Downward Facing Death
A Mystery
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- £9.99
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
After ten years away, Keeley Carpenter is excited to be back in Belfrey, the traditional English village hometown she fled as a shy teen, with a plan to reopen her father's neglected butcher shop as a yoga café, where she will sell delicious vegetarian food by day and teach yoga classes at night. However the more traditional residents of Belfrey do not take kindly to this idea-or really anything they deem even remotely "New Age-y." Within an hour of her arrival, Keeley comes face to face with Detective Constable Ben Taylor, who tells her that someone has just tried to burn down her shop. When officers arrived to stop the blaze, a body was found upstairs. Horrified by this news, Keeley is also startled to be reintroduced to Ben as DC Taylor, as he was her high school crush. In spite of her instant attraction to him, Keeley is determined to keep Ben at arm's length.
As she settles back in to Belfrey and makes plans for her opening day, she soon finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation. When Keeley starts being threatened herself, she realizes someone may be out to kill more than her business prospects - but can she and Ben find the culprit before it's too late? A warm, intriguing cozy debut that includes recipes from Keeley's café, Downward Facing Death is perfect for fans of Laura Childs and Cleo Coyle.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this uneven series launch from British author Kelly (When I Wasn't Watching), Keeley Carpenter, a yoga teacher, decides to reopen her late father's butcher shop as a vegetarian cafe in Belfrey, Derbyshire, where she grew up. An arson attack leads to the discovery of the body of unpopular Terry Smith, whose head was bashed in, on the future cafe's second floor. To complicate matters, Det. Constable Ben Taylor, the investigating officer, was once Keeley's secret crush, and her former quasi friend, Raquel Philips, has become meaner and more menacing over the years. The pacing suffers when Keeley spends a lot more time wondering who did what than in getting her business up and running. Though the murderer's identity remains a mystery until the end, the romance between Keeley and Ben presents no surprises: "She was a modern woman after all, even if deep down part of her yearned for the full-on Disney romance." Still, most cozy fans should be satisfied.
