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Highclere Inn & Carriage House Mysteries #1
A Box of Frogs
An electric fence, a beautiful cryptic box, and the wildest goose chase this side of Muskoka. The Valentines’ world is about to be zapped with a bolt of mayhem and mystery!
When centenarian Senator Miles “The Tank” Valentine meets an electrifying end at his own resort, Highclere Inn & Carriage House, the shocks are just beginning. The arrival of a mystery box, posthumously sent by the Senator’s long-deceased first wife, Lady Jean Valentine, sets off a series of comical calamities and dramatic conspiracies that touch everyone from Highclere’s aging quirky guests to its staff and neighbors.
Enter the Senator's grandson, the self-described “fabulous” Mason Valentine, and his investigative journalist cousin, Cordelia “Cici” Bradshaw, tasked with unraveling a web of family intrigue thicker than a lake effect fog.
Witty banter flies faster than a loon’s call as “A Box of Frogs” bounds from page to page, oscillating between outrageous humor, a twisty-turny mystery, quiet ruminations, gripping suspense, and a cast that's—as Lady Valentine herself would say—crazier than a box of frogs.
This is one amusing, insightful, and unexpected caper where solving the puzzle could mean finding more than what you bargained for.
As Mason and Cici will soon find out, sometimes the biggest mysteries in life don’t fit neatly inside a box.
When centenarian Senator Miles “The Tank” Valentine meets an electrifying end at his own resort, Highclere Inn & Carriage House, the shocks are just beginning. The arrival of a mystery box, posthumously sent by the Senator’s long-deceased first wife, Lady Jean Valentine, sets off a series of comical calamities and dramatic conspiracies that touch everyone from Highclere’s aging quirky guests to its staff and neighbors.
Enter the Senator's grandson, the self-described “fabulous” Mason Valentine, and his investigative journalist cousin, Cordelia “Cici” Bradshaw, tasked with unraveling a web of family intrigue thicker than a lake effect fog.
Witty banter flies faster than a loon’s call as “A Box of Frogs” bounds from page to page, oscillating between outrageous humor, a twisty-turny mystery, quiet ruminations, gripping suspense, and a cast that's—as Lady Valentine herself would say—crazier than a box of frogs.
This is one amusing, insightful, and unexpected caper where solving the puzzle could mean finding more than what you bargained for.
As Mason and Cici will soon find out, sometimes the biggest mysteries in life don’t fit neatly inside a box.
- GenresMystery
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 22, 2024
86 people are currently reading
1200 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 20, 2025
Josh Hellyer's A Box of Frogs is a fun, if sometimes slightly flawed, mystery romp.
Let me start with the good stuff...
The engaging leads, Mason and Cici, draw the reader into their investigation of the family patriarch’s suspicious death and the ensuing family drama surrounding their grandmother's inheritance. Given how spoiled some of the characters might come across as, the author does well to draw you in and make you care. Plus there is a ton of witty banter, which, for me, is a highlight. I also enjoyed the vividly described setting of the Highclere Inn & Carriage House Resort on Lake Belvedere. And, hang on as you get towards the end, as the story hits with a cool twist!
And yet, the humor… Yes, I praised the witty banter above, but humor is such a hard thing to pitch perfectly, given how subjective hunor is. For me, while it mostly hit, it did occasionally miss the mark and feel overdone. Quips sometimes come out like bullets, with little time for the cleverness to have been formed and enunciated. Which rather mirrors a lot of TV writing these days.
Be aware, too, of the large cast of characters. Not necessarily an actual issue, but forewarned is forearmed. We all know how easy it is to be distracted by life, and when you have a large cast, it can be difficult to recall precisely who is who and what their roles are. Don’t worry too much, though, as the entire cast, and their relationships to other characters, is listed at the beginning. So if you find yourself wondering, don’t forget the list!
There’s a lot to like here, and a lot goes on! The interesting main and supporting characters should hold you all the way, throughout the engaging plot and by story’s end, you’ll likely find A Box of Frogs (super title, by the way—that and the cover are what drew me to this in the first place) an enjoyable read. Think Knives Out meets Scooby Doo (I know!) meets Downton Abby and buckle up for the ride :).
Thanks to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for the chance to ride through this ARC all the way to the end!
Let me start with the good stuff...
The engaging leads, Mason and Cici, draw the reader into their investigation of the family patriarch’s suspicious death and the ensuing family drama surrounding their grandmother's inheritance. Given how spoiled some of the characters might come across as, the author does well to draw you in and make you care. Plus there is a ton of witty banter, which, for me, is a highlight. I also enjoyed the vividly described setting of the Highclere Inn & Carriage House Resort on Lake Belvedere. And, hang on as you get towards the end, as the story hits with a cool twist!
And yet, the humor… Yes, I praised the witty banter above, but humor is such a hard thing to pitch perfectly, given how subjective hunor is. For me, while it mostly hit, it did occasionally miss the mark and feel overdone. Quips sometimes come out like bullets, with little time for the cleverness to have been formed and enunciated. Which rather mirrors a lot of TV writing these days.
Be aware, too, of the large cast of characters. Not necessarily an actual issue, but forewarned is forearmed. We all know how easy it is to be distracted by life, and when you have a large cast, it can be difficult to recall precisely who is who and what their roles are. Don’t worry too much, though, as the entire cast, and their relationships to other characters, is listed at the beginning. So if you find yourself wondering, don’t forget the list!
There’s a lot to like here, and a lot goes on! The interesting main and supporting characters should hold you all the way, throughout the engaging plot and by story’s end, you’ll likely find A Box of Frogs (super title, by the way—that and the cover are what drew me to this in the first place) an enjoyable read. Think Knives Out meets Scooby Doo (I know!) meets Downton Abby and buckle up for the ride :).
Thanks to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for the chance to ride through this ARC all the way to the end!
October 22, 2024
It’s a rare find for a book to have a great mystery, be laugh-out-loud funny, and to have so much heart. A Box of Frogs was definitely a reading highlight for me for 2024!
December 31, 2024
When their patriarch dies under suspicious circumstances, long-held secrets threaten a family's inheritance and their lives.
A Box of Frogs by Josh Hellyer is a thrillingly complex domestic mystery about the aftermath of the suspicious death of former Senator Miles "The Tank" Valentine and the impact on his surviving family members. When the children from his first marriage are completely and unexpectedly cut out of his will, including bequests left to them by their long-deceased mother and supposedly held in trust by their father, it falls to grandson Mason Valentine and his cousin, investigative reporter Cordelia "Cici" Bradshaw to dig up the truth.
Mason and Cici are such likable and engaging characters; it was easy to be drawn into their investigation and family drama, rooting for them all the way. They were genuinely kind people, not begrudging their father's widow's inheritance and only questioning those issues related to their grandmother's assets, at least until they discovered how little of their grandfather's fortune remained for her. The two worked well together while independently pursuing different leads regarding the estate. Their clever and witty dialogue was a definite highlight of the book. I enjoyed this large, extended family and their circle of elderly friends who had spent so much time staying at the family's resort over numerous decades.The setting for the story is the Highclere Inn & Carriage House Resort, the Valentine family's 150-year-old resort on the shores of fictional Lake Belvedere in the Muskoka region of Central Ontario, Canada. The descriptions of the property, the cottages and outbuildings, and the family burial plot were vivid and beautifully evocative of all four seasons of the year timeframe of the story. I could clearly visualize where the action was occurring, the casual family holidays, the somber (and surreal) memorial service for the former Senator, and the thrilling and exhilarating final reveal, as if I were seeing things firsthand.
The plot is intriguing and deceptively simple, gradually revealing its actual complexity layer by eye-opening layer. Several characters are offered up as possible suspects throughout, and it was mesmerizing watching Mason and Cici separate the red herrings from who was really pulling the strings behind the scenes. Just when I had a theory in mind, some plot twist would send it out the window. I enjoyed the incorporation of pop cultural references sprinkled along the way. The story was compelling and full of surprises, and the tragic eleventh-hour resolution was absolutely thrilling.With its engaging protagonists and intricate, well-paced plot, I highly recommend A BOX OF FROGS to mystery and thriller readers.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.
abandoned
November 30, 2024I was really excited to receive an ARC of this book: family drama set in Muskoka, yes please! While it started off well with Lady V and her love of Golden Retrievers (another win for me), it quickly deteriorated for this reader. It’s actively annoying me to the point where I have to stop reading. DNF @ 26%.
👎 No strong sense of time or place: I requested because I love Muskoka and was keen to spend time there in fiction, but the sense of place was so under-utilized this could’ve been set anywhere. Naming the hotel Highclere (Downton Abbey’s IRL namesake) was a confusing choice. The book often felt more British than Canadian. Also, more historic than modern?!
👎 The characters were boring, pretentious, and awful: the MMC Mason is profoundly annoying and immature. While I liked Cici more, I really struggled to empathize or care about these entitled middle-aged children squabbling about an inheritance. It didn’t feel very high stakes to me and I wasn’t invested in the story. It felt more like a personal diary where the perceived injustice doesn’t translate to the real world. I kinda hoped the horrid family would lose out.
👎 I found the writing and storytelling distractingly poor:
• Very unnatural dialogue: sometimes characters are overly verbose or formal using awkward turns of phrase that sound so jarring as speech; other times, it’s just over-the-top embarrassing. At any rate, people don’t talk like this. It was also bizarre how old-fashioned and outdated the English characters' dialogue and communications were.
• There wasn’t a change of tone across mediums: speech, emails, texts, narrative all sounded the same. The emails were basically just a vehicle for info-dumps.
• Extraneous and laboured scenes that don’t add anything except noise. Scenes ideally would enrich characterization or move the plot forward; there were many here that did neither (two pages talking about vaginas?). Tighter, more intentional writing may have improved the slow pace and kept the story front and centre.
• Writing felt very clunky with stilted language, poor phrasing, and lack of coherence. Could benefit from more robust editing and consistency checking (for example: they call the Met Police at least three different names; Canadian characters likely wouldn't put those weird Xs in texts, that’s an English thing).
• The humour was sarcastic and juvenile: I got the impression the author thought they were hilarious but none of it landed for me, it was just annoying.
• There’s a lot of repetition and reintroduction of characters, as if the author can’t trust the readers to remember them.
I was so disappointed this didn’t work for me. 🤷♀️
I had my request to review this book approved by MapleCrest Press on NetGalley.
👎 No strong sense of time or place: I requested because I love Muskoka and was keen to spend time there in fiction, but the sense of place was so under-utilized this could’ve been set anywhere. Naming the hotel Highclere (Downton Abbey’s IRL namesake) was a confusing choice. The book often felt more British than Canadian. Also, more historic than modern?!
👎 The characters were boring, pretentious, and awful: the MMC Mason is profoundly annoying and immature. While I liked Cici more, I really struggled to empathize or care about these entitled middle-aged children squabbling about an inheritance. It didn’t feel very high stakes to me and I wasn’t invested in the story. It felt more like a personal diary where the perceived injustice doesn’t translate to the real world. I kinda hoped the horrid family would lose out.
👎 I found the writing and storytelling distractingly poor:
• Very unnatural dialogue: sometimes characters are overly verbose or formal using awkward turns of phrase that sound so jarring as speech; other times, it’s just over-the-top embarrassing. At any rate, people don’t talk like this. It was also bizarre how old-fashioned and outdated the English characters' dialogue and communications were.
• There wasn’t a change of tone across mediums: speech, emails, texts, narrative all sounded the same. The emails were basically just a vehicle for info-dumps.
• Extraneous and laboured scenes that don’t add anything except noise. Scenes ideally would enrich characterization or move the plot forward; there were many here that did neither (two pages talking about vaginas?). Tighter, more intentional writing may have improved the slow pace and kept the story front and centre.
• Writing felt very clunky with stilted language, poor phrasing, and lack of coherence. Could benefit from more robust editing and consistency checking (for example: they call the Met Police at least three different names; Canadian characters likely wouldn't put those weird Xs in texts, that’s an English thing).
• The humour was sarcastic and juvenile: I got the impression the author thought they were hilarious but none of it landed for me, it was just annoying.
• There’s a lot of repetition and reintroduction of characters, as if the author can’t trust the readers to remember them.
I was so disappointed this didn’t work for me. 🤷♀️
I had my request to review this book approved by MapleCrest Press on NetGalley.
December 13, 2024
I really wanted to enjoy this, but by the end I did not. I would have DNF'd but was too invested in the "who done it" aspect. That is why I gave it two stars - the plot twist was superb. A real Scooby-Do adventure, complete with a van, running around a mansion, and even a magical door.
I also love people who have quick wit and can retort on a dime, but it was grossly overdone. The Will & Grace stereotypical, queer banter was comedic at first but made me sigh and roll my eyes as time went on. Unfortunately, it wasn't just from the MC but from most of the people he interacted with. Too much of a good thing does not equal better.
Speaking of too much, there were way too many characters in this book for my personal liking. In the author's defense, he did present a (long) list of characters in the beginning, so that is on me.
Pros:
- Great Plot Twist
- World building (though at times too much)
- Banter (also at times very excessive)
Cons:
- Overdone character quips
- Several meaningless conversations or side stories that had nothing to do with the story.
- Too many characters, and most were unlikeable
Art is always subjective, and literature (thankfully) is art.
happy reading.
I also love people who have quick wit and can retort on a dime, but it was grossly overdone. The Will & Grace stereotypical, queer banter was comedic at first but made me sigh and roll my eyes as time went on. Unfortunately, it wasn't just from the MC but from most of the people he interacted with. Too much of a good thing does not equal better.
Speaking of too much, there were way too many characters in this book for my personal liking. In the author's defense, he did present a (long) list of characters in the beginning, so that is on me.
Pros:
- Great Plot Twist
- World building (though at times too much)
- Banter (also at times very excessive)
Cons:
- Overdone character quips
- Several meaningless conversations or side stories that had nothing to do with the story.
- Too many characters, and most were unlikeable
Art is always subjective, and literature (thankfully) is art.
happy reading.
October 23, 2025
Great plot. Interesting setting. But the dialogue was SO abysmal I almost stopped reading the book a few times. What are (I assume) supposed to be witty 'bon mots' are not so much inserted into the dialogue as they are rammed, crammed and slammed into the dialogue. What is supposed to be droll banter back-and-forth between the characters comes across as forced, stilted and embarrassingly fake. And the main character?......Imagine Mr. Humphries from 'Are You Being Served' merged with Jack from 'Will & Grace'....camp so far 'over the top' that it has has left earth's field of gravity. As I read this book, I felt like I was reading a screenplay for a bad episode of Schitz Creek....as I turned the last page I half expected to hear one of those slate movie board-hinged things clap shut with a yell 'that's a wrap!'. Plot:5 Dialogue:1 Overall:3
December 11, 2025
This was a fun mystery! There were great characters, but there were a LOT of characters. The total count mentioned at the beginning in The Cast of Characters, was 37. My favorite character was Mason. He was a Guncle, and a fun one at that! There was a good amount of humor in the book, some of it rather adult. It was a fast read and it kept you guessing throughout the story.
My biggest problem with the book is that is just seems it took too long, and that wasn't even down to the very descriptive passages on just about everything. It just felt as if it overstayed its welcome a bit, so for that it earns 3 stars. However, the humor and the very intricate puzzles, bring the book up to 3.5 stars.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.
My biggest problem with the book is that is just seems it took too long, and that wasn't even down to the very descriptive passages on just about everything. It just felt as if it overstayed its welcome a bit, so for that it earns 3 stars. However, the humor and the very intricate puzzles, bring the book up to 3.5 stars.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.
March 2, 2025
A Box of Frogs by Josh Hellyer is a compelling tale of blackmail, family secrets, and a possible murder and it is one completely original, complex, and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny mystery. I won’t say it’s perfect. There is a huge cast of characters, many of whom are the embodiment of the title, and it was hard at times to keep their relationships straight. Still, despite this, I found it extremely entertaining and it kept me up reading long into the night. This is the first book in the Highclere Inn & Carriage House Mysteries and I look forward to many more in the series.
Thanks to Netgalley and MapleCrest Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
Thanks to Netgalley and MapleCrest Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
June 6, 2025
I enjoyed this book once I'd got into it. It's a good mystery yarn with some nice twists and red herrings along the way. I particularly liked the characters, Mason and Cici. But there were way too many characters and complexities for my simple brain to keep up.
Also, the writing is very dialogue tag heavy, and some of the more risque, (crude) passages could have been edited out to give a much sharper, funnier and easier to follow book.
Also, the writing is very dialogue tag heavy, and some of the more risque, (crude) passages could have been edited out to give a much sharper, funnier and easier to follow book.
July 22, 2025
I laughed out loud. I read too quickly and had to back up and re-read. so many plot twists. So many red herrings. Haven't re-read a book in forever, however this is one that i just might read again for the pleasure of knowing what's true, what's false, and where the garden path is leading the reader. Loved it. Can't wait for the next book. And even better that Josh Hellyer is a Canadian author, and originally from my own backyard.
Alayne Sokoloski, Brantford, Ontario
Alayne Sokoloski, Brantford, Ontario
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December 20, 2025A Delightfully Twisty Cozy Mystery
A Box of Frogs is an absolute joy! Josh Hellyer crafts a clever, engaging story full of humor, family drama, and mystery. Mason Valentine and Cordelia “Cici” Bradshaw are wonderfully likable protagonists, and the quirky extended family adds depth and charm. The plot is twisty and unpredictable, keeping you guessing until the very end. The vivid Muskoka setting makes the story come alive. A must-read for cozy mystery lovers!
A Box of Frogs is an absolute joy! Josh Hellyer crafts a clever, engaging story full of humor, family drama, and mystery. Mason Valentine and Cordelia “Cici” Bradshaw are wonderfully likable protagonists, and the quirky extended family adds depth and charm. The plot is twisty and unpredictable, keeping you guessing until the very end. The vivid Muskoka setting makes the story come alive. A must-read for cozy mystery lovers!
December 17, 2024
I thought this was a fun romp of a mystery. I really enjoyed the male and female main characters, and most of the time, I laughed along with the humor. However, there were times the humor didn't work quite as well for me, and I got bogged down sometimes with the large cast of characters. Overall, I enjoyed my time and would be interested in more books from this author.
February 12, 2025
Too many characters and way too long. There are some books that you never want to end, this was not one of them. It just seemed to go on and on, with so much stuff repeated over and over. I think the whole story could have been told in 1/2 the time. I read this for a book club I am in, but would not recommend it.
April 15, 2025
This book is, for the most part, a jumbled mess - multiple convoluted plot lines, too many characters to keep track of, a wandering narrative style and an overwrought suspenseful climax. It does have a couple of redeeming features to earn it two stars. The main character, Mason Valentin, is intelligent, quirky and interesting and there is note of humour throughout the book. Not recommended.
November 16, 2025
Overall I enjoyed this book. Reading an ebook left me unable to easily access the cast of characters, and with the sheer volume, it was a little frustrating at times.
The plot was possibly a bit over- complicated, but lots of fun, and I really loved Mason and Cici.
One question remains, though. Where did the cows come from and why were they part of the story?
The plot was possibly a bit over- complicated, but lots of fun, and I really loved Mason and Cici.
One question remains, though. Where did the cows come from and why were they part of the story?
April 7, 2025
A lovely, funny and engaging romp through the history of an extremely dysfunctional family with a load of secrets. Lots of red herrings and diversions but ultimately a very satisfying murder mystery.
June 29, 2025
Just when you think you've figured it out....
The characters are a wacky bunch-- a real box of frogs as Lady V would put it. You'll keep turning pages to follow all the twists and turns
The characters are a wacky bunch-- a real box of frogs as Lady V would put it. You'll keep turning pages to follow all the twists and turns
July 28, 2025
a fun mystery
I read this book because I am familiar with the Muskoka area and wanted a mystery with some comedy. Well written with quirky characters. But I found it a tad long although it will not deter me from reading book 2. Looking forward to the next adventure.
I read this book because I am familiar with the Muskoka area and wanted a mystery with some comedy. Well written with quirky characters. But I found it a tad long although it will not deter me from reading book 2. Looking forward to the next adventure.
February 18, 2025
An enjoyable mystery that had me from page one until the end. Lots of humor, a good plot and some really crazy characters made this an entertaining read.
November 30, 2025
📚📚📚📚📚
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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