Thanks to Bookouture Books for my gifted digital book in return for my honest review for the Books-on-Tour.
No one can hold a candle to amateur detectives Flora Steele and Jack Carrington as they ask the burning question… Who is the killer walking the cobbled streets of their historic little town?
Sussex, November 1959. There’s a chill in the air at the Lewes bonfire celebration. Carnival floats fill the narrow streets, fireworks crackle overhead, and Flora and Jack feel the heat of the burning torches lining the streets. But when Trevor French, chief of the Grove Bonfire Society, tumbles from his parade float, they know something is afoot. Trevor didn’t just fall – and amidst the crowds, his killer slips away through the smoke-filled night.
But who would want the respected Trevor dead? As Flora and Jack question the vying bonfire societies, they find a surprisingly competitive underbelly at play. Did Edwin Brooker, former chairman, stoke the flames of rivalry too far? Or are the tears of the victim’s friend, Leo Nelson, faked to keep himself safe?
Just as the sleuths believe they’ve figured it out, the body of a key suspect in the case is found dead on their hearth rug, and Flora and Jack realise that no one is safe – including themselves. Together, can they smoke the murderer out? Or will their chances of survival go up in flames?
A completely addictive and absolutely charming cozy mystery novel. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will adore this unputdownable series!
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0F6Y558JXsocial
My Review
This is a series I dip in and out of. Twelve books in, and I still enjoy returning to Flora and Jack. Two amateur detectives who always find themselves up to their ears in mysteries and murders!
Set in 1959, it’s bonfire time which see Flora and Jack in Lewes, Sussex, for the bonfire celebration. Filled with carnival floats, fireworks, and all the stuff that comes with the 5th November. What they didn’t count on was Trevor French falling from his carnival float. Trevor is the chief of the Grove Bonfire Society, and he didn’t fall. Flora and Jack find themselves knee-deep in the investigation, and it brings a few people up, those that have reasons for wanting Trevor dead.As the investigation turns darker, can they solve this mystery?
This is a series which I always look forward to. I enjoy going back in time and bring immersed in the older ways. Fiona and Jack are great characters who are developed so well. At this point in the series I feel like they could be old friends.
The plot is so well done that I forget about my daily life and become so immersed in whichever investigation I am reading about. The historical setting always draws me, and yet again, Merryn Allingham has woven a tale that ticked all my boxes!
Author Bio
Merryn taught university literature for many years, and it took a while to pluck up the courage to begin writing herself. Bringing the past to life is a passion and her historical fiction includes Regency romances, wartime sagas and timeslip novels, all of which have a mystery at their heart. As the books have grown darker, it was only a matter of time before she plunged into crime with a cosy crime series set in rural Sussex against the fascinating backdrop of the 1950s.
Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.
https://merrynallingham.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MerrynWrites
https://twitter.com/merrynwrites
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