Blog Tour: Let Sleeping Murder Lie – Carmen Radtke

*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and to Zoé of Zooloo’s Book Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Blurb: American Eve Holdsworth is living her quintessential English dream in a picturesque village in the countryside. Meeting an attractive stranger adds to the appeal.

But Ben Dryden is a pariah in Eve’s new neighbourhood, since his wife was murdered five years ago, and he was the only suspect.

Eve, who is absolutely sure someone as charming as Ben could never be a killer, is determined to solve the case and clear Ben’s name, even if it’s against his will.

Soon enough Eve finds herself in deep waters, and with her life at stake, she can only pray that her romantic notions won’t be the end of her …

I’ve said before that readers can immediately tell when they are in good hands for a book, and within a few pages of starting Let Sleeping Murder Lie, I had already relaxed into it and given myself over to the story completely.

Eve is a very relatable main character, and I enjoyed the development of her friendships with those around her, but also her increasing confidence and self-reliance. It was refreshing to find a cosy mystery heroine who doesn’t simply drop her work and social life to investigate some random mystery, but instead prioritises her time to ensure she meets her own commitments before running around solving cold cases that don’t concern her.

The setup is classic cosy mystery – the main character is a newcomer and so can see an old mystery with fresh eyes, the suspect pool is limited to a handful of prominent neighbours in the small village community, and the clues are there from the start, along with a few red herrings to throw you off the scent. I guessed a couple of the twists before they were revealed to Eve, but was equally pleased to have fallen hook, line and sinker for some of the bait the author threw out – a very satisfying mix for an avid mystery sleuth!

This is a gripping, entertaining and very well-written story, ideal for any cosy mystery fans. I will definitely be checking out more from Carmen Radtke in future, and I would definitely LOVE this to turn into a long-running series – ‘Eve and Hayley: investigations, translations and potations’! 😉

Hayley picked up her cloth. “The place has a bad reputation alright, as does the rest of the property. And the owner.”
“But why?” Eve asked.
“A woman was murdered there five years ago. No conviction, but ask most people here, and they will swear to one thing. It was Ben who killed his wife.”
– Carmen Radtke, Let Sleeping Murder Lie