Chosen by the Solve the Murder Book Club, we read Malice in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope
The Plot
Thea Osborne, accompanied by her beloved spaniel Hepzie, has had her fair share of unfortunate occurrences while house-sitting, and her new assignment for the mysterious Yvonne Parker is no exception. The isolated and somewhat unsettling village of Snowshill, has Thea on edge as soon as she arrives, and Hyacinth House – her new, rather cluttered home – does nothing to dispel such feelings. Soon enough, her intuition in this case proves to be right, and once again Thea becomes entangled in another horrifying murder.
Review
I must admit I struggled to get through the book, which is not one of Rebecca Tope’s best. Like many other reviewers, I found the character of Thea very annoying as she is surly, self-opinionated, judgmental and demanding. There was also a smattering of racism lurking in the pages that I wasn’t expecting.
Set in the village of Snowshill, the Snowshill Manor, while mentioned, plays no part in the drama. Instead the drama is mainly situated around Hyacinth House, the house Thea is looking after for Yvonne Parker.
A troublesome child called Stevie Horsfall is found brutally strangled outside Hyacinth House. The police decide his mother, Gudrun, is their prime suspect. Thea is not convinced. There were a lot of people who hated Stevie, so she starts to consider other possible suspects.
While doing this, she also has to deal with Yvonne Parker’s family.
Having been told Yvonne was heading to London to see her ex-husband Victor, Thea receives a call from him that Yvonne never arrived. Luckily the owner of Hyacinth House turns up alive and well shortly afterwards, but her family (two children and her ex) are still in constant contact with Thea.
And soon, Thea discovers another violent crime has taken place……
Thea has strong views about Yvonne’s family and neighbours, and these dominate the narrative rather than any investigation. As a side story there is also the matter of her daughters ex-partner, although this storyline adds very little to the plot other than to add comments on race and patriarchy. There is also the side story of Thea’s relationship with Drew Slocombe. In this case there is a bit of overlap, as he does get involved in some detective work with her when not visiting his dying wife. Drew Slocombe also gets to be present when the murderer is revealed.
Not one of her best, Malice in the Cotswolds is available from Amazon and City Adventurers Solve the Murder Bookshop
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