Death in the English Countryside by Sara Rosett

April 18th, 2018 Kimberly Guest Post, Review 30 Comments

18th Apr
Death in the English Countryside by Sara Rosett
Death in the English Countryside
by Sara Rosett
Series: Murder on Location #1
Narrator: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
Length: 6 hours 53 minutes
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration: 4 cups

Location scout and Jane Austen aficionado, Kate Sharp, is thrilled when the company she works for lands the job of finding locations for a new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but then her boss, Kevin, fails to return from a scouting trip to England. Afraid that Kevin has slipped back into some destructive personal habits he struggles with, Kate travels to England to salvage Kevin’s and the company’s reputation before word gets out that he is missing.

Things go from bad to worse when Kate arrives in Nether Woodsmoor, a quaint village of golden stone cottages and rolling green hills, only to find no trace of Kevin except his abandoned luggage. Even the rumpled, easygoing local scout they consulted, Alex, doesn’t know where Kevin might be.

Increasingly worried about Kevin and with an antsy director waiting for updates about the preproduction details, Kate embarks on a search that includes a pub-crawl and cozy cottages as well as stately country manors. But Kevin remains missing, and she begins to suspect that the picturesque village and beautiful countryside may not be as idyllic as they seem.

mystery MOVIE Small-town Audiobook

Please welcome Sophia Rose as she shares her thoughts on Death in the English Countryside by Sara Rosett. Fans of cozy mysteries, Jane Austen, and movie settings will want to add this one to their shelves.

Sophia Rose’s Review

The first line of the blurb “location scout and Jane Austen aficionado” was all it took to hook my interest in this new to me author, series, and narrator.

Death in the English Countryside introduces female lead, Kate Sharp. She enjoys her work, first as the assistant to a veteran Hollywood location scout, but, now, being brought on as a budding scout in her own right.

A past with a troubled family life and a recent divorce between her parents contributes to her own cautious approach to relationships in her private life whether it is friendships or dating. Kate has been looking for her own Mr. Darcy without much success, but like Darcy of the original story, she holds her men to a higher standard.

Trouble drops into her lap when her boss goes missing while scouting locations for a production of Pride & Prejudice in England. She must keep his disappearance discreet and find him quickly or the company’s precarious situation will go from critical to kaput.

While I was slow to warm to Kate- she does get stuffy at times and makes a few blunders during the investigation, I enjoyed traipsing over to England and following along as Kate tries to find Kevin with the help of the local photographer, Alex, who acted as Kevin’s local consultant of fitting properties to use in the upcoming film. Things take an ominous turn and suddenly Kate is right in the thick of an investigation. She’s suspect number one and needs to give the DCI on the case to look further afield. Her remembering details, her strong organized mind, and her stubbornness come in good stead. Alex has been helpful and possibly something more if she’s being honest, but she holds herself in check, particularly when it occurs to her that he’s got secrets. Is murder one of them?

The village setting, local color, historical residences, engaging villagers and a delicious and delightful Alex were enough to keep me captivated. The investigation ended up being more fascinating than the mystery itself in the end. I had the solution early on, but I kept second guessing because I thought it just couldn’t be that easy. Oh well. Like I say, the journey to the end was the best part, and I must say, things got quite suspenseful for the climax moment.

As I said, Sarah Mollo-Christensen was a new to me narrator. She did a pretty good job considering she had American and British, class and gender with her accents. Her timing and tone were good and worked well with a gently paced cozy like this one. Kate’s character could get introspective and I thought Sarah helped keep it from going monotone. I hope she is the narrator for the rest of the series.

Death in the English Countryside, the first book in the Murder on Location series did the job, nicely, and I’ll definitely be back for more from this series to see Kate- and Alex- in action. I think this one will definitely be a good match for cozy mystery fans who want something a little different in this movie industry of location scouting with a murder on the side.

Step onto the set of Pride & Prejudice in this cozy murder mystery set in the London countryside. Death in the English Countryside by Sara Rosett #loveaudiobooks #guestreview Click To Tweet
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

30 Responses to “Death in the English Countryside by Sara Rosett”

    • Sophia Rose

      That was me, too, Stefanie. I loved that she was scouting locations for a Pride & Prejudice movie. 🙂

  1. Mary @StackingMyBookShelves!

    I totally adore Jane Austen so this mystery is right up my alley. Not to mention I adore this cover. This sounds like a great book. I am putting it on my TBR list for Audible!
    Great review!

    Mary

    • Sophia Rose

      Yep, a strike right up your alley. 🙂 I loved learning a little how period drama sets were found and it was fun for her visit in the village.

  2. Tyler H. Jolley

    Hi Sophia! Will we get to see you review the whole series here? Happy reading!

    • Sophia Rose

      Howdy, Tyler! I do have book two and plan to listen to that one. 🙂 It’s the start of a good series, I think. Not sure if I’ll review it for Kinberly, though.

  3. Ailyn

    Awesome review Rose, love the pretty cover as well… I wonder if the deer knows

    • Sophia Rose

      Haha, that’s a dog- an Italian greyhound (though, its hard to tell) and she is owned by the hero. She’s pretty smart so she probably does sense who the villain is. 🙂

  4. Lily

    oh wow that’s an interesting take on P&P. I’d probably have a hard time with the MC at times too from the sound of it but I am glad to hear that this did not deter you from the book. I love the cover also

    • Sophia Rose

      Oh, it was a good one, Lily. Not really a take on P&P, but just about a gal who does location scouting for a P&P movie. She got snotty a few times and I really don’t like when people are that way with no reason. Turned out she was struggling with her folks’ divorce, but still… Glad she got it together later.

      That cover is pretty and soothing, I think. 🙂

  5. Melissa (Books and Things)

    I always look forward to anything P&P adaptations. This one sounds like a fun cozy and I love that the investigation was so captivating. Oh might have to check this one out!

    • Sophia Rose

      Oh yes, it was a fun one, but, just to give you a heads up, its not an adaption. It’s just a gal who likes Austen’s books and works to find sets for an Austen movie. Still, tons of fun, Melissa. 🙂

  6. Angela Adams

    “Afraid that Kevin has slipped back into some destructive personal habits he struggles with” — this line caught my attention. Thanks for the post.

    • Sophia Rose

      Definitely! I loved learning about how they scout for the old period drama movies like Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. 🙂

  7. Debbie Haupt

    The first line of the blurb was all it took for me to know that you were behind this review Sophia Rose 😉 LOL
    I was glad you were able to eventually like Kate too. Thanks for the super review!!

    • Sophia Rose

      No tricking you, Debbie! LOL

      At first I couldn’t figure out why she was so snotty, but then I learned about her parents’ fall out and it made sense. I’m glad she won me over, too.

  8. Cindy

    This one sounds good! I love the premise of this and it will be on my to read list. Great review!