I am delighted to be sharing my review today for The Convalescent Corpse by Nicola Slade as part of the Blog Tour with Rachel’s Random Resources. My thanks to Rachel for the invite and to Nicola for my e-copy of this book.

Well if the title doesn’t intrigue you to pick up this book, then the synopsis surely will…

Synopsis:

A story of Family, Rationing and Inconvenient Corpses.

Life in 1918 has brought loss and grief and hardship to the three Fyttleton sisters. Helped only by their grandmother (a failed society belle and expert poacher) and hindered by a difficult suffragette mother, as well as an unruly chicken-stealing dog and a house full of paying-guests, they now have to deal with the worrying news that their late – and unlamented – father may not be dead after all.  And on top of that, there’s a body in the ha-ha.

Purchase Links

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My Thoughts:

The synopsis is an absolute corker and it is one of those that made me think I would really like this book before I even got started…I was not wrong. It hints at a family that has some interesting ways and eccentricities.

Well the family and their quirky ways and unique styles made me smirk on several occasions. They are a mix of sort of down to earth, flamboyant, rudely shy, dramatic, clever, mischievous, resourceful and determined.

It is set during the WW1 and it was a real treat to read about their very creative culinary creations, though I don’t think I would fancy trying many of them. To help themselves the sisters, with the help of their Grandmother, decide to run a boarding house for the wives and mothers of those servicemen who are injured during the war and are recovering in the nearby Convalescent home. It is ideally situated for visits to their loved ones.

There is a murder involved in this story that kept me guessing, a whodunit style story ensues. It was intriguing and kept me guessing about the motives of the killer and all the why’s and wherefores that go along with it. A sort of cosy mystery if you like.

The pace of the book is not fast, I would say a more leisurely pace to it that really worked well with the slower pace of life for the time. Even though it is slower than a lot of modern setting stories, it was still a page turner and kept me hooked. The mix of the family, the guests and also various happenings at the Convalescent Home kept me avidly and addictively turning the pages.

This really is a wonderful story that has been gradually teased out and makes for a compelling read. This is a story with some fabulous characters and their somewhat madcap antics add an extra something special. Ideal for cosy mystery readers. One that I would definitely recommend.

About the Author:

Nicola Slade lives in Hampshire where she writes historical and contemporary mysteries and women’s fiction. While her three children were growing up she wrote stories for children and for women’s magazines before her first novel, Scuba Dancing, was published in 2005. Among other jobs, Nicola has been an antiques dealer and a Brown Owl! She loves travelling and at one time, lived in Egypt for a year. The Convalescent Corpse is Nicola’s 9th novel. Nicola is also a member of a crime writers’ panel, The Deadly Dames

Social Media Links – WordPress Blog – Twitter – Facebook

Pintrest – (There is a board for each book)

Giveaway:

Win a paperback copy of The House of Ladywell (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be wonderful 🙂 xx