Castle on the Hill by Agatha Frost
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
On the night before Halloween, the people of Scarlet Cove annually gather at the castle on the hill in hopes of spotting the headless spirits that are rumoured to stalk the grounds. What starts off as a silly legend for ex-detective, Liz Jones, soon becomes all too real when she discovers a severed head. Her hopes of settling into her new home on the coast are once again hampered when she is dragged into another murder investigation.
Liz finds herself pulling together the clues as she interviews the townsfolk, but what connects a local ditzy hairdresser, a restaurant owner, and a ruthless cabaret singer, and could one of them have delivered the fatal blow to the victim’s neck? Can Liz use her police training to wade through the lies and discover the truth before it’s too late, or will she be distracted when a face from Simon’s past slingshots into Scarlet Cove, threatening to end their blossoming relationship before it has even begun?
Book 2 in the Scarlet Cove Seaside Cozy Mystery series! Can be read as a standalone, but will be enjoyed better as the 2nd book in the series. A light, cozy mystery read with an art-loving, craft store owning, retired female detective, in a small fishing town on the British South Coast. Packed with quirky neighbours, handsome love interests, and an adorable rescue dog! Written in British English. No cliffhanger, swearing, gore or graphic scenes (but maybe includes a body)!
After a solid start with the first co-written book with Evelyn Amber, Dead in the Water, the second book of this duo was nothing but awesome.
A thrilling story, captivating character and with a great continuing of a side plot I was deeply rooting for.
Not only was the crime case really interesting and I had my thoughts, but was actually surprised by the revealings, but the way how we get Liz to know better and how she is getting more and more close to her new friends and comfortable in her new home, made the book a super exciting read.
I really liked how Simon was displayed, how a thing from his past was included, how it changed things in the whole book and left the reader with a small but pleasant cliff-hanger-like ending. 😉
Events from the first book have their mentioning but I can recommend this book to new readers also because it sets a new story.
Combining quirks of pretty unique but mostly not malice characters gave the book its depth, they got their edges and it was really necessary for some after the first book, to not make further books boring.
I really like the combo Agatha/Evelyn and I really keep reading. Liz is pretty different from Agatha’s heroine Julia from the Peridale Cozy Mystery series; but on the other hand both women are really charming and the most important thing: lovable and tough ladies! Love this so much.
The book left me with with excitement and the joy to see more of the characters. 5 out of 5 stars for this, really wholehearedly recommended.
Mikku-chan 