I loved catching up with the bookshop and it’s inhabitants. Catching up with Aunt Violet and Aidan is a joy to behold. Hannah runs the bookshop in cohorts with her Aunt Violet, they are thoroughly modern, they drive and have independent means. Violet was a suffragette and they are a force of nature.
In a relationship with Aidan she refuses to be married and tied down. Hannah is dating Darius a mysterious man of means…..spy!
It’s a great read catching up with the gang.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I was having a major fantasy and romance hangover and I was really needing a cozy but entertaining pallet cleanser and I found it! This cozy murder mystery was everything I needed! This is book 4 in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mystery series. I did not read the books that came before this but I didn’t feel confused or out of place at all. From the first page you are transported to wartime London with its vivid setting and the character dialogue. Hannah Merrill is the main character who volunteers at a local military hospital and runs a bookshop with her aunt and seems to have made a name for herself as an unofficial detective working alongside the local police to help crack cases. Hannah is a fantastic FMC—witty, determined, and fun to follow as she unravels the twists and turns of the case. The mystery itself kept me engaged, and just when I thought I had it figured out, the ending took me by surprise! If you love a cozy “golden age” mystery this is definitely one to pick up!

Such a cozy murder mystery. Action on almost every page and an unexpected plot twist ending. Murder in Covent Garden by Anita Davison is Book #4 in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mysteries series. And the ending left it with the possibility of Book #5.

Releases Mar. 14th. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Murder in Coven5 Garden continues the escapades of Aunt Violet and Hannah Merrill. Hannah takes centre stage as she pokes around Covent Garden enquiring into the murder of a local jeweller. The book brings to life the atmosphere in the area at the time of WW1 with some great characters, both leading and incidental The plot is great with several strands woven together increasing the intrigue. And of course there is a developing live interest that will probably be taken further in an ensuing book. All in all a satisfying read

A lively and likeable historical cozy mystery set in WWI London. I think it would appeal to fans of L.B. Hathaway and Colette Clark. I liked the sparkiness of the characters (Aunt Violet's line "My motor car, my choice" made me laugh). The cover is absolutely gorgeous but the 1920s flapper vibes don't quite fit the era of the story. Occasionally the wartime setting felt slightly jarring with the cozy genre ("The invaders targeted the civilian population, shooting them in their thousands, looting and burning towns..."). Generally though, this was a fun read, and I'd like to read more cozy mysteries by Anita Davison.

Many thanks to Boldwood and NetGalley for the advance copy.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot...there are already some reviews like that out there if that's what you are looking for!

This is the 4th book in the series, this novel is set in 1917 in London during WW1. Like the others in this series, it is an enjoyable "cozy" mystery with an edge..

The main characters (Hannah and her Aunt Violet, Darius, Aidan) are joined by a cast of supporting characters - all well written and believable. I particularly liked the mysterious stranger from Aunt Violet's past. We get to know more about the main characters, and they are developing all the time - reflecting the changing times of the novel's setting.

This novel is once again set in and around Covent Garden (an area I know well). There are several strands to the story - which are all interconnected in the end, but it's not immediately obvious how (this is a good thing!).

I'm already looking forward to the next in this series.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read "Murder in Covent Garden" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the 4th book in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet mystery series. This story takes place in July 1917 in Covent Garden, London.

Hannah runs a bookshop with her Aunt Violet. This story will answer the question as to where Aunt Violet actually got the bookshop from. Hannah volunteers at the Endell Street Military Hospital where there are 500 wounded soldiers from the battlefields of Belgium and France. She takes them books to read as they recuperate.

Her fiancé Darius Clifford works with Military Intelligence Five Division and even Hannah has no idea what he actually does.

Aunt Violet is walking out with DI Aidan Farrell who is investigating a series of robberies. When Jacob Cornelis a fellow shopkeeper is murdered Hannah feels she has to get involved. There are many red herrings in the story that she misses. Hannah is very good at setting traps that she herself falls into. While she helps Aidan solve the case, not before putting herself in great danger several times.

Miss Davison has once again captured the feel of this time period through her descriptions of the war rationings and what it was like to live in London during this time period.

Such a fun book! This is a series I've read all of. Hannah and her Aunt Violet are an absolute delight. Both are unconventional in their actions and their views as to what women should be allowed to do as they pursue clues and help Aunt Violet's police boyfriend solve crimes- whether he wants their help or not.
I look forward to the next in the series-please write a next in the series!

wry-humor, situational-humor, relationships, relatives, historical-mystery, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-figures, history-and-culture, bookseller, bookshop, amateur-sleuth, cozy-mystery, burglary, jewelry-theft, murder, misogynistic-era, extortion, law-enforcement, investigations, family-drama, organized-crime, intrigue, London, unputdownable, unpleasant-neighbors, friendship, fiancé, family-dynamics, family-expectations, ww1, suspicion, suspense, danger*****

Get ready for a thrill ride with plenty of intriguing characters and confusing red herrings, diabolical twists, and misdirections galore. Aunt Violet hangs out with a cop, Hannah is engaged to an officer from Special Branch, the bookstore has a pair of enterprising employees, and the jeweler is murdered by organized thieves/murderers. An engrossing read!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Boldwood Books via NetGalley. Avail Mar 14, 2025.
#MurderinCoventGarden by @anitadavison3740 #MissMerrillAndAuntVioletMysteriesBk4 @theboldbookclub #cozymystery #murdermystery #NetGalley @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble ***** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones #crimeFiction

This is the first book I've read in this series. It follows amateur sleuth Hanna Merrill, who works in a cozy bookshop alongside her aunt Violet. In this story, Hannah goes from volunteering at a hospital--the story is set in WWI--to witnessing a fight to learning that one of the people involved in the fight was murdered. What follows is a somewhat meandering but layered and rewarding historical mystery. I enjoy Hannah as a sleuth--she's bright, with flashes of sass, and while I'm not a historian she felt like a character who was true to her time. Likewise, Aunt Violet is a fun character to read about. Most of the "home front during the war" stories I've read in my life are set during WWII, so it was really interesting to go further back in time and think about day-to-day life during WWI. My one quibble with the book is that the cover reads very roaring 20s, presumably to cash in on the trend of cozies set there (thanks, Miss Fisher!), and that's a bit misleading. But marketing is marketing, and imo anyone who gives this series a try based on cover alone won't be disappointed. Highly recommend to those who enjoy female sleuths and historical fiction! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a free copy for review.

It seems lately like there's a trend for cozy mysteries to have a long list of side-stories that may be or may not be related to the main mystery, usually a murder. This one is no exception. As always, the ol' history buff in me enjoyed going back in time to catch up with Hannah Merrill's life in England during WWI. As we read, the war is still raging. In fact, we learn one co-volunteer at the hospital, Dinah, has not just an injured brother, who lost a foot, but three more still on the lines. It's during their walk back to the bookshop Hannah runs with her suffragette Aunt Violet that she sees jeweler Jacob Cornelis in a heated argument with a young man she doesn't know. Imagine her shock to learn the next day that Jacob has not only been murdered but the unknown young man is the police officer assisting regular character Aiden Farrell as his new assistant.

I won't detail the plot further other than to say there is a lot happening. Such as? Oh, Aunt Violet skipping an evening out with Aiden to go out with the mysterious Emilio Alfaro, from Mallorca, who seems to draw odd reactions when Hannah mentions his name. Stolen goods. Police office Daniel Vane seems to have a ready answer for his intereaction with Jacob but, well, can he be trusted? There has been talk of a leak from the police lately, after all. Hannah's boyfriend Darius is his usual reticent self when it comes to revealing any details of his job with Britain's MI5 intelligence agency. Is it really as safe an boring as he says or, yikes, is he actively spying on Britain's behalf? There's more but that gives you some of the highlights.

Overall, the characters are intriguing and mostly likable and, hey, we can't forget bookshop cat Bartleby. While I enjoyed the story, I have to admit that the pace was slow at times and the many side stories seemed to pull my attention away from the main question, "Who killed Jacob Cornelis?" While the author did a good job of weaving them in and out of the plot, not to mention reminding us we were in the midst of wartime England, I didn't feel as drawn to it as I had expected. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book, just didn't love it. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. I did enjoy Hannah's rather confused reaction to feisty, pushy female reporter Tilly, however. Even though Tilly annoyed her, Hannah admitted she admired her ambitions and drive to excel in the then very male dominated news world. Hannah having to go pull out some hoarded wine at one point also reminds us again of the adjustments of life during wartime. The history buff in me always enjoys these little, personal glimpses of real life, I have to admit. Thanks #BoldwoodBooks for letting me take an early peek at how life and war is impacting Hannah's day to day life in England.

When a string of burglaries ends in a murder, Hannah finds herself involved again. Aiden is investigating to see if they are related or separate, and Hannah can’t help but investigate too. Aunt Violet is preoccupied with a male friend in town and so Hannah has Archie and Penny assist.

This book dragged more than the others and I didn’t really like the Darius issues or Aunt Violet not committing to Aiden. It just bothered me and I don’t think it brought anything to the story.

Hannah Merrill runs a bookshop with her Aunt Violet as well as helping out at a local military hospital as often as she can. Concerningly there have been a number of robberies in the Covent Garden area and when one of them is revealed to have resulted in the death of a jeweller, Hannah resolves to help the police solve the case as quickly as possible. With Violet distracted by the arrival in town of an old flame and Hannah's fiancé continuing his top secret war, she finds herself dealing with the worrying clues with only her work colleagues Archie and Penny's assistance. Can she sort everything before the villains catch up to her and the Covent Garden Killer claims another victim?

Book four in this series is the second one I've read, and I'm glad I gave this series another chance as this is a really good cosy read. I enjoyed Hannah and her aunt much more this time. They seemed more feisty, and the case itself had a great many twists and turns before the big reveal.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Boldwood Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a good read from a great storyteller.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

The latest instalment in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet series brings murder almost to Hannah’s doorstep. When another shop owner is murdered, Hannah almost accidentally ends up investigating his death. However, her involvement is complicated by issues in her own life.

Aunt Violet, usually her stalwart companion in investigating, is somewhat distracted by the reappearance of the mysterious Mr Alfara- someone who she stoutly refuses to discuss with Hannah. Aiden is keeping his own secrets as well and Darius seemingly disapproves of Hannah involving herself in the case.

The advantage of this, is that it enables Hannah to co-opt Archie and Penny, her employees, to help her and thus, their characters are fleshed out more in this book.

The case itself keeps Hannah, and the reader, guessing right to the end and I still hadn’t worked it out by the time all was revealed.

I've said before that one of the reasons I like this series is because the war adds a different dimension to it. However, it’s also because it doesn’t shy away from social realities of the time and Hannah, like many of her real life counterparts, fears that marriage will involve curtailing her activities. She wants to be with the man she loves, but not at the expense of her independence and for a time it seems as though that is in real jeopardy. It will be interesting to see as the series progresses, how that balance is sought. I look forward to the next instalment!

I really liked this book! it’s an easy read, but super enjoyable and engaging. the first 1/3 moves a little slowly for my liking, but does enough to keep you hooked! the second half moves much quicker, i finished it in one sitting bc i couldn’t put it down! i also didn’t know this was in a series of sorts, but not having read prior books was NO problem!
super cute, proper amount of mystery, and overall i liked the plot a lot!

Hannah is walking to her bookshop one day when she’s sees two men arguing on the street. The next day she learns that one of them had been murdered the night before. He was the owner of the jewelry store on her street. With a spate of burglaries in the area over the past months, they think it was another one that had gone wrong. Aidan is investigating and Hannah is up to her amateur sleuthing. Aunt Violet is busy with an old beau that she’s being secretive about. Another solid mystery.

3.75 stars. This has favourite characters return, in the form of Hannah, Aunt Violet, Darius, Aidan, and Archie, while there is a spate of robberies and a body is found in a nearby jewellers. There’s intrigue in the form of a Spanish gentleman from Aunt Vi’s past, a policeman who might not be all he seems, and of course Darius’ continuing super sekrit war work…

I enjoyed this as I have the previous in the series, but ultimately rounded the star rating down on Goodreads as it just seemed to split the mystery focus a little. It starts out with the robbery/murder, then there’s a bit about fencing stolen goods and the gentlemen’s club, then something else, and it felt quite gently paced and at times as though the original murder had been forgotten until right at the end when it was suddenly resolved.

However, as I said, I love the characters and this is a very enjoyable series that I look forward to continuing soon hopefully.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

I love a good mystery murder! Such an entertaining book to read, thank you! A brilliant plot with some clever twists! I think I've found a new favourite series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC copy in exchange for my review.
Even though its famous opera house has shuttered its doors for the war, Covent Garden remains one of the most exciting, bustling areas of London. It’s where Hannah Merrill and Aunt Violet have their bookshop and, in spite of the recent spate of burglaries in the area, it’s generally thought to be a good neighbourhood.

So Hannah is surprised when she sees a fellow shopkeeper – a jeweller named Jacob Cornelis – having a heated argument with a stranger. Especially when the next day Cornelis is found dead in his shop, apparently the victim of another burglary.

But what shocks Hannah more is when she meets the policeman supposedly there to investigate the crime. Because he is none other than the man who Hannah saw arguing with Cornelis the day before.

Hannah knows it’s up to her and Violet to investigate. But they don’t know they’re about to uncover a secret underworld of theft, murder and blackmail. And they must act fast, before the Covent Garden Killer strikes again…