I've got to say, now that Ben and Juliet actually have some sort of a relationship (even if a hidden one) I like their interaction even better. It's the comfortable companionship without all those insecurities and speculations from both sides. This time these two have a "mild mystery" to uncover though the story it mostly about the people of Birdswing and the connections Ben has made since he arrived at the village. It was actually nice to see how much he is becoming a part of the community even if there are some things he still struggles with - like their beliefs in the supernatural. Even if the less harmful kind.
When a lost love letter comes to Ben's possession he is asked to find the couple, or at least start with the guy who wrote it. While they start with quite a solid idea who to turn to, what they uncover there is not what they expected but it does help them uncover a bit more. In the end the story does offer a sort of a happy ending as well as a one to be uncovered (in the coming books - as per Emma's promise at the very end). It's not exactly what you'd expect though I did guess a little bit (even if not enough).
As Emma promised these short novellas are about the people not a/the mystery and it shows. I really liked the more relaxed feel of this one though I did struggle (as with the previous ones) with the language (fitting the time and place this one takes place in). Yet it's more than worth it. I hope she'll get back to writing this series.
One this I forgot to mention and I feel I should - I REALLY don't think this should be read as a standalone. Maybe it can, but I don't recommend it. For a short novella I feel like you'll either have too much characters introduced or you'll be confused by the relationships (Juliet and Ben naturally but also others). Or it might make intrigue you to start from the beginning..
 | Rating: ★★★★ | E-Book Edition | 79 pages | Read on: 6 August 2021 |  |  |  |  |
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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