A Cotswolds village . . . a grieving heroine . . . two furry sidekicks . . . and a murder!
Do you like heroines who’ve lived a little? Who’ve suffered life’s ups and downs but kept on trucking? Then you’ll love Leta Parker and her new friends in the Cotswold village of Astonbury.
When tragedy strikes Leta Parker’s life, the successful banker and closet sleuth chases a lifelong dream to retire to England. Leaving her friends and neighbors in Atlanta, she settles into Astonbury with her talkative dog and cat, Dickens and Christie.
Picture her driving a refurbished London taxi to the bookshop and the tearoom, enjoying leisurely walks with Dickens the dog, and sipping coffee in the garden with Christie, her sassy cat.
When Leta stumbles across the dead body of a new acquaintance, her inner Nancy Drew comes out. Before you know it, she’s enlisted the help of Wendy, a retired English teacher friend—and even Wendy’s elderly mum.
Two whipsmart retirees, one spunky senior citizen, and a feisty dog and cat are on the case!
Who better to unearth clues from their friends in the village? Even Dickens and Christie get in on the act gathering intelligence from their four-legged friends and pointing out the obvious to Leta.
What do authors A. A. Milne, Arthur Conan Doyle, and J. M. Barrie have to do with all this?
Is their connection with the Cotswolds merely an interesting bit of trivia, or is it more? Will Leta and Wendy let their literary noses lead them astray?
You’ll be captivated as this unlikely team chases clues and ferrets out a long-buried secret—a scenario that would make any BBC cozy mystery producer proud. No matter the clues uncovered by Dickens and Christie, you’ll be hard-pressed to guess who the villain is unless, like Leta, you’re able to “talk to the animals.”
My Review:
Eeeepppp!!! New fave cozy mystery alert! Eeeeeepppppp!!!! This book was written for me. Early retirement in a quaint English village. Check. Big personality pets. Check. Feeling like I’ve wandered onto a Midsommer Murders set. Check. The perfect cozy/mystery balance. Check. A wee bit of magical realism. Check!!! So. Much. Fun!
And you gotta love a heroine who channels her inner Nancy Drew when stuff happens. Just like Nancy, Leta has a posse of new friends who are eager to dive into the realm of amateur sleuthing with her. Not to mention Christie and Dickens, Leta’s highly gifted cat and dog. Fan girling over these critters and what they bring to the story! Such a fantastic surprise!
Loved the cozy descriptions that made me feel like I was in the Cotswolds and the bookish influences in the murder mystery raised my bookish glee all the more. Two of my favourite elements in a cozy mystery.
I enjoyed listening to the audio edition narrated by Alex Picard who did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. I especially loved her portrayals of Christie and Dickens (grinning madly.) Would definitely recommend the audio book to readers like me who relish losing themselves in a good storytelling session.
My thanks to RBMedia and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of this book.
Kav's Best Reads 
My family had a schnauzer named Dickens haha. We got him on Christmas, so a Christmas Carol themed name seemed appropriate.
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That’s the perfect name for a schnauzer. I have a schnauzer neighbour called Phoebe. 🙂 She’s quite the characters. Happy Reading, Rebecca!
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WOW! Thank you so much for your review and for bringing BELLS, TAILS & MURDER to our attention!
I’m ready for some cozy reading. Been fulfilling obligations on other genre and been missing my cozies. This one sounds PERFECT in every way. Hoping to get the chance to read it – sooner the better.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
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I think it’s the perfect cozy! I love a well developed critter character and this one has two which just adds to the fun. Happy Reading, Kay!
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Ooohhh, channels her inner Nancy Drew and a Cotswold village?! Sounds intriguing! Methinks you’ve been having way too much fun. 😃
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I know, right? I love my cozies and this one is fantastic. And there’s no such thing as having too much fun when it comes to books! Happy Reading, Diane!
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oh thanks for reviewing this book. I love books with animals and older people.
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Then this book is definitely for you. I’m hoping for a long series run with these characters. Happy Reading, Lori!
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Hi there. Author here! Popping by to say thank you for the awesome review. I love Alex’s narration, especially her take on Christie’s sassy personality. The good news about your hope for a long series run is that there are–wait for it–eleven books out now. Book 12 comes out in December. Alex will be producing one a month until early ’26, so you’ll have lots of listening to do! Thanks again.
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Woohoo! That’s great news. I rushed over to audible and sure enough there’s a long list of books to preorder…and one I can start listening to right away. I do love a long cozy mystery series. Gives a ready plenty to time to get to know the characters and the setting and it always feels like coming home with each new book. 🙂
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A cozy mystery might just be “my cup of Earl Grey tea.” All of the characters forming friendships will be intriguing! Thank you for the introduction, Kav. Sounds like there might also be a serving of very early morning English Breakfast tea too! Kathleen lanehillhouse(at)gmail(dot)com
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These characters are definitely the kind you want to settle in for a nice chat over a cup of tea…and a treat or two. 🙂 Happy Reading, Kathleen!
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Kitty, kitty. So cute.
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Cozy covers are so cute — but that cat on the cover? Don’t be deceived. Christie is a diva! 🙂 Happy Reading, Lucy!
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