Today I am closing the Book Tour for DEATH AT LARCH BRIDGE by Gretta Mulrooney. This is book 2 in the historical mystery series featuring Daisy Moore.
DEATH AT LARCH BRIDGE
Format – Kindle
Publisher – Joffe Books
Publication Date – 6th July 2023
Genre – Crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Author – Gretta Mulrooney
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A proper Agatha Christie-style historical whodunnit . . . such a pleasure!’ Booklover B, NetGalley
Even in peacetime, death is just around the corner.
A mysterious letter.
A brutal murder on a lonely country lane.
A town full of suspects.
Oxfordshire, 1946. Lieutenant Ronnie Carpenter and his wife check into their chintzy room at the Dolphin Hotel. Then Ronnie steps out for some air. Never to return.
He’s only just checked in. Now he’s vanished without a trace.
The next morning, Ronnie’s body is found, slumped in the passenger seat of a stolen car, abandoned on Broadmeadow Farm. A bullet through his head.
Dolphin manageress Daisy Moore can’t help but be drawn into the investigation. Especially when Ronnie’s long-suffering wife comes crying to her for help.
She tells Daisy she feels lost without him. Simply devastated.
But Daisy can’t shake the feeling that her tears are all for show.
Daisy soon finds herself on a wild goose chase, searching for the truth. Every new lead comes to a dead end.
The deeper she digs into Ronnie’s secrets, the more dirt she finds.
Can she uncover the killer before anyone else dies?
AN UTTERLY CHARMING WHODUNNIT FULL OF RED HERRINGS SET IN FASCINATING POST-WAR ENGLAND.
Discover a brilliant murder mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin, Anthony Horowitz, Jacqueline Winspear and Elly Griffiths.
READERS LOVE DEATH AT THE DOLPHIN, LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A cleverly constructed Christie style mystery . . . If, like me, you love Golden Age crime fiction, you must read this book.’ Amanda P.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I enjoyed this wonderfully satisfying murder mystery. The characters are likeable, intriguing and interesting and so believable that I felt I could engage with them.’ Carol S.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The atmosphere of the book, the characters and the two cats made for a great read, it reminded me if Agatha Christie and I loved it. Highly recommended!’ Hannelore C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A wonderful British mystery that kept me guessing who was the murderer in this post World War II novel.’ Libby R.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Thoroughly enjoyed this book and have my fingers crossed it will be an ongoing series . . . I enjoyed how the setting and dialogue suited post WWII England.’ Carol B.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The best I’ve read in a very long time. Death at the Dolphin was fun with great characters!’
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Twisty and complex combination of mystery and character study that has enough secrets and red herrings to keep you up through the night to finish. An eclectic and offbeat cast of characters definitely round out the fun.’ Bonita S.
My Review
This is book 2 in the Daisy Moore series of historical mysteries by the critically acclaimed Gretta Mulrooney.
Daisy is working in The Dolphin hotel when a couple arrive to book in. She shows them to their room and leaves them to settle in. The husband goes for a walk and doesn’t return. His body is found the next morning on a remote farm, he has been shot.
The wife is devastated, she is a nervous woman who seems to be completely dependant on her husband but Daisy feels there is something not quite right. Are the tears genuine or just for show?
The book is set in 1946 after the end of the war and the damage that was done to the area and its residents comes accross well in the book.
I like the characters they fit well with the story and develop over the course of the book.
The story is intriguing and kept me turning the pages all the way through.
A very enjoyable book.
REMEMBERING: GRETTA MULROONEY (1952-2023)
Gretta in 1997
Gretta in 1971
We are very sad to announce the death of our author, Gretta Mulrooney. She will be missed by her many readers as well as by everyone lucky enough to work with her at Joffe Books. She was a brilliant writer who dazzled both in psychological insight and at the level of the sentence. She was a wonderful person who brought laughter and warmth wherever she went.
Gretta Mulrooney (1952–2023) was born in London to Irish parents, Hugh and Peg. She took a degree in English at the University of Ulster, Derry, and lived for a few years in Dublin, working various jobs. Gretta returned to England to teach before taking up social work and started writing in her thirties, publishing for children and young adults with Poolbeg Press, Dublin. She was commissioned by BBC Radio Four, who broadcast her short stories. These were followed by five novels of literary fiction, published by HarperCollins, Robert Hale and 4th Estate. The first of these, Araby, gained critical acclaim for its accurately observed characters and pathos. Margaret Forster wrote, ‘I loved it. It’s such a sweet story, without being in the least sentimental. There are moments when the reader is absolutely there, so acute is this novelist’s ear and eye.’
It was when Gretta began working with Joffe Books in 2015 that her focus moved to crime fiction and psychological thrillers, which had long been her passion. She developed Tyrone Swift, a detective who appeared in a series of books, in parallel with DI Siv Drummond in another series. Tyrone allowed her to explore a character with a complicated personal life, while Siv is grieving and lonely — a fighter, but smart. She introduced a new character with Daisy Moore. These books excited her, and, like many authors, she spoke through her protagonists. Her commitment to both character and plot was testament to her skill as a writer.
Gretta died suddenly but peacefully in January 2023. She leaves behind four siblings — Mary, Jim, Kath and Hugh — who, in her own words, were her very own diaspora. The space she leaves behind is mischief-shaped, adventurous and caring. Gretta loved a stomp along the coast (but never beaches) and spent time with family in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall. She was acutely perceptive in her understanding of people and never lost her good sense of fun. With her son, Darragh, she was a part of every corner of a large and scattered family.
Gretta — never Margaret — was a remarkable person; she shaped so many lives for the good and she will be much missed. To use her own words, spoken by Tyrone Swift, “May you live as long as you want to, and want to as long as you live . . .”
