A Simple Country Murder

Helen Lightholder #1

by Blythe Baker

Murder. Spies. Treason. Shadowy secrets lurk beneath the surface of an idyllic country village... When Helen Lightholder’s world is shattered by the death of her husband during the London Blitz, she escapes to the countryside, hoping to leave the war behind her. But managing an inherited property in a quaint Gloucestershire village turns out to be more perilous than she expects. Cozy little Brookminster isn’t the peaceful haven Helen dreamed of, and it isn’t long before she discovers that, even here, dark threats and dangerous secrets await. As family duty compels her to meddle in a police investigation into the suspicious death of a relative, she finds herself at odds with the local inspector. Can Helen bring justice to her little corner of the country, while war rages on in the greater world outside? Or will her investigation make her the next target of a fiendish killer who has everything to lose?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Historical, Historical Mystery, Crime, Cozy

178 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2019

About the author

Blythe Baker is a thirty-something bottle redhead from the South Central part of the country. When she’s not slinging words and creating new worlds and characters, she’s acting as chauffeur to her children and head groomer to her household of beloved pets.

Blythe enjoys long walks with her dog on sweaty days, grubbing in her flower garden, cooking, and ruthlessly de-cluttering her overcrowded home. She also likes binge-watching mystery shows on TV and burying herself in books about murder.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. The story wasn't bad, but it felt choppy and disjointed. The descriptions and the setting were pretty good but I never really felt the connection with any of the characters. Helen seems terribly one-dimensional, and while her grief and confusion are understandable her compulsion to investigate seemed contrived. The connections she makes with her neighbors seem way to easy and too fast. The story has promise, but never really got off the ground for me.

Not a bad start to a series - I'm always willing to give an author a pass on book one in a series because of all the story and setting set-up that must be carried out! I'm willing to see what happens in book two, and I'm also interested to see if the spies and treason promised in the teaser come in later books.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

London. The Blitz. WW II. Blythe Baker’s A Simple Country Murder, A 1940s Cotswolds Mystery (Helen
Lightholder #1) is the beginning of another series whose protagonist is a newlywed who has just buried her husband who died in the London Blitz. Helen Lightholder says good-bye to her husband, Roger, at her husband’s graveside. Helen has a plan that will remove her from London, the war, and the few memories Helen has of her all too brief marriage. Her aunt has passed away and left her her flat and shop in the Cotswolds. Helen gets in a cab and tells the driver to take her to the train station. Helen begins her ‘new’ life in Brookminster, Gloucestershire. The character of Helen is well done, but the rest of the characters are questionable especially towards the end of this short book Helen meets her new next door neighbor. This character seems to just appear. As the reader, I was unaware that the house next to Helen’s was empty. This neighbor becomes very friendly too quickly, and he hurt the person who hurt Helen. Why? They just met. It all was hard to swallow. I have my doubts about two other characters as well. The whole story after Helen leaves London is shaky. 2.5-3 stars.

[S A W Steel · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Feeble Attempt.

Why do Americans try to write period English dramas without checking their facts! We do not put cream in our tea, we do not peg out washing out with clothespins and the Scots do not have Irish accents! A thin plot and poor characterisation, I skipped to the chase and it wasn't worth the effort.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a sucker for WWII mysteries. I just knew I would love this book.

Unfortunately, I was very wrong.

Helen is a widow, who has inherited a shop in a small village. She has moved there to heal from the death of her husband.

She has inherited the shop as well as the apartment above from an aunt she barely knew.

She finds her aunt died in the apartment.

Helen automatically begins investigating because she knows it was murder.

I wanted to like Helen, but she just seemed so cold. She also did not seem very good at thinking about investigating. If she truly wanted to know how her aunt died, why not find out from the solicitor who handled her aunt's estate? Why immediately make an enemy of the lead policeman in the village?

But, I digress.

I love English villages. I love British history. I love cozies.

I did not like this book very much. It was too simple with little connection between Helen and the other villagers. I wanted a mystery that took more time for me to find the solution. And I hoped to get to know the villagers as real people.

Ms Baker is a talented author. I have the next book in this series on my Kindle. But, I will wait for a time before start reading it.

This book was just not for me.

[Miki · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had possibilities, but didn't live up to the challenge. Set in 1942, during WWII, there was no feel of that time in history, rather it could have been set in any small town in modern times.
Helen was a blank, teary slate with little personality, believing that the loss of her husband in an air raid was a more devastating loss than anyone else's sorrow. Ever.
Some lip service was paid to the privations of that time; the shortages of food and other goods, or the heavy rationing, but everyone seemed to have plenty of what they wanted.
I'm not interested in continuing with the series.

[Mererid Evanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this book was a film, it would be all shadows, nervous mannerisms and ominous music. Raindrops would snake down windows reflecting the heroine's sad face. And then when the sun came out and people were kind, it would all seem quite idyllic and you could almost believe that nothing was wrong. Yes, the sort of elegant, psychological film they were very fond of in the 1940s.

Helen Lightholder's state of mind as a recent war widow with more questions than answers is very well portrayed, and I couldn't help thinking that she seized on the slight mystery of her aunt's death through frustration at not understanding her husband's life. My own suspicions were aroused too, and I wouldn't be all that surprised if the husband turned out not to be dead after all or if the kind Scottish neighbour turned out to be a spy of some description.

Something I realized is that although I've known about wartime (and postwar) rationing most of my life, I really am not very clear about how it worked in practice, particularly how it affected businesses.

Altogether very interesting and I look forward to seeing Helen really establish herself in her new life.

[Anam Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really wanted to like this. It started with the words "Murder. Spies. Treason. Shadowy secrets lurk beneath the surface of an idyllic country village...."

I just couldn't though. The opening lines were a tease. We never really learn about spies or treason. I'm afraid I could never warm up to Helen. And I read a half the book before I figured out what the mystery was. And even then, it was shallow.

I like to think that in the next book Helen might develop more friendships in Brookminster, perhaps with Sidney, but I admit that I don't care enough about that to read anymore in this series.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead.



If you’re looking for Agatha Christie or even Nancy Drew, look somewhere else. This book doesn’t contain a mystery. It contains maybe the *outline* of a mystery. It contains the idea for a much, much better book.

But it doesn’t actually include any crime solving.

It’s like a long-form review of a book that glosses over the most important points of the actual book. Helen doesn’t so much “figure out who did it” as she “knocks on the door of the murderer and then has no escape plan”.

[Rachel Secor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've really loved other series by Ms. Baker; however, I didn't like this first book in this series by her. I find the main character depressing and not very likeable. I understand the fact that she lost her husband but how she responds to it is just too depressing. I also don't like the village people. I just don't find this series as charming and interesting and intriguing as her Rose Beckingham series.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat awkwardly written story of a widow alone in an idyllic English village. The characters were one-dimensional and the mystery was quite unbelievable and farfetched. And what was with cream in the tea instead of milk? Is this author even British?

[Gaye Elder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good plot idea, but not as interesting as I had hoped. Short, with a teaser for a 2nd book, emotional heroine more hysterical than convincing.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, super quick, little cozy mystery.
Helen moves to a new town after the death of her husband. Her aunt also recently died and left Helen her home and business.

When Helen wants to find out how her aunt died it uncovers a mystery. Her aunt may have been murdered in her home, the home where Helen now lives.

If her aunt was in fact murdered then it throws all the neighbors into suspicion.

I liked Helen and Irene best.

It resolved quickly and that was fine with me. With the length of the book I’m grateful this quick read didn’t leave a cliffhanger.

I’ll check out book two.

[Ginger Langan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to concentrate on the plot. The book’s general language and the character’s inner monologue was far too modern.

The author has not done the smallest minute of research about life in Britain during WW2. Frankly this book should’ve been labeled a sin to publish.
Blythe has not even watched one documentary about WW2 on tv. Even an episode of a tv show set in 1940s Britain. A YouTube video on the time and place would have garnered more accurate information than the author has written here.

(I’m debating whether I should try reading another of Blythe Baker’s series to see if this is a consistent problem. I already have a migraine at the thought of the 1920s mystery heroine possibly having a day dress featuring beading AND fringe. If her 1800s main character refuses to wear a corset because “they’re restrictive” I am sure I will devolve into apoplectic fits.)

Let’s get this straight: A dressmakers shop is not the same as a haberdashery. Neither are the same as a tailor’s. I got to the point where I physically cringed every time I read the dressmakers shop being described as such. Just because a word sounds cute and old-timey doesn’t mean you can use it willy-nilly “for effect” and not expect a response.

The character “went through the bother and the effort” of brushing her hair and putting lipstick on in the morning…are you kidding?
Red lipstick was considered a patriotic DUTY and a woman would NEVER leave her hotel room or her home without gloves, hat, (and makeup if she could get her hands in it), neatly brushed and styled hair, and appropriate street clothing on. She would also have pin curled or ragged her head every night to style her hair.

A breakfast of eggs AND sausage during rationing? In the main character’s dreams maybe. There are an awful lot of convenient cabs for a country that’s gas had mostly gone towards war efforts and due to bombing can’t drive safely after dark.
She would have been walking. Or riding along in someone else’s vehicle or in a horse drawn vehicle for that long a trip. I’m assuming the author hasn’t actually looked at a map of Great Britain and only has experienced driving distances in North America. It’s currently only a two hour drive from London to Gloucester. Why would she drive another HOUR to remain in the same county? Admittedly vehicular speeds are far higher today than in 1941, but this still doesn’t make sense.

Town and village signs were removed or painted over in the case of invasion.
Sorry, Blythe. The picturesque moment of looking at the town sign wouldn’t have happened.

This leads me to the shop:
The phrase you’re looking for, Blythe, is “semi-detached”.

Dust I can understand. Mildew smell…doubtful. Was the roof leaking? No? Why the damp smell then? Is it because the setting is England and therefore homes must smell moldy from all the rain?
If her aunt was a business owner it is likely she would have “had someone ‘round to clean” once a week if she couldn’t manage it herself. The place wouldn’t be reeking of damp and covered in dust so thick it choked.

That brings me to the evidence that the author has never so much as watched a docudrama about WW2 Britain. Never even read Molly: An American Girl.
Torn silk stockings kept in a box and not donated to the war effort? You’re kidding. You must be joking.

Ahhh, now there is a drawer of broken buttons, you weren’t kidding…let’s get this straight…if it was a resource it would have been donated to the war effort.
There was a scrap collection in every town, village, city. Leftover or broken thread, fabric, metal, bones, all would have been collected at minimum once a week to send to the war effort. You did not waste a thing. “Hoarding of resources” would have been punished with fining or even jail time. Absolutely zero chance those would have remained in the aunt’s home or the shop.

No mention of black-out efforts. She would have been HEAVILY FINED that first night for opening the windows and leaving them open to let the home air out past nightfall.
She just came from an area with Nazi daily bombing occurring in London. Plymouth was also bombed. Any major city or town was a target. You’re asking me to believe that a woman living in black-out conditions, air raid sirens, the constant threat of bombs and invasion, and with the horror of The Blitz wouldn’t know to keep the house windows and doors covered at night?
Even in the countryside, your neighbors would have been FURIOUS and knocking on your door or throwing a brick through your window if you let light into the street.

(London taxi driving in rain with streetlights and headlamps on…laughable. Does Blythe realize the LEVEL of destruction the Blitz caused? You didn’t even light a cigarette outside. The character would NOT have traveled to London to visit a grave during the Blitz. And crowds of people would be at the train station leaving their children to take the safe route to the countryside not “going on holiday”)

That leads me to open air market stalls…while the bombing of England is occurring? I don’t care how remote they were, it literally wouldn’t be happening. Besides this isn’t 1641, it’s 1941. Shops are absolutely a thing.

Does Blythe even know how rationing worked? Because the author certainly doesn’t understand how ration books worked. Gas was rationed, clothing and shoes were rationed, it wasn’t just food. You didn’t order a book in the mail when you went to a new town. You would have the SAME book wherever, you would have to have it updated by the authorities and then REGISTER IT at your butcher’s, grocer’s etc. You couldn’t just shop whenever or wherever. That was part of the strain of city residents moving into the countryside for safety, the food availability would have to stretch further.

One egg per week per person. Not a few eggs. ONE. Meat ration was by the cut. Less fine the cut, the more meat you could buy.

Hearing women talk about starting a garden and not knowing of a victory garden already. City homeowners dug up their lawns to grow food. Everyone with access to a bit of land grew vegetables.

Rugs wouldn’t be beaten with a regular broom. You’d end up destroying the broom. They’re handmade and not cheap so you certainly wouldn’t waste a good tool like that. Tell me you know nothing about cleaning without electricity without telling me you know nothing about cleaning without electricity.

Full size oven? In her upstairs “apartment”? As opposed to what precisely? This isn’t an NYC apartment here. The likelihood of her having a full sized GAS RANGE on the SECOND FLOOR of a semi detached home in the countryside during a war where gas was rationed is literally hysterical.

Where I lost my ability to finish reading the book was when the character put her hair back in a clip made of wire and blue beads. This is set in 1940s England. Not in 2022, land of the claw clip.

The character then puts on old grubby clothing to clean. Uh, a woman would have been HORRIFIED to have grubby clothing. She would have hand rinsed or hand laundered anything dirty every single evening (yes, a nightly laundering of underwear and stockings was de rigor) and hung her clothing carefully to dry overnight.

It was a woman’s patriotic DUTY to make do and mend. Old dresses and blouses would be spruced up with fresh trims or by adding color blocking to replace worn-out fabric. Old men’s suits were cut down into women’s or children’s clothing. Former street or afternoon dresses would become house dresses.

Oldest and grubbiest clothing indeed. Five minutes on Google would have led the author to understand why you can’t just put “1940’s Cotswold Mystery” on the cover and description of a book and expect it to be period accurate. Or even period APPROXIMATE.

I must be old at 35. Because I know more than the author about WW2 purely based on my middle school history classes.

I want my money and my time back

[Christine Goodnough · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a simple and interesting cozy mystery, well written. No spectacular plot twists or reveals, but the story line played out nicely. It's an old-fashioned, clean, easy-read.

The town seems like a nice place, but I think people in the average small city would have been more into the war effort and that mentality, where they seem to be almost gliding along in their own stream. These were the place where evacuees were sent during the war; Helen probably wasn't the only newcomer.

At first Helen seemed to be a person given to making mountains of molehills, definitely given to a lot of anxieties, but in the end she did have a point: a crime was committed. And she does fire up some as she gets closer to the truth.

The character of Sydney is a bit odd/suspicious in this first book. He claims that he hasn't found much steady work, "especially with this war going on." Whereas I've learned that any young man, even with infirmities, would have found some service or other --- and able-bodied females, too. Also, a young healthy-looking male not in uniform would have been hassled a lot by other civvies.

One anachronism: the Inspector tells Helen he'll get her a copy of this obit-- and it takes him a few minutes. When I was young, in the late 50s, you didn't just go make a copy of something.

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 2 out of 5]

The more I think about this, the worse I think it is. The plotting is not great, Bob. The "mystery" and its resolution in particular are bad. Plus there's all sorts of anachronisms and whatever the geographical equivalent of anachronisms are (i.e. ostensibly this takes place in a small English village, the characteristics of which match no small English village - or small town of any sort - that I've ever read about or known of). And yet, I actually think Baker can write, as some of the sentence-crafting is lovely and I think the characters have potential. Also, it is very short, so yay that?

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

What do you rate a predictable, not very well written book that you actually enjoyed reading? I’ll give it 2.5 stars and round down to 2 because I have given 3 stars to many books I have liked better. This was a free book in my well-established cozy mystery love but I don’t think it’s worth reading more of the series. Plenty of other books to enjoy!

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Little Too Simple

Rather than a story set in the beautifully described Cotswolds, this is a brief and overdramatized plot of a barely stable young woman who lets her emotional thoughts carry her away. Yes, there is a murder and it does get solved in the last few pages, but the bulk of the book is carried out in her head in fearful questioning.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing short story. After Helen’s husband dies, she inherits a country estate. Just the perfect amount of suspense to make this a superb reading.

[Quercusrobur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Annoyingly obvious this was written by someone who is unfamiliar with British life in the 40s, and the plot moved on so slowly that I couldn’t get past the first few chapters before abandoning it.

[Hazel Friday · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't care for it

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointingly short and dull story.

[Page · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather rushed. Plus I find it hard to believe that Helen knew so little about her aunt. She inherited a home and business and didn't even know how the woman died.

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, I could not finish this book as it was in need of an editor. Two stars to anyone who has the courage to write.

[Tari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting historical mystery that had young war widow Helen investigating the death of her aunt that she was determined to prove wasn't natural, especially after finding some interesting diary entries and items in her aunt's attic of the shop and flat she'd inherited from her. Helen started seeing someone watching her...but was it due to that murder or something else? I picked up on an earlier hint as to the job Helen's husband had been in, and my brain started working overtime on reasons someone would be following Helen even though her husband was dead. I have an idea, and I'm anxious to read on if not only to find out if what I'm hoping for is what actually happens. I did enjoy Helen's character and that of her new friend Irene who had a little boy and ran a tea house.

I'm not usually into historical cozies as much as regular, but this one looked and sounded interesting, and it didn't disappoint. I'm definitely going to keep borrowing the series in Kindle Unlimited.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character and the plot was engaging enough, but the plot wasn't fully developed. It was a pleasant enough read though. I read a lot of cozy mysteries, so it was nice to read one set in a difference era. I may seek out the other books in this series at a later date, but I don't feel the need to continue on.

[Teresa A Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story, and I'm glad I stuck with it. However, I initially stopped reading it when the Anachronism Count reached 20. I decided to go back to it and ignore the fact that it's meant to be set in WW2 England. When I didn't worry about things like food rationing and focused solely on plot, it was quite enjoyable.

[Gary and Sandra Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice new series

Ms. Baker has written a new series of books dealing with the 1940's England enmeshed in war and rationing which can lead to all kinds of mischief including murder. She has created characters that have the sensibility of the times and given them roles that will expand over time. This will be a great new series of mysteries.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked this the plot was rather simplistic, with none of the twists and turns that I would have expected. The main character reminded me a bit of the Gothic heroine who puts herself in unnecessary danger. And the author tries to entice readers to continue reading the series with a hint of further mystery.

[J Shu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helen Lightholder, still mourning the death of her husband, Roger, inherits a hat shop in Brookminster and moves there to reopen it. She cannot find out the details of the aunt's death, and her questions seem to stir up trouble on many fronts. Surprises await her, and what about her feelings of being watched? Interesting ending.

[Anne Buelteman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good prose predictable plot

This reads like a longish short story, a novella. The mystery has a rather simple solution, but at least the writer writes well and with good characterization.