Kitt knows there is no way Evie could murder anyone - let alone Owen, who she adored. Horrified that the police could have got it so wrong, Kitt decides there's only one thing to do: she's going to investigate Owen's murder herself. She's read hundreds of mystery novels - how hard can it be?
With the help of her assistant Grace, and the occasional hindrance of the library's eccentric regulars, Kitt summons up all her investigative powers (absorbed over years of reading everything from Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin) and gets to work.
She soon discovers that down the quaint streets and snickelways of York lie darker doings than she'd ever dreamed, but she needs to watch her step: the murderer is watching her. And they haven't finished killing yet...
I'd like to thank Ella at Quercus for inviting me to be part of this blog tour and for my copy of Murder by the Minster to review.
It's been a few years since I reviewed Helen Cox's Starlight Diner series that was set in New York but now she's back with a new cosy mystery series set in Yorkshire and featuring librarian Kitt Hartley. I was intrigued about this slight change of writing direction but I needn't have worried as within a few pages I was instantly drawn into the lives of Kitt and her friends.
Kitt Hartley has always been a closet armchair detective so when two detectives turn up at her library to talk to her, she just can't help herself but get involved in their investigation to prove that her best friend Evie couldn't possibly have murdered her ex-boyfriend. For one thing she can provide an alibi as to her whereabouts on the night concerned plus no matter how distraught Evie had been at the way their relationship ended, she doesn't have a vengeful bone in her body so couldn't exact revenge in this gruesome way.
What follows is a hilarious account of Kitt's attempts to investigate the case herself to prove that Evie wasn't involved, and find out who really killed Owen, but despite her best intentions she just seems to be getting in the way of the real police work. I will admit that I did find some of Kitt's actions a little too reckless and a bit far fetched, and may even have done an eye roll at one point, but I ignored my reservations and went with the flow as her means justified the end to 'assist' with the case whether her help was wanted or not.
Like all good detectives Kitt had her partner, or partners in this case, as there were no end of willing volunteers to accompany her on her mission. From Grace, her assistant at the library, who is a whizz at finding information using technology, to eighty-something library regular Ruby who has own psychic powers and means to get the answers, plus of course Evie who needs more than anyone to find the real killer. Their hilarious antics provided more than their fair share of comedic moments that had me chuckling to myself whilst reading.
Helen Cox did a great job of bringing the city and characters to life with her descriptive writing, I could picture the dark gothic streets that Kitt found herself walking down in the middle of the night... she's a braver woman than me! I also enjoyed the literary crime novel references that were interspersed into the narrative.
Overall I enjoyed my time spent in York with Kitt and Co and am looking forward to catching up with them sooner rather than later as I already have a copy of book 2 in the series, A Body in the Bookshop, on my Kindle.
All book titles and links in bold are Amazon UK Affiliate links which will earn me a few pence if anyone clicks through and makes a purchase - any money earned will go towards buying books or gifts for giveaways.
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