Dedley end is a really quiet sleepy village where nothing exciting ever happens. That is until the reclusive Roth family invite the villagers to an engagement party at the house on the hill. This is how our main character Nancy finds herself in the middle of a murder scene and makes a bet with her friend Johnathon that they can solve the murder before the police.

To say this book kept me on my toes would be an understatement, highly enjoyable and the perfect cosy whodunnit to read before Halloween!

Nancy Hunter runs her father’s bookstore with her Gran, Jane. While nothing exciting ever happens in Dedley Endings, the ladies have just received invitations to a party at the big mansion in town. The family has been reclusive, so this is the big excitement in town. Even bigger is when the daughter in law of the family is killed during the party.

On a bet, Nancy and Jane agree to find the killer before the police do. After all, they’re big crime fans and that’s the whole theme of their store so they’re game for trying. Without much success the ladies question their taking on the bet, but then all the pieces seem to come together and more secrets than expected have been revealed….will the killer strike again to keep Nancy and Jane quiet? So much for a quiet and serene Dedley Ending.

The first book in a new British Cozy mystery, it sets the stage for some fun and exciting mysteries to come. I’m glad I discovered this series and look forward to more to come.

Nancy Hunter and her grandmother live in the tiny village of Dedley End where they run a bookstore specializing in mysteries and thrillers. When a party at the stately mansion on the hill over their tiny village ends in murder, Nancy's best friend bets that the two of them won't be able to solve the mystery before the police. This one has all of the elements you'd expect to find in a cozy mystery, but it took me a while to get into it. The mystery element is eventually complex and satisfying, but for the first few chapters I couldn't keep the members of the victim's family straight or remember for sure who the dead woman was.

I am not quite sure why I didn’t love this because it was a good mystery, a good setting, love bookshop based books but something about the writing style irked me. I am sure people will love it though.

"He named her after Nancy Drew and as an avid fan of mysteries, had instilled a love of books in her from a very early age."

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Talk about a book-lover's mystery! Murder at the House on the Hill is book 1 in the new cozy mystery series The Dedley End Mysteries.

This story follows Nancy Hunter, Dedley End's resident specialty bookstore owner, as she works to unravel a tragic murder that's just taken place at Roth Lodge (aka the House on the Hill).

Murder at the House on the Hill kept me guessing until the final pages! And in the last 10 chapters or so, when everything started to come together, I was so pleased to see no detail had been overlooked, no previous clue left dangling.

I also enjoyed the mystery within a mystery element; more than one mystery was solved within these pages! And because I sense nothing is mentioned by accident, I believe more of the unknowns of Nancy's past will continue to be sorted out as the series continues.

On that note, I'm looking forward to seeing how this slow-burn, potential friends to lovers thing plays out between Nancy and Jonathan. Thank goodness Jonathan is a solid guy because Nancy is sooo in denial.

As the epilogue sets up the mystery for the next book, it looks like Nancy's sleuthing days have only just begun! I cannot wait to visit Denney End again!

I am such as sucker for a good cozy mystery and this book was right up my alley with a great cast of characters. I originally picked this book for the cover and synopsis as it gave me “Clue” vibes (a movie I adore). I ended up staying for the story which was well written and with a plot that was easy to follow and had me asking questions, even when I thought I knew the answer (much to my surprise I did not get correct).

I will definitely be on the lookout for the next in this series. I mean who hasn’t thought of owning a bookstore in a small English village by day and solving mysteries by night? Just me?

I want to thank NetGalley, Victoria Walters and Hera Books for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

I adore the premise of this book - a mystery only bookshop in the village of Dedley End. What a wonderful name for a village in a mystery series! I realize this is the first book in a series, so perhaps its understandable that it was a bit slow. A lot of time was spent establishing place and characters and it seemed a bit lengthy to me. I would definitely give the second book a try, though.

Thank you to Hera Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I found this to very much fit into the "cosy" mystery genre, with added romance. An easy read with a good sound plot, lots of English village atmosphere and a great cast of characters right at home there. There are clues for you to pick up as to whodunit, but the final reveal was very good. Just the right amount of Christmas and country manor vibes.

My first Cosy mystery book, and it certainly won’t be my last one! I really found myself intrigued with the story very quickly and wanted to find out who was responsible for the shocking murder.
I enjoyed the mix of romance and mystery, it was the perfect level for me!
The characters were easy to bond with, and the story remained gripping throughout.
I won’t discuss too much, I don’t want to give away any spoilers. I didn’t guess the ending, and I tried rather hard to work it all out!
Such a fun and different read for me, and I’m already looking forward to the next one in this series 😊

This book introduces Nancy Hunter and her grandmother Jane who run a mystery book shop in the Cotswolds. They are nice and they are nosy, as is usually the case in village cozy mysteries.

Nancy's family situation is explored a bit -- her father was killed in a hit and run accident which was never solved which becomes a plot thread. And her mother abandoned their family when Nancy was 6 and I would assume that will be addressed in the future.

The local aristocratic family who live in a big mansion on the hill are hosting an engagement party for their daughter. This is highly unusual as they have had nothing to do with the townspeople for years. But the evening turns tragic when a family member falls to her death from an upstairs balcony -- and it turns out she was murdered. Suspicion falls on the other family members, none of whom really liked the victim.

Nancy involves herself in the investigation due to a bet she makes with her friend Jonathan. The re-appearance of an old boyfriend adds to the complications. The characters are likable enough and the setting is interesting, although the plot isn't always logical or compelling. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was provided with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded like a really cute cosy mystery, and I was really excited to get stuck in! I loved the idea of Nancy and her grandmother investigating together, and I was fully prepared for some small village, Miss Marple vibes!

Thankfully, I did really enjoy the story. There were a lot of different characters to explore, and plenty of twists and turns. I would have liked to have seen more character development from some of the smaller characters, as I found that certain individuals didn't necessarily reach their full potential. I also found the writing a little simplistic for my own personal taste. However, it was a fun and easy to read, cosy mystery that I imagine would be particularly enjoyable to read in winter!

Murder At The House On The Hill' is my first cozy mystery and I have to say it is pretty good for a debut mystery novel by an author who writes romance. I have not read cozy mysteries so I cannot compare how good it is to others but I absolutely enjoy this one.

It is written in 3rd person which is easier to read and the English used is very simple to get into and provides the impression that the story is fast-paced which is in a way and not at all draggy. After the first chapter, my interest was invested in this novel. The Christmassy mood is just sufficient and not overly done and you can picture the atmosphere of the quaint village with the bookshop in it with the cottages. This is a light-hearted mystery with a few surprises planted and is not that intense psychological mystery full of twists and turns. For those, you have to look elsewhere. I will definitely look out for Victoria Walters next book in the series which the ending of this book has already paved the way for it with another baffling mystery coming along. I would give this book a 4-star and it has triggered my interest in other cozy mysteries.

There could have been a good mystery here, but I just couldn't get into it. I found many of the characters one-dimensional and the conversations that were exchanged on brief acquaintance, unlikely. "Lets give it a go seemed an interesting attitude for a bookseller and her gran to a murder in the village. I 'guessed' the villain early on and skipped to the end - I was spot on.

I think perhaps this author's style and plots are not for me, but sense others will enjoy them.

Thanks to #Netgalley the publisher Hera Books, and the author for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
I was hoping for an engaging mystery. I'm sorry to say that I felt that this book dragged on way more than it should have. Nancy and her grandmother run a mystery bookstore. The rich family up the hill have invited most of the town for an engagement party, and they've kept to themselves for about thirty years. While at the party, one of the wives of the rich family is murdered. Nancy and her grandmother take it upon themselves to help solve the murder mystery. Through the story, the men are portrayed as selfish and are all about themselves. Her ex boyfriend Richard is highly unlikable and lives up to the name Dick. Her best friend is the town reporter and is all about himself in the beginning of the book which leads me to not like him either. The book had such potential but sadly fell flat for me.

Enjoyable, Entertaining And A Little Twee….
The first in the Dedley End series of cosy mysteries finds Nancy Hunter together with grandmother Jane running the Dedley Endings Bookshop situated in a quaint Cotswolds village where nothing much really happens. Or does it? A lavish party in the local Manor House changes everything. With the whole village invited, much anticipation is afoot. The evening is to end in tragedy but who exactly is responsible? Enjoyable, entertaining and a little twee this is a perfect cosy with a charming amateur detective duo to relish.

A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I would like to like this book, it started out slow and did not get to keep the hype up. I really wanted to like it but it turn out not my cup of tea as of now. However, in different circumstances I think I'd like to try and read it again.

Loved this book. It was cozy crime at it’s absolute best. I love bookshops I love crime stories and a mystery to solve. Would recommend and intend to follow this author.

I love a good cozy mystery and this one definitely did not disappoint. This book has it all; great characters, a quaint little town, and a murder! What I enjoyed most is that it kept you guessing till the very end, throwing you for loop with suspicions towards almost every character. It truly wasn’t until the grand reveal that it all clicked into place and I appreciate a book that can keep me second guessing and on my toes. Nancy, Jane, and Jonathan make for an excellent team, and I look forward to seeing what their next adventure brings them!

This book is a 2.5 star rating for me, the style of the novel is not entirely to my taste but I can imagine it would be very appealing to audiences who can suspend reality a little more.
I found the ‘quaintness’ a bit much to overlook and found the plot centred more about tea drinking than anything else at times.The characters felt a little flat and unbelievable and whilst the murder story itself was interesting and well thought out, the way the characters interacted and the dialogue felt out of step with the modern setting.
Overall, I enjoyed the story but the style was not quite what I look for in a murder mystery fiction novel.

Nancy Hunter runs her late father’s bookshop, in Dedley End. A quiet and rather uneventful Cotswolds village until the excitement of an engagement party at Roth Lodge. The last time there was a party there was thirty years ago according to her grandmother, Jane . As local business owners both Nancy and Jane have invitations to the auspicious occasion. The festivities are interrupted by a murder, one which Nancy is determined to solve.

It’s a cosy crime novel, a murder mystery that wants to be considered alongside Agatha Christie. Unfortunately for me it’s a bit of a miss in that respect. I so wanted to like this book, I’m a big fan of a murder mystery. But the text is a bit clunky, too much minutiae, repetitive plot points (who killed her father?!) and unnatural dialogue. It was an okay read but despite the authors best efforts, with the teaser epilogue, I don’t think it’ll be top of my want-to-read list.