In The Beginning, There Was a Murder

In The Beginning, There Was a Murder
An Amateur Female Sleuth Historical Cozy Mystery
by P.C. James
BooksGoSocial
Christian | General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction
Pub Date 18 Nov 2020





I am reviewing a copy of In the Beginning, There Was A Murder through BooksGoSocial and Netgalley:



This book takes us to Northern England in 1953. Pauline Riddell has grand ambitions for her future at the armament factory. Because of this when her closest workmate reveals a salacious affair with a married man, Pauline refuses to risk her career by listening to the scandal. But after the police come to her door with the horrible news her best friend had been murdered; Pauline is shaken to her very core.



Pauline’s insistent poking around the case due to her need for justice, leaves the police thinking of her as a suspect. And now she finds that she must clear her name by unraveling a web of deadly clues entangling her in a sinister plot.



Will Pauline be able to stop a killer, before they strike again?



I give In the Beginning, There Was A Murder five out of five star!


Happy Reading!

In the Beginning, There Was a Murder by P.C. James was such a cute mystery. The plot was well crafted and the I could visualize the scenery of 1950’s England. The characters are nicely executed, especially in their interactions. I cannot wait to read more books in this series.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Just finished this book. It was pretty good!
Sometimes though I have to be in the mood for a good murder mystery like this one. Why? It's usually that I can guess whodunnit before the story is over like this one. It was pretty obvious but I still liked the guessing games and to see if our heroine could prove it was really them.
I found myself cheering Pauline on and like most humans she made plenty of mistakes. Or she just gets in a hurry like I sometimes do.
I didn't really like the ending of the book. Still too many lose ends and I didn't think it fair either.
I can agree with Pauline on one thing though. After something is finished like a good book I'm left out in limbo for awhile until I can settle in with another one.
I loved the many turns and twists that this case had. It was interesting for sure.
I recommend this book if you like murder mysteries. It will keep your entertained.
I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own

I really loved this book. It's my first read by author P.C. James, but it won't be my last. I look forward to the continuation of the series. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and mysteries that are set in England, so this was the perfect book for me. It is set approximately eight years after World War II. The mystery is good and entertaining, and the author has created well developed characters that are interesting and I quickly became invested in. Count me as a big fan.

This fun mystery was based in the year 1053 in Northern England. Pauline Riddell works in an armament factory and has a pretty ordinary life in the grand scheme of things. That is until her best friend reveals she is having an affair with a ....married man! She doesn't want to hear more and the next thing she knows the police are coming to inform her that her friend has been murdered.

Pauline becomes the quintessential amateur sleuth and as she finds clue after clue that the police apparently have missed she gets more and more involved in the case to the point that she sometimes risks her own well being.

I loved the author's writing style and really did enjoy this mystery. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free copy for my honest review.

I was a bit slow to get into the story. Ramsey was definitely a character that I was uncertain about until nearer the end. Pauline did seem to jump in with both feet even when on the wrong path. But her heart was in the right place. Marjorie's story unfolded as the story progressed. It wasn't a bad book but it was a bit scary some of the risks Pauline took to gather information.

Introducing Pauline, Unintentional Amateur Sleuth....
Entertaining gentle mystery, 1950’s set, introducing Pauline Riddell, unintentional amateur sleuth. When Pauline’s best friend is murdered she has no option but to investigate but can she find the killer before another death occurs? Nicely written, engaging tale with a likeable but unlikely protagonist and a colourful cast of supporting characters. Easy, relaxing reading.

1953 Northern England. Despite it being after a World War and women coming out in full force into the work environment, things were still quite rigid where behaviour and what was expected from women.

Pauline was someone with ambition. She worked in an armament factory, not on the floor but on the secretarial side but was hoping for advancement. When her friend Marjorie gives her details of her love affair with a rich, married man Pauline really does not want to know very much. Sadly when Marjorie is found murdered, Pauline realizes that she should have paid closer attention to what her friend was saying because other than for a name, she does not know anything else of what went on in Marjorie's life.

Approaching the police with whatever information she had, Pauline is left frustrated because she feels that what she says is disregarded because the Inspector has problems of his own with the hierarchy who want the first possible suspect arrested and charged without going into detail.

The story goes on from there how Pauline follows up on clues, with the help of a relative working for a newspaper. (how we rely on the internet for information is really emphasised here because everything is so very slow!!!) The news of the loss of Pauline's fiancee in the Korean War adds to her distress but also helps her to focus on her findings.

A bit slow but reminiscent of the times the story was set in, this was an old fashioned detective story.

Set after WWII, this book follows the beginning of Pauline Riddell's career as an amateur sleuth.

A secretary at a local armament factory by day, Pauline is baffled when her best friend is murdered after going to meet her newest paramour "Eric." The police are too, but have a convenient scapegoat for the young woman's murder - the guilty party in a stabbing earlier that evening. But something isn't sitting right with the head detective, either, and though he find's Pauline's evidence and insistence frustrating at times, ultimately he decides she's on to something and they team up to catch the culprit.

With a twisty-turny storyline, it takes Pauline a few tries to get going on the right path, and she makes plenty of mistakes along the way - some of which could be life threatening. While I enjoyed the realism of having a main character who makes mistakes, the plot was slow at points, and there was a secondary storyline with Pauline's fiancé off fighting in Korea that wasn't fit into the book well and felt like it was only a distraction from what was actually going on.

I will definitely be watching for a second installment of this series to see what's next.

Thank you to P.C. James, The James Gang and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book in advance of its release date.

I liked this well written historical mystery.
It's a bit slow at times but the solid mystery kept me guessing and I liked the characters and the vivid historical background.
I'd be happy to read other books in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Fun, interesting story with engaging characters that held my interest all throughout the book. If you love English cozy mysteries, you’ll love this one. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I found this be be a very good British cozy mystery. The description of the settings was wonderful and really made me feel like I was there. I enjoyed the characters and the story was full of red herrings. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. I received a copy from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.