Thanks to Bookouture for my gifted ebook to write my honest review.

A mysterious death and a missing ruby necklace… it’s clearly a case for antique store owner and amateur sleuth Bella Winter!

Nobody was surprised when Clemmie Crowe passed away – she’d been sick for a long time. But Bella Winter isn’t sure it’s as simple as it seems. Why was Clemmie so agitated the day she died – and why did she ask a local policeman to call on her?

Bella’s certain Clemmie knew something about her relatives, the powerful Powell family. They used to own half of Hope Eaton, but now they’re planning to sell what remains… Including the Steps Café, owned by Bella’s best friends.

The sale has to be stopped. Where else will Bella get her sausage sandwiches? Perhaps Clemmie’s secret will be enough to put a spanner in the works. So when matriarch Althea Powell invites her to value their possessions, Bella jumps at the chance. She can find some gems, investigate Clemmie’s death, and stymie the sale all at once.

It seems to be going swimmingly… until it’s proved that Clemmie was murdered, and Althea’s priceless ruby necklace vanishes. The list of suspects is as long as Bella’s arm. Was it Althea’s shady stepson, desperate for cash? His older brother, who wants to sell up? Or even her husband, who keeps changing his will?

Then Bella finds the necklace in the last place she expects, upsetting everything she thought she knew. Where there’s a will, there’s bound to be a quarrel. But can Bella figure out whose inheritance means murder, before things turn deadly for her?

A completely charming English cozy mystery. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands will love following the fiendish clues as Bella cracks her most puzzling case yet!

Buy Link: https://geni.us/B0DSPZXKMCsocial

The third in a cosy mystery series, this is the second book I have read. It does read well as a standalone, so I had no problems keeping up with the story.

Bella Winter runs an antique store in a little village. As a sideline, she is also an amateur sleuth. If there is anything fishy going on, she does her best to get to the bottom of everything. Clemmie Crowe passes away, which was expected, but there are niggly details that are worming their way around Bella’s brain.

She wonders if her death is connected to the wealthy Powell family. They are relatives of Clemmie and are planning to sell their half of Hope Heaton, which does mean the Steps Cafe will be sold too!! Bella is not happy because it’s owned by her friends and she loves her sausage butties from there.

Bella gets a request to value the Powell’s possessions and she can’t get there fast enough! Talk about a 3 in 1 job! She will be able to find some gems, investigate Clemmie’s death and try to mess up the sale. Things start to go awry and Bella finds herself on a mission to solve her case before there is another victim.

Bella is up to her eyes in this investigation and I enjoyed seeing her getting the chance to get stuck into the case. Such an entertaining series this is. Her friends ‘help’ her by making their own suggestions on suspects, which does cause mayhem at times. The case is rather more complex than Bella expected and it makes for a twisty read.

This is a perfect read for these wet and windy days we have now. Marvellous characters in a quaint setting with a mystery or two to solve. What else do you need?

Author Bio

Clare Chase writes classic mysteries. Her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations.

Her debut novel was shortlisted for Novelicious’s Undiscovered Award, as well as an EPIC award post-publication, and was chosen as a Debut of the Month by LoveReading. Murder on the Marshes (Tara Thorpe 1) was shortlisted for an International Thriller Writers award.

Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat and finds the mid-terrace she currently occupies a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.

You can find Clare’s website and blog at http://www.clarechase.com


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