Castle Kidbury is your usual small village where everyone knows everyone and your usual mix of eccentric characters. Jess has come home from Cambridge not sure if she has a job still or if she is welcome by her father. The first body is found crucified with eyes removed. The police are a bit lost with the religious significance. A carved old religion box is delivered, a pair of eyes enclosed leads Jess into the investigation as a consultant due to her expertise with old faith and beliefs. The characters of this village bring a lot of black humour to the story. You connect with Jess in her struggle to connect old secrets in the village with murder and her reconnections with home.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Jess Castle finds herself back in a place she was steering clear of - home, in Castle Kidbury. She's just suddenly left her job at Cambridge and reluctantly came back. Her relationship with her father, the Judge, is not the most closest one, and she finds her hometown incredibly boring - that is, until there is a murder and a body of a local man is found. It doesn't look like a normal assassination, it looks more like crucifixion, which - very conveniently - is Jess's speciality, so she starts to act as the unofficial consultant to the local DS Eden. However, the body count increases, the more pagan symbols appear and everyone becomes a suspect. So Jess has not only to try to solve the murder but also try to refurbish her relationship with her father, and eventually decide what it is she wants to do with her life.

I really liked the small town atmosphere, this specific community spirit that the authors have captured in a great way. In Castle Kidbury everyone knows everyone and knows everything better - that is, until a murder happens. Or two. Or even more. There was a bunch of quirky, bouncy characters that I, unfortunately, felt unattached to. However, they were all really different and interesting and I think that more than often we have to take them with a pinch of salt.
It is written in a very detailed way, with attention to details, not only when it comes to describing the murder scenes. It was really easy to imagine the town and the characters and the authors have way with words. It was also incredibly well researched, with a solid historical and religious background. The banter between the characters was truly enjoyable, especially the witty and clever exchanges between Jess and DS Eden - they were quick, sharp and humorous, especially when they were interrupted by DC Knott.
I have no idea who and why could the be the assassin. The authors have done a great job pulling wool over our eyes, with complicating things, and making almost everyone in the book a suspect. However, I am not sure if I'm really satisfied with the ending, I think after being introduced to all the paganism, symbolism etc I was expecting a different ending. On the other hand, it was surprising, unexpected and twisty, so what's not to like, right?

However, this book confused me. It dragged on, and it simply couldn't keep me hooked. I skipped passages because they were not engaging. This story didn't work for me, didn't sit with me. I loved all the gory details, and the idea for the plot, but all the other things, the characters just made me feel confused, they were somehow not complete. I am disappointed with this, as I was sure that this book, written by MB Vincent, who's actually a married couple and one half of this couple belongs to my absolutely favourite authors, is going to be a real cracker for me. The romance aspect was a little askance, I'd say, and it didn't feel too natural and realistic, especially in this story. It seemed that Jess wanted it much more than the male character, that she somehow forced him to blossom into her. There was a little of will they/won't they but it was for sure not like all the others that I keep reading in my books, but it just felt underdeveloped and ragged.

Altogether, "Jess Castle and the Eyeballs of death" is a brilliant mixture of sharp humour, murder, mystery, gory details and also some romance. Regardless of the terrible murders, the story is told in a light and warm way, and I'd dare to call is a cosy murder. It was different, an unique read that was like a breath of fresh air and I'm really sorry it didn't work for me. However, I do hope there is more to come from this author(s).

An unusual, fun and enjoyable romp of a murder mystery - if there can be such a thing! A rapidly increasing body count by the page, engaging characters ranging from the benign to the bizarre and a sequence of events that is downright quirky to say the least. A hard to pin down genre so simply read it and enjoy, draw your conclusions, but you may be hard pushed to stop turning the pages. Hopefully there will be more on the horizon from this author duo?

A great mystery, enjoyable and fun to read. I don't know how to classify it: it's not a cozy (too gruesome and the strong language), it's not a thriller (too soft) and this means it's something original and in a category of its own.
I liked the humour, lot of dark humour that make you laugh and make you think at the same time.
Jess is wonderful heroine and the cast of characters is likeable.
I loved the well researched historical and religious background, it was really interesting.
The mystery is good, keep you reading till the end and I never guessed who the culprit was.
I hope this is a series and there will be other instalments featuring this cast of characters.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC

M B Vincent is definitely a name I’ll look out for from now on. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a funny crime title before. Jess is a great character who stumbles into murder at nearly every turn. Kept me guessing until right to the end . Fantastic read

In this novel there are murders, suspects, sacrificial rituals, and yet I found myself laughing page after page. It all starts the morning the protagonist, Jessica “Jess” Castle, goes back home to Castle Kidbury after suddenly leaving her academic job at Cambridge. She receives a cold welcoming by her father, the Judge, but their unhappy reunion is overshadowed by the discovery of the body of a local man. As the investigation begins, pagan symbols and rituals comes to light. To escape her strained and complicated relationship with her father and because of her knowledge and degrees in ancient history and mythology, Jess offers her help to the lead investigator, DS Eden, who, unwillingly, accepts it.

While the body count increases and everyone becomes a suspect, Jess has to face her relationship with her father, a possible love interest, and she has to decide what to do with her life.

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JESS CASTLE AND THE EYEBALLS OF DEATH is such a fun and enjoyable read. I loved the small town atmosphere. Thanks to the author’s attention to details I could almost imagine it. Castle Kidbury is one of those idyllic towns where everyone knows everyone and their secrets and where nothing exciting ever happens, at least until someone goes on a murder spree. The town is inhabited by a cast of very colorful characters, from Richard and Dough, the quirky owners of the charity shop where Jess volunteers, to Bogna, her father’s housekeeper, from Patricia, the self-important mayor, to Mary, Jess’s outspoken and lively best friend. And I truly enjoyed the witty exchanges between Jess and DS Eden, often interrupted by the absurd interjections of DC Knott. There was so much humour that I almost forgot that they were investigating gruesome murders.

The story is so well-written and the characters so well-crafted that everyone seems a suspect and until the end I couldn’t figure out who the killer was. Everything is revealed with a surprising and twisty ending worth of an Agatha Christie novel. Engaging, sharp, and refreshing, JESS CASTLE AND THE EYEBALLS OF DEATH is a mystery novel that will keep you glued to the pages and I’d like to thank Jess Barratt and Simon & Schuster UK for providing me with an early copy of this charming and brilliant book.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a great cozy mystery, great characters, well written but also very funny in parts.

Actual rating: 3.5⭐

"'I'm weighing up my options. In the meantime, the doc's keeping me healthy. Please don't worry, Jess.'
'When people say that,' said Jess, 'they don't care whether you worry or not. They just want you to stop talking about it.'"

Jess Castle finds herself back in the place she ran away from; home. Her home can be found in the picturesque little village of Castle Kidbury, which Jess thinks is the most boring place ever. Until there's a murder. And not only a murder; a crucifixion, something which, conveniently, taps into Jess's expertise. As she acts as the unofficial consultant to the methodical, ultimate follower of rules, DS Eden, Jess uncovers strange characters, gruesome motives, and a dangerous path to the truth.

M B Vincent is actually a married couple, which I find adorable for some reason, if I wanted to write a murder mystery with my partner it would inevitably end up having zombies in it somewhere. So I applaud them for sticking their heads together to come up with a tasteful, gripping plot, with the kind of character set you would want to meet in person.

Jess Castle and the Eyeballs of Death is a strange mixture of humour, mystery, a little grit, and some romance. It's perfect for comfy nights on the sofa, and I found solace in every genre combination thrown in.

Possibly except for the romance. The romance was a little hard to swallow; it didn't feel like Jess and Rupert developed feelings naturally, he was initially a side character who was mildly annoying until he seemed to blossom into this guy who had feelings for Jess and couldn't take his eyes off her. She still found him annoying, but ultimately, his feelings were reciprocated. It just seemed like such an unlikely romance, the author(s) didn't really delve into their background, their feelings weren't hinted at until they were convenient for the character development.

Regardless of the grisly murders being committed; the language is actually light, warm and genuinely funny. This book has been described as The Vicar of Dibley meets Midsomer Murders and I honestly couldn't describe it any better.

Although Jess seems to focus on cracking jokes, and teasing people relentlessly, she does come across as an insightful character, which is a great feat; too often authors forget that their characters have other personality traits other than funny when focusing on a comical protagonist. Jess describes herself as a "delicate weed" and I think that that is just the most apt description of the main character I could possibly have produced.

Overall, this novel was highly entertaining, with a bunch of quirky characters that enforced a fast paced, fun narrative. I'm unsure whether this book is a standalone or in a series, but I would definitely read a sequel.

Thank you to Net Galley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel follows Jess Castle as she returns to the small town she grew up in. Now in her thirties, Jess finds herself surrounded by lots of familiar faces and all the gossip that comes with small town living, especially if you are part of a prominent local family (as Jess is). However, there are bigger problems than Jess's in Castle Kidbury: the body count among residents keeps rising in a series of gory murders. With her expertise in pagan rituals and symbolism, Jess finds herself caught up in the police investigation and trying to solve the murders before more occur.

First, the positives. I did enjoy this and wanted to find out what happened. I also liked the supporting characters, especially Mary and Bogna, plus there are some amusing bits. The mystery is well plotted and pacy.

However, I found it quite uneven overall. It isn't quite cosy crime as the nature of the murders is a bit too gruesome (the eyeballs of the title are significant), yet it's got the kind of small town charm and cast of strange characters that don't fit with anything grittier. There's also quite a lot of tragedy in the past lives of the townsfolk which again felt a bit too grim to really work with the humorous elements. As I said, there's lots to enjoy in the book, but it doesn't quite hang together fully.

I'd recommend this if you like crime stories along the lines of Midsomer Murders. However, do be aware that it isn't quite cosy crime - even our heroine comes with her own psychological issues. It's a good read with some excellent bits, but it isn't consistent.