Murder at Hawthorn Cottage by Betty Rowlands

Murder at Hawthorn Cottage by Betty Rowlands ISBN-13: 9781786816085 ebook: 302 pages Publisher: Bookouture Released: Aug. 21, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Melissa is just settling into her new life in a crumbling cottage in the countryside when the bones of a young woman are found in the woods just behind her new home. As an investigation begins, strange phone calls in the night convince Melissa that the police are barking up completely the wrong tree.

A local journalist convinces her to help him to prove the bones are from a prostitute who disappeared almost a year ago. Melissa’s enquiry takes her from the beauty salon to a male stripper show, exposing many of the village’s darkest secrets. Can Melissa solve this terrifying crime without putting herself and her new friends in terrible danger?


My Review:
Murder at Hawthorn Cottage is a cozy mystery. The heroine is a suspense writer, so she observed people and how they acted. She had just moved, so she was getting to know the locals and was inspired with the plot of her next book. Only real life becomes too close to that plot--drugs might really be smuggled in and distributed in her neighborhood. A local, charming reporter also convinced her to help him investigate the disappearance of a prostitute.

There were clues as to what was going on and multiple threads that they came across. You could guess at some aspects, but the murder whodunit was revealed suddenly and almost accidentally at the end. The heroine had no clue that person was whodunit (which is why she placed herself in danger). She generally tried to avoid dangerous situations, but she still found herself in some tense moments.

There were no graphic sexual descriptions, which is remarkable given that the heroine attended a male stripper show to investigate a certain lead. There was some bad language (and of a wide variety). Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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