Murder at Ravenswood House is the second book in Louise Marley’s An English Village Mystery series.
Although this was the second book in the series it is easily read as a standalone, I did not feel lost in any way not having read the first novel.
The novel is told from multiple points of view, but the main character is Milla (Camilla) Graham, a young journalist who is at loose ends after having recently returned to her hometown of Raven’s Edge. She has no job, and with a rich father no need to rush out looking for one. Instead, she uses her investigative skills as an amateur sleuth.
I quite enjoyed this story except for Mila’s actions in the first chapters. Even for an amateur sleuth in a cozy mystery, her actions seemed out f the ordinary, and not in a good way. I don’t want to spoil anything by saying what she did, but if you read it, I think you’ll know. How she didn’t end up in jail by the end of the book is beyond me. That one action really almost caused me to stop reading.
Once I was able to set that bit aside and continued reading, I really enjoyed the mystery and the townspeople of Raven’s Edge. The people were quirky, and interesting, providing a wide array of suspects.
I did find the story dragged on a bit at times, and at first wondered about the secondary mystery that was hinted at throughout the book, but the author tied everything together at the end and made it all make sense.
I would recommend this book to lovers of cozy mysteries.
Murder at Ravenswood House will be available on May 7 2024.
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