peak english village murder mystery

When Cath Little was going through her mother’s effects, she came across a surprising discovery. She hadn’t been particularly close to her mother, who had a penchant for leaving. Cath had mostly been raised by her grandmother, who stayed in one place and taught Cath everything she knew about being an optician. After her death, Cath had stayed on in her house and taken over her optometry business, helping people find the glasses that work best for them.

When Cath had been a kid, she had loved the time she got to spend with her mother, but her mother would leave after only a few days. She would chase another dream, another relationship. And Cath would be left behind, longing for the love that only a mother can give. After her mother’s death, Cath had been going through the few personal items she had of her mother’s, and that’s when she found the tickets. They were to England, to the village of Willowthrop in the Peak District, where Cath and her mother were to participate in a weeklong murder mystery sponsored by the tiny town. The tickets were non-refundable.

When Cath explained to the woman running the murder mystery, she was happy to refund Cath’s mother’s ticket and change Cath’s accommodations, since she would be on her own. But she refused to refund Cath’s ticket and encouraged her to come. She said she had corresponded with Cath’s mother, and she had been excited about the trip. And that’s how Cath found herself on a plane to England, traveling to Willowthrop to solve a fake murder mystery with her two housemates.

Wyatt was married to a man who loved birdwatching and owned a business that catered to other bird lovers. Wyatt loved his husband and helped with the business, but he needed a new spark in his life. Amity was a romance writer whose marriage had dissolved, leaving her wondering if she still wanted to write about budding relationships. Together the three of them would be a team in the race to solve the murder mystery.

But as they go around town, questioning suspects in and looking for clues to try to find out who murdered the village hairdresser and why, Cath finds herself puzzling out her own mystery. As she moves around the village, she finds herself noticing things that resemble the stories her mother told her when she was a child. There are flowers that remind her of her mother, a church spire, a favorite children’s book. She tells Wyatt and Amity about these things, and they set up two murder boards in their house, one for the murder of the hairdresser and the other for the clues about Cath’s mom.

As Cath is trying to put the pieces together on who she is and why she’s in the Peak District, she’s also developing feelings for a handsome bartender who makes his own artisanal gin. Her heart feels drawn to Willowthrop, but she has spent her life refusing to give in to the feelings of wanderlust that constantly took her mother on paths away from her. Once the murder is solved and it’s time for Cath to head back home, what will she do about the connections she’s been growing in England? Will she follow her head, or will she follow her heart and put down new roots?

Welcome to Murder Week is a clever take on an English village murder mystery. The murder simulation storyline dips into classic mystery literature like Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle all the way to current television series like Father Brown and Agatha Raisin. The mystery that this small town created is complex and nuanced, and adding in the mystery of Cath’s and her mother takes this novel to another level. It’s fast paced, with great characters and a strong sense of place. Anyone looking for a solid mystery that’s smart and unique should make plans to spend time with this book.

I had the best time in Willowthrop. Welcome to Murder Week is a dynamite book, with humor and intelligence and romance. It has a solid mystery (or two), but overall the story feels like a hug. It is warm and comforting, sweet and funny, and over way too soon.

Egalleys for Welcome to Murder Week were provided by Gallery/Scout Press through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.