In the third instalment of the Widows' Detective Club series, THE WIDOW'S GUIDE TO SKULDUGGERY, we return to the small village of Little Shaw when the discovery of a human skull on a wedding day threatens to tear the happy couple and their families apart. We follow Ginny as she and her group of friends (and fellow widows) investigate the truth behind a long-solved murder case and unravel an old village rivalry.

With relatable characters and twists at every turn, this is an un-put-downable cosy mystery with surprisingly good representation of small British village bickering/rivalry. What really sets it apart, though, is the interweaving of widowhood, grief and aging. The author touches on them delicately - even with humour - without dwelling, without cliché and in a way that feels wholly organic to the characters who still find room to grow. Grief becomes a person's new normal, and it's comforting to see this represented - don't worry, this book doesn't wave it around as a giant plot point and it's still cosy.

Rating: 4.5* rounded up for NetGalley (not quite 5* due to large cast making it a little harder to keep track of, mystery sometimes far-fetched but not a big deal)
Pages: 280
Vibes: small community, family/village rivalry, mystery
Verdict: If you like cosy mysteries I recommend this series - read it in order though, or you might be a bit lost with the cast list!

With thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing & Amanda Ashby for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4* A cosy British mystery

The widow ladies are sleuthing into a 20-year old crime in this third book of the Widows' series.

Carrying a skull in it's mouth, a ring-bearing dog disrupts a wedding group about to enter the church, the occasion turns into chaos. The skull belongs to a local woman believed murdered by her husband who promptly committed suicide. As the official case was closed long ago, when the ladies decide to discover who/why/what uncovered the skull, for once they won't be accused of meddling in current police matters.

Jealousy, intrigue, revenge, battling families, rival towns and a decades old curse, all make up life in the Lancashire village of Little Shaw. Most of the characters from the previous two books reappear, DC Wallace returns from his holiday in the nick of time.

A fun easy read, don't question the plot too much, it's a light-hearted read with everything neatly tied up in the final pages.

With thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

"When a human skull gatecrashes her friends' big day, it officially becomes the worst wedding Ginny Cole has ever been to. But as the assembled guests await the police, the two families staring daggers at each other across the aisle, Ginny starts to suspect that these nuptials were deliberately sabotaged. Together with her fellow widows in crime-solving, JM, Tuppence and Hen, she decides to uncover who wanted this marriage dead on arrival.

The police have no interest in a twenty-year-old skull, so Ginny and her friends have free rein to investigate. But untangling a web of family feuds and ancient village rivalries soon escalates into much more when a new body turns up...

The widows have stumbled into a devious plot decades in the making, but can they find their way to the truth before one of them joins the village body count...?

An utterly delightful and gripping cozy mystery full of unconventional characters, fantastic twists and shadowy village secrets. The Widows' Detective Club is perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett and Robert Thorogood."

Wait, the police really don't care about a twenty-year-old skull!?! That's a crime right there!

This starts off right away with a wedding that goes wrong. With all the fighting and a skull turning up, the widow’s are off and running. They think because the case is closed, that investigating won’t cause problems. I like this small town and the group of people that form it. The investigation was ok until towards the end when a new murder happens. Then the story picked up. The last few chapters were the best, especially the reveal because I didn’t expect who it was. Look forward to more of this setting and characters.

It was so good to be back with the Detective Club again! I fell in love with the characters in book one and have since enjoyed the next two mysteries, Ginny is the new Jessica Fletcher with her ability to be found amidst murder and mayhem and with her clever ways of piecing clues together.
In this mystery, a beautiful wedding is interrupted, firstly by arguments between the warring families of the bride and groom and secondly with the discovery of a human skull.
This reopens a case from 20 years ago- one that was thought to be solved. Ginny and her friends begin hunting for clues, chatting with people and trying to stay out of the way of the police, It turns out there is much more than just one murder to solve so the ladies have their hands full.
The stories are perfectly crafted and cosy and the characters leap off the pages with their big personalities and unique perspectives.

Love this series and can’t wait for more!

This is a cozy mystery written for light reading, though I found it heavy-going and throughly predictable. There's a library, a cat, and a cartoon village rivalry which would give the Hatfields and McCoys a few tips.

This book follows a group of four late-aged women who fill their time investigating murders, or in this case a curse that is strong enough to break up Romeo and Juliet.

This is the 3rd book in the series for Ginny Cole and her murder club. The premise of the series is that a widow could relocate and have happy, friend-filled, adventures in a second life. Some readers will find this fantasy alluring, though the grief of losing a spouse permeates the book. We have our heroine but there's a whole collection of folks doing that actual investigations. The characters aren't very distinct so it's hard to follow, or know why, there are four when one or two could get the job done.

Lots of the plot is under-researched and contrived so that the investigators can't find answers. But they seem to be looking in the wrong places or stopped by artificial road blocked constructed by the author. I was willing to go with the flow, but the ending just pissed me off. The author's plot gymnastics to get her heroine in place for the big reveal just took things a step too far. I deducted an entire star just for the ending. It's a slap in the face for any thoughtful mystery reader.

It feels like I should go back and read the first two books in the series before this one. The author tries to get the reader up to speed about the characters, but I was more than a little lost in all the new people and relationships tossed into the first chapter. Not to mention the curse and a gruesome find.

The characters are written for an older generation who seem to wear their technophobia as a badge of honor. The audience for this type of book is definitely aging-out.

The Widows’ Guide to Skulduggery is book 3 in the Widows’ Detective Club by Amanda Ashby. It is published on 30 June. Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and the author for the advance copy of this cosy mystery to read and review. Chaos reigns at a wedding, and tempers flare, but everything comes to a stop when Colin, the groom’s family dog, drops a skull at the bride and groom’s feet. The skull is from a murder/suicide from 20 years ago and had only been moved recently. It is suspected it was to stop the wedding of Grace and Theo Faulkner. Tuppence, JM, Hen and Ginny are all widows, and friends, and have come together in the past as the Widows’ Detective Club to investigate previous murders. This time it is to find who has buried the skull in the church garden. But what happens when a dead body is found. I love the community spirit in Little Shaw, although with that comes everyone knowing everyone’s business. There are still secrets hidden and I love the way they are teased out. Grace’s mother, Maureen, calls the Club together to investigate and to welcome them, she mixes them all cocktails. It is her hobby. She is a wonderful character. Quite out there. There is humour throughout, and it is an easy but very enjoyable read with so many wonderful characters and a lovely setting.

Another delightful installment featuring the wonderful, whimsy
and sometimes less than helpful investigative skill of our group
of best friends/widowed folks of the ‘Widows’ Detective Club.’
This wild story was not library focused, but is the backdrop for
a complicated wedding. Ginny and her friends have quite the
experience for themselves, one that might put them into a
temporary retirement from their murder investigations. We
can only hope! I just adore this fast paced book and already
I am looking forward for the adventure of the next installment.
My thanks to Storm Publishing via NetGalley for the download
copy,of this book for review purposes.

The widows are at their friend’s wedding when a dog digs up a skull and dumps it at the bride’s feet. The wedding is off, but the investigation is on as the widows are asked to find who ruined the wedding. There is a major rivalry between the two neighboring towns and the bride and groom are not from the same town. There is talk of a curse, the question of how did the skull get there, the cold case involving the skull, jealous exes, and more. The mystery is intriguing and kept me guessing. I love the widows and their friends. This is a very enjoyable, cozy read and a wonderful series.
Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

#TheWidowsGuidetoSkulduggery #NetGalley is the first book I've read by this author and I absolutely loved it.
Ginny, Hen, Tuppance, and JM are wonderful characters who made this story come alive.
While Ginny is attending a wedding of two people from very different backgrounds, a bizarre occurrence turns the wedding into a possible murder investigation.
The bride to be is devastated, the groom is shattered, but his family seems quite pleased with this turn of events.
Ginny and her friends are asked to look into the situation, which involves a human skull, and a decades long mystery.
This story is well done and I enjoyed every bit of it.
I'm looking forward to reading the previous books and any new ones the author adds to the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

I will start this review by saying I have read the previous 2 novels, kindly gifted via NetGalley and they have both been fantastic so I was very excited to see Ashby has written a third!
This book is just as cosy and delightful as the previous two. The main protagonists in this series are so loveable, the meddling widows that the detective loves to hate.
The plot is strong, well written and easy to follow. There is a web of secrets and lies that will keep you guessing right up until the end. I love a book that keeps me on my toes and proves my presumtions wrong at the end 🤣.
If you love cozy detective style mystery novels this is definitely one series you should be reading. It has a devious plot, a web of lies and unconventional characters, what's not to love about that!
5🌟 I'd give it more if I could. Highly recommend!

📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, Amanda Ashby and Storm Publishing📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚