Wednesday, September 7, 2016

The Coniston Case by Rebecca Tope

I enjoyed this delightful British cozy mystery. It is part of a series but the previous novel does not have to be read to thoroughly enjoy this one.

Simmy (Persimmon) Brown owns a florist shop in the Lake District. Valentine's Day is soon and the shop is busy. Before she realizes the significance, there have been several anonymous orders, paid with cash. Simmy makes the deliveries but receives some strange receptions. The anonymous floral displays are not well received at all. Then one of the recipients turns up dead. Simmy and her friends want to know why.

The plot of the novel is a bit complex. There are four mystery deliveries that need to be investigated. Are they related? Who sent them and why? I was pleasantly surprised when it all came together in the end.

I think the aspect of this novel I liked best was the setting. Tope's descriptions of the villages and fells are great. I could almost feel the chill while trekking the mountainous region of northwestern England.

The characters are entertaining. While Simmy was pretty good, my favorite was Ben, a smart teenager who is bent on convincing others climate change is not real. He's good at thinking events through and is a good help in Simmy's murder investigation. All the characters are well drawn and some of them are pretty quirky.

I like the way Tope writes. There is good dialog, good action, good background information, a tiny bit of romance, and it is all woven together to make an enjoyable cozy mystery.

I recommend this novel to those who enjoy British cozy mysteries. You get a good one and learn a good deal about the florist business too.

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book. Click here to view the 'The Coniston Case by Rebecca Tope' Tour Participants.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Rebecca Tope is the author of four murder mystery series, featuring Den Cooper, Devon police detective, Drew Slocombe, Undertaker, Thea Osborne, house sitter in the Cotswolds and now Persimmon Brown, Lake District florist. She is also a “ghost writer” of the novels based on the ITV series Rosemary and Thyme. You can find out more at her website and follow her on Twitter.

Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Detectives
Published by: Harper Collins/Witness Impulse
Publication Date: August 12, 2016
Number of pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062567420
Series: Lake District Mysteries #2

You can purchase a copy from Amazon, BN.com or GoodReads.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for the purpose of an independent and honest review

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