Kittling: Books: Search results for Helen Cox

First Line: The corner of Kitt Hartley's mouth twitched.

It's just another ordinary day for librarian Kitt Hartley in the Women's Studies section of the University of the Vale of York Library. Well, it is until Detective Inspector Halloran arrives at her desk to tell her that her best friend, Evie Bowes, is the prime suspect in the murder of her former boyfriend.

Although all the evidence points to Evie, Kitt knows there's no way her friend could murder anyone. Since the police have got it all wrong, there's only one thing for Kitt to do: conduct her own investigation fueled by all the mystery novels she's read. How hard can it be?

Finding that her assistant Grace can be a lot of help-- and receiving help from some of the more eccentric library patrons whether she wants it or not-- Kitt discovers that there's a lot more going on in the quaint streets and snickelways of York than she's ever dreamed. Not only that, but she must be careful. The murderer has a list of intended victims... and Kitt is being watched.

Trilby-wearing Kitt Hartley is definitely a character to watch. She's got all her librarian scowls and stares down pat as well as a sharp tongue that she's not afraid to use. It's also good to see that Helen Cox has given her main character an excellent mystery to solve. Any time that I haven't put all the pieces together-- or at least some of them-- is a rare day, and I was certainly kept guessing as I read this book.

There was only one thing wrong with Murder by the Minster for me-- and it may be the one thing that makes this book perfect for some of you-- it went way overboard on the romance. Once Kitt has seen the handsome detective inspector, her thirty-five-year-old hormones go into hyperdrive, and when the attraction heats up a notch, I found myself skimming a page or two. But, as I said, this may make this book the perfect cup of tea for some of you.

Even though I turn up my nose at romance, the author has done such a good job with her setting and the story that I'm willing to read the next book in the series. Maybe Kitt will have her hormones in therapy...

Murder by the Minster by Helen Cox

eISBN: 9781529402223

eBook, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Kitt Hartley Yorkshire mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

I took a look at my reading statistics so far this year, and it looks as though I'm going to read more eBooks than I ever have before. With my Kindle and the Kindle app on my phone, it's proving much easier to read whenever I have a few spare minutes regardless of where I am-- and I can carry a smaller purse!

Having plenty of books on hand to read not only gives me a feeling of being home (Home Is Where the Books Are) it's also my security blanket. Books have always been able to fix (at least temporarily) whatever's going wrong in my world. And since you're reading this post, you are fellow book lovers, so I don't feel weird about admitting this.

Here is the list of the eBooks I just couldn't resist last month. They are grouped by genre/subgenre, and if you click on the title, you'll be taken to Amazon to find out more about the book. A word of caution: the links to the books are to Amazon US, so if you live in another country, you'll need to log onto the right Amazon if you want to buy any of the books.

Let's see what I downloaded!

~~~Genealogy Mystery~~~

Blood Reckoning by Dan Waddell, set in England.

~~~Police Procedural~~~

Ambush by Barbara Nickless, set in Mexico and Colorado.

Paradise Valley by C.J. Box, set in North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.

~~~Cozy Mystery~~~

Murder by the Minster by Helen Cox, set in England.

Murder at the Marina by Janet Finsilver, set in California.

~~~Historical Mystery~~~

A Forgotten Place by Charles Todd, set in Wales.

~~~Humorous Mystery~~~

The Hotel Detective by Alan Russell, set in California.