Dr. Benjamin Bones and his unfaithful wife Penny are driving up from London to the village Penny grew up in - Birdswing. It's the eve of WWII, and though many men are wanted at the front, Ben is needed in the country, as a new doctor to help take care of the small community in this village and the ones near it if needed. He isn't sure how to deal with his wife, it seems divorce is the only way to go, and yet it seems other people have a different solution in mind as he and Penny is run over when they arrive at the village. Ben is severely injured while Penny dies on the spot. It COULD be an accident but Ben thinks otherwise, but since the only law officer is consumed by the war and what it will bring, he has to do his own sleuthing to try and uncover why someone would want to kill his wife. The task isn't that easy considering Penny was hated at the village..
As Ben is getting better, he starts to build a life in the small village, getting to know the people who live there, their quirks and pains. There was something endearing in the way we get to meet so many of the people who live in this small place and know everything there is to know about each other.
Our second constant (and POV) is Lady Juliet Lindon. She is very influential in this small village though not for her looks or her grace which she apparently lacks. She is smart, strong and VERY capable on her own, and yet she falls for Ben and his smart, caring and considerate character even if the LAST thing she needs now is a man (interested in her or not..) she is still dealing with enough rumors about her missing husband whom she doesn't miss one bit! Juliet was refreshing! She was a lot of fun, not only when she is sure of herself, but mostly when she isn't trying to act rationally when she feels is losing her mind over a man she shouldn't covet. I loved that we had so many strong women in this book, it's something I could expect Emma but maybe less in that timing or maybe BECAUSE of the timing which left so many women to fend for themselves while the men were "playing war".
The mystery was always there at the back of our minds, but the book mostly centers around Ben healing and finding his place in the village he is going to call his own. There are a lot of colorful characters, even a busy and a bit helpful ghost, a few witches and a beautiful school teacher who catches Ben's interest. Nearing the end things get messy quickly until the big reveal of who the culprit is. I wish like in Emma's other series ("Lord and Lady Hetheridge") the Mystery would have taken a bigger role. I DID enjoy the setting of the story, and the relationship buildup between Ben and the other residents of Birdswing yet I felt I needed MORE to keep me on my toes.
This series continues with another novel focusing more about Juliet's marital issues. I planned on reading it right after this one, but I'm going to give it a little break and return to my go-to reads for a little bit.
I enjoyed this one. If you're into Mysteries and Historical novels you MUST give it a go. if your usual go-to is more like my usual reads, I still suggest you give it a go, it's charming and witty, but prepared for no real romance angle and a more dramatic vibe with a mystery sprinkled on top.
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Rating:
★★★★ |
E-Book
Edition |
291
pages
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Read on:
1-12 August 2017
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ABOUT THIS SERIES
Br Benjamin Bones Mysteries, like it's name suggests is a mystery series, written by Emma Jameson, set in the beginning of WWII in the small Cornish village of Birdswing.
The series revolve around Dr Benjamin Bones, a rather new doctor, instructed to serve his country by taking care of the population of the community around Birdswing. While he gets there with his wife Penny, who grew up in this same village, she doesn't last long... From there, together with Lady Juliet Linton they start "sleuthing around" to try and figure out what happened.
While Bones doesn't consider Juliet as a love interest per se, he enjoys her company and their debates as well as their little play at sleuthing but as time goes by things start to slooooooowly change.
I consider the first two (full length novels) simply Mystery / Historical Fiction novels. There is NO romance what-so-over. The series continues with two short novellas (Which Emma also calls "Magic of Cornwall") - There the focus is on the relationship between Ben and Juliet (more drama/romance). I do hope when the 3rd installment arrives, we'll be having not just mystery but more of the romance buiolt into the story as well.
Though I don't usually read Mystery/Fiction, I've read all the other published works by Emma (some under a different name) and really enjoyed them so had to give these a try and I'm happy I did. It's such a different setting and vibe. I love it. But I'll admit the language is a bit difficult for me at times, and I was quite frustrated with how long it takes Emma to bring Ben and Juliet together as they sure are meant for one another.
Books:
1. Marriage Can Be Murder (Published 2 November 2014) ★★★★
2. Divorce Can Be Deadly (Published 16 December 2016) ★★★★
2.5. Dr. Bones and the Christmas Wish (Published 23 December 2016) ★★★★
2.6. Dr. Bones and the Lost Love Letter (Published 17 April 2017) ★★★★
3. Friendship Can Be Fatal (To Be Published ???)
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