Death by a Cornish Cove

 

Death by a Cornish Cove is the second Cressida Fawcett historical cozy by Fliss Chester. Released 9th Feb 2023, it's 276 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The first book in the series is also currently available on KU, and a third book is due out in late second quarter 2023 (June . 

This is a beautifully rendered historical cozy featuring flapper Cressy Fawcett and her sidekick (a pug) named Ruby. It's set in interwar (1920's) England and protagonist Cressida is a lot more enamored of her independence and her motorcar than in finding a husband and settling down (egads!). She's drawn into mayhem (again) and danger (yet again) when she and Dotty motor to Cornwall for a country house weekend with lots of fizz, sun, sea, and murder. Civilized repartee joins up with a genteel cast of characters, secrets and skullduggery. The author seems to hit her stride in this second installment and the mystery, if a tiny bit predictable, is very well constructed and the prose is easy to read and breezy.

It's sure to appeal to fans of the original Golden Age authors (Christie, Marsh, Sayers, Allingham, and the others sadly departed). It's not an absolute dead ringer for their work (how could it be?), but it's satisfying and diverting nevertheless. With two books currently in the series and another due in June, it would also be a good choice for a buddy/mini-binge read.

Four stars. The language is squeaky clean and the violence is off page. It's civilized and fun (and Ruby the dog is wonderful). 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.