It’s a quiet English village—except for one crazed murderer—in this delightful romp by the author of the Constable Mavis Upton series.

Librarian Prunella Pearce has left heartbreak behind to start a new life in the village of Winterbottom, where there’s little social life to be had aside from the meetings of The Winterbottom Women’s Institute at the parish hall.

But a bit of excitement ensues when the group is about to elect a new president—and the nominees for the position begin dropping like flies. One is found facedown in a lemon drizzle cake, stabbed with a crochet needle. Another nearly dies spectacularly in the revolving doors of a Harrogate hotel.

When Pru and her friend Bree agree to do some undercover snooping to help the police, little do they know that one of the Winterbottom women is hiding a scandalous secret . . .

A Fun, Entertaining Mystery!

Certainly different – but no less entertaining!

Pru Pierce is the new librarian in the village of Winterbottom; the job is ideal but her social life is sadly lacking. The only entertainment around seems to be the Women’s Institute and, while she resists as long as she can, her friend Bree persuades her that it can be fun. The main item at the moment is electing a new president but it would seem that putting your name down puts you on someone’s murder list. Can Pru and Bree find out who is responsible?

This is such a fun read! From the beginning, we know who is committing the murders and I have to say the methods employed are varied – and so very different from the usual! There is a lot of entertainment in this one and I suspect I’ll now have to read this author’s Constable Mavis Upton series – I enjoyed her writing so very much. Great characterisations and an eye-popping number of ways to murder others all added up to much laughter. If you like a cosy mystery, then I recommend this one. 4*.

I downloaded this in ebook format via Kindle Unlimited; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

Tags: mystery, humour

1. Format: ebook, paperback, audiobook
2. Size: 356 pages
3. Publisher: Bloodhound Books
4. Publication Date: 25 May 2022
5. Book Links:
6. https://www.goodreads.com
7. https://play.google.com
8. https://www.barnesandnoble.com
9. https://www.foyles.co.uk
10. https://www.kobo.com
11. https://www.waterstones.com
12. https://wordery.com
13. https://www.amazon.co.uk

Author Details

Gina was born in the late 1950s to a mum who frequently abandoned her in a pram outside Woolworths and a dad who after two pints of beer could play a mean Boogie Woogie on the piano in the front room of their 3-bed semi on the Wirral. Being the less adventurous of three children, she remains there to this day – apart from a long weekend in Bognor Regis in 1982.

Her teenage years were filled with angst, a CSE in Arithmetic, raging pimples and Barry White. Marriage and motherhood ensued, followed by divorce in her early thirties and a desperate need for a career and some form of financial support for herself and her young daughter. Trundling a three-wheeled trike along a leafy path one wintry day, memories of her favourite author Enid Blyton, ginger beer and solving mysteries along with her lifelong passion to be a police officer, excitedly gave way to an epiphany. And thus began an enjoyable and fulfilling career with Merseyside Police.

On reaching an age most women lie about, she quickly adapted to retirement by utilising her policing skills to chase after two granddaughters, two dogs and one previously used, but still in excellent condition, husband. Having said goodbye to what had been a huge part of her life, she suddenly had another epiphany. This time it was to put pen to paper to write a book based on her experiences as a police officer. Lying in bed one night staring at the ceiling, Gina’s alter-ego Mavis Upton was born, ready to star in a humorous and sometimes poignant look at the life, loves and career of an everyday girl who followed a dream and embarked upon a search for the missing piece of her childhood.

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