#SocialMediaBlast Death Awaits in Durham by Helen Cox

It’s a pleasure to take part in the Social Media Blast for the fourth book in the Kitt Hartley series, Death Awaits in Durham by Helen Cox.

About the Author

Helen Cox is a Yorkshire-born novelist and poet. After completing her MA in creative writing at the University of York St. John. Helen wrote for a range of magazines and websites as well as for TV and radio news. Helen has edited her own independent film magazine and penned three non-fiction books. her first two novels were published by HarperCollins in2016. She currently hosts The Poetrygram podcast and works for City Lit. She lives in Sunderland.

Follow @Helenography on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit helencoxbooks.com, Buy Death Awaits in Durham

About the book

When librarian and budding private investigator Kitt Hartley visits her ex-assistant Grace Edwards in Durham, she soon learns of an unsolved murder.

A year ago Jodie Perkins, a Mechanics student, disappeared after her student-radio broadcast was cut short with a deafening scream. the police suspect Jodie was murdered although her body was never found.

Keen to be on the front line of one of Kitt’s investigations, Grace convinces Kitt to use her recent private investigator training to solve the mystery. Can Kitt and Grace uncover the truth?

Review

This is the fourth book in the Kitt Hartley series, however all books can be read as standalone novels. The characters do evolve as the series progresses, especially in this book, which is why I would definitely recommend reading the other books.

This time Kitt is roped into the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, then again perhaps roped isn’t the right word. She really needs to be convinced to use her powers of observation and deduction. Not even the mysterious tape of the young girl screaming with fear is enough to get her on board entirely. 

The solution was a wee bit of a rabbit drawn out of a top hat with feathers and a unicorn, perhaps too much packed into the last quarter instead of delivered equally bit by bit. Kitt and Grace seem to be at opposite sides of the sleuthing spectrum, or no spectrum at all, at the very beginning. The ending however implies that their paths are heading in a similar direction again.

Cox delivers an entertaining cosy mystery with great scenery, and if you happen to know the area, a very realistic vibe goes with the quirky and often obstinate characters. I would enjoy seeing a visual representation of the sleuths and seeing them solve mysteries in such great surroundings.

Buy Death Awaits in Durham at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Quercus Books, pub date 18 February 2021 – Paperback Original £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. Hive. Bookshop org. Waterstones.

#SocialMediaBlast A Body in the Bookshop by Helen Cox

Today it’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour A Body in the Bookshop (Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries #2, by Helen Cox.

About the Author

Helen Cox is a Yorkshire-born novelist and poet. After completing her MA in creative writing at the University of York St. John. Helen wrote for a range of magazines and websites as well as for TV and radio news. Helen has edited her own independent film magazine and penned three non-fiction books. Her first two novels were published by HarperCollins in 2016. She currently hosts the Poetrygram podcast and works for City Lit, London

Helen’s Mastermind specialism would be Grease 2 and to this day she adheres to the Pink Lady pledge.

Follow @Helenography on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit helencoxbooks.com, Buy a Body in the Bookshop

About the book

Librarian Kitt Hartley and her friend Evie Bowes thought their life had gone back to normal after the shocking events of Murder in the Minster. Then DI Malcolm Halloran breaks some bad news: DS Charlotte Banks has been suspended from duty, on suspicion of assaulting the suspect in the burglary of a local bookshop.

Evie wants justice for Charlotte, who she is sure was not the attacker, and how could any self-respecting librarian turn down the chance to find missing rare books? The two friends team up once again to investigate the rarefied world of York’s bookshops and antiques dealers and find out just who has framed their friend.

But Kitt and Evie will soon learn that there are some books people will kill for – will this story  have a happy ending?

Review

This is the second book in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series. Both books can be read as standalone novels, although I would recommend reading the first just for the read.

This time the story starts out quite aggressively with Banks being accused of assault linked to a burglary. Halloran is walking a fine line by telling Kitt and Evie about the case, especially when they decide to get involved. The amateur sleuths rattle quite a few cages as they try to solve the mystery and get Banks out of trouble.

I enjoyed the way Cox approached the budding relationship between Evie and Charley. The way Evie is unsure about her attraction to Charley, which intensifies the insecurity she feels about the scarring on her face. At times she finds it hard to distinguish between the desire someone might feel for her and the way everyone is reacting to the new her, or at least the way she thinks people are reacting to her.

The relationship between them flows smoothly beside the murder plot with moments of shyness, laughter and ultimately of honest and open emotional responses. Kudos to the author for this subtle approach to their story.

It’s a quaint murder mystery series set in Yorkshire with two amateur sleuths at the helm. I  think what will make this a favourite for readers is the fact the series is set around the world of books, regardless of whether it be the library or the bookshops.

Buy A Body in the Bookshop at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Quercus; pub date 19 Mar. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of Murder in the Minster by Helen Cox.

Murder by the Minster by Helen Cox

This weekend we are celebrating the Paperback Publication of Murder by the Minster by Helen Cox.About the Author

Helen Cox is a Yorkshire-born novelist and poet.. After completing her MA in creative writing at the University of York St. John Helen wrote for a range of magazines and websites as well as for TV and radio news. Helen has edited her own independent film magazine and penned three non-fiction books. She currently hosts The Poetrygram podcast and works for City Lit, London.

Follow @Helenography on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon,Visit helencoxbooks.com, Buy Murder by the Minster

About the book

Meet Kitt Hartley: librarian, trilby-wearer, Lady Grey tea-drinker, talker of no nonsense… detective?

It’s a perfectly normal day for Kitt Hartley at her job at the University of the Vale of York library, until Detective Inspector Halloran arrives at her desk to tell hr that her best friend, Evie Bowes, is under suspicion of murder. Evie’s ex-boyfried Owen has been found dead – with a fountain pen stabbed through his heart – and all the evidence points to her.

Kitt knows there is no way Evie could murder anyone – let alone Owen, who she adored. Horrified that the police could have got it so wrong, Kitt decides there’s only one thing to do:: she’s going to investigate Owen’s murder herself. She’s read hundreds of mystery novels – how hard can it be?

With the help of her assistant Grace, and the occasional hindrance o the library’s eccentric regulars, Kitt summons up all her investigative powers ( absorbed over years of reading everything from Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin) and gets to work.

She soon discovers that down the quaint streets and snickelways of York lie darker doings than she’d ever dreamed, but she needs to watch her step: the murderer is watching her. And they haven’t finished killing yet…

Review

Kitt is emboldened by her friends, her fictional companions. She becomes the feisty detective searching for the truth and seeking the real murderer regardless of how much trouble she may get herself into.

How dare anyone accuse her friend Evie of murder? Evie’s ex-boyfriend has plenty of enemies to choose from. There are probably quite a few who wanted to see him dead. The list of suspects, and let’s be honest the list is kinda pushing it a bit when it comes to some of them, isn’t exactly short.

It reminded me of the kind of murder mysteries you can watch on the Hallmark channel, a bit like the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries. A combination of humour, awkward and stumbling sleuthing, a plot that draws the reader in and plays with them a little, and a main character who just can’t help herself and stays in trouble the majority of the time.

It’s a cosy murder mystery with an audacious main character. Kitt isn’t bothered with boundaries or rules, and certainly not by any dangerous situations which may arise. This is what makes her such a bold fighter when it comes to fighting to clear her friends name.

Cox writes with enthusiasm, especially when it comes to Kitt, and despite all the murders it is the kind of read cosy crime lovers will enjoy. With a beautiful setting and quirky set of companions to accompany her I am sure Kitt will be back again soon with another mystery.

Buy Murder by the Minister at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Quercus; pub date 31 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Quercus Books. Buy at Waterstones.