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![Murder at Primrose Cottage: An utterly addictive English cozy mystery (A Flora Steele Mystery Book 3) by [Merryn Allingham]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+5QloYwNL._SY346_.jpg)
Murder at Primrose Cottage: An utterly addictive English cozy mystery (A Flora Steele Mystery Book 3) Kindle Edition
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Cornwall, 1956: When Flora Steele sets off for a peaceful vacation with crime writer Jack Carrington in his little red Austin,the last thing she expects to find is a body at their pretty rental cottage!
Shocked by the discovery, inquisitive Flora joins forces with handsome Jack to find out how the poor man came to such an untimely end in the overgrown orchard of Primrose Cottage. They discover Roger Gifford was a man with plenty of friends and the villagers seem devastated by his sudden death…
So why was he murdered? And who has blood on their hands – his estranged wife Beatrice, his wayward younger brother Lionel, or the suspicious newcomer Mercy Dearlove?
The baffling case gets even more complicated when a second man is found dead and a set of puzzling clues lead them to an intriguing wartime mystery connected to Jack’s estranged father.
As old secrets emerge and Jack receives an unsettling letter, it seems the crime writer is in danger of a fate befitting his fictional characters. Will Flora be able to crack the case and save Jack? Or will this be one murder too many for Flora Steele?
Readers love the Flora Steele Mysteries:
‘Amazing… a top-notch cosy mystery… an engaging, intelligent and intriguing murder mystery that I found totally absorbing.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I absolutely love this book! I was so captivated… I could not put this book down… I read this book in one sitting!… Amazing.’ @thenerdandherbooks, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Absolutely fantastic… An addictive perfect mix of mystery, crime, suspense and quirkiness which kept me turning the pages late at night!! An explosive start to a new series!’ Bookworm86, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A joy to read… Full of mystery and secrets!… Truly an unstoppable read! And I loved every minute of it!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I loved… A cozy, heart-warming, fast read. It felt like Scooby-Doo meets Agatha Raisin. I am here for it!… Delightful.’ Frosta Wings It, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Fantastic cozy mystery!… Fun to read… This author knows how to keep the reader’s attention from the first chapter!’ Books and Benches, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wonderful book! I absolutely adored this… Had me reading and finishing the book in no time! I highly recommend!!!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Love… The story twisted along, with everyone becoming a suspect… A fab read, that I devoured in a day.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘What a joy… Fabulous… Totally fantastic… I highly recommend this outstandingly fabulous book.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Pace moves along as you keep turning the pages to find out whodunit. You’ll find yourself rooting for Flora and Jack in more ways than one. I can’t wait for the next book!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date18 March 2022
- File size2147 KB
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Product details
- ASIN : B09M6792WG
- Publisher : Bookouture (18 March 2022)
- Language : English
- File size : 2147 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 278 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #19,158 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,917 in Crime, Thriller & Mystery (Kindle Store)
- #2,724 in Crime, Thriller & Mystery (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Bestselling author Merryn Allingham was born into an army family and spent her childhood on the move. Unsurprisingly, it gave her itchy feet and in her twenties she escaped an unloved secretarial career to work as cabin crew and see the world. The arrival of marriage, children and cats meant a more settled life in the south of England, where she’s lived ever since. Having gained a PhD, she taught university literature for many years and loved every minute of it. What could be better than spending one’s life reading and talking about books? Well, writing them perhaps.
Six Regency period romances followed, then those itchy feet kicked in. The Regency was abandoned and Daisy's War, a wartime trilogy, found its way to the top of the Amazon charts, followed by the Summerhayes books—a saga of romance and intrigue set in the Sussex countryside during the summers of 1914 and 1944.
But itchy feet never rest and in 2020 she finally went over to the dark side! The crime series, the Tremayne Mysteries, is set in locations around the world and features Nancy, a feisty 1950s heroine, turned amateur sleuth.
Keep in touch with Merryn via the web:
Website: https://www.merrynallingham.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MerrynWrites
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/merrynwrites
PS Love a FREE book? Sign up to receive Merryn’s newsletter at https://merrynallingham.com/free-book/
Along with your free ebook, you’ll get her latest news and updates, insider exclusives, plus book recommendations. Happy reading!
Customer reviews
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Top reviews from India
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• It’s a small book (268 pages) and has a steady pace throughout. Moreover, it reads well as a standalone (and there isn’t too much information dump about the previous books).
• The writing in this one felt a little different (I found way too many adverbs), though the tone hasn’t changed.
• The characters are pretty much black and white. If you want layered and complex characters, this is not the book. But if you want something that adheres to the cozy mystery checklist, pick this book.
• The descriptions of places in Cornwall were beautiful. I enjoyed the scenic beauty of the locations.
• The mystery is neither strong nor weak. I guessed the killer more on instinct, though the clues confirmed my guess soon enough.
• There are no unexpected twists, no melodrama, or heavy stuff. There’s some progress in the personal track, but it’s limited to one character.
• The book ends with a sort of bait to keep the reader guessing about what the next book will be about, which I rather liked. The current case is complete, and the new one will start fresh in the next one.
To Sum up, Murder at Primrose Cottage is a good continuation of the series and works well as a breather between heavy reads. Pick it up if you want a cozy mystery that doesn’t require too much effort to read.
Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The series, set in 1950s England follows twenty-five-year-old Flora Steele who runs a bookshop which she inherited from her aunt, in the small Sussex village of Abbeymead. Also living in the village is Jack Carrington, a former reporter, and now writer of mystery novels, who is a recluse but emerges in the first book (and discovers a body) when his errand boy falls ill. The two have become good friends (and partners in solving crime) but while they are interested in each other, they don’t wish to take things further just yet, because of past heartbreaks. At the end of the previous book, Flora who hasn’t taken a holiday in ages had decided to accompany Jack to Cornwall where he is to do research for the first of a series of books he has undertaken to write. There they are to rent Primrose cottage, arrangements for which have been made by Jack’s agent.
They arrive at the cottage and meet Roger Gifford, their landlord who also lends them his housekeeper, Jessie Bolitho who is to keep house and cook for them. But the next morning when Flora goes out to explore the orchard behind the cottage, she finds Roger’s body, his throat slit. While Roger was generally a well-liked man, there were some who bore him grudges—his estranged wife and younger wastrel brother among them; also according to Jessie, he had an argument with the local ‘witch’ or peller Mercy Dearlove. The police have found Roger’s broken watch so believe it to be the work of a mugger, but Flora thinks otherwise. Meanwhile Flora and Jack also begin to visit different places in Cornwall, both of historical interest and those related to the war (which was more recent past in terms of when our book is set) in search of locations and background for Jack’s book, while he also deals with writer’s block of sorts, scrapping plots and tearing things up. But their trips and investigations into Roger’s death are clearly making the murderer nervous for they get targeted repeatedly. Will they manage to identify the killer before he gets them?
This was a fun instalment in this series, and I think my favourite of the books so far. What I loved about this book the most was its setting and the war background. The setting in Cornwall comes through really well in the book with all the locations that they explore including Helston where Flora Day is celebrated every year (a spring festival); Tintagel and its Arthurian Castle; Henry the VII’s Pendennis Castle and the Lizard (and also the numerous pasties they eat; Jessie provides some delicious fare as well). I also kept looking up these sites online as I was reading. Then, there was also the historical background of the war and Signals units in Cornwall to which part of their mystery relates, a part which also links back to Flora’s village (not a spoiler since we know this from the start). I enjoyed exploring Cornwall with Flora and Jack, and also learning about its role in the war, about which like Flora and Jack I didn’t know much (or rather anything).
The mystery itself was interesting, but more than suspects (which we do have a handful), it is the motivations that keep one guessing—is it something to do with Roger’s personal life and problems or his research (which focused on the war efforts in Cornwall); once one makes up one’s mind as to that though, then the whodunit wasn’t so much of a surprise since we did get hints, and one is able to somewhat work out what happened (though not all). But nonetheless, it was fun reading and seeing if one was thinking correctly.
Flora and Jack are likeable characters, and in this book, we get more of a look into Jack’s past—his estrangement with his parents—as we meet his father. The police I am beginning to accept in this series, as being the kind that only appears at the last minute, and invariably is on the wrong track in solving the murders they are faced with. Back in Abbeymead too there are some developments which connect up with events of the past books, and the effects of which I think we will see in subsequent books, as we have a new character introduced in the form of Sally, the niece of Alice who was cook at the Priory (the manor-house-turned-hotel). There was also a fun reference to Enid Blyton, the second time one has come up in this series which I enjoyed being a fan of Blyton.
A fun read overall, in which I very much enjoyed the setting and historical background.
3.9 stars rounded up to 4.
(review copy received from Bookouture via NetGalley)
Top reviews from other countries

With Jack needing to travel the county to gain a realistic background for his troublesome new novel Flora finds herself in a position to investigate why the victim met their unenviable fate. Both are intrigued by the tentative links to a wartime mystery but as danger stalks them through the narrow lanes and deserted landscape can they discover who is planning to add them to the list of victims and why?
This is the third Flora Steele novel and although I have enjoyed the previous two this is the one which moves it into the ranks of eagerly anticipated cosy crime series. Set in Cornwall during the late spring of 1956 it is an atmospheric and beautifully written piece that I enjoyed thoroughly. Jack and Flora are familiar enough now to reader and writer alike that they boss a storyline which was fascinating both from a fictional and factual standpoint. I hadn't realised how vital Cornwall was to the war effort and found the research included by the author as fascinating as Jack!
I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a lovely book but with a few spoilers included I would recommend enjoying the first two as well if you can.



