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Ellie Kent Mystery #1
Under an English Heaven
"Anglophiles, especially, will adore this book's many pleasures." — Kirkus Reviews
"Not only is Alice Boatwright a good detective writer, but a first-class storyteller as well."— M.C. Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin mysteries
In Under an English Heaven, the first Ellie Kent mystery, Ellie has left behind her college teaching job and life in San Francisco to marry a handsome widowed vicar and live in a Cotswold village. At first, she thinks her biggest challenge will be to gain acceptance from the villagers as a foreigner and "incomer." But, when she discovers a dead man in the churchyard, her outsider status leads to her becoming the prime suspect in his murder. To prove her innocence, Ellie finds she must draw on her research skills to unravel a web of decades-old secrets before more people die—and her new life unravels too.
Winner of the 2016 Mystery and Mayhem Grand Prize
"Not only is Alice Boatwright a good detective writer, but a first-class storyteller as well."— M.C. Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin mysteries
In Under an English Heaven, the first Ellie Kent mystery, Ellie has left behind her college teaching job and life in San Francisco to marry a handsome widowed vicar and live in a Cotswold village. At first, she thinks her biggest challenge will be to gain acceptance from the villagers as a foreigner and "incomer." But, when she discovers a dead man in the churchyard, her outsider status leads to her becoming the prime suspect in his murder. To prove her innocence, Ellie finds she must draw on her research skills to unravel a web of decades-old secrets before more people die—and her new life unravels too.
Winner of the 2016 Mystery and Mayhem Grand Prize
259 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 2014
2279 people are currently reading
3042 people want to read
About the author
Alice K. Boatwright
11 books184 followersAlice K. Boatwright is the author of award-winning mysteries and literary fiction. Her mysteries about the skeptical American Ellie Kent, who marries a handsome English vicar and moves to his Cotswold village, have generated an enthusiastic following. The stories draw on the author's own experiences as an ex-pat living in an English village – as well as her longstanding love of English culture, literature, and history.
The first book in the series, UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN, won 2016 Mystery & Mayhem Grand Prize for best mystery; and WHAT CHILD IS THIS? (Book 2) has become a popular Christmas read. IN THE LIFE EVER AFTER (Book 3) was published in January 2024.
In August 2019, a new edition of Alice's first book, COLLATERAL DAMAGE, was released by Standing Stone Books in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Winner of the 2013 bronze medal for literary fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, COLLATERAL DAMAGE is three novellas about this divisive era told from the perspective of those who fought, those who resisted, and the family and friends caught in the crossfire between them.
Alice is also the author of a chapbook of stories about the San Juan islands, SEA, SKY, ISLANDS; and, in 2022, she established Firefly Ink Books to publish stories that families and friends can read together. The first book, MRS. POTTS FINDS THANKSGIVING, was released in August 2022.
After 10 years of living in England and France, Alice now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, where she is active in the writing community as a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and PEN America. She is also the convenor for the North America chapter of the UK’s Crime Writers Association.
To keep up Alice’s latest activities, sign up for her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cER4Cj
You can follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aliceboatwright; Instagram at www.instagram.com/alicek.boatwright/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/alice.boatwr...
The first book in the series, UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN, won 2016 Mystery & Mayhem Grand Prize for best mystery; and WHAT CHILD IS THIS? (Book 2) has become a popular Christmas read. IN THE LIFE EVER AFTER (Book 3) was published in January 2024.
In August 2019, a new edition of Alice's first book, COLLATERAL DAMAGE, was released by Standing Stone Books in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Winner of the 2013 bronze medal for literary fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, COLLATERAL DAMAGE is three novellas about this divisive era told from the perspective of those who fought, those who resisted, and the family and friends caught in the crossfire between them.
Alice is also the author of a chapbook of stories about the San Juan islands, SEA, SKY, ISLANDS; and, in 2022, she established Firefly Ink Books to publish stories that families and friends can read together. The first book, MRS. POTTS FINDS THANKSGIVING, was released in August 2022.
After 10 years of living in England and France, Alice now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, where she is active in the writing community as a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and PEN America. She is also the convenor for the North America chapter of the UK’s Crime Writers Association.
To keep up Alice’s latest activities, sign up for her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cER4Cj
You can follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aliceboatwright; Instagram at www.instagram.com/alicek.boatwright/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/alice.boatwr...
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September 26, 2022
Which is a great title, isn't it? Of course I bought it.
Unfortunately, I hated it.
No, that's not accurate; it really wasn't bad, in terms of writing or all the usual reasons a book is bad. I liked some of the writing – the description of the burning of the Guy was vivid, for example. I didn't *hate* it. I just really, really didn't like it. At all.
The idea is this: an English vicar, Graham, goes on sabbatical in California, comes home married; his first wife died a little while ago. New American wife, Ellie, formerly a college English professor, must now adapt to trying to live up to the memory of the beloved dead wife, drinking tea, filling the role of Vicar's Wife, and driving on the left. Meanwhile, on Halloween, an old man is murdered, and Ellie finds the body in the graveyard, and through a series of unlikely yet believable events becomes a person of great interest to the police.
Given that the book opens a few months after the wedding, when they've moved together into the home Graham formerly shared with Wife #1, I have all sorts of problems with that summary. How long have they in fact been married? Don't know. How long ago did they move in? I don't know. How long has the first wife been dead? I don't know. If I was told any of this in the text (and I admit it possibly was without my registering it) I didn't retain the information, and afterward I had no interest in going hunting. I should know. They're kind of important pieces of information; it all plays a big part in how I'm supposed to feel about Graham, and how the villagers can be expected to look at Ellie. She's gone for years? Okay, he's still young (I assume – I don't know), good for him. She's gone for months? I hope he's dead by the end of the book. Next, the daughter: how old is she? I don't know. She's away at school for most of the book – but that could be any age above say six. Contextually she seems to be a teenager or older – say thirteen or up. Again, I should know. It matters.
Even the description of the girl refuses to give her age – or coloration, or anything else useful: "Isabelle was not as tall as Ellie, but nearly, and, as they hugged, her bones felt fragile and light beneath the skimpy clothes she wore: a cropped sweater and skintight jeans. She had Louise's beautiful fine features and clear fresh complexion, but Graham's lankiness and shining intelligent eyes." Thanks, that's marvelous. It's well put – but …
This is a cozy sort of a mystery – in that it takes place in a sweet English village, and the vicar's wife investigates the death of an old man who seems to be unknown and unimportant to anyone in the place. This should mean that one of the main reasons to read it would be the characters. Unfortunately, for me they were the worst part of the book. Graham, the vicar, is a nonentity. I can't imagine why Ellie would marry him; he's introduced naked, so perhaps the author thought that would be a shortcut to explaining the attraction: "Look, they just had sex! He must be worth giving up everything for!" But he fades into the wallpaper, even naked – except when he is being an ass. That observation comprises quite a few of the notes I made on the Kindle, just a one-word comment on some of his actions (like showing signs of believing his new wife could be a murderer): "ass". There is an incident with a bouquet of flowers relating to the anniversary of the first wife's death, which Ellie mistook as being for her, and that was just altogether moronic, pointless, and annoying.
The rest of the villagers are an unpleasant lot; the children are hooligans, and the adults are snide or standoffish, except for another "incomer", a gay shopowner who strikes up a friendship with Ellie. Well, after a while it starts to morph into friendship; it starts out with him making snide or outright insulting remarks and taking his dead ex-partner's golden retriever everywhere, including church. (Really?)
The police are just antisocial thugs. I don't know what to think about them.
I don't want to think too much about the silly bint who names her child "Dolphin".
And Ellie, Our Heroine? You know how most of my comments about his vicarness amounted to "ass"? Most of my comments about Ellie amounted to "bitch". The reader is expected to believe that she was a professor of English literature, specializing in Jane Austen apparently, when she met Graham, fell in love, and dropped her entire life to move across the ocean to become the vicar's wife of a smallish village. What I would expect would be something like clear evidence of a huge and overwhelming love between the two of them, which would explain the vicar's sudden emergence from grieving his beloved first wife as well as Ellie's willingness to abruptly cut loose from family, friends, career, country. Continent. I would also expect something from Ellie along the lines of "I've been reading about England all my life now OMG I'm living here hey this isn't Jane Austen's England"… I would expect her to be one of the most sympathetic characters I've read in a long time, with her study of the role of gossip in the novels of Jane Austen.
Instead, there is nothing about Ellie's decision to cut all her ties and relocate. She seems thoroughly unwilling to do anything expected of her as a vicar's wife, and indeed comes off as thoroughly heartless, warbling Beatles songs in the car as she drives (probably on the wrong side of the road) to the home of a family that has just lost a child. There is nothing about giving up her career (of how many years, I don't know – how old is *she* supposed to be, anyway?), or leaving family and friends – except that she seems to be avoiding their emails (scrolling past "urgent messages" – really? REALLY??); why? I don't know. (And why doesn't anyone call her?) How does she feel about becoming a step-mother to an-I-don't-know-how-old girl, other than awkward? I don't know. All I know is she hates driving or even riding in a car on the left side of the road, and occasionally mourns her former diet of tofu and such.
For the matter of that, what color is her hair? I don't know. Eyes? Don't know. Age range? Don't know. (This, by the way, all goes for every character in the book. While sometimes descriptions can get irritating, a complete lack of description is worse. For the most part there is only a précis of what someone is wearing, and maybe a general impression.) Siblings? Don't know. Best friend from home? Don't know. Dogs or cats? Hopefully dogs since her husband has one, but – don't know. (Although she looks askance at a golden retriever, and without reason asks if it is "in the habit of attacking people", so she doesn't sound like a dog person.) She meanders into her new life with a combination of resentfulness and extreme touchiness on the subject of her predecessor (and no help at all from hubby there)(at all), condescending distaste for the habits and customs and beef stew of the people by who she is now surrounded and a near-complete lack of real willingness to make an effort, and a general air of "I am so much smarter than all of you, and I eat tofu, and I can't believe you people believe in God – I'm American, get over it and get stuffed." Which isn't, I wouldn't think, a good attitude to take with the cops.
And defensive and touchy as she is over being questioned by the police, it never occurs to her to make sure a lawyer is at her side.
"Nothing in her marriage vows had mentioned baking!"
My note – and you can tell it's deeply annoyed, given the length when I had to hunt and peck: "for god's sake any idiot can make cookies and if you don't want to then damn well don't and smile and tell the old bats so".
Her scholarship is … frankly ridiculous. "Her whole career had been focused on prising out information about who writers were from what they wrote" – which is how all those people get tangled up about whether a certain playwright actually wrote what he wrote. Speaking of whom: "'All the world's a stage,' she thought, was clearly written by someone who had lived in an English village." Yes, clever clogs. In Stratford. What a startling observation by an English lit professor.
Honestly, I found her intelligence questionable:
"Graham said it never worked to pray for results. You had to pray for acceptance of the results, whatever they were. Ellie could not understand that. What kind of magic was that?"
Er… magic and faith: actually not the same thing.
"It wasn't her fault that she didn't fit in and probably never would. She had tried."
Was too. Did not.
And her jealousy is horrendous. She's as jealous of Dead First Wife as if she'd been named Rebecca, jealous of step-daughter Isabelle's relationship with Graham (since she herself has a less than great relationship with her own father, and because Graham has the temerity to want to spend time with Iseabelle). It's all at a level that one might expect in a gothic novel.
The writing was better than some … but then again it wasn't always. There is a eulogy that made my toes curl, and not in a good way. Then there were things like "'I don't know why these old girls are so attached to scatter rugs. I mean the name says it all, don't it?'" No… if you mean they're slippery, no, it doesn't.
It's a little sad that up till late in the book I was rooting for a solution that amounted to Graham dead and Ellie standing over him red-handed, having previously killed the other victims in the village as well as a string of others back in the States. Oh well. And it's a shame; there are moments here that I really did like: that unlikely confluence of data and events that makes the police give Ellie some very hard looks was pretty well done, and her fear and horror at how things were falling apart was done pretty well – in the beginning, until it turned into "dammit, I'm from the home of NYPD Blue and CSI, I'm not afraid of you, you're stupid". I actually liked her difficulties with the whole left-side-of-the-road thing; it can't be easy and it can't be fun. But she was so overall horrible that I would have been delighted to see her arrested – or maybe the final murder victim. That would have worked too.
Unfortunately, I hated it.
No, that's not accurate; it really wasn't bad, in terms of writing or all the usual reasons a book is bad. I liked some of the writing – the description of the burning of the Guy was vivid, for example. I didn't *hate* it. I just really, really didn't like it. At all.
The idea is this: an English vicar, Graham, goes on sabbatical in California, comes home married; his first wife died a little while ago. New American wife, Ellie, formerly a college English professor, must now adapt to trying to live up to the memory of the beloved dead wife, drinking tea, filling the role of Vicar's Wife, and driving on the left. Meanwhile, on Halloween, an old man is murdered, and Ellie finds the body in the graveyard, and through a series of unlikely yet believable events becomes a person of great interest to the police.
Given that the book opens a few months after the wedding, when they've moved together into the home Graham formerly shared with Wife #1, I have all sorts of problems with that summary. How long have they in fact been married? Don't know. How long ago did they move in? I don't know. How long has the first wife been dead? I don't know. If I was told any of this in the text (and I admit it possibly was without my registering it) I didn't retain the information, and afterward I had no interest in going hunting. I should know. They're kind of important pieces of information; it all plays a big part in how I'm supposed to feel about Graham, and how the villagers can be expected to look at Ellie. She's gone for years? Okay, he's still young (I assume – I don't know), good for him. She's gone for months? I hope he's dead by the end of the book. Next, the daughter: how old is she? I don't know. She's away at school for most of the book – but that could be any age above say six. Contextually she seems to be a teenager or older – say thirteen or up. Again, I should know. It matters.
Even the description of the girl refuses to give her age – or coloration, or anything else useful: "Isabelle was not as tall as Ellie, but nearly, and, as they hugged, her bones felt fragile and light beneath the skimpy clothes she wore: a cropped sweater and skintight jeans. She had Louise's beautiful fine features and clear fresh complexion, but Graham's lankiness and shining intelligent eyes." Thanks, that's marvelous. It's well put – but …
This is a cozy sort of a mystery – in that it takes place in a sweet English village, and the vicar's wife investigates the death of an old man who seems to be unknown and unimportant to anyone in the place. This should mean that one of the main reasons to read it would be the characters. Unfortunately, for me they were the worst part of the book. Graham, the vicar, is a nonentity. I can't imagine why Ellie would marry him; he's introduced naked, so perhaps the author thought that would be a shortcut to explaining the attraction: "Look, they just had sex! He must be worth giving up everything for!" But he fades into the wallpaper, even naked – except when he is being an ass. That observation comprises quite a few of the notes I made on the Kindle, just a one-word comment on some of his actions (like showing signs of believing his new wife could be a murderer): "ass". There is an incident with a bouquet of flowers relating to the anniversary of the first wife's death, which Ellie mistook as being for her, and that was just altogether moronic, pointless, and annoying.
The rest of the villagers are an unpleasant lot; the children are hooligans, and the adults are snide or standoffish, except for another "incomer", a gay shopowner who strikes up a friendship with Ellie. Well, after a while it starts to morph into friendship; it starts out with him making snide or outright insulting remarks and taking his dead ex-partner's golden retriever everywhere, including church. (Really?)
The police are just antisocial thugs. I don't know what to think about them.
I don't want to think too much about the silly bint who names her child "Dolphin".
And Ellie, Our Heroine? You know how most of my comments about his vicarness amounted to "ass"? Most of my comments about Ellie amounted to "bitch". The reader is expected to believe that she was a professor of English literature, specializing in Jane Austen apparently, when she met Graham, fell in love, and dropped her entire life to move across the ocean to become the vicar's wife of a smallish village. What I would expect would be something like clear evidence of a huge and overwhelming love between the two of them, which would explain the vicar's sudden emergence from grieving his beloved first wife as well as Ellie's willingness to abruptly cut loose from family, friends, career, country. Continent. I would also expect something from Ellie along the lines of "I've been reading about England all my life now OMG I'm living here hey this isn't Jane Austen's England"… I would expect her to be one of the most sympathetic characters I've read in a long time, with her study of the role of gossip in the novels of Jane Austen.
Instead, there is nothing about Ellie's decision to cut all her ties and relocate. She seems thoroughly unwilling to do anything expected of her as a vicar's wife, and indeed comes off as thoroughly heartless, warbling Beatles songs in the car as she drives (probably on the wrong side of the road) to the home of a family that has just lost a child. There is nothing about giving up her career (of how many years, I don't know – how old is *she* supposed to be, anyway?), or leaving family and friends – except that she seems to be avoiding their emails (scrolling past "urgent messages" – really? REALLY??); why? I don't know. (And why doesn't anyone call her?) How does she feel about becoming a step-mother to an-I-don't-know-how-old girl, other than awkward? I don't know. All I know is she hates driving or even riding in a car on the left side of the road, and occasionally mourns her former diet of tofu and such.
For the matter of that, what color is her hair? I don't know. Eyes? Don't know. Age range? Don't know. (This, by the way, all goes for every character in the book. While sometimes descriptions can get irritating, a complete lack of description is worse. For the most part there is only a précis of what someone is wearing, and maybe a general impression.) Siblings? Don't know. Best friend from home? Don't know. Dogs or cats? Hopefully dogs since her husband has one, but – don't know. (Although she looks askance at a golden retriever, and without reason asks if it is "in the habit of attacking people", so she doesn't sound like a dog person.) She meanders into her new life with a combination of resentfulness and extreme touchiness on the subject of her predecessor (and no help at all from hubby there)(at all), condescending distaste for the habits and customs and beef stew of the people by who she is now surrounded and a near-complete lack of real willingness to make an effort, and a general air of "I am so much smarter than all of you, and I eat tofu, and I can't believe you people believe in God – I'm American, get over it and get stuffed." Which isn't, I wouldn't think, a good attitude to take with the cops.
And defensive and touchy as she is over being questioned by the police, it never occurs to her to make sure a lawyer is at her side.
"Nothing in her marriage vows had mentioned baking!"
My note – and you can tell it's deeply annoyed, given the length when I had to hunt and peck: "for god's sake any idiot can make cookies and if you don't want to then damn well don't and smile and tell the old bats so".
Her scholarship is … frankly ridiculous. "Her whole career had been focused on prising out information about who writers were from what they wrote" – which is how all those people get tangled up about whether a certain playwright actually wrote what he wrote. Speaking of whom: "'All the world's a stage,' she thought, was clearly written by someone who had lived in an English village." Yes, clever clogs. In Stratford. What a startling observation by an English lit professor.
Honestly, I found her intelligence questionable:
"Graham said it never worked to pray for results. You had to pray for acceptance of the results, whatever they were. Ellie could not understand that. What kind of magic was that?"
Er… magic and faith: actually not the same thing.
"It wasn't her fault that she didn't fit in and probably never would. She had tried."
Was too. Did not.
And her jealousy is horrendous. She's as jealous of Dead First Wife as if she'd been named Rebecca, jealous of step-daughter Isabelle's relationship with Graham (since she herself has a less than great relationship with her own father, and because Graham has the temerity to want to spend time with Iseabelle). It's all at a level that one might expect in a gothic novel.
The writing was better than some … but then again it wasn't always. There is a eulogy that made my toes curl, and not in a good way. Then there were things like "'I don't know why these old girls are so attached to scatter rugs. I mean the name says it all, don't it?'" No… if you mean they're slippery, no, it doesn't.
It's a little sad that up till late in the book I was rooting for a solution that amounted to Graham dead and Ellie standing over him red-handed, having previously killed the other victims in the village as well as a string of others back in the States. Oh well. And it's a shame; there are moments here that I really did like: that unlikely confluence of data and events that makes the police give Ellie some very hard looks was pretty well done, and her fear and horror at how things were falling apart was done pretty well – in the beginning, until it turned into "dammit, I'm from the home of NYPD Blue and CSI, I'm not afraid of you, you're stupid". I actually liked her difficulties with the whole left-side-of-the-road thing; it can't be easy and it can't be fun. But she was so overall horrible that I would have been delighted to see her arrested – or maybe the final murder victim. That would have worked too.
January 14, 2015
It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit.
----Antoine de Rivarol, a Royalist French writer during the Revolutionary era
Alice K. Boatwright, an American author, entranced me with her cozy mystery novel, Under an English Heaven: An Ellie Kent Mystery , that will keep you guessing through the pages as the main protagonist Ellie searches for the truth behind the murder of a mysterious man.
Synopsis:
When Ellie Kent moves to an English village with her new husband Graham, she fears the villagers will always see her as that young American who snared their attractive vicar during his sabbatical in California. But this challenge is nothing compared to what happens when she stumbles across a body in the churchyard. The villagers insist they don't know the murdered man, so suspicion mounts that the killer must be the incomer - the vicar's new wife. As evidence piles up against her, Ellie tries to stay one step ahead of the police to unravel a decades-old literary mystery and love story. Will others die before she can solve it? And what will be left of her new life and marriage, even if she succeeds?
Ellie Kent is modern and independent woman who in her other life was a literature professor in the US, but in her present she is married to an alluring English vicar in an old English village. From her dressing style to talking style, everything is in contrast with the people of the English Cotswolds. But when people discovered a body of a mysterious on her backyard, it was not hard for them to put their fingers on! But, Ellie is on a mission to clear her name as well as to find the identity of this mysterious man, thus stumbling upon some forgotten love-affairs as well as her own darkest secrets.
I know many people don't prefer cozy mysteries, even I too fall into that category, since the mysteries are not that thrilling/intriguing enough to keep me guessing till the end! But Boatwright's new book simply changed my perspective about cozy mysteries, I read quite a few cozy mysteries, and I have to say this that Alice K. Boatwright is one hell of a rare gem in the world of cozy mystery writers. Her writing style is absolutely fabulous, though the book opened in a slow pace, as the author was building her characters in the beginning of her book. But her plot is really mind-blowing, it was one hell of a thrilling roller coaster ride for me.
The author's protagonist, Elli may project herself as someone who is bold and loves to follow trends that are either considered as too modern or forward. And the way Ellie lighted up the dark road to an unraveling mystery is simply striking enough and with the author's intricate detailed layering of the mystery, it felt really nice and brilliant to read the story. The rest of the characters are equally bright and colorful and terribly English! Their quirkiness made the story more interesting to read.
Moreover, the way the story progressed is simply scintillating, and the author unraveled her mystery one layer at a time. But the plot had its own flaws, at times I felt the tightly wrapped mystery was falling short and I could guess away the killer quite easily. Well, if you enjoy a good cozy mystery, then go for this!
Verdict: Cozy stories are always meant to be read under a cozy blanket with a hot mug of coffee in a lazy Saturday afternoon!
Courtesy: I'm really grateful to the author, Alice K. Boatwright, for giving me an opportunity to read and review her book.
----Antoine de Rivarol, a Royalist French writer during the Revolutionary era
Alice K. Boatwright, an American author, entranced me with her cozy mystery novel, Under an English Heaven: An Ellie Kent Mystery , that will keep you guessing through the pages as the main protagonist Ellie searches for the truth behind the murder of a mysterious man.
Synopsis:
When Ellie Kent moves to an English village with her new husband Graham, she fears the villagers will always see her as that young American who snared their attractive vicar during his sabbatical in California. But this challenge is nothing compared to what happens when she stumbles across a body in the churchyard. The villagers insist they don't know the murdered man, so suspicion mounts that the killer must be the incomer - the vicar's new wife. As evidence piles up against her, Ellie tries to stay one step ahead of the police to unravel a decades-old literary mystery and love story. Will others die before she can solve it? And what will be left of her new life and marriage, even if she succeeds?
Ellie Kent is modern and independent woman who in her other life was a literature professor in the US, but in her present she is married to an alluring English vicar in an old English village. From her dressing style to talking style, everything is in contrast with the people of the English Cotswolds. But when people discovered a body of a mysterious on her backyard, it was not hard for them to put their fingers on! But, Ellie is on a mission to clear her name as well as to find the identity of this mysterious man, thus stumbling upon some forgotten love-affairs as well as her own darkest secrets.
I know many people don't prefer cozy mysteries, even I too fall into that category, since the mysteries are not that thrilling/intriguing enough to keep me guessing till the end! But Boatwright's new book simply changed my perspective about cozy mysteries, I read quite a few cozy mysteries, and I have to say this that Alice K. Boatwright is one hell of a rare gem in the world of cozy mystery writers. Her writing style is absolutely fabulous, though the book opened in a slow pace, as the author was building her characters in the beginning of her book. But her plot is really mind-blowing, it was one hell of a thrilling roller coaster ride for me.
The author's protagonist, Elli may project herself as someone who is bold and loves to follow trends that are either considered as too modern or forward. And the way Ellie lighted up the dark road to an unraveling mystery is simply striking enough and with the author's intricate detailed layering of the mystery, it felt really nice and brilliant to read the story. The rest of the characters are equally bright and colorful and terribly English! Their quirkiness made the story more interesting to read.
Moreover, the way the story progressed is simply scintillating, and the author unraveled her mystery one layer at a time. But the plot had its own flaws, at times I felt the tightly wrapped mystery was falling short and I could guess away the killer quite easily. Well, if you enjoy a good cozy mystery, then go for this!
Verdict: Cozy stories are always meant to be read under a cozy blanket with a hot mug of coffee in a lazy Saturday afternoon!
Courtesy: I'm really grateful to the author, Alice K. Boatwright, for giving me an opportunity to read and review her book.
August 18, 2014
Under an English Heaven is one of the most delightful whodunits I've ever read. Along with the atmosphere, the plot, the back-story, the progression, the development, and the denouement, Alice has added many touches this former English major enjoyed tremendously! I was enveloped in awe when she quoted from Rupert Brooke. "Satisfying" in every way is how I shall describe it further. I was so charmed that I am now on pins and needles waiting for the next installment of the Ellie Kent series. This is a must-read for everyone, not just mystery lovers. I'm ordering the Kindle edition for my mother-in-law. She'll have as much fun as I did!
January 13, 2024
An enjoyable easy to read cosy mystery set in a little English village. A well liked vicar, his new American wife, snobbish villagers, secrets, dead bodies, all in all a fun read.
June 3, 2018
This was only OK. With a few tweaks it would have been much better. The characters weren't enlarged enough to get a feel for who or what they really were. There was very little background given on how the newlywed Ellie and her vicar husband met, what drew them together, or indeed, what kept them together in their marriage. The interactions between them seemed strained and formal; I never got the feel that they loved, or even liked, each other. Ellie herself wasn't described, beyond that she had been a teacher, and had been married once before to an Italian poet. How old is she? What does she look like? The plot was good, but was carried out longer, I suppose to get more pages in the book, due to Ellie's refusal to share her finds or to communicate with her husband. Finally, toward the end of the book, my interest was snagged, and this is what earned my 2 stars. Maybe with time the author will draw more dimensions in her characters, but I don't plan on reading any more of her material.
December 5, 2023
Enjoyed this mystery.
March 29, 2018
I usually love this kind of cozy mystery in a small English village, but I didn't love this one.
Main reasons are characters. In cozy mysteries, characters are very important. The characters Boatwright created are not multi-dimensional and uninteresting including villains. But, the worst ones are the 2 main characters. I didn't understand why Ellie left a busy life as a college professor in California to become a vicar's wife (despite the fact she was a nonbeliever) in a small English village. Graham doesn't seem to be attractive or sympathetic enough for Ellie to give up her independence. At least I was not convinced. What baffled me the most was that Ellie never talked about the dilemma. She even apologized for having made "such a mess of things" and being "farther than ever from being your Mrs. Vicar". If this is how the protagonist thinks, I'm not interested in this series. It will make me angry again.
Main reasons are characters. In cozy mysteries, characters are very important. The characters Boatwright created are not multi-dimensional and uninteresting including villains. But, the worst ones are the 2 main characters. I didn't understand why Ellie left a busy life as a college professor in California to become a vicar's wife (despite the fact she was a nonbeliever) in a small English village. Graham doesn't seem to be attractive or sympathetic enough for Ellie to give up her independence. At least I was not convinced. What baffled me the most was that Ellie never talked about the dilemma. She even apologized for having made "such a mess of things" and being "farther than ever from being your Mrs. Vicar". If this is how the protagonist thinks, I'm not interested in this series. It will make me angry again.
February 8, 2015
I enjoyed this.
The author painted a good picture of the little village and the characters within in. I liked the interesting contrast provided by the American in the story, who is the key character and the one through whose eyes we see the story unfold.
The story was a little slow to get going but we are compensated by an easy writing style that zooms in on every scene and leaves us in no doubt where we are at any given time, and a sense that this is just the tranquility before the storm to come.
As murder mysteries go, this is a gentle one. No blood, no gore. If you are looking for something gritty, this won't do it for you. I happened to be in the mood for a change of intensity so this worked for me.
The author painted a good picture of the little village and the characters within in. I liked the interesting contrast provided by the American in the story, who is the key character and the one through whose eyes we see the story unfold.
The story was a little slow to get going but we are compensated by an easy writing style that zooms in on every scene and leaves us in no doubt where we are at any given time, and a sense that this is just the tranquility before the storm to come.
As murder mysteries go, this is a gentle one. No blood, no gore. If you are looking for something gritty, this won't do it for you. I happened to be in the mood for a change of intensity so this worked for me.
January 2, 2020
This had been on my 'to read' pile for some time so I was very pleased to finally read and enjoy it. Each time I thought about reading it I would look at the reviews and be slightly put off, but I soon found that I was in complete disagreement with most of the negative reviews. I didn't need to be given a physical description to have a picture of what Ellie looked like, and I also disagreed that the characters were undeveloped.
There is always a slight worry when American authors write about English villages because they tend to get the small details wrong but in this case I thought her portrayal was realistic and fairly accurate. The only small detail I did wonder about was selling fireworks on a market stall - but I'm not sure about this and couldn't find any concrete information on whether this is actually legal or not.
There is always a slight worry when American authors write about English villages because they tend to get the small details wrong but in this case I thought her portrayal was realistic and fairly accurate. The only small detail I did wonder about was selling fireworks on a market stall - but I'm not sure about this and couldn't find any concrete information on whether this is actually legal or not.
September 23, 2014
Up for a great mystery set in The Cotswolds? This is definitely a page-turner, written by a friend and a former colleague from my time at UC Berkeley. Loved her writing then (we worked in the Communications unit) and continue to love her work. Available online (I purchased through Barnes and Noble). A wonderful new mystery from an award-winning author (this is her second novel along with many short stories and nonfiction). Some call themselves writers and talk about it or hope someday to write that great novel. Others just get to work and write great pieces, intelligent and well-developed and flowing. Alice is the latter. A great read with lots of suspense.
November 28, 2015
This seemed so promising when I read the synopsis: an American woman marries a widowed English vicar with a grown daughter after a whirlwind romance only to find herself embroiled in the mysterious death of a drifter who is found in the churchyard. Doesn't that sound like fun? Well, perhaps if there had been the slightest bit of character development or logic to the plot, it might have been. However, there wasn't and it wasn't. (And for the record, I'd have left that vicar in the first week if he acted that way to me).
June 26, 2017
I generally like reading British mysteries, but not this one. Every character is unlikeable. It made English villages look nasty, gossipy, and depressing, which took all of the fun out of reading this type of novel. The new American wife started off her new life with a defensive, bad attitude, which didn't help matters. And her husband seemed entirely unsympathetic and insensitive....and worse.
Also, I wondered why a vicar would marry someone who has doubts about Christianity, and vice versa. That didn't make sense at all, and made me disappointed in both of them.
Also, I wondered why a vicar would marry someone who has doubts about Christianity, and vice versa. That didn't make sense at all, and made me disappointed in both of them.
June 12, 2018
This book had potential, but there are loose ends that are never really tied up (including how one of the murders happened and why!). It’s highly annoying that the characters and the mechanism of the crime—two of the most important aspects of the plot—are so vaguely sketched out. The final nail in the coffin is the fact that Ellie is so cold in her personal relationships, and she makes dumb decisions even when she knows she’s under suspicion for murder. She’s not likeable or sympathetic. I finished it out of pure curiosity, not out of enjoyment.
July 7, 2016
loved this book. it was a quick read. I really didn't know "who dunnit" until close to the end. I felt like if I closed my eyes-I could have been there. Can't wait for more Ellie Kent mysteries!
September 1, 2021
As for myself I did not enjoy this book until chapter 20. Others may not find this the case therefore the star rating is based solely on my reading
May 15, 2018
Probably 3.5 stars. Read this to get in the mood for visiting the Cotswalds.
This is a shining example of a cozy mystery. The book feels like it is probably from a small press, which means that it's not quite as... processed as the ones from larger publishers. This means that the mystery is perhaps a bit clunkier than average, but there are also interesting observations by the author that might have been edited out of a more thoroughly worked-over manuscript. All in all, I liked it and would highly recommend it if you need some soothing.
Ellie Kent is the new vicar's wife in Little Beecham, a small Cotswald village. I confess that the vicar's wife thing almost kept me from opening the book at all- I don't care for that sort of cozy. But Ellie is a former professor of literature (Jane Austen, natch) and the former wife of a poet. She's more comfortable in her "New York armor" of all black than in a vicar's wife's church tweeds. And her literature degree and skill in analysis actually comes in handy in a logical way in the story!
Ellie is trying to figure out how she fits into village life and still hold onto her self. A murder which pulls her in as a possible suspect does not help her at all with this goal, but it does show that she can be plucky and independent. Her husband isn't too much of a goober, and Ellie begins to make friends with characters that I'd like to see again. I'd also love to see Little Beecham- the author writes lovely description of just what I hope to see when I get to visit the English countryside.
The book is a quick read. I was actually hoping for a bit that the murderer was going to be someone other than who it turned out to be- that would have been more interesting in my opinion, because the murderer really showed no redeeming qualities whatsoever and that was a bit boring. Read to enjoy spending time with Ellie in front of the Aga while rain patters on the vicarage windows, not for the tricky puzzle. It was my cup of tea, I guess, because I just bought the second book in the series for that rainy day when I need some comforting myself.
This is a shining example of a cozy mystery. The book feels like it is probably from a small press, which means that it's not quite as... processed as the ones from larger publishers. This means that the mystery is perhaps a bit clunkier than average, but there are also interesting observations by the author that might have been edited out of a more thoroughly worked-over manuscript. All in all, I liked it and would highly recommend it if you need some soothing.
Ellie Kent is the new vicar's wife in Little Beecham, a small Cotswald village. I confess that the vicar's wife thing almost kept me from opening the book at all- I don't care for that sort of cozy. But Ellie is a former professor of literature (Jane Austen, natch) and the former wife of a poet. She's more comfortable in her "New York armor" of all black than in a vicar's wife's church tweeds. And her literature degree and skill in analysis actually comes in handy in a logical way in the story!
Ellie is trying to figure out how she fits into village life and still hold onto her self. A murder which pulls her in as a possible suspect does not help her at all with this goal, but it does show that she can be plucky and independent. Her husband isn't too much of a goober, and Ellie begins to make friends with characters that I'd like to see again. I'd also love to see Little Beecham- the author writes lovely description of just what I hope to see when I get to visit the English countryside.
The book is a quick read. I was actually hoping for a bit that the murderer was going to be someone other than who it turned out to be- that would have been more interesting in my opinion, because the murderer really showed no redeeming qualities whatsoever and that was a bit boring. Read to enjoy spending time with Ellie in front of the Aga while rain patters on the vicarage windows, not for the tricky puzzle. It was my cup of tea, I guess, because I just bought the second book in the series for that rainy day when I need some comforting myself.
November 17, 2015
This book was featured by Book Bub in a recent email I received; it sounded intriguing and was either $.99 or $1.99, so I bought it. It was WELL worth that price, and I enjoyed it very much.
It is a cozy English mystery, set in a Cotswold village seen through the eyes of an American turned English vicar's wife, Ellie Kent. Ellie has recently married The Reverend Graham Kent, a widower with a grown daughter, and has come to live in the vicarage with Graham and his Jack Russell, Hector. In fact, it is Hector who finds the dead body in the churchyard, but it is Ellie who falls under suspicion by the police. Out of self-preservation, Ellie decides she had better try to solve the crime herself. Unfortunately, the dead stranger is neither the first nor last victim of the murderer - Ellie herself comes close to becoming a victim.
It was quite a good mystery - I did figure out whodunit about 5 chapters before the unveiling, but it was still quite compelling nonetheless. The village and it's characters are very well drawn.
Ms. Boatright's descriptive passages are beautifully written - I could feel the damp wind and smell the smoke from the Guy Fawkes bonfire!
I very much look forward to more of Ms. Boatright's works. 4 stars!
It is a cozy English mystery, set in a Cotswold village seen through the eyes of an American turned English vicar's wife, Ellie Kent. Ellie has recently married The Reverend Graham Kent, a widower with a grown daughter, and has come to live in the vicarage with Graham and his Jack Russell, Hector. In fact, it is Hector who finds the dead body in the churchyard, but it is Ellie who falls under suspicion by the police. Out of self-preservation, Ellie decides she had better try to solve the crime herself. Unfortunately, the dead stranger is neither the first nor last victim of the murderer - Ellie herself comes close to becoming a victim.
It was quite a good mystery - I did figure out whodunit about 5 chapters before the unveiling, but it was still quite compelling nonetheless. The village and it's characters are very well drawn.
Ms. Boatright's descriptive passages are beautifully written - I could feel the damp wind and smell the smoke from the Guy Fawkes bonfire!
I very much look forward to more of Ms. Boatright's works. 4 stars!
November 1, 2018
Very strange. I get virtually no sense of character chemistry in this book. It almost felt like an exercise in how to plot a mystery. Even the bad actors were sterile (rude, but sterile). The only time I connected with a character was when
August 5, 2015
This was a really fun summer read--with smart writing, a charming setting, and a likable protag. Our girl is a transplanted American married to an English vicar who finds herself a bit of an outsider in his cozy village. But things really get complicated for Ellie when it appears she has a connection to a recently murdered stranger. Or is he????
August 24, 2015
I couldn't really get behind the premise of this book. I wished the entire time that I was reading an Aunt Dimity book (which is far more believable even though it contains a ghost that communicates with people through a magic journal).
November 13, 2025
I enjoyed this cozy mystery. Five stars for the story and clean writing (despite the very first scene, where things are implied but not spelled out... it's the only scene like that in the book). I figured out 'whodunit' pretty easily, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of seeing how it all played out. Had a few unexpected twists at the end, too! But I wish the characters had been more developed, and wanted more of Ellie's backstory. We're not told much more than her profession, a few mentions of her parents, and eventually learn of a prior romantic relationship... but nothing about siblings, friends, hobbies, favorite places. It's as if her American life ceased to exist once she moved to England. However, it was enjoyable enough that I plan to read the next book. Hopefully the characters will fill out a bit more!
February 4, 2018
EXCELLENT MYSTERY COZY
I was looking to read a light mystery. This book ticked all my boxes. Although UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN won't win the Nobel prize for literature, it gets my vote for for being an entertaining page turner. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with Ellie Kent again in the second book of the series.
I was looking to read a light mystery. This book ticked all my boxes. Although UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN won't win the Nobel prize for literature, it gets my vote for for being an entertaining page turner. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with Ellie Kent again in the second book of the series.
September 30, 2025
First in a series set in England in 1990s. A divorced American English Literature professor marries a widowed English vicar. Not only is Ellie challenged by the church members‘ expectations of her, but she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of an unknown man that she found in the church cemetery. Good plot with some twists and turns. Clean read. Would read the next one if I can find it!
March 9, 2018
Under an English Heaven by author Alice K. Boatwright is an enchanting cozy mystery about American Ellie who marries an English vicar, Graham Kent, and moves to a small village in rural England where she quickly becomes known Mrs. Vicar. All is not calm in this sleepy little village as first one then two murders shock the residents of Little Beecham. Nicely told story, and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series next. :-)
October 12, 2019
Not at all disappointing.
This is my first read by Alice K. Boatweight, but definitely not the last.
An easy to read murder mystery; a cross between Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders. Set in a charming village in The Cotswolds, and centered around the local Vicar and his wife.
For cozy mystery lovers, it is a book I would highly recommend.
This is my first read by Alice K. Boatweight, but definitely not the last.
An easy to read murder mystery; a cross between Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders. Set in a charming village in The Cotswolds, and centered around the local Vicar and his wife.
For cozy mystery lovers, it is a book I would highly recommend.
August 16, 2017
An easy read - not too detailed and not too complicated. An interesting portrayal of a small English town, it's cast of characters and what ensues after the entry of an outsider into the 'midst. An enjoyable, light read.
June 4, 2020
Loved the twists and turns, getting to know the people in this small town. I was left guessing up to the very end.
What started as reading a sample ended with my following the author.
What started as reading a sample ended with my following the author.
June 1, 2021
A typical British cozy. It was convoluted how the heroine could have figured out who dun it...but it made sense when revealed
March 10, 2024
Enjoyable New Mystery Series
I found this an enjoyable and intriguing mystery and a great start to the series. I look forward to getting to know them more in the next books.
I found this an enjoyable and intriguing mystery and a great start to the series. I look forward to getting to know them more in the next books.
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