Guilt in the Cotswolds

Thea Osborne #14

by Rebecca Tope

Thea Osborne’s latest housesitting assignment is a little different to the rest. Along with her spaniel, Hepzie, Thea finds herself in the village of Chedworth. She is asked to create an inventory of Rita Wilshire’s possessions, requested by her son, after he moved her into a care home.
All goes according to plan, until Thea and her fiancé, Drew Slocombe, find a body in the barn.

When family members come knocking, Thea and Drew struggle to give them answers. Was it suicide, or something more sinister? When the clues lead them in circles, Thea’s relationship with Drew is put to the test. But there is a crime to solve, and neither of them is willing to give up just yet . . .

Genres: Mystery, Crime, British Literature, Fiction

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2016

About the author

Rebecca Tope is best known as the author of over twenty crime novels. She has also recently produced the e-book entitled 'The Indifference of Tumbleweed'. She has every intention of continuing with the murder stories, as well as a variety of other kinds of fiction.

She has experienced many different kinds of work in her time - running antenatal classes, counselling troubled couples and being an office girl for an undertaker, for example. There were also several years monitoring the output of dairy cows, as well as every sort of task associated with book publishing. In 1992, she founded Praxis Books, a small British press.

She lives surrounded by trees she has planted herself, tending her own sheep.

Reviews

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars is perhaps a bit harsh, but three seems generous. I expect that readers who have been following the series probably enjoyed seeing how Thea and Drew's relationship was developing. However this was the first book I've read in this series and I have no urge to go back and read the previous ones. I thought a "cozy" would make a nice change from what I'd been reading lately, but in fact I found it largely irrelevant and ended up speed-reading just to get it done.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book and I will be looking for more from this author.
Easy to read and hard to put down. Recommended.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bought for my sister-in-law - who grew up in the Cotswolds - as a quirky Christmas present and, as is always the way, it had to be quality-checked before it went. Not the finest literature I've ever read. Here's a scene between the heroine and hero, who are engaged to be married: "He never indulged in anything that could be remotely described as telephone sex during their nightly conversations, for which she was grateful. It could only lead to frustration and a feeling that something between them had been tainted. Besides, his children were in the house, and he could never be entirely sure they weren't hearing some of what he said. She changed the subject. 'Any funerals booked for next week?' " I rest my case.

[Sam Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately find these books very long winded.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The latest edition in the Cotswolds series is an easy page turning read. This time, Thea's fiance Drew Slocombe has obtained her a job that is a change from her usual house-sitting: she is to sift through the belongings of an elderly lady who has arranged her funeral with his green funeral service, and produce an inventory. The trouble is, it's not long before Thea discovers that the elderly lady, now in a residential home, doesn't know her son has engaged her to do this. The son tells her he feels guilty and Thea starts to feel bad about it also. Then the son goes missing ...

I did wonder if this would be the last in the series as Thea and Drew are planning to marry, for him and his children to move to the Cotswolds where he owns a house and burial ground willed him by a grateful client in a much earlier book, and for her to give up the house sitting. It seems she definitely is doing the latter, but there's a hint at the end that they might continue their sleuthing in a married partnership. The events in this book put their relationship under strain at times, with Thea's stubborn insistence on finding out what really happened to the old lady's son, and there is a hint that it might all go pearshaped with them breaking up, but it turns out Drew feels he hasn't supported her sufficiently at times, with the responsibilities he has at home. So it looks as if instead of the two series, Cotswolds and West Country, based around these two characters, the books may continue as one combined series.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won't be bothering to read any of the other books in this series. The main characters are not really very pleasant eg. a man who makes his preference for his daughter and his dislike of his young son clear.
The whole thing is badly written and badly plotted.
I'm glad that this is a book that was passed on to me and not one I bought. It has cost me nothing more than the time it took to read it but I can't help reflecting that life is too short to read bad books.

[sue_pursallyahoo.co.uk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wierd

Weird story very confusing could have been a lot shorter, rather disappointed really seemed it confused it self by the end.

[Anna Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Irritating how they kept flip flopping between believing they should investigate and thinking the other was stupid for continuing to do so, in the same chapter (sometimes even the same paragraph)!

[Kathryn P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a book that really gripped me.

An interesting and different plot based in a lovely part of the country. This is the only book in the series I've read, and gather that Thea house sits and does a bit of detecting on the side. I didn't really warm to her that much. She comes across as feeling guilty about a lot of things, even if there's no reason for her to be. She can also overstep the mark sometimes when she's speaking to people. As her fiance says at one point, "it's all about you"!.
There was a lot of dialogue between Drew and Thea; and with 350 odd pages of a book which let's face it has no action bar a lot of driving around the countryside, did drag on a bit. I much prefer faster paced books with plenty of action, and felt I wanted to crank it up a notch or two, and say " for goodness sake, get on with it".
I felt really sorry for Hepzie her spaniel though, who is always cooped up in the car and being left on her own. Thea needs to look after her better, or get a dog that doesn't need as much exercise.
I may read another in the series, but on the other hand.....

[Cathy Quigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I jumped ahead to this book (due to online library availability) and missed the progress through the series of Thea's relationship. She's now engaged. Unfortunately a lot of her internal dialogue is around the decision that was made for her and Drew to get married. She's not housesitting in this story, but helping someone prepare for a house clearing. I found the interaction between her and Drew takes center stage in this book. It should be titled "Should she or shouldn't she?" I like the older woman who owns the house, although she's the cause for the strife in her family in the first place. Drew is constantly torn between his involvement in this mystery and needing to go home and take care of his family and his business.

[Jane Shand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another intriguing mystery by Rebecca Tope. I have read all thirteen previous books in the series, but forgot there were a few I hadn’t got round to - thought it was about time I did. Thea is her usual nosy self when she again is involved in a body being found. Usually her questioning and nosiness helps the police get to the answer, but this time it felt more like she was nosy for the sake of it and got in the way. I am always ambivalent on how I feel about Thea. She can be unkind but also tenacious and direct. There is a different feel to this one also due to her fiancée being deeply involved too. But I didn’t want to put the book down so I was definitely invested in the characters and plot.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read most, if not all, of this series but it looks to me like the author is done with the Cotswolds and moving on to another venue; and maybe it's just as well. I didn't care for this one as much as the previous. Thea is still the same inquisitive house sitter but with Drew in the mix it just doesn't work as well. She loves people and wants to know everything about them. She tries to involve Drew and he likes people also, but he has a business to run and is not interested in getting into the details of their lives.

[Roger Boyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sandrine picked this up in the Borders book-exchange, and I picked it up in her house in an idle moment.

Really this isn't very good. The characters are far from plausible, their dialogue is torture, there is explication on a scale that makes the book about 60% too long, and there are countless irritating back-references to preceding books in the series (with which I will not bother).

OTOH, she set up a plot that forced me to the end just to find out what happens. Sigh.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'm finished with Thea, although I do have the next book on my lap. I don't understand why this woman feels driven to solve crimes, much less keep the police in the dark. I will probably read Perils in the Cotswolds, just because I have it, but as someone else wrote...I'm done with this stupid woman.

[Tiina · Rating 2 out of 5]

There seemed to be several mysteries in the book, but only one was properly solved. Too much of the text concentrated on Thea's internal dithering about her relationship. Guilt was mentioned (too) many times. None of the characters were very likeable, except perhaps the old lady whose house Thea was inventorying.

[lindasmouton · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reader

Have not had the time to read for a while. So picked an author at random. Really enjoyed the storyline, characters and style of writing. Getting ready to down load a feast of books by this author.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have really got into Rebecca Tope's books and enjoyed this one. It was a little different to the usual house sitting stories and one wasn't sure where the plot was heading up to almost the very end.

Wonder if there will be any more Thea/Drew stories?

[Jane Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it was ok this one, not one of her best though. The story itself seemed very thin with too much angsting of the main characters and a complicated family tree which I got a bit confused with. Perhaps time to retire these characters?

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read

this was another good story I have read many of the Cotswold books there is a continuity across the story s and leaves one ready to lift the book and read to the end as the plot thickens

[Vanessa Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lost my mum exactly a year ago. I got my love of reading from her and we both loved books about Thea so to mark her anniversary I read this book. Great story with lots of interesting characters and a storyline that made you keep wanting to find out what happened to Richard.

[Ted Venn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing

A gentle story set in actual surroundings. Written in such a way that the reader could well be there along with the characters.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good storyline although a bit confusing at times. Liked the reference to Chipping Sodbury.

[Frances · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tedious...lack of plot...

[JenniferB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good episode in the series, although plot is a bit confusing. The relationship between the characters progresses too.

[Cindy Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrigue

I thought this book was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I look forward to the next one soon.

[Piper D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I am losing interest in the romance part of the story and this story dragged a bit. Need more geography and local interest.

[Michele Brooker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spent a week trundling round the Cotswolds with amateur sleuth Thea Osbourne. ‘Sinister secrets in a sleepy village.’ Classic cosy crime.

[Hippo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t get into this at all. The characters are unlikeable and the writing seems clunky

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was initially intrigued by the storyline but my god did this book drag!! So many unnecessary characters, similar vibes to Thursday Murder Club if you like that

[Hayley R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I missed the extra animals in this one and also the fact Thea was doing an inventory meant she didn’t get out and visit places or meet people as much as usual so less interesting to be honest.