Cover Image: Shadow Over Southwold

Shadow Over Southwold

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Member Reviews

Alas it seems this is the last in the Suffolk series but a happy outing it was. Please, please can we have more of this and of Primrose, Maurice and Bouncer. I miss them so much!

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The mystery is full of red herring and is solid, even if I guessed part of the solution I was surprised as it was quite complex and satisfying.
I want to read the rest of the series as I had a lot of fun.
Highly recommended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Eccentricity Abounds…
The third in the Southwold Mysteries and Suffolk bound once more but a grisly murder mars any enjoyment to be had. Eccentricity abounds in this witty, tongue in cheek and wholly entertaining read. A quirky, fun tale packed with a likeable and enjoyable cast of characters which often overtake the plot. A worthy addition to the series.

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Charming, tart and often hilarious, this latest from Suzette Hill is a very delicious slice of English humor set in Suffolk in the early 60s. A goofy plot involving funny criminal shenanigans, some very colorful characters and lots of verbal pyrotechnics, this delightful madcap is the perfect summer read with lots of laughing out loud assured.
More crazy comedy than murder mystery, this romp must definitely be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever 👍👍👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and Allison&Busby for this terrific ARC

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Third book in the series, but the first I've read. A fun, quirky mystery taking place not far from Cambridge and involving Cambridge academics, London florists, sketchy reverends, and a rooming house landlady who isn't quite the person she appears to be.

Florist Felix Smythe and his friend Professor Cedric Dillworthy are pulled into the mystery of her murder when it appears that Felix is a person of interest in it. The death of the sketchy reverend seems to be a completely separate issue, but all is not as it appears in Southwold. A well done mystery and enjoyable story is resolved tidily in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will keep this series on my TBR pile.

Recommended for a light, entertaining cosy read.

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Quite apart from the plot, this book offers some clever and funny dialogue which is really enjoyable. The pace was a little bit inconsistent but worth keeping on with as the plot is a good one and the characters quirky enough to be interesting without being over the top.

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Suzette A Hill books are filled with a quirky sense of fun and good plots, this book has some of the touches of humour we have come to expect and the continuing amusement of the main characters but lacks something of the sparkle of previous volumes in the series. I don't know if the author has run out of steam with the series or whether this is just a blip, her other series have been most enjoyable too and I wouldn't want to stop reading her books.

Probably not the best one in the series for new reader to begin with, whilst the story sits on its own don't let this one put you off reading more of the author's books. In rating terms it is somewhere around a 3.4 but I can't bring myself to give it a 4 in the ratings (there are no decimal places possible) as this would not be an honest reflection.

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Having read and enjoyed some of the author's books from other series, I came to this with high expectations.

The tone is ever- light, and slightly tongue-in-cheek, but I found some of the writing here unpleasingly coy and, in places, odd. Why would one have a main character invited to Aldeburgh and then only allude in campily arch terms to Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and Imogen Holst?

The plot was a bit creaky and the solution fairly obvious and overlong in being reached.

There are compensations in some of the characters, principally the twins, Gaye and Joy Goodhart, a pair of misnamed Puritans.

A disappointment for me, but amusing enough for a mild recommendation.

3.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for the digital review copy.

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This is the first book I have read from this author, and I will have to catch up on her previous titles. I really enjoyed this murder mystery, and I only live 90 mins away from this rather delightful seaside town. I found it to be an accurate portrayal of Southwold, it’s an expensive, chic town, and unfortunately, I can’t afford to live there!! The price for a one bedroom flat in Southwold, bought me a three bedroom bungalow elsewhere in Norfolk!!
The story is set in 1961, and some parts appear too dated in attitudes, and are very stereotypical of the time frame , the writing can be somewhat stilted, but, the characters are wonderful, , the crime is very satisfactory, and I didn’t guess who did it, so that’s a bonus in my book! There was real humour involved, black in the case of the “ boys in blue”, but that was all part of the charm for me.
My favourite character was Felix, florist to the ‘Queen Mum’, a very precise, fussy and self advertising chap. A small time society snob, I felt so sorry for him, as he veered from being victim, suspect, hero, but all the time, being kindness itself to his friends, and newly discovered acquaintances. Not particularly brave, rather panicked, he was a treat!!
My thanks go to Allison and Busby, and Netgalley for my ARC, in return for my honest review.
I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Waterstones later, a five star read. I am going to read the other books in this series, and will recommend it to my family, who are also in love with Southwold.

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Having read the first 15 chapters, I still can't get into Shadow over Southwold and so I am afraid it has become a rare DNF.

I found the writing dry and slow and the characters inbelievable. I really could not relate to any of them.

However, on a positive note, as I live in Southwold I can say the geography and land marks are spot on.

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This is the first book I read in this series and won't surely be the last as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's a light, entertaining and engrossing story that I read in one setting as I was hooked and wanted to know what was going to happen.
The quirky characters, Felix above all, are likable and funny. The setting is vivid and I would have liked to spend some time there.
The mystery is full of red herring and is solid, even if I guessed part of the solution I was surprised as it was quite complex and satisfying.
I want to read the rest of the series as I had a lot of fun.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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Felix and Cedric are in Suffolk again, hoping for a peaceful visit.

Their luck's out.

Nervous Felix is made even more so by what he witnesses...

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