The Coniston Case by Rebecca Tope (GIVEAWAY!)
4 Stars!
Valentine's Day is fast approaching and business at Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown's flower shop is booming. But when Simmy fulfills a string of anonymous delivery orders, she is startled to realize that each contains a secretly menacing message for the recipients. When one of the people who receives a bouquet disappears, it seems that her worst fears have been confirmed.
As if that isn't enough, Simmy's friend Kathy turns up, on the trail of her wayward daughter Joanna, who she fears has grown too close to one of her university tutors. When Kathy attempts to reason with her daughter she finds that Joanna's older lover may be even more dangerous than she had imagined. With both Kathy and Joanna in peril, Simmy and her friends find themselves caught up in a web of deception, blackmail and murder…
Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Mystery & Detective
Published by: Harper Collins/Witness Impulse
Publication Date: August 12, 2016
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062567420
Series: Lake District Mysteries #2
Read an excerpt:
‘It’s not the same,’ Melanie argued. ‘She can do some shopping when she comes here. Nobody wants to shop in Coniston, do they? Making a delivery over there really is a waste of time and petrol. And you’re not supposed to do too much driving, remember.’ Melanie’s protectiveness had become a habit since Simmy had suffered an injury, shortly before Christmas, and been forbidden to drive until early in February. She had used crutches throughout most of January. Damage to her head had necessitated a shaven area, which prompted her to have a very short all-over haircut that still felt strange.
‘Well it’s too late now. I just hope it doesn’t go mad tomorrow or I’ll be turning orders away. You know you’ll be doing all the local ones, don’t you?’ ‘Yeah, yeah. My feet’ll be worn away to nothing by the time I’ve done them all.’ There had been a degree of discord about how Melanie might best make the deliveries of flowers in the streets of Windermere and Bowness. Her battered car was deemed by Simmy to be bad for the image of the business, but she had compromised slightly, and agreed that it could be left full of flowers in the Bowness car park, and again at the northern end of Windermere, for increased efficiency. She had also, as a major concession, permitted Melanie to use the van while she herself had been unable to drive. As a resident of an area renowned for walking, the girl was almost a freak in her reluctance to use her own legs as a means of transport.
‘Well it’s too late now. I just hope it doesn’t go mad tomorrow or I’ll be turning orders away. You know you’ll be doing all the local ones, don’t you?’ ‘Yeah, yeah. My feet’ll be worn away to nothing by the time I’ve done them all.’ There had been a degree of discord about how Melanie might best make the deliveries of flowers in the streets of Windermere and Bowness. Her battered car was deemed by Simmy to be bad for the image of the business, but she had compromised slightly, and agreed that it could be left full of flowers in the Bowness car park, and again at the northern end of Windermere, for increased efficiency. She had also, as a major concession, permitted Melanie to use the van while she herself had been unable to drive. As a resident of an area renowned for walking, the girl was almost a freak in her reluctance to use her own legs as a means of transport.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR -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.
Catch Up with Rebecca Tope on her Website or on Twitter.
MY THOUGHTS -
I really enjoyed this one! This book was a true "cozy mystery" through and through. There was a very good, involved mystery that kept me guessing all the way with a few spider webby sub-plots, but it never got confusing to me (and I get easily confused). It just added more to the story. There were also a lot of characters which amazingly I managed to keep straight through the whole book! I attribute this to the author's great writing and excellent character development.
Excellent detailed descriptions make you feel like you are right there - I had no trouble picturing everything. And... another added bonus - A map in the beginning of the book! I love when books have maps! I kept referring to this map all through the book. I like to know where my characters are going.
A fun, quaint, a little quirky, easy reading cozy mystery that that just kept getting better as the story went on!
This was my first book by this author and I would certainly read more. This is book 2 in a series but could definitely be read as a stand alone (I have not read book 1, and I was fine with it) but you still might want to read the whole series anyway just because they are so good. They are all going on my TRB list!
Thank you Partners in Crime Book Tours for sending me this book for my honest review!
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Great review!!! I read this one, and like you, enjoyed it! I kept trying to figure out who "dunit" but was not even close when it was revealed. I an now a fan of this author.
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