Cover Image: A Cornish Christmas Murder

A Cornish Christmas Murder

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Member Reviews

Nosey Parker books were one of the joys of 2020 and 2021 - proper mysteries with clues, twists and turns but with funny engaging people (as well as the obligatory nasty killers) and a heroine who always has a snappy one-liner and feels like she's often trying very hard not to swear.

Jodie, her inappropriate mum and whip-smart daughter are snowed in at a mansion that's in the process of becoming a luxury hotel when the man hired to act as Santa is killed. There are no tracks in or out of the manor, so it has to be someone inside... It's a classic locked-room mystery that's a treat to read.

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This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

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it was fun and cute! i hadn't known it was a series and that nosey parker had other books and mysteries she solved, so i might go back and read those

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I was looking for a Christmas read that wasn't saccharine sweet and I found A Cornish Christmas Murder, book 4 in the Nosey Parker series. This is the first book I have read by Fiona Leitch and I was able to jump in and not be lost. It was the perfect cozy mystery for a quick Christmas read.

Jodie left the police force when she got divorced. Her young daughter Daisy had become anxious after Jodie was hurt on the job when she disarmed a suspect. Jodie moved back to her hometown and opened a catering business. Asked by an old friend,. Lily, to cater a children's Christmas party at her new bosses manor house/B and B. Jodie, her mother, daughter Daisy and friend Debbie arrive at the beginning of a snow storm. The event goes great from a catering stand point. The millionaire who is funding the event is happy with the delicious food and so is his son Josh. However some of the kids try to get into a locked case with a sword. The sword is rescued and placed in the butler's pantry to keep safe.

After cleanup, the weather and roads have become unsafe so Jodie and her crew along with the millionaire, his son and assistant and the Santa spend the night. Trevor and Lily are gracious hosts. Only the maid, Pippa who lives in the gatehouse is able to walk home. During dinner some travelers arrive who can not make it further on the road, Bea and Liam and four Japanese tourists. This makes for a cramped night but everyone is safe.
The next morning Santa, Steve, is discovered skewered with the sword from the pantry. Why would someone kill an old man playing Santa? The police have a hard time getting to the manor with the bad roads but Jodie is on the case making sure she collects all the evidence and looking for the murderer.

I am definitely going back to read the first three books. Fans of Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series will enjoy Nosey Parker.

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This is a great book with a Murder Mystery theme. I had some idea of who may have done it but I'm never normally right in this books.

It was a really interesting book, the setting in a bit house was perfect and the way the snow and flooding is keeping everyone where they are. Not sure how I'd feel about being stuck in after a murder had just happened but then again I'm not the murderer.

I really like a book that you can't guess who the bad guy is, you can have all the thoughts of who it might be but I love it when I'm totally wrong, it's the sign of great writing I think.

Great book, I will recommend to friends and family.

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Clever and fun - my kind of Christmas read! A recommended first purchase for collections where mysteries are popular.

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I was so happy to return to Jodie's adventures as a caterer/ex-detective, I was excited to see what else she would get herself into. This time, she is catering a child's birthday party when a snowstorm strands everyone at Kingseat Abbey, which is being renovated into a hotel. The next day, one of the guests is murdered, and Jodie must find out who.

I really enjoyed thinking through the mystery with Jodie to figure out who the murderer was. This is a perfect example of an enjoyable cozy mystery, and I was so happy to be able to get a second arc from this series. Jodie is very relatable, and I enjoy her relationships with her family. She is very observant and perceptive, and continues to demonstrate how she became a veteran of the Met. I hope to read more about Jodie's adventures!

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I'm not big into cozy mysteries, but I sure do love Christmas! This honestly was wonderful. It's super easy to read and has an enjoyable plot to follow. I especially loved the humor throughout! Highly recommended.

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A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch was a fun whodunnit novel set in Cornwall.
Even though this is apart of a series it certainly read as a stand alone novel, but in saying that I am now keen to go back and read the previous ones.
Thank you so much to the publisher & Netgalley for kindly gifting me this ARC to read.

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A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch a NetGalley read. This is the first book of 2022! It’s a few days before Xmas, Jodie who is a ex detective and who is now a chef is catering for a kids Xmas party, however after all the kids have left and there’s a snow storm leaving adults stranded and some unexpected visitors, someone is murdered, but who did it? No spoilers here! I am sitting on the fence with this book, it didn’t feel like your normal murder mystery read, it somehow felt lighter, less serious, almost comedic in places. This might sound silly but it felt like it was to staged (obviously it was, it’s a book!), people turning up on the doorstep because they were stranded in the snow seemed to much of a obvious plot move if that makes senses. For me it felt like it was all one big set up and that it would all end with all these people in a huge manor playing a game of Cluedo. Even though it was a murder mystery and obviously someone gets murdered, the fact that it was a who done it, didn’t have the hook or the intense I can’t put this book down feel that you would want and expect, which for me made it a slow read, there was no intense impulse to continue reading in those rare spare moment you get because you can’t wait to find out who did it. Don’t get me wrong I wanted to know who did, that was why I continued reading but when I did find out who the murderer was it was a bit of an anti climax, a bit like ‘okay’ great it must be the end of the book soon! I’ve never read anything by this author before, might be intrigued to see what else she has done, however equally there are other books out there that are loads better and full of so much more suspense in the murder mystery gene that and if that’s what your after this isn’t for you. One point to make is that if you like murder mystery but don’t like the gory details, this is ok on the point, there are some details but believe me if it had been that gory I wouldn’t have read it because I get freaked out to easily! I probably to be honest wouldn’t recommend either book or author to family and friends, it just is a bit of a weak read and probably won’t be a book that I remember. ☹️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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It was lovely to be back in Penstowan for a festive installment. Leitch builds the wintry atmosphere perfectly, giving us just enough description to take us to the scene and allow us to be part of it, but not too many references to Christmas to overload people like me who struggle to get into the Christmas spirit.

I always enjoy spending time with Jodie and A Cornish Christmas Murder was no exception. Once again, her eye for drama and sense of humour shines through as she investigates this mystery. Her relationships with her mum, daughter Daisy, Debbie and Nathan are also as well written as ever and I love the way they bounce off each other.

The mansion is the perfect set up for a locked room mystery and as well as the main characters we know and love, we are also introduced to an interesting group of guests. They all have very different personalities and intriguing back stories and I enjoyed the dynamic between them. This made it fun to try and work out who the murderer was and what had happened.

I was completely engaged by the mystery and I was keen to find out the method and motive behind it. Leitch builds up intrigue really well and there are a few twists and turns to keep us guessing.

I really hope this is not the last we see of Jodie and her friends and family!

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I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice break from some of the other books I have been reading lately. I do love a good winter story with Christmas and European vibes!

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A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch is the forth book in the Nosey Parker Mysteries Series. The cover reminded me of another 2 books that are out there to read at the moment. This is the first book I have read in this series and I found it really sweet and enjoyable. Plus, it made me lol in places. This book is set in lovely Cornwall and I just loved all the characters I found these fun and all played great parts within this new book.

I highly recommend this book and will be going back and reading the other 3 books by Fiona.

Big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for the opportunity to read and review this book

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It's a few days before Christmas and Jodie Parker (nicknamed Nosey) is catering a charity event for local children at a former abbey, held by a reformed bad boy millionaire. A snowstorm hits , stranding Jodie and her family as well as several other unintentional guests. They hope the storm will pass enough to leave next morning but when one of the guests is found dead and they're too cut off for the police to arrive its left to former police officer Jodie to investigate.

This is my first "Nosey" Parker book but immediately I was immersed in Jodies world. To enjoy this you don't have to have read the previous books...but obviously I'm of course going to have to! Very funny, really enjoyable but a wee bit predictable. An easy 4 stars.

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This is a festive, cosy mystery set in Cornwall. There are familiar characters and a classical locked room murder mystery. Jodie Parker is an ex-detective, who always finds, herself faced with solving murders. Ably assisted by her friend Debbie, young daughter Daisy, she tries to solve the gory murder that takes place, in a country house, just before Christmas.

This is a slow build mystery with intricate character building. It didn't draw me in as quickly as the previous books. The murder mystery is well-plotted, and the characters are relatable, and there are pertinent touches of humour and poignancy.

This story is just the book to curl up with on a cosy winter's afternoon.

I received a copy of this book from One More Chapter via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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1.5 rounded up to 2, because it's Christmas time and why not.
It's not a terrible book but it's also not great either. I'm a huge fan of cosy mysteries, but even I draw the line at being giddy and cheery over a corpse.
Also who brings a dog to a catering job? WHO?

When it comes to characters the only good thing I can say is that I enjoyed the relationship between the MC and her partner Whatshisname. It was cute.
But besides that, nothing good is happening here.
Three Japanese Girls, who apparently are a collective since they did not even deserved names, have literally no reason to be in this story. Like, they do not advance plot in any way beside randomly showing that one of the characters speaks Japanese (random fact, not important to the plot whatsoever).
Male characters weren't particulary well written/described. I was often confused who's who. But that might have been because I found myself skimming the books at times.

The "plot twist" was very very meh and also a stretch.

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Loved this cosy murder mystery, perfect read for December.
The writing is brilliant and i found myself so excited to continue reading.

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I simply love cosy Murder mysteries around Christmas. This one was just perfect for the festive season. I really enjoyed this. Definitely felt transported to stunning Cornwall too

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A great whodunnit with plenty of humour and fun. A partly renovated remote countryside mansion is the scene of a Christmas party. As the catering crew tidy up and only 12 people remain, a snowstorm blows in and roads close. Tensions rise amongst some of the guests before bedtime. They awake next morning to a grisley murder and the police still some way off. Luckily the caterer is an ex police officer. Alongside her teenage daughter and outrageous mother, they track the clues. A really enjoyable read.

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I absolutely loved this book! Really put me in a Christmas mood, and the characters were all enjoyable.
I loved the humour and how the crime investigation evolved. Really recommend it to read during Winter time or even on warmer months to reminisce the colder season.
Perfect for fans of Richard Oseman, in my opinion.

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