Series: A Maisie Cooper Mystery #1(Standalone)
Publication Date: 13th July 2023
Genre: Small Town Cozy Mystery
3.3 Stars
One Liner: A mixed read
Maisie Cooper left her village and her brother many years ago. She had been in Paris, enjoying life as a tourist guide. But when she receives a message from her brother Stephen, Maisie decides to come down for a holiday. However, she is shocked to find out that Stephen had died before she reached the village.
With the local police and the Special Branch interested in her brother, Maisie realizes she should find out the truth. People don’t want to tell her things (or those who do leave a lot of gaps), and soon a second death crooks the village.
Maisie will not stop until she knows what happened.
The story comes mainly from the third-person POV of Maisie, with a few scenes from Sergeant Jack’s Wingard POV.
My Thoughts:
The premise and cover were enough for me to request this book right away. I loved the dark-ish vibes of the plot while knowing it will still be a small-town cozy mystery set in a village in England.
The prologue is intriguing and sets the stage for the plot to develop. Stephen has many faults and is in no way a likable character. However, we see that he had a few redeeming qualities, which weren’t enough to save his life.
Maisie is intriguing enough, though it’s hard to relate to her. I blame this more on the narration than the characterization. The writing doesn’t do justice to the character.
My biggest issue is the lack of clear indication about the period the story is set in. I thought it was a contemporary cozy in the present time. But soon, I realized it was from when we had no mobile phones or internet. Then at 47%, we see the year 1972 mentioned in the newspaper. This may not be an issue for UK readers as they can guess the timeline based on the references to power cuts and the oil crisis. However, it isn’t a period I’m familiar with, and the references were lost on me. I could only guess it to be after WWII.
The pacing is slow and detailed, a little too detailed with a lot of 'tell'. While some red herrings are good, the plot, as such, feels unnecessarily convoluted. There’s a lot of information, investigation, and guesswork to fit into a single week.
Sergeant Jack Wingard’s POV was a bore. I should have empathized a little with him, but the way it’s written makes it hard to take his side. He sounds whiny whenever he thinks of Maisie. Not just his POV, even the scenes with Maisie sound odd and off. The side characters are interesting enough, but none of them stand out. They do their bit to keep the plot going.
Furthermore, there isn’t enough chemistry between Maisie and Jack. I know this is the first book in the series, but the subplot can’t be so slow. At the least, the conversation should have happened before the book ended. And I can only hope there won’t be a love triangle.
The action scenes were well done. Maisie is no damsel in distress. She can save herself and even attack if required. At the same time, she is not fearless or ready to handle any situation. The combination of vulnerability and self-defense skills work well together.
To summarize, Murder at Church Lodge is a decent start to a new cozy mystery series. It’s promising but falls short (mainly due to the writing style). The blurb for book two is interesting, so I’ll check it out when the copies are available.
Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for the eARC.
#MurderatChurchLodge #NetGalley
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