annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's is the first Gemma Lamb cozy mystery by Debbie Young. This reformat and re-release 15th Sept 2022 from Boldwood Books is 246 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU.
This is a fun, slyly humorous, character driven "school-time" cozy set in a girls' school at an undisclosed fictive locale somewhere in the Cotswolds. All the staff (even the school cat) are harboring secrets, and new teacher Gemma, who is on the run from a not-funny-at-all controlling ex-boyfriend finds herself trying to navigate a new job, new position, and new living arrangements.
Four stars. The language is clean and there's no questionable content. There's a sweetly nostalgic Enid Blyton vibe. With three books extant in the series (all available on kindle unlimited), it would be a good candidate for a long weekend binge or buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.