Thank you NetGalley and Muswell Press for the eARC.
DI Garibaldi, an interesting policeman (he has a fear of driving a car and uses a bicycle instead), is heading the case of the murder of a woman found dead on a carousel.
The woman was part of a group of longtime friends, who were all at the annual Barnes Festival. All of them were involved in a fatal accident many years ago and each one of them is hiding secrets.
The story is enjoyable, but nothing much different from many of the cozies I have read.
I like Garibaldi, he's a bit pedantic, which amuses me.
A good read for lovers of cozies.

It’s always tough reviewing a novel that is part of series already in progress. You have missed character development. You don’t know the ins and outs of the interactions of characters. The premise of “The Carousel of Time” was so interesting to me that I decided to jump in on this series even though it is the 5th book in the series.

Honestly, DI Garibaldi got on my nerves at the beginning of this novel. I didn’t really like him at all. You add to that the “dig” at people of faith in his opening scene really turned me off. But much like moss, DI Garibaldi started growing on me be the latter part of the novel.

The actual story moves at a slow, procedural pace. There were a few moments that I felt like we covered the same material more than once and could have be cut out and shortened the novel. I enjoyed the interaction between Garibaldi and those he was interviewing. His ability to let them grow uncomfortable with silence and watch them squirm. All the while, knowing he really didn’t know where the investigation was going. I did appreciate the author not making him so hyper intelligent that you thought he knew the answers way before the reader. Nope. O’Keeffe wrote Garibaldi just one footstep ahead of us. Everyone looked suspicious and that added to the enjoyment of the novel.

DI Garibaldi’s adventures are definitely worth checking out.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

This detective story delivers a serviceable mix of mystery and procedural detail. The plot follows a familiar rhythm a crime, a trail of clues, a few red herrings and while none of the twists are groundbreaking, they’re engaging enough to keep the pages turning. The protagonist feels believable.

The pacing is steady, the dialogue occasionally sharp, and the atmosphere has that classic energy. Still, the book leans heavily on genre tropes, and readers looking for something innovative might find it predictable. For a casual read, though, its a decent mystery

The Carousel of Time by Bernard O’Keeffe, the fifth book in the DI Jim Garibaldi series, will be released in the UK by Muswell Press on 19 February 2026. Unfortunately the books are not yet published in the US.

All of the books are set in Barnes, that upscale suburb southwest of London, where the Barnes Fair is always held on the second Saturday in July. Games, stalls staffed by local nonprofit groups, food of all kinds, and rides are plentiful. This year, though, murder taints the event. Shelley Granger, a local resident and owner of a popular card and gift shop, is found dead with a severe head wound near the carousel the morning after the fair.

DI Garibaldi and DS Milly Gardner learn that the victim had spent the last day of her life at the fair, working at various stalls. In the late afternoon she met school friends in a years-old ritual to remember their school friend who died the year they graduated by riding the carousel, which Esther had loved. Granger had last been seen at a post-fair party, another annual ritual, attended by dozens of Barnes residents. Surprisingly, CCTV cameras were not set up around the fair, so Garibaldi and Gardner had to piece together the dead woman’s movements the hard way: through interviews.

Everyone said that the victim was well liked, had no disagreements with anyone, and her shop was profitable with a strong repeat customer base. Careful questioning and cross-questioning yielded information to the contrary. Granger was upset that her university son had joined a group of activists known for defacing businesses and they had loud arguments about it. She had also developed a line of anonymous cards that offered critical comments about the recipient and apparently she had been sending some of them. For instance, the local would-be star of the drama society received one that called her “No Talent”. The school friends all said the group was on excellent terms with each other but Garibaldi felt they were withholding information. So instead of no suspects in the murder, there are many.

Garibaldi’s penchant for obscure information lets O’Keeffe work in plenty of detail and history about carousels, such as those carousels with horses that move up and down are more properly called “gallopers”. Horses remain stationary on true carousels.

A traditional detective, Garibaldi reminds me of Inspector C. D. Sloan of the Calleshire Chronicles by Catherine Aird. Patient and persistent, although Sloan is not given to the pedantic asides that pepper Garibaldi’s conversation. And Milly Gardner is far preferable to Constable Crosby, that traffic cop wannabe. Still, there’s a similar feel to the books.

Recommended for fans of character-driven police procedurals with equally strong plots.