Despite my skepticism about the author, I was curious to see if I liker the book more than the presenter. While the book is marketed as a murder mystery, it’s really more about love, loss, and small-town life. The crime element felt forced and didn’t fully mesh with the more compelling character-driven aspects. That said, Edward Temmis was a great protagonist, and the portrayal of grief felt authentic. Overall, a decent read, but the mystery was predictable and lacked weight.

I listen to Jeremy from my home office at lunchtime - I had no idea he is an author.

Well exucuted story.
Set in a local radio station in Sidmouth. Edward is a broadcaster, his audience are mainly older ladies and he has a phone in also. Sadly his young son is dead and he is grieving Matty. He is not coping essentially and starts to work in a garden centre and thus the story begins. A lady called Stevie finds him and reminds him that her gradmother had died in a fire and and had written to him at the Radio show for him to help her- he had not recieved the letter.

He then learns that someone appears to be scamming older people and the source seems to be coming from Edward and his show!!

The story is interesting and complex. The reader will enjoy this and be surpirised at whom is behind all of this.

A good read to get you into 2025 and sunuggle up with a blanket.

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Murder on Line One ⭐️⭐️

I ummed and ahhed over how to rate this book. To start with, it was a clear 2 star, but the middle brought it up to 3 stars. However, sadly the ending brought it back to 2.

The premise had potential, but it was very dragged out and longwinded. I felt as if I knew every single possible detail about every character’s life and going’s on to the extent it was unnecessary to what should be a plot driven story. What was intended to come across as high stakes, fell short.

In brief, the book was too long and would have benefited from ending 50-60 pages earlier. You think you discover “who dunnit” only for there to be another unnecessary twist, continuing on for another several chapters.

I had high hopes for the book bearing in mind it was written by Jeremy Vine, but was disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I was tempted to give up on this book during the first couple of chapters, but stayed with it when it began to appeal more after a while. Overall, I’d say that this is an average read, a cosy mystery with some very silly moments, and which also makes a few serious points. I am in two minds whether or not to look out for the next in this new series.

As a fan of cozy mysteries, I found Jeremy Vine’s Murder on Line One to be an engaging read. The story centers on Edward Temmis, a late-night radio host in Sidmouth who, after a personal tragedy and losing his job, becomes involved in investigating the suspicious death of a listener’s grandmother.

The plot is well-crafted, with Vine’s broadcasting experience adding authenticity to the radio station setting. The characters are relatable, and the exploration of themes like grief and redemption adds depth to the narrative. While the pacing is steady, it occasionally slows due to Edward’s introspective moments. Overall, Murder on Line One is a promising start to a new series, blending suspense with human connection. 

The life of a local radio DJ falls apart after a tragic hit and run incident, setting him on a long path back towards rediscovering his purpose. This was a solidly enough written novel with an interesting mystery at its heart. It topples into a couple of detective fiction's common pitfalls and I suspect that many readers will find themselves frustrated by the slowness of the murder investigation as revelations dawn upon characters far later than they really should. There's a house on a cliff edge, which made me think of Luther whenever it was mentioned.

An enjoyable way to pass the time.

This is my first book by Jeremy Vine and I definitely want to read more of his work after this. Loved the concept of the book. The radio theme was interesting and lover the premise of listeners of a show being killed off. The book starts out extremely strong and is a hook that made me keep guessing what was going on. There are also other elements such as loss, love, grief and race well integrated into the story.

Thank you HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

I started this book wondering how many more celebrities can write a detective story? There are so many now and I thought Jeremy Vine was just jumping on the bandwagon.
It was a slow start because I wasn't expecting to be gripped. However Edward, Kim and Stevie won me over.
Edward was a radio presenter with a loyal following among the local people of Sidmouth, mainly those of a certain age.
Kim is an estate agent who sold Edward his house precariously close to the crumbling cliff edge.
Stevie contacts Edward following the death of her beloved grandmother.
All of them have had tragic experiences but they come together when a vile crime is uncovered and eventually they solve the crime.
Very much in the vein of the Thursday Murder Club, thoroughly enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I don't normally agree with novels written by celebrities, I hate that they automatically get a deal because of their name/followers without having to prove any writing talent!
But, I do quite like Jeremy Vine as a broadcaster and believe he has a way with words so was interested in reading this.
The book, however is quite different from how it has been marketed. This is quite a gentle domestic tale about love and loss driven by an intriguing central character, rather than a gripping murder plot, in fact I believe the human study in the pages labours a bit too much under the need to include the investigative/crime narrative. The sleuthing efforts of the main trio is a little unrealistic and detracts from the more interesting details of their real lives.
I won't give too much away but I really liked Edward Temmis, I liked the authentic aspects of their lives and actions, the realistic descriptions of grief and the small town background - BUT am not too sure the fraud/murder aspect worked well enough to tie everything together, it was just a little bit too 'cosy mystery' to really hold any weight - oh and it was obvious who the real villian was from the start!

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. It should have been - being set so close to where I'm from. It was nice recognising a lot of the places he was talking about and describing, but that's probably the extent of my enjoyment of this book. The story was boring and lacked any excitement. The plot was weak and the writing was a bit all over the place. I was bored a lot of the time and it felt so slow to get going. I didn't like the main characters and it felt a bit preachy at times too.

Overall, a no from me, but it may appeal to those looking for a quick, tame read that doesn't need much thinking about.

A slightly bizarre story but entertainingly worth while. It is quite funny in places while having a serious undertone.

This book started a little slowly but then was un-put- downable!!!! Edward a radio dj is reeling from the death of his young son. Traumatised he decides that he has to start living properly, a year after the event. After a meeting with the kooky Stevie he helps her to solve the puzzle of her grandmothers death and unwittingly uncovers a huge conspiracy. The ending was a little predictable but the book hugely fun to read.

I have not read a Jeremy Vine book before and I really enjoyed this one so will have to read more. The book is set in Sidmouth, a small place with it’s own local radio station. Edward Temmis is a broadcaster and his public are generally people, mainly ladies, of a certain age. His show has a phone in and Edward loves this part. Edward is grieving on the loss of his young son, Matty. He is struggling at work to the point of having to leave the radio station but not through choice. He had a melt down at a football match which was seen by many people. He starts working in a garden centre and this is where the story really starts. Stevie seeks him out. She is a young woman with tourettes. Her grandma died in a fire and before she passed she had written to the show and asked Edward to help her. He did not receive the letter but said he would look into this. Once he starts on this journey with the help of Stevie and Kim, a local Estate Agent, it becomes clear that there is someone scamming old people and their names seem to come from Edward’s show on the radio. As they investigate the story becomes more complex and I found it a great read. The person behind the scam - well that was not what I expected. A good sign for a good book.

The starting scenes did not particularly set the tone for the book, which I found thankful. Our radio star protagonist went through heartbreak, but is now trying to help someone else discover why their loved one perished. An interesting story, with some expected plot twists.

Edward is finding life hard after the hit and run driver killed his son. Used to having a radio show he is now on 'leave' and working part time at the local garden center. His house is gradually falling down the cliff and has many faults but he loves it and won't move as this was home to him and his son. A loyal fan of his is found dead in her home that was started by a fire but the daughter isn't satisfied with the answer. Gradually fans come to him with problems but some more serious than others including a lady how thinks she has found love and given away thousands of pounds. This turns out to be sixty two people affected. Can Edward and his friends find out who is doing this and deal with their own problems too? Obviously linked to the radio station it's just a question of time. Trauma, red herrings and surprises along the way this is slightly long winded at times but it highlights the way scammers work especially the elderly and vulnerable.

Honestly I had high hopes for this book and it was overall very disappointing. The whole premise was great and the writing style was interesting, focusing on radio host Edward and him trying to solve the mystery of a death amongst other mysteries. It was overall just a very long book where not a lot really happened. There was a lot of background to each character, which was ok, but the actual story development was very slow as a result. It was very repetitive, often telling you a part of the story and then repeating that in a conversation between two characters in the next chapter. It felt a little bit like Vine left the book to the last minute and only had the overarching idea and no idea how to get there. Would not recommend to others unfortunately, unless people like character descriptions and backgrounds. The reveal at the end was it's only redeeming factor, but it was too little too late for me. This was an ARC copy free from the publisher on NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

A crime mystery set in Devon with an intricate plot which uncovers a murder.

It has good character development with plenty of twists, turns and cliff hangers.
The authors personal knowledge of a radio station helps the reader with visualisation & understanding.

Although the pace is a bit slow at times its not enough to hamper the reader wanting to continue with the story.

Overall a good read & I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a typical English crime mystery.
Thankyou to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cozy mystery that has a gripping star however I found myself losing interest at various points and skimmed through until I found another bit that drew my attention. Lots of interweaving stores that all joined up at the end although I found the conclusion rather drawn out and so obvious I was quite disappointed I’d guessed it early in on the book. There’s a sweet love story weaving through the book, the usual will they/won’t they, however it was a lovely touch for the characters who you wanted a happy ending for.

Thank you to the author, publishers and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Fascinating book. Very slow to start with but worth persevering with as the plot becomes very intriguing

This is my first Jeremy vine book and I’m a sucker for a mystery so it sounded like something I’d enjoy. I enjoyed the late night radio backdrop and grew to know and like the main characters. The mystery is just creepy and quite dark but it kept me turning the page! I usually guess the mystery but I kept changing my mind with all the red herrings! Enjoyable book that I recommend.