I’m really delighted today to be joining the blog tour for Clues to You by Claire Huston, and sharing my review. Published on 19th September by Goldcrest Books, it’s now available both as an e-book and in paperback. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation to read and review, and to the author and publisher for my advance reading e-copy.
Have you read one of Claire’s Love in the Comptons series before? No worries if you haven’t – there are a few passing references and recurring characters, but nothing to prevent you reading any one as a standalone – but if you’ve yet to discover her books, you’ve been missing rather a treat. The first in the series, Art and Soul, was such a lovely read (you’ll find my review here) – her next book, Elle’s A to Z of Love was a standalone, but an equally beautifully written romance, full of twists and turns and misunderstandings, but with such a perfect happy ending (you can read my full review again here). And then there was the second book in this series, The Only Exception – a romance I really believed in, filled with warmth and feel-good, with the most perfect chemistry between the two main characters (you’ll find my review here). Claire’s a really talented author whose books will always be on my “must read” list – and I was really looking forward to picking up her latest…
One murder mystery weekend. Two rival sleuths.
They’re looking for answers. But will they find love?
Kate Brannon is delighted to be attending her first murder mystery weekend in a movie-worthy Victorian manor house. Still getting over being dumped, cracking the case would be a welcome boost to her flagging confidence. And the prize money wouldn’t hurt either.
But Kate’s dreams of victory become a nightmare with the arrival of Max Ravenscroft. Smart, enigmatic and annoyingly handsome, Max is Kate’s sleuthing nemesis.
When she and Max are forced to work together, Kate despairs. But, as the investigation brings them closer, she finds being his partner in solving crime isn’t all bad.
With growing suspicions that the game is rigged against them, can Kate and Max beat the odds to find the killer? And, as their partnership deepens, can they find romance too?
A sweet romantic comedy with a cosy mystery at its heart. Perfect for fans of Kathryn Freeman, Laura Jane Williams and Katie Fforde.
A Victorian manor house, the chance to be a sleuth for the weekend, spending time with best friend Bella, the prospect of a rollover £50,000 prize that would help her sort out her life – something teacher Kate knows she’s going to enjoy, until Max Ravenscroft appears, as handsome and self-contained as ever. When they were both part of the Friendly Murder Club, he was so often the destroyer of her dreams of detective glory – he also doesn’t seem to like her much (the feeling’s mutual), and when it turns out that they need to work together, the weekend suddenly looks like being far less fun than she was expecting. But there’s far more to Max than there appears, and when it also turns out that the weekend’s organiser has a vested interest in making sure there are no winners, they find they have more common ground than Kate realised – and their working relationship and tentative friendship starts to turn into something rather different.
What followed was the perfect combination of an enemies-to-lovers contemporary romcom and the most intriguing of period cosy mysteries, quite beautifully written and perfectly paced and plotted, laced with gentle humour but with a few emerging elements of personal baggage, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. The cast is simply wonderful – the actors always maintaining their 1930s personas (and there are some fabulous characters among them, with intriguing relationships and motivations, every one of them a potential suspect), the developing relationship between Kate and Max so perfectly handled and entirely convincing (with really strong chemistry), and I also very much enjoyed the friendship with effervescent Bella.
Kate herself was a character I really took to my heart, with her hesitance and nervousness balanced by a steely determination to emerge as winner whatever was thrown at her – and her personal style frequently made me smile. And the whole murder mystery scenario is so very well done, becoming more complicated at every turn, and all the more so because of the dirty tricks going on behind the scenes. And the ending? It really couldn’t have been any more perfect.
This was such clever and confident writing, a story that hooked me from its opening pages and became ever more unputdownable as the story developed, the romance and intrigue so perfectly entwined. I really loved it – and it’s a rather special book I’d certainly really recommend to others.
About the author
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. She writes uplifting modern love stories about characters who are meant for each other but sometimes need a little help to realise it.
A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for over a hundred sweet treats at clairehuston.co.uk. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.
You can connect with Claire through her website – and you’ll also find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Goodreads. You’ll find all her social media links via this Linktree.
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you enjoyed it 🙂 x
Loved it Claire – the review was an absolute pleasure! xx
This sounds like a great read. I have downloaded a copy on KU and am looking forward to reading. Thank you Anne and Claire!