gets the best out of them and has a great record of solving cases.