A Cotswold Ordeal (Cotswold Mysteries) [Paperback]

Rebecca Tope (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cotswold Mysteries | Publication Date: January 29, 2007

Thea Osborne embarks on her second housesitting assignment with very few worries, after her first disastrous venture during which she became entangled in a murder case. But the Phillips are obviously a laid back family, and there is little to do but tend and ailing pony and feed various furry pets and farmyard birds. However, it seems Thea is jinxed as an apparent suicide takes place in one of the barns. DI Phil Hollis is more than a little surprised to find Thea at the center of this second police investigation, and realizes that she can be more of a hindrance that a help, but they find themselves working closely together to solve the mystery once again.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The classic English village mystery is alive and well and living in Gloucestershire' Sherlock Magazine 'Exciting, humorous and topical, this is one of her best novels yet' --Crime Time

About the Author

Rebecca Tope has led a varied career working as an antenatal teacher, a Relate counsellor and an assistant funeral director. She currently lives on a small holding in rural Herefordshire where she works as a milk recorder for local dairy farms. She is the author of five previous crime novels including Market for Murder and The Sting of Death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby LTD (January 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749082682
• ISBN-13: 978-0749082680
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars one of the worst of a bad genre, January 8, 2011

By 

hilltown reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cotswold Ordeal (Cotswold Mysteries) (Paperback)

While searching for a new author after having read (multiple times as my wife likes to point out) the classic British mysteries, I ordered this book. The new "recipe" mystery genre suffers from the obvious limitation: everything has to fit into the recipe. This author fails miserably to produce a book with any coherence, decent writing style, believable characters, or compelling human interest. The protagonist is a ditzy 40-something who seems to fall in love at the drop of a proverbial hat. Her policeman hero is staggeringly stupid as a policeman and unbelievable as a man. Ancillary characters float into view apparently out of cliche heaven: the overbearing mistress of the manse, evil locals intent on covering up murder, strange sexual perversions from a completely normal person, etc.

Having lived in the Cotswolds for 10 years, I was at least hoping for something that would excite in me the beauty and interest of the area. Canals seem to run through the story, but other than some pedantic comments on the benefits to wildlife there is little evocation of the fantasy of a canal. And, of course, this canal is abandoned and dry, much like the book.

I usually donate books which I am not keeping for my library to the local hospital. I will spare the patients this one.

5 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars British Cozies Rule!!, May 27, 2010

By 

Toni S. Bibliophile "Toni S. Bibliophile" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Cotswold Ordeal (Cotswold Mysteries) (Paperback)

A well written British Cozy. Intriguing characters and nicely developed plot. Tope is one of my favorites.