I'm reviewing Moved to Murder ...

... by Gianetta Murray.  This is the first in a new cosy mystery series ...

And I'm so glad I found it.  But before I go any further, if you read this blog on a regular basis, then you may well recognise the author's name.  Earlier in the year I featured another of her books on the blog - A Supernatural Shindig.  This was a collection of short stories that Gianetta self-published, and you can read that review Here  In addition, Gianetta very kindly agreed to an author interview.  You can read that Here

Vivien Brandt, the central character and an American married to an Englishman, is the amateur sleuth in this new novel.  Having moved into her new home in a Yorkshire village, she not only solves the murder mystery but also has to navigate the vagaries of English etiquette and the duplicity of the common language that we and the US share.  Some of these vagaries provide ample opportunity for this writer's gentle wit to be perfectly displayed in this new story.

All of the characters are well-drawn and move across the pages with ease. The narrative voice, although American in style, is not overly brash as in many other US crime books.

I found Vivien to be a very entertaining character - she and the plot kept me turning the page.  In Vivien and the English setting, the village and the supplementary characters, we have the beginnings of a series of stories that I think can be described as Aurora Teagarden meets Father Brown!

This book had me chuckling all the way through.  It's a 21st-century version of some of those classic cosy murder mysteries that are part of the golden age of crime.

I'm really looking forward to the next in the series.

about the book ... Vivien Brandt (forty-something editor, librarian, and future interior designer extraordinaire) has spent decades dreaming about a life in England, and thanks to her marriage to second husband Geoffrey, her dreams are finally coming true.  She and her cat Sydney (who is considerably less excited about leaving the warmth of California) are the newest inhabitants of a cosy South Yorkshire village.

But as Vivien meets the locals - including the vicar, a charismatic politician, and a pair of troubled teenagers - she finds she still has a lot to learn about her new home.  Especially after she discovers a body in it.

Now she must work with her neighbour Hayley and a somewhat mistrustful police inspector to uncover the village’s secrets and find a killer.  Preferably, before the killer finds her.

Because it seems when the chips (crisps?) are down, the only common language between America and Britain… is murder.

You can follow Gianetta on her Website on Facebook and on Instagram and you can get the book on Amazon