Empty Nest by Marty Wingate

First Line: A blackbird announced my late arrival.

Toxic mold in her cottage has forced Julia Lanchester into one of the Earl of Fotheringill's many guest rooms. Although she gets along with the earl just fine, she finds his other house guests to be extremely annoying. Julia isn't complaining; however, because this gets her out of the house and off to work earlier so she can take care of her excess of ideas for area tourism. But when one of the earl's other guests is found murdered, Julia can't help conducting a little investigation of her own.

Marty Wingate has a writing style that draws you right into her story. She also has a winning main character in Julia. She's smart, she's funny, and when she's not in a romantic kerfluffle with Michael, she's so full of ideas for promoting her area as a prime tourist destination that I'm fascinated with her work.  There's also touches of humor sprinkled throughout that certainly keeps readers laughing. I particularly enjoyed the running joke that has Julia trying to guess what her sister is going to name Julia's newest niece.

It doesn't hurt Julia's investigative skills to have a famous father who has a popular show on BBC television. Sometimes the mere mention of his name can get things moving. One thing to beware, however, is the fact that Julia is still pretty much a one-woman show in this series, and I hope the author fleshes out the supporting cast more. No matter how much I like Julia, she needs good backup, and the potential is there.

How does the mystery fare in Empty Nest? Very, very well. Wingate managed to pull the wool over my eyes, which is always welcome. There is a prime crop of suspects in this tale that makes it a bit more difficult to narrow the list down to just one. This is a very enjoyable cozy series, and I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of adventure Julia has next.
  

Empty Nest by Marty Wingate

eISBN: 9781101883396 

Random House Alibi © 2015

eBook, 298 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Birds of a Feather mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley    


 

The Rhyme of the Magpie by Marty Wingate

First Line: Four magpies in their black-and-white court jester outfits strutted about on the pavement when I stepped out of my cottage.

Julia Lanchester's life is not going according to plan, and when her father remarries a scant few months after her beloved mother's death, it's just too much. Julia quits her job on her father's hit BBC Two nature show, A Bird in the Hand, and moves to Smeaton-under-Lyme where she accepts a tourist management position.

The past and her family will not leave Julia alone. Her desperate father, Rupert, tracks her down but Julia refuses to speak with him. However, when her new stepmother calls to tell her that her father has gone missing, Julia decides to investigate. Her investigation includes a partner-- Rupert's new assistant Michael Sedgwick-- and that's something she wasn't looking for. In no time at all, Julia and Michael find that they've stepped right into a nest of deceit and murder.

If you're looking for something new in the English village mystery line, I can recommend Marty Wingate's The Rhyme of the Magpie. This book has good pacing, a great "voice," a setting that invites you to come on in and sit a spell, and an engaging main character...

...although I do have to admit that I wasn't impressed with Julia Lanchester at first. Her extremely childish reaction to her father's remarriage made me want to tell her to stop acting like a brat and start acting like a caring adult. Since I'm letting you know my opinion changed quite a bit, that tells you something. Marty Wingate's main character is definitely not static or two-dimensional. 

One of the things I enjoyed most was watching Julia's creative mind work on developing ideas to boost tourism in her village. It not only gave me perspective on what these places have to do in order to survive, Julia's plans made me want to participate and made me admire the way her mind works. 

The mystery in The Rhyme of the Magpie is a good one. Although I did deduce someone's identity quickly, I couldn't do the same for the killer. With all of Julia's plans to boost tourism in Smeaton-under-Lyme, I'm looking forward to a brand-new crop of suspects. One observation though-- Julia had better keep her assistant very happy indeed. She would be completely lost without Vesta taking all her shifts so she can play detective!

Bring on the next one, please!
 

The Rhyme of the Magpie by Marty Wingate

eISBN: 9781101883389 

Alibi © 2015

eBook, 281 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Birds of a Feather mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley