Blog Tour: Murder by Firelight (Flora Steele #12) by Merryn Allingham

It’s my stop today on Murder by Firelight by Merryn Allingham Books on Tour. Many thanks to Sarah Hardy of Bookouture for the invite, and for NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this delightful book.

📚 About the book

No one can hold a candle to amateur detectives Flora Steele and Jack Carrington as they ask the burning question… Who is the killer walking the cobbled streets of their historic little town?

Sussex, November 1959. There’s a chill in the air at the Lewes bonfire celebration. Carnival floats fill the narrow streets, fireworks crackle overhead, and Flora and Jack feel the heat of the burning torches lining the streets. But when Trevor French, chief of the Grove Bonfire Society, tumbles from his parade float, they know something is afoot. Trevor didn’t just fall – and amidst the crowds, his killer slips away through the smoke-filled night.

But who would want the respected Trevor dead? As Flora and Jack question the vying bonfire societies, they find a surprisingly competitive underbelly at play. Did Edwin Brooker, former chairman, stoke the flames of rivalry too far? Or are the tears of the victim’s friend, Leo Nelson, faked to keep himself safe?

Just as the sleuths believe they’ve figured it out, the body of a key suspect in the case is found dead on their hearth rug, and Flora and Jack realise that no one is safe – including themselves. Together, can they smoke the murderer out? Or will their chances of survival go up in flames?

A completely addictive and absolutely charming cozy mystery novel. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will adore this unputdownable series!

📚 My thoughts

🔥 Here we are, back with our favorite amateur sleuth couple, Jack Carrington and Flora Steele. Not long after coming back from their honeymoon-turned-murder-sleuthing in Venice, Jack and Flora are settling back to their routine in Abbeymead - Jack with his crime novel writing, and Flora with the All's Well book shop. Jack is in his last term teaching at the college in Lewes, and Flora - who has never been keen on staying at the their apartment - is expecting their full time stay in Abbeymead. In the meantime, they attended a bonfire festival in Lewes. It was a ritual celebration usually held around November 2nd, to mark Guy Fawkes Night. And during this festival, a man fell down, dead, from a parade float. It seemed like a usual incident, but Jack found out that the man, a Trevor French, had actually been stabbed. It's not an accident, it's a murder!

🔥 For once, it was Flora who isn't keen on involving in the investigation, while Jack, feeling adamant that Leo Nelson, who rented Overlay house (Jack's old home before moving to the cottage with Flora), was one of the suspects. This time, it is Jack that is eager to seek the truth - usually it's the other way round. Moreover, his friend, Inspector Ridley is on family leave, and his replacement is less incapable, prejudiced man, of whom Jack cannot trust. But it turned out to be a tough case; the stabbing happened during a festival, when people could be moving around on the float, and they were wearing costumes. The motives are also insufficient; would Edwin Brooker (the former chairman of Grove Bonfire Society) kill Trevor French (his new replacement) out of spite? Or could Leo Nelson possibly did it because he wants to renew his old love affair with French's wife?

🔥 Jack and Flora were struggling to build their case throughout the story; no evidence or motive are strong enough to focus on anyone. Meanwhile, dangers are lurking from anywhere; electrocuted door bell, for instance; and then, another murder occurred. This time I guessed the murderer correctly from very early of the story, and I was a little surprised that this murderer didn't raise any suspicions from both Jack and Flora. All in all, it was a fun cozy mystery to read, with satisfying ending. I loved that Jack and Flora were back in Abbeymead; I've been really missing the village life, and the interaction of the inhabitants - Jack and Flora's circle - it feels like a warm blanket in which I could take comfort every time I need it. The Friday suppers of Flora, Alice, and Kate are usually full of delicious mouthwatering dishes. Charlie Teague is now a chef - albeit still a part timer - can you believe it? He's still helping Flora delivering books to buyers' houses from time to time, riding Betty. Old Betty - how I missed 'her'! ;) And of course, the All's Well book shop, the one that made me fell in love with this series in the first place! I wish the next book will be closely connected with the book shop - maybe another murder at the book shop? ;)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 Author bio

Merryn taught university literature for many years, and it took a while to pluck up the courage to begin writing herself. Bringing the past to life is a passion and her historical fiction includes Regency romances, wartime sagas and timeslip novels, all of which have a mystery at their heart. As the books have grown darker, it was only a matter of time before she plunged into crime with a cosy crime series set in rural Sussex against the fascinating backdrop of the 1950s.

Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.

https://merrynallingham.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MerrynWrites
https://twitter.com/merrynwrites

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Merryn Allingham here:  https://www.bookouture.com/merryn-allingham


📚 Buying links

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0F6Y558JXsocial
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you'll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo


Be sure to check out other stops on the tour to see what others thought. Happy reading!

Blog Tour: Murder in an English Castle (2024) by Merryn Allingham: Flora Steele Mystery #10

It's my stop today on Murder in an English Castle by Merryn Allingham Books-on-Tour. Many thanks to Bookouture's Sarah Hardy for the invite, and for the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this delightful book.

📚 About the book

It’s time to rewrite history with amateur detectives Flora Steele and Jack Carrington as they are called to a castle to unearth the clues of a murder most medieval…

Sussex, 1959. The sun is shining on the breathtaking castle as the Abbeymead Historical Society prepare their re-enactment of the Battle of Lewes. But the fun ends abruptly when council worker Alex Vicary falls to his death from the castle ramparts. A shadowy figure runs from the scene, but Alex was a beloved member of the community… who could possibly want him dead?

As Flora and Jack investigate further, they dig up troubles Alex kept buried from those closest to him. Perhaps he was pushed by his money-hungry landlord, Larry Morton, who was trying to sell Alex’s home? Or maybe his oldest and shiftiest friend, Bruce Sullivan, who gambled away the money Alex loaned him? Or could it be his wide-eyed new girlfriend, Diane Croft, who dodges questions about Alex’s death, and hides presents from another suitor?

But when Flora discovers an engagement ring among Alex’s possessions, she is stunned to learn that his relationship with Diane was more serious than everyone thought. With whispers of another man fighting for Diane’s heart, were the battle lines drawn for love?

Then the body of a second member of the society is found, and the pair realise time is running out. Will history repeat itself with yet another death? Or can Flora and Jack catch their killer before the medieval murderer bids them both adieu?

A totally compelling and absolutely charming cozy mystery novel. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will adore this unputdownable series!

📚 My thoughts

🏰 Our beloved amateur sleuth couple is back for another murder case! Set in an English rural village in the 1950s, Flora Steele is a bookshop owner who married a crime writer Jack Carrington after they solved several murders together in the past. Now, a newlywed couple, they spend half their weeks in their own house in Abbeymead, the other half in a Cottage in Lewes, where Jack works as a temporary teacher at Lewes arts school.

🏰 The premise of this story is quite unusual, and a creative choice from Allingham. Hector Landsdale is one of the many recurring secondary characters, friends of Flora and Jack. He's the sous-chef at the Priory, and a fervent member of the local historical re-enactment society, who call themselves Knights of Mercia. Our sleuths were invited to one of these re-enactments, the "Battle of Lewes", and witnessed a horrible accident. One of the "actors", Alex Vicary, fell from the ramparts during the "battle" and died instantly. The police's verdict was accident, but Hector was adamant that it was a murder - someone has deliberately pushed Alex amidst the skirmish.

🏰 Now it's up to Flora and Jack to find the murderer. But first, the motive. Why would someone want to get rid of Alex, if he is as good a man as Hector indicated? Was it a passionate murder, because he had been pestering his girlfriend Diane Croft to marry him - a bit too much - despite of her several rejections? Or did money matter involve - a huge sum of loan to a gamble-addict friend? A greedy landlord who wanted to sell Alex's house is another possibility. Few "accidents" had befallen Flora and Jack during their investigation, who perpetrated it? And then, the second murder happened - another member of Knights of Mercia, one of Flora and Jack's suspects. They are at a dangerous point, now that the murderer is getting desperate...

🏰 This is another delightful cozy mystery from Allingham. The premise and the murder method are well thought of. Pushing someone from high place during an enactment of a battle - that's an easy one. No one would have suspected a foul play. Accidents happen. But I have to admit, that my favorite part of the book is not the murder mystery itself - which is creative and lovely - but the village, Abbeymead. I remember that that was the point where I fell in love in the first place to the first book, The Bookshop Murder. I love everything about Abbeymead - the vibes of the era (1950-1960), the inhabitants - which keep growing each season, and even the establishments (the Priory, the All's Well bookshop, the Nook). The characters with their eccentricity, struggles, and triumph begin to grow on me, that I feel like living for years in Abbeymead. Even Betty, Flora's beloved bicycle, feels like a close friend, that I became rather sad when something bad happened to it.. her! :)) Needless to say, I'm going to miss Abbeymead for I don't know how long, because I think I can guess where the next instalment would be set in! ;)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 Author Bio

Merryn taught university literature for many years, and it took a while to pluck up the courage to begin writing herself. Bringing the past to life is a passion and her historical fiction includes Regency romances, wartime sagas and timeslip novels, all of which have a mystery at their heart. As the books have grown darker, it was only a matter of time before she plunged into crime with a cosy crime series set in rural Sussex against the fascinating backdrop of the 1950s.

Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.
https://merrynallingham.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MerrynWrites
https://twitter.com/merrynwrites

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Merryn Allingham here:  https://www.bookouture.com/merryn-allingham

Buying Link

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0D12DYX12social
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you'll love at: https://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo