Sunday, September 6, 2020

A Cotswold Ordeal by Rebecca Tope

I'm listening to Dvorak's New World Symphony.  This work got me through the wee hours of the night at college.


My efforts at chipping away at Mount TBR.  This is my bedside reading pile.






A Cotswold Ordeal (Thea Osborne, #2)A Cotswold Ordeal by Rebecca Tope

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I usually like to spread out the stories by authors I enjoy, but I jumped right into this one after reading the first and plan to start the next one in the series tonight.

In A Cotswold Ordeal, Thea has just left her last house sitting job, staying in a house for an uptight couple that swiftly embark on a vacation that takes them away from England. Naturally a murder happens in their back yard. In one short week, Thea meets a variety of village people and one police inspector in particular, although only barely.

In this second mystery, Thea is once again house sitting, in a neighboring village, this time for a hectic blended family (his kids, her kids) who are rushing off to Ireland and don't contact them! Thea is left with a small farm, which includes rabbits, guinea pigs and an old pony, suffering from Laminitis.

It is not long before Thea is up to her ears in the same old trouble. She finds the pony won't go in her stall and for good reason. There's a body hanging in it.

As all mysteries go, who is it? Why are they hanging in the barn? Suicide or murder?

This time we have a couple of sub plots going. Lieutenant Hollis plays a much larger role in the investigation and also in Thea's life. Plus, once again, Thea gets to know a variety of the town folk. Are any of them involved?

And just to further complicate things, Thea's youngest sister arrives. She has decided to leave her husband and five children.

How does the story develop? Very well. I have grown attached to Thea and now must see what happens to her in the next novel.



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11 comments:

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Sharon- These sounds like a lot of fun to read. I think that I would enjoy them. My wife tends to like stories like books like this. So I will point her in the direction of these books. Have a great day.

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi Brian!

I hope your wife enjoys them. Take care!

mudpuddle said...

i'd enjoy these a lot, also... i've been sucked into hollow earth stories for so long, it's going to feel strange to read anything else!

voodo tales? my word

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi mudpuddle,

I've enjoyed reading your hollow earth story reviews.

The voodoo tales are pretty Victorian. Nothing very scary about them, which is kind of disappointing.

RTD said...

Great! I’m off to the library in search of Tope.Thanks!

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hope they've got her. I had to ask my library to order her books. Maybe you can do the same.

mudpuddle said...

both my kids have evacuated and will probably lose everything... we're housebound by the dense smoke and hopefully will not have to leave...

Sharon Wilfong said...

HI mudpuddle,

I am so sorry to hear this about your kids and also your own situation. I am praying for you and them. Tonight at church I mentioned you and our group included you and your family in our prayers.

Please let me know how things are going.

mudpuddle said...

tx, Sharon: much appreciated...

Sharon Wilfong said...

Keep me updated.

RTD said...

Mud puddle .... like Dante’s pilgrim, survive the inferno, enjoy paradise .....