Before being offered this book, I had seen cosy crime books, but never realised they were catergorised in their own sub-genre. Cosy crime sounds so inviting, but of course crime is not good, so it’s a juxtaposition of words. The synopsis of this book sounded interesting so I thought I would give this genre a try, and I don’t regret it for a second.  

Set in 1923, you follow Kate Shackleton, a private detective. The writing of this book is incredibly descriptive. You are sucked into the time period with ease. The story starts off quite busy, and what sounds like a simple missing person and murder mystery turns into anything but. You’re even introduced to Percy, who is a monkey! The book gets a lot more focused in the second half and this is where the book really came to life and gripped me. The book kept me guessing from the get go, and I would never have guessed the eventual outcome.  

Kate herself comes across as really smart, proper and independent. Once you get to know her, you get to see the soft, trusting caring side. Shown incredibly well when she cares and sticks up for Umberto, and then later on when she meets Marian and Peter.
Her relationship with her partner in business, Sykes was spectacular, they really bounced off each other and you could see what a great friendship they had outside of work, as well as working with one another.  

This book took so many twist and turns, I never knew who it was going to be, and my final guess was so far off the mark I may as well have guessed it was Lord Voldemort! The term cosy crime completely suits this book, you do just want to curl up with this book in front of an open fire, and a nice mug hot chocolate (or glass of red wine if that’s your poison). It is incredibly charming, and a great introduction to this genre.  

Death Of An Avid Reader by Frances Brody (Piatkus) is available to order now!  
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