Murder at St. Saviour’s by Merryn Allingham - Book Review

Murder at St. Saviour’s by Merryn Allingham

Series: Flora Steele Mystery #5 

Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery 

4 Stars 

One Liner: A comfort read 

*****

1957, Sussex:

Welcome to the Abbeymead village with Flora Steele, the owner of All is Well bookshop, and Jack Carrington, a (not-so) reclusive crime fiction writer, working together to solve yet another murder (or two). 

Lyre Beaumont, the new curate of St. Saviour’s church, is found hanging on the flagstone floor beneath the bell tower. No one seems to know what happened, but the mysterious note beside the dead body points to murder. 

With a bunch of suspects and more adding to the list, Flora and Jack have a tough time searching for information and identifying the killer. It doesn’t help that their sleepy village has been witnessing newcomers waltzing around. Flora thinks it cannot be a coincidence. 

The threat increases as the duo get closer to the truth. Can they solve the case without risking their necks? And, oh, what will they do with the latest developments in their relationship?

My Thoughts: 

• The book works decent as a standalone, but I recommend reading at least one of the previous works to have a better idea. Book 4 should be enough if you don’t want to read them all from the first. 
• I love that the plot is compact and fits within 250 pages. The book starts slow but gains momentum after the first 25%.
• The book is also set in November (which is a little too cold in Abbeymead). It’s a good way to feel the full impact of the weather and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and warm muffins. 
• The plot is simple enough, as it is usually in most books of the series. Flora and Jack talk to people, gather information, investigate, discuss the suspects and continue to deal with their daily life issues. 
• The climax is cleverly done. It is a little different from other books and brings a refreshing change. Also, it’s good to see Inspector Ridley have a bigger role in this book. 
• The ending upped the intrigue by 10x. I feel the next book has high stakes. It’ll be interesting to see how Flora and Jack handle the past, present, and future. 

To summarize, Murder at St. Saviour’s is an entertaining and comforting read if you like cozy mysteries with a touch of danger. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the eARC.  

#NetGalley #MurderatStSaviours 

P.S: Here’s a little piece of history. Though the timelines don’t match, you’ll understand why I shared it after you read the book. ;)