Roberta Reads

  Review - 5 out of 5 Stars: Maeve Haran is a new author for me, but The Campervan Murders sounded like a lot of fun. I was not disappointed! When Sadie comes home early to a scene she was not expecting, she blows her savings on a campervan and returns to her childhood summer holiday favourite location. As soon as she arrives, she stumbles across a dead body, and the adventures begin! I loved this story! Sadie is a great character, and I love the collection of people she meets and befriends. The Vintage Vanettes are a great group, and it was most entertaining watching them try and solve the crimes. I liked the way they looked after each other too. The setting was a lovely one, I always enjoy a seaside location, and I loved the independent shops and community atmosphere. The plot itself was an intriguing one. There were plenty of suspects, a lot of whom seemed to only get more suspicious as the book went on. I had a wonderful time trying to work out who the culprit was. Overall, thi...

  Review - 5 out of 5 Stars: I really enjoyed Murder in a Cornish Teashop (not to mention Fliss Chester’s Cressida Fawcett series), so I was thrilled to get my hands on Murder at the Cornish Book Club. This time around, Maddie and Co get involved in a most mysterious murder on the local beach. I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I already liked this collection of characters, as getting to know them better in this book was most enjoyable. As well as the human characters, there were most entertaining animals. This cast are definitely going to become old friends. The setting was delightful, I love the coast, so books set there are always appreciated. It was fun to explore the town a little more this time, and I loved the bookshop selling both new and second hand. The plot was a fascinating one, with mysterious treasure maps and burglaries, as well as the murders. I had a wonderful time trying to work out who was to blame alongside Maddie and Tom. Overall, this was another excellent mystery, ...

  Review - 5 out of 5 Stars: I haven’t read a romance book for a while, so I wasn’t sure how I’d get on with The Chocolate Shop on Cherry Lane. I needn’t have worried, I absolutely loved it! This book focusses on Immy and Xander, who run a sweet shop and a chocolate shop, respectively. I really loved getting to know these characters, and their friends and family. I haven’t read any other books in the series, but this book worked very well as a standalone. The location was delightful, and I’ll definitely be reading more of the series to explore that more. I really loved the community spirit that the local residents showed. Overall, this was an excellent reintroduction to the genre for me, I didn’t want to stop reading to do anything else, which is unusual for me. I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

  Review - 4 out of 5 Stars: Maggie Allswell is a new author to me, but I love cozy crime, so I decided to give The Book Club Murders a go. This wasn’t a book that I would classify as cozy crime (see under the spoiler line for why), but it was hugely entertaining, and definitely made me want to keep reading. I’m not sure what other category you could put it under tbh. The cast of characters was great. I really enjoyed the fact that there were people of different ages and professions drawn together by their love of murder mysteries. The mystery was a good one, with several viable suspects. I enjoyed watching the book club work together to solve it. Overall, this was a very entertaining mystery, with a great cast of characters.  I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.  ~~~~~~~~~Spoilers below~~~~~~~~~ This didn’t feel cozy enough for me, because: The dog dies The main characters (who are meant to be the “good guys”) commit attempted murder I didn’t feel tha...