Author: Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen
Format: Kindle Edition, self-published July 20, 2011
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Genre: cozy mystery
Source: review e-copy from author
Objective rating: 4/5
I was amused that this humorous cozy mystery, written by a Danish writer, was pulling the leg, so to speak, of the English, in this novel set in Yorkshire. The names of the characters reminded me of food - Rose Walnut-Whip, Olivia Cadbury-Flake, Sir Mars-Wrigley, Thomas Lipton - and are amusing in other ways - Kendall Mint-Romney and Mr. and Mrs. Kickinbottom for instance. The writer doesn't hesitate to bring in as many references to cozy English customs as possible - tea served with milk and sugar and scones in every other scene, steak and kidney pie in the pub, the obsession with football. I confess that my mind wandered from the mystery of the murder and what looked like a suicide or accident, so intent was I on the English names and customs. The mystery picked up however at the end and a good one it is!
Product description: The vicious attacks begin when the prodigal son of Knavesborough, Mark Baldwin, returns to the sleepy village after forty years in Argentina, fully equipped with fame, fortune and effeminate butler. Small wonder that the spiteful nosey parker Rose Walnut-Whip is stabbed, but how could the murderer get away with shattering the perfect, English tearoom idyll in front of twenty villagers?
Constable Archibald Penrose is in dire need of assistance as his superior, DI Mars-Wrigley, is preoccupied with England´s chances in the football world cup. Penrose´s enthusiastic fiancée, the mint-new librarian Rhapsody Gershwin, is more than willing to help as she sees this as Penrose´s route to promotion (and a welcome raise). As she is the vicar´s daughter, Rhapsody´s treasure trove of local knowledge may come in handy, and to be perfectly honest, the young sleuth may also be a tad curious. And of course the crimes do not stop here. A dangerous criminal is on the lose in Yorkshire. Can the young couple stop the perpetrator in time?
About the author: Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen was born in Denmark and is a teacher of English. In her spare time she reads, writes and reviews crime fiction. Her other publications are Candied Crime, DJ's Daim Stories volume I, and Liquorice Twists, DJ's Daim Stories volume II. Her blog is http://djskrimiblog.wordpress.com/
Those names are hilarious. Cadbury, of course reminded me of Richie Rich's assistant (or whatever he man is called :) )
ReplyDeleteVeens: I got a charge out of the names too.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for reviewing my book, Harvee!
ReplyDeleteDorte: It was a fun and enjoyable cosy!
ReplyDelete