annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Murder Question is the third Beth Haldane cozy by Alice Castle. Originally published in 2018 (as Calamity in Camberwell), this reformat and re-release from 22nd Aug 2022 is 242 pages and is available in paperback 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. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently available to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU.
This is a competently written and engaging amateur sleuth mystery featuring an archivist employed at a local high-end boys' school who takes to sleuthing to help straighten out mysteries which seem to keep happening around her, this time the suspicious disappearance of her friend, another mother in the school mothers' group. The writing is engaging and the mystery is quite readable. I liked the protagonist and the author does a good job with the settings and descriptions. Some of the subject matter may be difficult for some readers. There are descriptions of spousal abuse and domestic violence included on page and which I found distressing in places.
The dialogue is a bit rough and uneven in places but overall, it's an entertaining and readable cozy-ish mystery. There are 8 books extant in the series currently (and all are available as part of the kindle unlimited library service), so it would make a good choice for a binge read for fans of British cozies. The mystery, denouement, and resolution are satisfying and well wrought, and self-contained in this volume so it would also work perfectly well as a standalone read.
Four stars. Worth a look for fans of J.R. Ellis, Faith Martin, and Merryn Allingham.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.