What do You think about A Cotswold Ordeal (2005)?
This wasn't the death-race, heart pounding sort of police thriller I usually read; it was more of a quiet who-don-it puzzle, and a good one, at that. I would like to point out that the actual who-did-it seemed, to me, to come out of left field, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention.This series is set in the Cotswolds and involves a professional house-sitter named Thea who has the bad luck to stumble upon a dead body at every house she turns up at. (Hey, it could happen--look at the mayhem that follows Jessica Fletcher around.)Anyway, the story was full of well-drawn characters, bags of local color and more than a few relevant social issues. The body in this case turned up hanging from a beam in the barn where the house-owner's pony was being kept. Thea tries to keep out of it, but her natural instinct to dig for the truth (or find excuses to hang around the hunky police detective) place her in the middle of the investigation, and in grave danger. The story kept my interest and made me want to read more.
—Michael Harling
This second book in the enjoyable series was a marked improvement to me. We now know a bit about the Sleuth and her feelings but it adds another personal dimension to her by introducing a Sister with real- life problems. The fact that a murder occurs on the property that the sleuth is house-sitting for and then saddled with the Sister adds more drama. The book also informs and describes the famous canal system that goes throughout the U.K. It definitely adds to the mystery in many ways.I look forward to reading the next book in the series, "Death in the Cotswolds."
—Jeannie and Louis Rigod
A Cotswold Ordeal is the second in the Cotswold Mysteries by Rebecca Tope. Thea is at her second housesitting assignment when she discovers a young man hanging from the rafters of one of the barns. A suicide? In the meantime, her sister stays with her at the house called Juniper Court while spending some needed time away from her abusive husband. The two sisters cannot seem to help becoming involved in the story of this Cotswold village while Thea also seems to become more involved with DI Phil Hollis.I really enjoyed this mystery. It was a mystery where you think you figured out whodunnit and ended up being totally wrong. When the real motive for murder comes out, you find the story twisted without your even seeing it coming.I am disappointed that I cannot get the third book in this series on Audible.com. I have no ídea why since they do have all the others. I will have to get the book to read before I get the next audiobook.
—Heidi
