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Cherringham #11

Blade in the Water

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Cosy crime series. Episode 11 of 12 (Listening Length: 2 hours, 29 minutes):

It's just days before the Cherringham Regatta - an annual event that draws luxury yachts from across the country, as well as the local boat crowd, all looking to party on the river. But it's no party when boats are vandalized, and a wealthy executive turns up missing, with his blood on the deck. As the Regatta date looms, Jack and Sarah discover that what's happening on the water looks less like vandalism and more like murder...

-- Cherringham is serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new mystery thriller released each month. Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo: English web designer Sarah and American ex-cop Jack. Thrilling and deadly - but with a spot of tea - it's like Rosamunde Pilcher meets Inspector Barnaby. Each of the 12 self-contained episodes is a quick read for the morning commute, while waiting for the doctor, or when curling up with a hot cuppa.

-- For fans of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series, Lilian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who series, Caroline Graham's Midsomer Murders, and the American TV series Murder She Wrote, starring Angela Lansbury.

-- Co-authors Neil Richards(based in the UK) and Matthew Costello (based in the US), are known for their script work on major computer games. The Cherringham crime series is their first fictional transatlantic collaboration.

Audible Audio

First published September 25, 2014

85 people are currently reading
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About the author

Matthew Costello

288 books359 followers

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5 stars
263 (30%)
4 stars
331 (38%)
3 stars
237 (27%)
2 stars
21 (2%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡  .
5,162 reviews639 followers
May 4, 2024
Die bevorstehende Regatta in Cherringham wirft ihre Schatten voraus. Auf der Jacht eines wohlhabenden Mannes finden sich Blutspuren, während der Eigner selbst unauffindbar bleibt. Was ist passiert?
Ein neuer Fall für Jack und Sarah - und der elfte Band dieser Reihe.
Ich mag diese Buchreihe. Gemütlich, aber trotzdem spannend und rätselhaft. Ein paar verschrobene Charaktere, aber nicht zu übertrieben.
Unterhaltsam und kurzweilig! 💚
Profile Image for John Lee.
874 reviews15 followers
December 31, 2022
This series has totally changed my opinion of short stories. Before I began I thought they were a waste of time - stories with little foundation or body and very two dimensional characters. There are others that have fallen into this category but in producing these Cherringham mysteries, the authors have created something different.
By now, the two main main characters are well established and each story is more like an episode in the larger overall story of this riverside village.
This one is based on the village's annual regatta and the murky goings on when a luxury craft is found unmanned and aground.
Most agreeable .
Profile Image for Karen Plummer.
357 reviews48 followers
February 17, 2018
In the days before the annual Cherringham Regatta, a businessman's yacht has come loose from its mooring and run aground near a bridge. The owner, Martin Kent, is no where to be found and the police just put it down to kids playing a joke. Jack isn't sure he agrees. He's been brought on board the yacht by one of his fans, Joan Buckland, who is positive that a murder has taken place and Jack views her evidence with an open mind... Joan has noted a smear of blood on the yacht's side and then there's the blood covered knife. Definitely suspicious and worth looking into.

As Jack brings Sarah up to date on his information, they interview Sarah's father who's one of the Regatta Committee, the local police, Kent's business partner, and Kent's wife, while Sarah does some deep research into Kent's company. Nothing about the company looks good to Sarah and the more she digs, the more concerned and angry she becomes. Between a shady company and some dreadful men floating around, Jack and Sarah don't know what to think but they keep digging until things come to a head as the Regatta races begin.
Profile Image for Jan.
6,531 reviews100 followers
March 30, 2022
This episode involves a pyramid scheme, the local regatta, a missing man with evidence of foul play left behind, and the good villagers of Cherringham. Good story with justice done.
Love this idea of a series given in short bursts that are just the right size as well as so much more flexible than a whole novel! The ongoing sleuthing involves a retired and widowed older NYPD homicide cop who is finding life in the English countryside a fair antidote to his mourning, and a local recently divorced woman who has returned to her hometown with her children. They make a good sleuthing pair.
Voice actor Neil Dudgeon has been an excellent asset to my listening pleasure, making sure that
I know who's talking while I do mindless things.
Profile Image for Antonia.
Author 8 books34 followers
April 11, 2025
This is number 11 in a series of 48 (!) short cozy mysteries by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards. I always enjoy the characters, ex-NYPD-cop Jack and single-mom Sarah (the amateur sleuths), in these books and love the narration by Neil Dudgeon. I wasn’t as engaged by the plot of this one as I was by those of earlier books in the series. In this one, the village of Cherringham prepares for an annual regatta on the Thames, but vandalism of boats and a missing (wealthy) executive suggest to Jack and Sarah that it’s beginning to look like someone’s been murdered. . . . But I’ll be there for #12!

This is #35 of the 100 books I aim to read in 2025.
Profile Image for Nancy.
1,451 reviews61 followers
September 11, 2021
I had a hard time with this vignette. The Cherringham storylines usually hold my attention from start to finish, but for some reason, I could not stay focused or care about any of the characters. A week after I had finished, I had a hard time remembering the characters or the plot.

Yet since others enjoyed it so well, I am going to take this as a one-off and continue with my enjoyment of the series.
1,142 reviews3 followers
October 20, 2025
Skøn, hurtigt læst krimi. Der er ikke noget bedre, end at lande blødt i en stol, med kaffen i hånden og lydbogen med hyggekrimien i ørene. Så behøver man bare at lade sig glide med af strømmen. Og i dette tilfælde, så er der en strøm, for krimien foregår midt under regattaen i Cherringham.

Jeg holder vældig meget af denne serie.
7 reviews
March 1, 2022
Well written, clean mystery.

I liked Blade in the Water.
The characters are interesting and normal.

Clear plotting from entry to finish.
I liked the clean plot.
Good resolution, I like that.
Profile Image for Sara.
880 reviews
December 4, 2017
Quite good mystery, and I'm starting to see romance ahead for Sarah, although maybe not with Jack, which is regrettable!
19 reviews
December 3, 2018
I am a big fan of this series. Always a great read. I will keep reading this series as long as they keep writing them!

18 reviews1 follower
January 24, 2019
Loved these three stories especially # 12 "Murder on a Summer Night." The books are easy reading and interesting stories. I do love the narration on them.
Profile Image for Neely Powell.
Author 9 books38 followers
May 27, 2023
It’s the Cherringham Regatta, and the whole town is excited. But then a yacht drifts through the river with no captain and only a bloody knife on board. Another mystery for Jack and Sarah.
Profile Image for Nancy.
1,424 reviews49 followers
November 3, 2024
A good enough mystery that filled the time on the round trip drive to see my granddaughter in a performance.
Profile Image for 'Manda.
84 reviews1 follower
July 30, 2025
Cherringham book 11: Good story, well written. Neatly tied up at the end. In short (no pun intended), a interesting read.
Profile Image for Kati.
2,353 reviews66 followers
December 20, 2025
The part with "The army is coming!" was downright hilarious. Especially when the tipsy woman added, "And they are in shape!" It was so funny. I'm loving this series!
3 reviews
January 6, 2026
Blade in the water

These books are so enjoyable. Any fans of mystery will appreciate. There are two series both with a host of books. Can't get enough of them.
Profile Image for Cecilia Gustavsson.
288 reviews1 follower
August 16, 2025
A good book to listen too when you clean the house. It gives you ”Midsomer murders” wibes. It is fun to try to figure out how the guilty person is. Jack is a retired cop from US, Sarah is a singel mom and they solves crime together. This one was about a disappearance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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