Whomever said chess wasn't deadly, they obviously haven't read Death At The Village Chess Club.

Cotswold village if Little Pride always prided itself on being calm and quiet. Until new comer Alice Carroll of Alice's Cotswold Curiosity Shop came to shake the chess pieces. Her ex-boyfriend Steven, who is traveling and needs cash fast asks her to sell his large collection of chess games. Alice knowing nothing about the game or it's value seeks the advice of her lodger Danny, her billionaire neighbor Robert,  the local school principal and teacher to use the school to get kids interested in chess while she sells some chess boards and donates money to the school. It all seems to be running perfectly smooth, until some chess pieces go missing at the sale and a player ends up dead at the schools parking lot. Who would steal and kill for pieces of the Isle of Lewis chess set that are made of cheap plastic and cost less than 100 pounds? Apparently several people are interested in this set and are willing to kills, break in, steal nd kidnap for them.

Find out what value these plastic pieces hold that will make bad people so interested in Little Pride village and Alice's shop.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this sweet, quaint and cozy murder mystery.

Debbie Young’s second book in the Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mystery series did not disappoint! Having never read the first book in this cozy mystery series, I had no idea what I was missing!

The book is centered on Alice, an antique shop owner, who is tasked with selling her former partner’s chess sets. When tragedy strikes at a local school where she is auctioning off her vintage chess sets, she is flung into this mystery alongside her friend Danny and her mother who happened to arrive on the same day. To make matters worse, the granddaughter of Alice’s neighbor Robert (a dashing millionaire who happens to be single) is kidnapped and is ransomed off in exchange for an inexpensive chess set. Is there more to this chess set than meets the eye?

This book was such an interesting read and worked well as a standalone book. The characters were equally interesting and there is even a glimmer of romance in Alice’s future. Alice’s mom reminded me of Miss Marple as she was often in the background knitting and observing others. If you are an avid chess player or a cozy mystery lover, than you will enjoy this book.

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC. This review was voluntary and all thoughts are my own.

Alice's quiet life in the Cotswolds is disrupted when her ex asks her to sell his collectible chess sets. A tournament to showcase the boards turns deadly when pieces go missing and a body is found, prompting Alice to investigate a dangerous game of murder and intrigue.

This is very cute. The setting is charming, the characters are engaging, and the plot kept me guessing. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The second novel in the Cotswold Curiosity Shop mystery series sees former museum curator settling into the village and organising the sale of chess sets for her ex partner. A murder disrupts her plans however. I love the characters, setting and ambient storytelling.

Debbie Young's Death at the Village Chess Club is the second installment in the Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mysteries series, inviting readers back to the charming village of Little Pride. Protagonist Alice Carroll, now comfortably managing her Curiosity Shop, faces an unexpected challenge when her ex-boyfriend, Steven, re-enters her life. Having exhausted his funds during his travels, Steven implores Alice to sell his extensive collection of chess sets.

In an effort to assist, Alice collaborates with her friend Danny to organize a chess event at the local school, aiming to raise funds and attract potential buyers for the chess sets. The event takes a dark turn when, by night's end, pieces from one set go missing, and the suspected thief is discovered murdered, without the stolen items in their possession. Determined to clear her name and uncover the truth, Alice embarks on a quest to solve the mystery before more harm befalls the village.

Young's narrative excels in blending cozy village charm with suspenseful intrigue. The ensemble of endearing characters, combined with the picturesque Cotswold setting, creates an immersive reading experience. The plot is well-constructed, offering readers a satisfying balance of humor, mystery, and character development.

Death at the Village Chess Club stands as a delightful continuation of the series, appealing to fans of cozy mysteries and those seeking a light yet engaging read. Alice Carroll's adventures in Little Pride promise to entertain and captivate, leaving readers eager for the next installment.

Alice Carroll lives in the picturesque village of Little Pride in the Cotswolds, where she runs a curiosity shop. This is the second book in the serious but can be read as a standalone.
Alice's ex boyfriend asks her to sell his collection of chess sets, so she organises an event at the local school to showcase them. One of the attendees is found dead in the carpark with a number of stolen chess pieces on his person.
The book provides much of what the reader expects from a cozy murder. The setting is idyllic and the chess theme is quirky. The villagers are engaging and their interactions are entertaining. Alice's character is less well drawn and annoyingly she seems to be a people pleaser. However, this is a series so maybe we will see her grow in confidence as she becomes more independent. The murder happens almost halfway through the book which means until this point the book lacks the drama that propels cosy mysteries forward.
Possibly the audio format is the best one for this story as there is lots of scope to bring the likable cast of villagers to life.
This book would suit the cozy mystery fan who is looking for a quintessential English setting and a quick read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing the ARC. My review is given voluntarily.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Debbie Young for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Death at the Village Chess Club coming out March 3, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’m really enjoying this author’s writing. This is a fun series. I’m not super into chess, but I thought it was an interesting idea for a plot. I love cozy mysteries and this book is ideal for me. Alice is a really fun character. I love her quaint town and the characters in her life. I loved the mystery! I would definitely read more books in this series!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries!

The second of the Alice Carroll series, the first saw Alice set up home in the Cotswolds and open a Curiosity Shop in a small village, following the breakdown of a long term relationship and the loss of her museum job.

This second sees Alice begrudgingly come to the aid of her ex, who is travelling around Europe and needs a cash injection. Asking Alice to to sell off some of his collection, Alice agrees, because selling a few chess sets can't go too wrong, can it?

Except after a showcase chess event at the local school, a body is found in the car park, and chess pieces are missing. Alice has to uncover the wrongdoer before more people get hurt.

A wonderful cosy mystery, I love the development of Alice's character, and the renewal of the relationship with her mother. It's fun to see her settle into her new life in the village and juggle local politics. The characters are fun and quirky, and Debbie Young has created a fabulous community that we're getting to know along with Alice.

The writing keeps things moving at pace, and before you know it, you've finished the book in one sitting and have to wait for more!

Alice has recently moved to the small village of Little Pride, and with her ex-partner, Steven, now off traveling the world, she is happily getting on with her life, running her curiosity shop.

Then Steven calls from France, seemingly already out of money, and asks Alice if she would sell some of his collections to generate more cash for him.

Alice duly obliges, unearths all of his chess sets (about 20 in total), and decides to hold a village chess event to generate buzz and showcase the more expensive sets.

Everything is going great until one of the visitors steals a number of chess pieces before winding up dead in the school car park.

Nobody knows who he is, why he stole the chess pieces, or, more importantly, why anybody would want to kill him.

After all, this is just a cheap replica chess set...or is it? It's time for Alice to do a little sleuthing and get to the bottom of the mystery.

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Death at the Village Chess Club is a really fun and lighthearted, cozy mystery that moves along at a great pace with very likable characters.

The central plot was easy to follow, had plenty of twists, and although I had an idea about where it was going, I couldn't guess the ultimate outcome, which kept it engaging.

It is one of those lovely Sunday morning reads, and get a big thumbs up. I'm already looking forward to the next novel in Debbie Young's Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mysteries.

First, a huge thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. This is a cute mystery, but nothing compelling or excellent in my opinion. I am not sure I really love Alice or the other characters the way I have in other books of the genre. I severely disliked Stephen’s character, which makes sense, but also the odd hobby centered at this mystery felt low stakes and canned. I think a good narrator can really bring this story to life as an audiobook, and I am going to try the first in the series and will update if I feel differently after that! I definitely think this is a good mystery to read on a cold day, so I am hoping that a great narrator will take this to the next level.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

digital ARC was provided by Netgalley and publisher

Without reading the first installment (I requested it not knowing it's the second book), I'd say you can get around quite well.

Synopsis
Alice tries to help her ex husband selling his collection of chessboard sets. What she doesn't know is that selling such innocent pieces might be not so safe at all.

Commentaries
Solid writing, although I don't really vibe with Alice (big minus). I think characterization-wise, there's this lack of something that make everyone but Alice isn't so fleshed out. Everyone is there for her or to annoy her, so the world indeed revolves around her.
The mystery took too long to reveal, but I guess such it is with cozy mystery?
In the end it's an OK book to pass the time but I can't expect too much.

This is my first read in this series. I like main character Alice, though she feels a bit wishy-washy to me. And the fact that there's no murder by 33% into the book has me impatient about it. At the end of the book, I basically feel like it's fine. But I want more tension and murder than that, so I feel like this isn't a great fit for me.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Alice is contacted by her ex, asking her to sell off his collection of chess sets, she agrees. With the aid of her lodger and her neighbour, they plan a chess tournament at the local school to attract buyers while also creating interest for a chess club among the students. All goes well until they discover a dead body in the school parking lot.

For the most part, I enjoyed Death at the Village Chess Club by Debbie Young. It is an engaging cozy mystery with a mostly likeable cast of characters. My main criticism is Alice who, although 50, comes off as much younger, almost like an immature adolescent at times. The story also started out fairly slowly and it was almost 40% of the way before anything much happened. I will say, though, that when it did, it got very entertaining and kept my interest right through to the end.

3.5

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Boldwood Books in exchange for an honest review

Alice is settling into her life in Little Pride. She has grown to love her little curiosity shop and getting to know the occupants of her new town. However, the quest to sell off her ex's chess sets puts all their lives at risk, when someone is found dead with a few chess pieces on them. What follows is a high speed adventure for Alice and her friends, as they try to put all the pieces back together before someone else ends up dead.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series. I am absolutely besotted with small British towns. Add in a cozy mystery, delightful characters and I'm just hooked! At the end of Death at the Old Curiosity Shop I knew there was more to these characters and I'm so delighted to have a new adventure!

What I love most about cozy mysteries [apart from the small towns] is the [mostly] female characters discovering a new life for themselves. Alice definitely has this in Little Pride and I am cheering her on every step of the way! She's grown comfortable with her shop and the pain of her divorce is subsiding. Now if she could just stop discovering dead bodies...

The adventure was a high speed, thrilling mystery and I didn't guess the final denouement before it happened. I love when a mystery keeps me on my toes, as I frequently do guess the ending, but this one kept me guessing!!!

If you're looking for a fresh new series and love a good mystery, you absolutely can't go wrong with Death at the Village Chess Club. With perfect pacing and delightful characters, this is one series you are going to want more of!!

I didn’t realize this was a part of a series until I got into the third or fourth chapter and now I need to go back and read the others because I just loved this cozy little mystery!

In the second book of the series, we follow our main character, Alice, who now owns the Cotswold Curiosity Shop, on a fresh adventure. She is selling all the chess sets that her ex-partner owned to support him financially. She organized an event to sell those sets at the school, which also provided an opportunity for kids to learn chess. Suddenly, a murder occurs at the end of this event, and she is trying to solve it with the help of her best friend, Danny, and her neighbor, Robert.
It was a delightful cozy mystery book. At first, it started slowly, but then it picked up. The only issue I couldn't reconcile was that our main character was 50 years old; she behaved like she was in her thirties or forties.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldbook Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alice is contacted by her ex boyfriend Steven who wants her to sell his chess sets. She decides to host a tournament in order to generate interest in the sets.
She didn’t expect to find a body the day of the tournament.
I thought this was a nice easy to read follow up to the previous one. It’s a cosy little mystery and I was surprised by the ending. Looking forward to the next one

Our main character Alice is finally settling in the beautiful village Cotswold. That’s when he ex comes back asking for her help. He dumped her to travel the world and now that he ran out of money he needed her to try to sell his collection of chess sets.

Alice decides to help him and organized a chess tournament bit things take a turn when one of the chess piece is missing and someone found dead. Alice then decides to uncover the mystery.

This book was quite enjoyable and I will continue this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldbook Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

First time reading this author. I enjoyed the characters and the village setting. It will be interesting to see what other trouble this character gets into.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.