A Cornish Seaside Murder by Fiona Leitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
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A Cornish Seaside Murder is the 6th-installment of the Nosey Parker Mystery series by Fiona Leitch. This is the 4th-book in this series that I have read and I have been enjoying my time with these mysteries so much.
These books follow Jodie Parker, who resigned from the Metropolitan Police in London after a close call and returned to her native village of Penstowan in Cornwall with her teen daughter, Daisy, and their Pomeranian, Germaine.
Jodie created her own catering company and it is taking off. With the help of Daisy, her Mom and other friends, she’s created quite the little team.
Recently though, after assisting her beau, DCI Nathan Withers, on a couple of cases, Jodie has been brought onto the Penstowan Police force as a DS. That is the capacity she is working in throughout this mystery.
It’s tough, trying to juggle the catering with the DS position, as well as being a single Mom. We see Jodie grapple a bit with finding balance in this story.
The mystery involves the local fishing community and sees one man dead, as well as a college-aged man beaten to the point of being in a coma. It appears that the beaten man was actually tortured, like someone was trying to get information out of him.
What is the connection between these two men and what led them to this outcome?
All this excitement is happening amidst the annual Mermaid Festival, so the town is packed. Jodie and Nathan need to solve this one quick before it has the chance to escalate, possibly harming innocent observers.
As always, I had so much fun with this. I love the cast of characters Leitch has created in the charming village of Penstowan. Additionally, I’ve enjoyed watching Jodie try to navigate her new life back home.
There’s been some adjustments, but she has a lot of support and I’m so happy with the progress her business and relationships have made.
I will say, I found this one to be a bit more serious in tone than previous installments. I think just because of the nature of the crimes involved. It didn’t have quite the same level of silliness that I enjoyed before, but I still had fun with it.
I am curious to see if there are going to be more books in the series. I certainly hope so. The ending of this, it’s hard to tell. It could go either way. This could be the end, but fingers crossed Leitch has more in store for us. I’d be so excited to get my hands on a book #7!!
Thank you so much to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I would absolutely recommend this series to any Cozy Mystery Lover!