Just as everything seems to be running smoothly for Kat Stanford, it starts going pear-shaped, and the name of the pear in this instance is Cassandra Bowden-Forbes. At a local teddy bear fair that Kat has been looking forward to for weeks, she values a set of antique bears as fakes while Bowden-Forbes-- who elbowed her way into the fair-- values the same bears as incredibly valuable antiques.
Bowden-Forbes also muscles her way into Kat's love life, and the normally easy-going Kat realizes that, yes, she too can be jealous of an incredibly beautiful, perfectly turned out female.
With her personal and professional lives unraveling, Kat finds herself at the scene of two mysterious deaths. She's got a lot of work ahead of her to stop all those wagging tongues.
Hopefully, any fan of British traditional (cozy) mysteries has found Hannah Dennison's delightful Honeychurch Hall series. Chockful of humor, antiques, village life, and murder, these books are always so much fun to read. Dangerous Deception at Honeychurch Hall is no exception, and-- as usual-- I learned quite a bit while I was enjoying myself. Kat Stanford specializes in teddy bears, and in this latest installment of the series, I learned about mascot bears, the tiny bears given to soldiers during World War I. I also learned two new British slang phrases: granny-farming (swindling the elderly) and fly-tipping (illegal dumping). It's true that Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language, and I do love learning the differences.
Although the whodunit of the story was almost glaringly obvious, I still enjoyed myself. I appreciated Kat's reaction to two men fighting over her, and I was surprised to find that I must be getting used to Kat's mother. Normally I've thoroughly disliked this writer of torrid bodice rippers, but-- heavens!-- I'm beginning to find the woman funny.
If you're a lover of British traditional (cozy) mysteries, you can't go wrong by visiting Honeychurch Hall. It's the perfect place to solve a mystery.
Dangerous Deception at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison
eISBN: 9781472128485
Constable © 2018
eBook, 242 pages
Cozy Mystery, #5 Honeychurch Hall mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from Amazon.
Oh, this is a good series, isn't it, Cathy? I like the relationship between Kat and her mother, and I do like the other characters, too. The series is cosy, too, without being too cutesy, which I also appreciate. Glad you enjoyed this one.
ReplyDeleteSo am I because I've been noticing that I'm enjoying fewer and fewer cozies. My taste in mysteries can ebb and flow with the tide, and I seem to be heading back a bit more to thrillers. Still love police procedurals, though!
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