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Judith Spears Mysteries #1
MURDER BY INVITATION: A British cosy crime thriller (Judith Spears Book 1)
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO A MURDER…
Judith Spears has settled down for an easy retirement in a beautiful English village. But she’s out of luck as a loudmouth local media celebrity is framed for a murder on his estate – and he needs her help.
Judith’s dubious past skills are exactly what is required when it comes to untangling the web of lies and deceit to prove his innocence.
But in doing so, she can only hope the wonderful DS Raymond Collins and DC Sarah Eastly don’t delve too much into her own chequered history... after all, who said retirees are dull?
For lovers of Richard Osman, Tom Hindle, and Ian Moore – Judith Spears is cosy crime that will put a smile on your face.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - “A real giggle that shows age makes us have more fun!” - READER REVIEW
Judith Spears has settled down for an easy retirement in a beautiful English village. But she’s out of luck as a loudmouth local media celebrity is framed for a murder on his estate – and he needs her help.
Judith’s dubious past skills are exactly what is required when it comes to untangling the web of lies and deceit to prove his innocence.
But in doing so, she can only hope the wonderful DS Raymond Collins and DC Sarah Eastly don’t delve too much into her own chequered history... after all, who said retirees are dull?
For lovers of Richard Osman, Tom Hindle, and Ian Moore – Judith Spears is cosy crime that will put a smile on your face.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - “A real giggle that shows age makes us have more fun!” - READER REVIEW
- GenresMystery
214 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 17, 2024
183 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 19, 2023
Too many typos. Someone should proofread before publishing.
April 5, 2024
This could have been 4 🌟, had the editing been better. There were words missing, extra words, even the wrong character mentioned. Proper editing would have elevated this story for me.
November 18, 2023
I had to DNF this around page 70. It was a book crying out for a good editor and proof reader, and I just couldn't keep wading through the mistakes.
April 10, 2024
Needs to be Edited
Book needs to be edited. Too often sentences have missing words or incorrect words to be read easily. I couldn't wait for the take to end
Book needs to be edited. Too often sentences have missing words or incorrect words to be read easily. I couldn't wait for the take to end
July 6, 2024
Traditional English Country Mystery
Sam Oman has created a wonderful addition to the English Mystery with his Judith Spears Mystery series, one I throughly enjoyed. I will admit and I have to agree with lots of other reviewers that the book is sorely in need of a good editor. Wrong words used, awkward sentence structure, impede the flow of the story. The story itself involves a country estate, a dysfunctional family, and a female protagonist with a mysterious past. Where some people have felt the character was underdeveloped, I found it an interesting way to build interest and look forward to learning more about her. This was a fun enjoyable read.
Sam Oman has created a wonderful addition to the English Mystery with his Judith Spears Mystery series, one I throughly enjoyed. I will admit and I have to agree with lots of other reviewers that the book is sorely in need of a good editor. Wrong words used, awkward sentence structure, impede the flow of the story. The story itself involves a country estate, a dysfunctional family, and a female protagonist with a mysterious past. Where some people have felt the character was underdeveloped, I found it an interesting way to build interest and look forward to learning more about her. This was a fun enjoyable read.
February 25, 2024
Who killed Richard Hardman and why??? He was worth more dead than alive??? Tax evasion??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.
April 5, 2024
A Brilliant Mystery
The characters were well developed. The writing was very clever and entertaining. This was probably one of the most air tight story lines. A fun read!
The characters were well developed. The writing was very clever and entertaining. This was probably one of the most air tight story lines. A fun read!
April 9, 2024
A great new character with a little mystery of her own...
November 29, 2024
Charming, enjoyable.
August 16, 2025
Not a bad storyline, although I found Judith annoying. A party at the grandest house in the village, a death and Judith inserts herself into the investigation.
August 26, 2025
Excellent story telling. Kept me on my toes trying to figure out who was guilty. Can't wait to read the next one plus I really want to know what Judith is hiding
November 18, 2025
Poor Judith Spears just was not up to Mrs Pollifax! She also needed an editor worthy of the task as this novel was sorely in need of a red pen!
February 23, 2025
It was really hard to get past ALL the spelling/grammatical errors. But the story was nice.
May 15, 2025
Who is Sam Oman? Male, female or AI? A thorough internet search has turned up zero information. A couple of sites say there is a bio, but one doesn’t exist, just a “Follow the Author” button. I don’t wish to follow them, just find out who they are. This author appears to have no social media presence, no website, and no contact details anywhere.
The protagonist, Judith Spears, is described as an early retiree. Judith is an amateur sleuth, of sorts, who becomes involved in trying to solve the murder of the father of a TV celebrity whose personal life is best with problems. At age 56, Judith is often referred to as old, wrinkly or an “old trout.” Maybe S. Oman is a Millennial or Gen Z author who has ageism issues.
This appears to be a clumsy attempt at self-publishing. There are inconsistencies, spelling errors, grammar errors, punctuation errors, structural problems, and incorrect references. Miss Marple is referred to as “Madame,” a married woman’s title. There are way too many bad similes. The storyline itself is okay, as the focus bounces back and forth amongst various family members as to who is the perpetrator of the crime. The end of the book focuses on Judith Spears’ real identity, just a hint, which is presumably further explored in Book 2 in the series. It’s an amateur work that needs a lot of editing to correct the many errors, as other reviewers have pointed out.
The protagonist, Judith Spears, is described as an early retiree. Judith is an amateur sleuth, of sorts, who becomes involved in trying to solve the murder of the father of a TV celebrity whose personal life is best with problems. At age 56, Judith is often referred to as old, wrinkly or an “old trout.” Maybe S. Oman is a Millennial or Gen Z author who has ageism issues.
This appears to be a clumsy attempt at self-publishing. There are inconsistencies, spelling errors, grammar errors, punctuation errors, structural problems, and incorrect references. Miss Marple is referred to as “Madame,” a married woman’s title. There are way too many bad similes. The storyline itself is okay, as the focus bounces back and forth amongst various family members as to who is the perpetrator of the crime. The end of the book focuses on Judith Spears’ real identity, just a hint, which is presumably further explored in Book 2 in the series. It’s an amateur work that needs a lot of editing to correct the many errors, as other reviewers have pointed out.
January 16, 2024
Story's not bad, and the people mostly work as characters, but the level of grammar and spelling mistakes is really high. Some of the sentences are garbled, some of the words homophones for what they should be, people change gender in the middle of a sentence, verbs are missed out so you have to guess what happened. At least it should have been read through before publication to lose the most egregious errors...
Skip-reading helped as I didn't read every word that way. So, good plot, awful editing, basically.
Skip-reading helped as I didn't read every word that way. So, good plot, awful editing, basically.
March 16, 2024
needs an editor
This book is in desperate need of an editor. Extra words in sentences, poor grammar, incorrect words, and typos abound. Other than that, it seems to pick up in the middle of the series with relationships already established but scant background. I liked the characters and dialogue, though, so gave it a decent grade. If the author wants a proofreader, I volunteer for the job 😁
This book is in desperate need of an editor. Extra words in sentences, poor grammar, incorrect words, and typos abound. Other than that, it seems to pick up in the middle of the series with relationships already established but scant background. I liked the characters and dialogue, though, so gave it a decent grade. If the author wants a proofreader, I volunteer for the job 😁
November 18, 2023
Who is the mysterious Judith Spears? I did have a hard time getting into this book, but I continued and I really did enjoy it. Judith, along with DS Collins and DC Eastly, had to go through numerous twists and turns until they finally found out the truth. Did Richard Hardman die accidentally or was it murder. Read the book and find out, and try and find out who Judith really is.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews