Series: Major Bricket Mystery #1
Publication Date: 24th Apr 2025
Genre: Small Town Mystery
3 Stars
One Liner: It had its moments
Suffolk
Major Bricket has been an infrequent resident of Highfield House in Stunston Peveril. Thanks to his foreign assignments, his long absences from the village gave him an air of mystery. After his retirement, the Major has returned to settle down for good, only to find the dead body of a clown on his lawn!
However, none of the clowns from the village’s annual fair seems to be missing. So, who is that dead man? Is it really a clown or an unfortunate guest? Well, Major Bricket is here to find the truth.
The story comes in third-person omnipresent POV.
My Thoughts:
I have a hard time resisting cozies, so when I saw this one, I wanted to check out a potential new series with an older male as our sleuth.
Before I delve in, I have to highlight that I couldn’t enjoy the story much, mainly due to the awful formatting. Even if this is an ARC, it shouldn’t be this messy. There’s no capitalization in most places (not even for some names). The lines are weirdly cut off and have random breaks. Honestly, it gave me a headache!
Coming to the plot, it’s actually fun. This might come under humor cozy, though not the explicit kind. The mystery has OTT elements (and so does the main character). But this added to the narrative somehow instead of making it absurd. I mean, it is a bit absurd, but in a funny way.
The setting is a mix of contemporary and historical. I’m still figuring out the period. Maybe the 1990s or early 2000s? We have phones with cameras and laptops, and mention of Starbucks, but the village has been stuck in time and stayed back at least a few decades earlier.
We met an array of characters, some more impressive and memorable than others. Nga has definitely impressed me with her grasp of the small-town Brit elite and their silliness. The author pokes fun at their snobbishness and ignorance (of course, I enjoyed this).
The omnipresent narration makes it possible for the author’s voice to become prominent without affecting the characters. This worked for me, so no complaints. I still wish the formatting were better, as the head-hopping wouldn’t have been confusing.
The main character is capable, efficient, mysterious, and smart. He is a can-do-it-all kind of guy, and we get enough hints to guess his profession. James Bond vibes minus womanizing abilities (and I hope it stays that way).
To summarize, Major Bricket and the Circus Corpse is a decent start to a new series. It does have an interesting main lead and a quirky setting. I may read the second book to decide, though I hope the ARC will have better formatting!
Thank you, NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK (Constable), for eARC.
#NetGalley #MajorBricketAndTheCircusCorpse
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