Lila is mourning the loss of her close friend and employer Serafina. She is hoping that Serafina’s son Nathan will re-open the cafe so that she doesn’t have to worry about money while she completes her patisserie course. They begin a tense friendship but Lila is fearful of it developing into anything more as she is also mourning the loss of a baby…
Secrets of Magpie Cove is the second book by Kennedy Kerr set in the seaside town of Magpie Cove (I have previously reviewed The House at Magpie Cove).
Lila has had a lot of sadness in her life and is used to dealing with issues alone. Her parents died when she was young, her ex was selfish and she had a miscarriage without realising she’d become pregnant. She jumped at the chance of a second start in life, enrolling on a patisserie course and working at a cafe to fund her studies. Now her friend has died too and her job and course are at risk.
Nathan is a more complex character as we have less insight into his past and emotions. He appears to have a kind soul but his actions scream the opposite. Lila is torn in her opinion of him and therefore so are we readers.
The double grief of losing a friend and a baby are handled sensitively. However, I loved Lila’s fellow student Oliver for adding humour and light relief which softened the overall tone of the book.
Secrets of Magpie Cove is a gentle and emotional novel which tackles a serious issue sensitively.
Lila had a favourite rock to sit on towards the back of the cove, where she often ate her breakfast, gazing out at the tumbling Cornish sea. As the sun rose that morning, Lila wished with all her heart that the grey-green waves could wash away her old life. That Magpie Cove would help her move on, and to forget…
When aspiring pastry chef Lila Bridges flees her life in the city after a heartbreaking tragedy, she finds herself working behind the counter at Magpie Cove’s most beloved local establishment – Serafina’s Café. The sweet, buttery aroma of freshly baked chocolate croissants, the cheerful gossip of the regulars and the elderly owner Serafina’s feisty humour are a much-needed balm to Lila’s broken heart. For the first time since it happened, Lila is beginning to laugh again…
But when Serafina unexpectedly passes away, the future of the café looks bleak. Nathan Da Costa, Serafina’s estranged son, inherits, and returns to Magpie Cove determined to inject some big-city glamour into the place. To Lila, it seems impossible that dour, money-obsessed Nathan could be related to dear Serafina. He may have his mother’s mop of curly dark hair and deep brown eyes, but he has none of her warmth or heart.
Lila needs this job and the sense of peace the town has brought her, so she’s determined to make it work with Nathan as her new boss. But her resolution is tested when the secret Lila has been keeping about what brought her to the cove begins to unravel, just as she discovers an unexpected, sweeter side to Nathan. Will trusting Nathan Da Costa with her long-held secret be Lila’s new beginning in Magpie Cove, or her emotional undoing?
Be totally transported to the windswept beaches of Cornwall with this heart-warming and unputdownable story that will leave a huge smile on your face. Perfect for fans of Shari Low, Veronica Henry and Heidi Swain.
Author Bio:
Kennedy Kerr is a British fiction author. She adores beaches, lochs and stone circles, and loves writing about small communities, mysteries and family secrets. She has a very cuddly cat called Twinkle who spends her days sleeping: Kennedy aspires to having Twinkle’s nap schedule one day.
Kennedy also loves cooking and baking all types of food, which is almost as much fun as eating it. Her favourite foods include (but are not limited to) Indian food, Victoria sponge, breakfast pastries with coffee and sushi. The only thing she’s not particularly keen on is artichoke, and she’d eat it, anyway
Summer Raine parties with drink, drugs and the Neilson twins on their boat but is found dead a little while later. The police assume it is a tragic accident but the case is compromised by a fraud investigation into the Neilsons’ father. Meanwhile, there is a further complication for lead detective Jude Satterthwaite when his ex may have a connection with drugs due to her boyfriend.
Death on the Lake is the fifth book to feature DCI Jude Satterthwaite but is the first that I have read. Being new to the series, I am unsure how much of Jude’s personal life has been covered in previous books.
There are complex relationships between him and his ex Becca, her new boyfriend and Jude’s brother and then a separate entanglement between Jude’s new love Ashleigh and their superior officer. I enjoyed the relationship nuances and also the blurring of the lines between personal and professional boundaries.
The case itself is tangled so we don’t get a quick solution and things get more complicated as the book progresses. The Neilson twins’ stepmother is hiding secrets from her past and the fraud case against her husband impinges on Jude’s progress. More death follows but again it is not straightforward and obvious murder.
The narrative is in the third person throughout so we see the viewpoints of all characters. The police characters and suspects all felt very human and emotionally complicated. I loved the setting in the Lake District which was easy to visualise thanks to the decriptions and imagery.
Death on the Lake is an enjoyable police procedural with a strong lead detective who has a complicated personal life.
Death on the Lake
Three youngsters, out for a good time. Vodka and the wrong sort of Coke. What could possibly go wrong?
When a young woman, Summer Raine, is found drowned, apparently accidentally, after an afternoon spent drinking on a boat on Ullswater, DCI Jude Satterthwaite is deeply concerned — more so when his boss refuses to let him investigate the matter any further to avoid compromising a fraud case.
But a sinister shadow lingers over the dale and one accidental death is followed by another and then by a violent murder. Jude’s life is complicated enough but the latest series of murders are personal to him as they involve his former partner, Becca Reid, who has family connections in the area. His determination to uncover the killer brings him into direct conflict with his boss — and ultimately places both him and his colleague and girlfriend, Ashleigh O’Halloran, in danger…
Author Bio – Jo Allen is the author of the successful DCI Satterthwaite series of detective novels set in and around the English Lake District, where she lives. After a career in economic consultancy she took up writing and was first published under the name Jennifer Young in genres of short stories, romance and romantic suspense. In 2017 she took the plunge and began writing the genre she most likes to read – crime. In common with all her favourite characters, she loves football (she’s a season ticket holder with her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cats.
Lady Eleanor Swift is invited to start and finish the raft race at the May Fair. But the lighthearted tone of the day is shattered by the tragic death of the local undertaker Solemn Jon. The following day the newspaper prints a scathing obituary which claims the death was murder. Solemn Jon’s widow begs Eleanor to investigate…
Murder at the Fair is the sixth book to feature Lady Eleanor Swift and her gently despairing butler Clifford. It is a cosy murder mystery set in the 1920s. There are mentions of events in previous books but no major spoilers if you read then out of order.
Eleanor finds herself investigating another death despite her reluctance to get involved which would undermine her love interest Inspector Seldon. However, she can’t resist helping Jon’s grieving widow and soon begins investigating. She is also persued in the book by an arrogant noble who dismisses her capabilities and throughly underestimates her!
Eleanor once again has to challenge the social norms of the 1920s as she repeatedly defies convention. Gender and class roles again form an important theme within the book. The relationship between Eleanor and Clifford remains magical, alive with fun and humour.
Murder at the Fair is a great addition to this cosy murder mystery series.
Summer flowers, warm sunshine, a maypole dance and… is that another murder? A tricky case is afoot for Lady Swift!
Summer, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, the best amateur sleuth in the country, is delighted to be in charge of the prize-giving at her village summer fair. But the traditional homemade raft race takes a tragic turn when the local undertaker, Solemn Jon, turns up dead amongst the ducks. Jon was the life of any party and loved by the entire village. Surely this was simply an awful accident?
But when a spiteful obituary is printed in the local paper, Eleanor realises there may be more to Jon’s death than first thought. Despite handsome Detective Seldon giving her strict instructions not to interfere, Eleanor owes it to Jon’s good name to root out the truth. So with her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog, Eleanor starts digging for clues…
When another local dies in a riding accident, the police refuse to believe he was murdered. But a second vindictive death notice convinces Eleanor of foul play. Solemn Jon’s assistant, a bullish banker and a majestic marquess make her suspect list, but it isn’t until she finds a dusty old photograph that she knows the true culprit behind both crimes. Then another obituary appears – her own! Can Eleanor nail the killer before she too turns up dead among the ducks?
An utterly compelling and charming cozy mystery! Pure delight for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.
Author Bio:
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humour, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.
We are going on a house hunt, we want to find a big one!
Well, bigger but within our budget!
Don’t get me wrong. We LOVE our current home, which we have lived in for 5 years. BUT…we want the kids to have a bedroom each. And an extra room to use as a family room or separate dining room.
However, finding the house of our dreams is not so easy…
We want to stay in our neighbourhood so that we remain close to my parents as well as to the children’s schools and my work.
There are some great houses but nothing perfect yet.
We currently have a wonderful garden so we don’t want to have a fab house but no outdoor space.
Some houses have no bath (how is this even allowed???)
Detached or semi detached would be preferable as we’re no the quietest of families and I’m guessing there may be some teenage door slamming and partying in the next 10 years 😀
Parking also important as we have 3 kids and I’m assuming they’ll want cars.
We love our real fire. There is something traditional and it makes Christmas extra special.
An extra bathroom is essential. I have no idea how we survive as a family of 5 with only 1 toilet!
We have looked round a few houses but none of them felt like home in the way that our current house immediately felt instinctively ‘right’.
