I loved going back to the village and to all the familiar characters.
I love the Curiosity Shop and I love Alice.
The murder is unique and the suspense is good. I love that the story keeps its cozy vibes even when there is a serious crime spree going on.
I love the village setting and the unique character. Steven seems like a bit of a douche but I think Alice handles everything well.
All in all, a brilliant cozy mystery, I can't wait to see what happens in the series next

Death at the Village Chess Club is the second in the series following Alice Carroll. Alice runs her Curiosity Shop in Little Pride in the Cotswold. In order to help out her ex-partner, she agrees to sell his collection of chess sets. And so starts a cozy murder mystery. Starting with the theft of a cheap plastic chess set, the thief is found dead. The story follows Alice and her lodger Danny as they try to uncover the reasons for the killing and unmask the murder. A very easy read with engaging characters.

Debbie Young strikes again with another cozy little mystery that will capture you quickly. DEATH AT THE VILLAGE CHESS CLUB is another entry into the Cotswold cozy mysteries, set in small town England where everyone is a little cooky and there's a mystery to be solves.

What I loved most about this one is how fun the characters were. They're older, but only by age. Alice is smart, clever, and quick to figure out odd things happening.

Debbie Young's writing is very easy to relax with. It's easy to read, uncomplicated, and never loses the plot. It's so succinct that you sometimes forget that you're reading.

I really enjoyed this as a cozy mystery novel, it had that element that I expected from a cozy mystery and it was such a well written story. I was invested in what was happening with Alice and thought it was suspenseful and well written. I enjoyed the way Debbie Young wrote this and am excited for more.

This was the epitome of a cosy murder mystery.

This is the second book in the Cotswold Curiosity Murder Series but absolutely works as a standalone as the references to the previous book are not difficult to understand.

I really liked the main character Alice. She is settling in to the village of Little Pride and figuring out how to run her the Curiosity Shop.

Being asked to sell her ex-husband’s chess collection gives her the opportunity to play a part in the local community.

When it’s clear that the chess sets have led to murder, Alice starts to investigate.

This was such an easy read, I absolutely flew through the story and all the twists and turns along the way.

I really enjoyed the way that Alice and Bob’s blossoming relationship is developing. There’s lots of warmth and humour.

The Cotswold setting is perfect for a cosy mystery series, there’s a great cast of supporting characters and I can see them being involved in further adventures in the series.

I for one will definitely be reading more of this series in the future.

If Agatha Christie had a soft spot for teapots and vintage chess boards, she might've cooked up something like Death at the Village Chess Club by Debbie Young. Set in the delightfully twee Cotswold village of Little Pride—a place so cozy it probably smells like lavender and freshly baked scones—this mystery doesn’t just check the cozy crime box. It checkmates it. 🕵️‍♀️♟️☕️

Enter Alice Carroll, our fifty-something heroine with a curiosity shop and a knack for sniffing out more than just dusty knick-knacks. Having swapped city chaos for village charm, Alice finds herself roped into organizing a chess tournament. Why? Because her broke ex-boyfriend Steven shows up, dragging a suitcase full of fancy chess sets and the world’s worst timing. 🙄💔

What starts as a harmless board game bonanza at the local school turns into a crime scene faster than you can say “en passant.” Chess pieces vanish, secrets bubble up like a pot of overboiled jam, and—plot twist—a dead body pops up in the school parking lot. Let’s just say, this isn’t your average pawn-to-queen-four situation. 🚨🧩💀

Debbie Young’s writing is like your favorite cup of English breakfast—warm, comforting, and with just the right amount of zing. The villagers? Quirky as a cupboard full of mismatched mugs. The setting? So charming it might just inspire a spontaneous scone bake-off. And Alice? She’s witty, wonderfully nosy, and juggles crime-solving with the same grace she probably uses to dust off rare bookends. 🕰️📚

The mystery itself doesn’t bolt out the gate—it stretches its limbs, pours a cuppa, and then hits its stride like a caffeinated corgi chasing a tennis ball. Red herrings, curveballs, and “aha!” moments aplenty await the armchair sleuth. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out—bam! Another twist sneaks in wearing tweed and a polite smile. 🤯🐟

By the end, you'll be grinning like someone who found the last lemon drizzle slice at the village fête. Death at the Village Chess Club is a whimsical whodunit with a board-gamey twist that even non-chess nerds can enjoy. It’s a welcome installment in the Cotswold Curiosity Shop series, perfect for anyone who likes their murder mysteries served with charm, chuckles, and a biscuit on the side. 🍪🕵️‍♂️📖

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

2.5 stars rounded up!


This book was a very fast read, I read it basically in two days on flights for work.

I liked the thinking outside the box for why the murders happened and how everything was figured out.

My biggest complaint with this book is that the main characters do not act their age. I felt like in some instances they were acting like middle schoolers when they are indeed about 50 or so years old. A lot of the conversations and mindsets could have been fixed with an adult conversation. So that was something that kept taking me in and out of the book throughout the whole book since I would forget their age and then it would make me slightly irritated.

I also wished the murder took place earlier on, it doesn't actually occur until around 50% into the book which made everything feel rushed towards the end.

I did read Driven to Murder by Debbie Young and love it as well, I just feel like this one

I chose to read this book because the blurb appealed to me and I liked the cover which suggested a cozy mystery of the kind I'd really enjoy. And I was not disappointed!

Death at the Village Chess Club is the second book in the series The Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mysteries but is easily read as a standalone. The writing style is warm and inviting, and Alice Carroll is a very likeable protagonist, for whom I was rooting from the start. I loved the glimpse of village life and the hint of romance for both Alice and her lodger Danny. I'm only sorry that I have not yet read the first in this series, Death at the Old Curiosity Shop, although this is now added to my ever-increasing wish-list.

I found Death at the Village Chess Club to be a quick and enjoyable read which kept me guessing as to the importance of the chess set and its missing pieces.

I’ve read and really enjoyed both the St Brides and the Sophie Sayers series from this author. However I’ve struggled to get into this, the pace is just too leisurely and nothing much happens until nearly half way through the story. It just moves too slowly for me.

I love a cosy mystery but this didn’t grab me.

Thanks must go to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book to read and review.

Alice is settling into life, running the curiosity shop in the Cotswold village of Little Pride. Her ex, having gone off on his travels, gets in touch to say his finances are running low. Could she sell some of the chess sets he used to collect? Some might be quite valuable. The local primary school head is quite keen on having a chess club. Alice arranges to have a chess tournament in the school and also displaying some of the more valuable sets. She also wants to donate some of the proceeds to the school. The event is well attended but at the end some of the sets have pieces missing. This is disturbing but not as disturbing as finding a body in the car park ! Along with her friend Danny, Alice tries to track down the missing pieces and the murderer.

This is the second in the series. I hadn't read the first one but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. There were some interesting characters as well as a nice setting. This was an engaging book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this cosy mystery.

Might put you off moving to an English Village, but at the same time full of funny and eccentric characters that you will be keen to come back to time and again.

Enjoyable read.

Alice is asked by her ex to sell his collection of chess sets. All is fine until some chess pieces go missing and the man who was last seen playong with them is found dead.

In this mystery there is no amateur sleuth trying to find suspects for the murder. But Alice is curious why a cheap replica would attract so much excitement.

Sequel to Death at the Old Curiosity Shop where Alice, recently single, decides to move out of the city of Broadwick to the small Village of Little Pride to turn an old shop into a cozy home
Now, Steven, her ex of twenty-five years, who went backpacking to India, called because he run out of money and needs Alice to sell his chess sets, they are supposed to have some value.
Who knew someone will kill for a chess piece?
I really enjoyed the series, loved that we could read further on Alice’s mystery adventures.

Debbie Young is back with another delightful addition to her Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mysteries series with 'Death at the Village Chess Club'. This novel presents a wonderful mix of a quaint village backdrop, lovable characters, and a clever whodunit that will keep cozy mystery fans hooked till the end.

Alice Carroll, the heroine, keeps on adapting to her new life in Little Pride, a quaint village, with her much-loved curiosity shop. But her new serenity is marred by the sudden arrival of her former beau, Steven. Having spent his money on his travels, he begs Alice to dispose of his chess set collection. What begins as a straightforward business proposal quickly escalates when chess pieces begin to vanish mysteriously, leading to a body being discovered outside a chess tournament Alice sponsors in order to showcase the collection.

Young skillfully knits a gripping mystery, using a cast of intriguing villagers and a series of red herrings that will keep readers uncertain. The motivation for the crime, which appears to be connected to the chess sets, is at first confusing, creating a further level of mystery in the story. Alice, the host of the doomed tournament, feels obliged to find out what is going on, and her refusal to give up until the mystery is solved and no further victims are taken creates a likeable and empathetic heroine.

The novel's strength is not just its cleverly plotted mystery, but also in its endearing depiction of life in the village. Young's description of Little Pride is full of eccentric inhabitants and a very real sense of community. Alice's encounters with the villagers and the police officers add humor and warmth to the narrative, and the novel is a perfect example of a cozy read. The addition of touches such as the village bell ringers adds to the real village feel.
Though the mystery is the firm center of attention, Young also explores subtly Alice's individual development and her changing relationships in the village. Her developing relationship with one of her neighbors brings with it a hint of potential romance, adding depth to the story.

For the new reader, 'Death at the Village Chess Club' is an effective stand-alone novel, with sufficient background information to appreciate Alice's current circumstances. Those familiar with the series will, however, appreciate the further development of the characters and the comforting familiarity of Little Pride.
In summary, 'Death at the Village Chess Club' is a very enjoyable cozy mystery. Debbie Young has brought a witty and entertaining whodunit to the fore, told against a sunny village background studded with enchanting characters. If you are a chess fanatic or just love a good village mystery, the book is an excellent move and a welcome contender in the field. It is an ideal choice for those after a light and thrilling tale resolved to satisfaction.

I fear this was also not my cup of tea. After the first one and how much world building i guess the author did, I figured this book would be a little quicker. But it felt equally as slow and it just did not catch my attention as other cozy mysteries have done in the past.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is my honest opinion :)

Enjoyable second instalment in this series, better now the characters have settled. A cosy easy read mystery. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

I really enjoyed the latest instalment in the Cotswold Curiosity Shop mysteries. With her curiosity shop open for business, Alice is finally settling into in the picturesque Cotswold village. But then her old life comes knocking in the shape of her ex-boyfriend Steven, who dumped her to travel the world. He has run out of money and so asks Alice to sell off his many chess sets that he collected. Alice with the support of her friends decides to host an event to showcase the boards at the local school. Her plan seems to be working until it is clear that a number of chess pieces have mysteriously disappeared. And when a body is discovered outside tournament, Alice realises that the victim was a pawn in another, far more dangerous game. As the host of the event, Alice is eager to help the police. She doesn’t know why anyone would be interested in stealing random chess pieces, let alone be willing to kill for them, but she’s determined to find out. In a race against time, Alice must solve the mystery.

This is an enjoyable cozy mystery set in a quiet Cotswold village. I have read the previous book in the series but you could read it as a standalone. Alice is a very relatable character who is facing a change in career and her domestic situation later in life. However, she doesn't let this bring her down and immerses herself into the life of the village. Despite there being a death, this is a fun read as Alice comes across a motley selection of suspects and characters in the village. I'm looking forward to the next instalment in this series. With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book .

This was my first Debbie Young novel, and I had a decent enough time reading it. While the novel is marketed as a cozy mystery, I personally didn't find it to be a very warm and cozy read since there was a frequent mention of only tea and knitting which wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
I will say, I was pleasantly surprised to see a middle-aged protagonist and read from their perspective. The pacing was quite slow in my opinion for almost half of the novel which is why I had some difficulty finishing it. However, the mystery element was quite intense for a cozy, feel good story so that was appealing.

This is a fun mystery in the cozy genre. The character's are well and developed, memorable and the book flows at a good pace. The setting of a Cotswold village is very picturesque as you would expect and while this is the second book in the series it can be picked up and read without a problem although I will go back and read the first just as this was so enjoyable looking forward to more. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Alice has got the Curiosity shop in Little Pride up and running .
Little Pride is a lovely villlage in the Cotswolds and Alice’s home after splitting with her partner Steven .
Steven ended the relationship because he wanted to travel the world .
Alice is enjoying life and being the neighbour of a handsome millionaire Robert who makes her heartbeat a little faster than it should .
Steven asks Alice to sell some of his belongings mainly chess sets in order to fund his trip .
This sets off a turn of events no one could foresee .
A murder and kidnapping who knew chess was so exhilarating?
An easy to read cosy mystery with likeable characters .
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books .