Murder in the Manor
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Average rating2.6
MURDER IN THE MANOR (A LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY-BOOK 1) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by Fiona Grace. Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, needs a drastic change. She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire. Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn't want to go back home-and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop. Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction-until her new star customer turns up dead. As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it's up to her to clear her own name. With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve - is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be? Book #2 in the series-DEATH AND A DOG-is also available for preorder!
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4 primary booksA Lacey Doyle Cozy Mystery
A Lacey Doyle Cozy Mystery is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by Fiona Grace.
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DNF at 25%
This book was a suggestion from August 2022 Hoopla Bonus Borrows.
Books like this you expect cliches, convenient plotlines, and fun little cozy mysteries. They're cheesy Hallmark style stories meant to help you kill an afternoon.
But THIS?? It's no Hallmark movie. It's more like a first draft for a really bad Hallmark movie. It's beyond ridiculous. Yes, yes these types of books are supposed to be ridiculous. But this is BEYOND ridiculous. A woman decides on a whim to go to Europe after her divorce. She decides she'll stay as long as she wants. No regards to customs and policies of England. She conveniently finds an old man who rents her the perfect fixer up sea-side manor. But oh the sweet old man is so gullible he's willing to rent it for $20 a day. A DAY! In a town where all the other rooms are booked for holiday travelers. But wait. There's more. He conveniently had an open storefront after the tennants dissapeared with ALL their stock in the middle of the night. How perfect! She has decided she's going to rent it. She goes online and applies for an extended business visa and TADA within 24 hours she has a business visa. Now she's the belle of the town opening up a cute little antique shop in a town in Wilfordshire.
Between the MC's self righteousness and the complete disregard to how governments work, well I had to give it up. This was awful. I was just waiting for the MC to be offed to put us all out of our misery.
Story was decent. The narrator's voice was just annoying to me, very lisping and seemed fake. I don't know how else to describe it.
The ebb and flow of life
What starts out as a spur of the moment holiday becomes so much more. What a delight this read was. This is the first time I've read from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters, and the twists and turns. I have a new series on my list as I read this book in one sitting.
