Miss Marple meets Oscar Wilde in this new series of cosy mysteries set in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bunburry.
In A Murderous Ride,the second Bunburry book, Alfie discovers that he has not only inherited a cottage from his late Aunt Augusta but also a 1950s Jaguar. He is dismayed: for reasons of his own, he no longer drives. Aunt Augusta's best friends, Liz and Marge, persuade him to get behind the wheel again - but that's just the start of his troubles.
Alfie discovers it's a seriously bad idea to get on the wrong side of the local police sergeant. Especially when he finds himself at a murder scene and the sergeant decides Alfie's the murderer. There's only one thing to be done. Alfie has to track down the real murderer himself - which will force him to drive as he's never driven before.
Helena Marchmont is a pseudonym of Olga Wojtas, who was born and brought up in Edinburgh. She was encouraged to write by an inspirational English teacher, Iona M. Cameron. Olga won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2015, has had more than 30 short stories published in magazines and anthologies and recently published her first mystery Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar.
Band 2 der Cosy Crime Reihe. Im zweiten Band gerät Alfie McAlister unversehens selbst unter Mordverdacht! Sergeant Wilson scheint Alfie nicht zu mögen und ist felsenfest davon überzeugt, dass nur Alfie den Mechaniker Mike umgebracht haben kann. Da die Polizei also scheinbar nicht weiter ermitteln will, macht sich Alfie selbst auf die Suche nach dem wahren Täter... Ein gemütlicher Landkrimi, so, wie ich ihn mag! :) Vielleicht nicht unbedingt hochspannend, aber kurzweilig und unterhaltsam mit einem tollen Setting (Cotswolds) und interessanten Charakteren!
This is a quick and cosy mystery that continues the story of Alfie. Having inherited a house in the Cotswolds from his aunt he escapes London and the grief of losing his partner. He is studiously avoiding getting behind the wheel of a car and now finds he has inherited one. This leads to an unfortunate series of events that sees him the prime suspect for a murder. Light and easy to read. Looking forward to book 3.
The second novel in the Bunburry series finds our hero Alfie McAlister — who has been avoiding driving for reasons he hasn’t yet divulged — forced into dealing with another of his late aunt’s legacies, this time a vintage Jaguar convertible. I don’t want to reveal too much, but let’s say that he’s forced behind the wheel and the fallout is literally murderous.
This sequel isn’t as charming nor as clever as the debut by Helena Marchmont (pseudonym for the Scottish writer Olga Wojtas); however, I liked it enough to start reading No. 3, A Taste of Murder, which already looks like it will be better. I’m happy enough to have bought Bunburry: Episode 4-6. And at a mere $6 on Audible, I more than think I’m getting my money’s worth from these novella-length cozies.
3.5 ⭐ = Quite Good. Another gentle cosy mystery that I really enjoyed. I am getting to know all of the characters now and they're all very believable. The plot was simple yet engaging. I'll be moving to the next in the series very soon.
“A Murderous Ride” is the second in the Bunburry series. I guess it could stand alone, but I’d suggest reading #1 first. It’s short anyway, just over 100 pages, so it’s not a huge commitment, and that way you’ll be introduced to the town and Alfie and have more background going in to this one.
Alfie has discovered that in addition to the cottage, he has inherited a 1950s Jaguar. While it does help him remember a moment in his childhood spent with his aunt, he has given up driving for reasons of his own. Between the car and the urging and “helping” of his friend Oscar, we know he’ll get back behind the wheel again.
But, we have to have a murder, and unluckily for Alfie, his car turns out to be the murder weapon, which makes him the prime suspect. He does get some help as he tries to figure out who the killer actually is.
Bunburry is a charming town and the characters are just fun to spend time with. Well, except the police sergeant, he’s a jerk, but every town has to have one or two of them.
I’ve listened to the first two on audio and the narrator did a very good job. Now, though it looks like there isn’t an English audio version of #3. Kindle will have to do, I guess.
Only 2 stars for this one. I enjoyed the character development but the mystery wasn't worth much. The book began okay building the backstory for Alfie with a few surprises thrown in that I didn't expect based on the first book. The mystery didn't pop up until nearer to the end and was resolved fairly quickly, without any complex motives (other than the imaginary ones of some of the characters) or devious methods. It was a disappointment. This might have worked as a longer novel but not in it's current short form.
Sometimes it doesn't matter that you don't like the main protagonist as long as you like the story. If, however you are getting bored, and you are looking for a way out (pages to skip) in something that is barely a 100 pages, you must conclude there is something wrong. I won't be tempted to even start, it would make this review longer then the book.
‘*‘ Meine Meinung ‘*‘ Mir war mal wieder nach einem englischen Hörbuch und da ich bisher nur Bunburry gefunden hatte, habe ich mir einfach den zweiten Teil auf die Ohren gepackt. Es ist ein hübscher Cosy-Crime oder auf Deutsch „Häkelkrimi“. Ja, mir war klar, dass es kein actionreicher Thriller ist, aber dieser zweite Teil fokussiert sich schon sehr auf Alfie und den Grund, warum er sich nicht mehr hinters Steuer setzen will. Damit beschäftigen sich locker zwei Drittel des Buches und dann erst gibt es endlich einen Toten. Dass Alfie als Mörder verdächtigt wird, macht es dann endlich spannend. Und schwups war das Hörbuch schon wieder beendet. Die Charaktere sind hübsche Klischees, wie es sich für Cosy Crime gehört. Dementsprechend ist auch der Schreibstil einfach. Also kann ich das Hörbuch auch Menschen empfehlen, die nicht perfekt Englisch sprechen. Selbst wenn man mal ein Wort nicht versteht, ergibt der Rest einen Sinn. Ich verstehe auch bei deutschen Hörbüchern nicht jedes Wort oder schweife gedanklich schon mal ab, und trotzdem behalte ich den Überblick. Nathaniel Parker liest hervorragend und wundervoll akzentuiert. Genau das Richtige, um Englisch aufzufrischen- Da aber die Spannung so spät beginnt, vergebe ich nur 4 Oldtimer-Sterne. ‘*‘ Klappentext ‘*‘ In "A Murderous Ride," the second Bunburry book, Alfie discovers that he has not only inherited a cottage from his late Aunt Augusta but also a 1950s Jaguar. He is dismayed: for reasons of his own, he no longer drives. Aunt Augusta's best friends, Liz and Marge, persuade him to get behind the wheel again - but that's just the start of his troubles. Alfie discovers it's a seriously bad idea to get on the wrong side of the local police sergeant. Especially when he finds himself at a murder scene and the sergeant decides Alfie's the murderer. There's only one thing to be done. Alfie has to track down the real murderer himself - which will force him to drive as he's never driven before. Das Glück liegt nicht immer auf der Straße. Schon nach kurzer Zeit hat Alfie McAlister in Bunburry eine ganze Reihe netter Leute kennengelernt. Doch damit ist jetzt Schluss: Bei einer unfreiwilligen Spritztour muss der arme Alfie feststellen, dass es eine sehr schlechte Idee ist, es sich mit der örtlichen Polizei in Gestalt von Sergeant Wilson zu verderben. Besonders, da er sich kurz darauf an einem Tatort wiederfindet und der Sergeant überzeugt ist, dass nur Alfie der Mörder sein kann! Jetzt gibt es nur noch eine Möglichkeit: Alfie muss den wahren Mörder selbst aufspüren - und dafür seine schlimmste Angst überwinden...
Alfie learns that his aunt left him a classic Jaguar as well as her house. He's afraid to drive. We learn that his girlfriend had died in a car accident and this scares him from driving. But he finds he has to rent a car and drive home, and there's a funny scene where he causes a traffic jam going too slowly. He finds a mechanic to get the old car running again, and when he travels there a few days later, he finds the man dead with the car lift dropped on him. He sets out to find who did it.
I enjoyed this one a little more than the first installment. For one, we got to know the character who was murdered - a little, and therefore I cared a little more. Also I was now prepared for it being a shorter story.
The village vibe and setting is cosy, though again I don't like that we are not shown (with red herrings, obviously) who the murderer is - the denouement leaves something to be desired.
Dieser Band aus der Bunburry Reihe war für mich interessanter und er hat mir schlicht besser gefallen. Vielleicht, weil ich mich beginne in dem kleinen Ort einzuleben. Mit seinen knappen 3 Stunden Laufzeit ist das Hörbuch ein schnelles Vergnügen. Auch hier ist das Buch nicht unnötig brutal oder spannend. Es ist ein netter Hörgenuss und ich bin jetzt schon bei Band 4. Den dritten Fall habe ich übersprungen, weil es da um einen Fleischskandal geht und das habe ich mir erspart.
So we are back again in Bunberry. This time the murder weapon is a car and Alfie is the suspect. What else can he do but solve the murder. We learn more about the tragedy that Alfie is trying to escape from, more about the aunt that Alfie doesn't really remember and more about the people living in the village. Again this is a short novel. Good for a quiet afternoon or evening. If you are the kind of mystery reader who doesn't like all the graphic details of a crime this is the series for you. The murder is still shocking, I did not see it coming the way that it did and the reactions of most of the people around feel right. I'd like to kick the one police officer but I'm sure I'm not the only one. Again this is a stand alone story that feels like it should be part of a larger novel. Still it's worth the price and I think you'll enjoy the characters. It takes a long time to be accepted into a small village and you feel like that here. I give a definite thumbs up to this series.
This book, and the previous one, reminds me of the English murder mysteries on PBS. A bit slow moving, but always interesting. Alfie and his "aunts" are always involved in some sort of murder. All are quirky characters that seem unlikely to be able to solve anything but they do. A good cast of supporting characters, this motley crew makes for a good read.
I love the characters and their special quirks. The author keeps the reader involved and the story moving. I am so looking forward to the next book. Please keep the series going.
Easy fun story. Just an easy read. No challenge. Don't have much else to say. I liked the characters once I got into it. I will read the next in the series just for the fun of it.
Very good read! The hero is not what you would expect. He seems to solve the crimes accidentally. He has a lot of help and blunders he's way to a solution.
I've read 2 books 📚 by Helena Marchmont and enjoyed both of them. Good reading for under $2.00. Being on a fixed income means I can get a enjoyable read.