Murder in an English Castle (A Flora Steele Mystery Book #10) by Merryn Allingham

In general, I liked it, but since I joined the saga in this 10th installment, I was a bit lost at first. The initial chapters were quite full of names I wasn't familiar with, and the relationships among them made it challenging to keep track. As a consequence, I almost set the book aside. However, since I received it from the publisher in exchange for a review, I decided to continue reading.

I was hooked the moment the couple visit Alex’s mother and Jack and Morton quarrelled...

Thanks to the prologue, we know it’s set in 1959 because all the rest seems to take place in later decade, but without mobile phones. In general, the setting feels like an old-fashioned area trying to uphold the neighborly ways of previous generations like The Good Witch’s Middletown, Stars Hollow or similar endearing locations. The thing that took me back in time and made me laugh was the college's night porter's behavior over the night calls. There are several moments like these that gave the story a pull and were highly enjoyable.

As a couple, Jack and Flora didn’t have much chemistry in this book. I wonder if this relies on previous books where they meet and develop some kind of romance, but I am not entirely sure. I missed something more between them, a complicity, a loving touch further than a kiss on the cheek... They’re newly-weds!

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Also, I found it annoying that Flora focuses on her nemesis, and doesn't bulge, just eliminating the girlfriend from the suspect list without much reason.

The leads they have are also too stretched, so the pace is sometimes slow, even for a cozy mystery. As a “detective”, you cannot be postponing leads with an “I’ll do it tomorrow,” or saying to the inspector “I’ll tell you the news I got, when I visit your station in 3-4 days”. It doesn’t make sense, everybody knows that the first 48 hours are key to solving a murder.

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Overall, the development of the narrative is interesting. Although sometimes slow (being quite normal in a cozy murders, though), but the twists are creative and logical, well intertwined and the end is satisfying, with a hint of what/where will be the next episode.

In my opinion, if the mix of characters in the first chapters were clarified, it could enhance the experience for first-time readers and encourage them to read the previous ones. 

Thank you to #Bookouture and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #MurderinanEnglishCastle in exchange for this review.

Rating: 2.75/5*