The Only Way is Murder by Lou Collins

Editors Love to Read

Interviewer: Ooh, being an editor must be such a lovely job. You get to read novels all day!

Me: Well, yes, I do read books, of course, but reading with my editor’s head on is a bit different from reading purely for pleasure.

Interviewer: So what about your leisure time? What sort of books do you like to read then?

Me: As you might know, I specialize in editing cozy mysteries, so I do read quite a few of those in my own time. I also enjoy women’s fiction, romance, inspirational fiction, and the occasional biography or thriller.

Interviewer: Would you like to tell us about a great book you’ve read recently?

Me: I certainly would! I would love to give you my review of The Only Way is Murder by British mystery author Lou Collins.

Blurb

As her 50th birthday approaches, Chloe Essex is ready to unveil her exciting new business venture in the quaint English village of Speckled Hill. But her perfect celebration takes a deadly turn when she discovers her best friend dead in the marquee just days before the big reveal.

Accused of murder and up to her neck in shady business dealings, tangled love affairs, and half the county’s nosiest gossips, she’s fighting to clear her name and salvage her reputation.

My Review

I was fortunate enough to win a signed paperback copy of this book in an author giveaway on Facebook, and when I say “fortunate”, I mean “fortunate”. The story was a joy to read from start to finish.

I’ve never watched The Only Way is Essex, but I know enough about it to be able to appreciate the cleverness of the author’s setting, characters, and word use as she makes it a basis for this book and the subsequent ones in the series. Our sleuth is named Chloe Essex, for example, and that’s just the beginning of it.

Although the book follows the usual cozy mystery formula of an amateur sleuth in a small setting solving a murder with the help of an eclectic group of sidekicks, this novel is set apart by its wonderful comedy. The characters are all, well, “characters”, from the delightful Ray at the beauty salon to nosy neighbour and covert martial arts expert Mrs Buttinski. As the story advances, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong in comic fashion for poor Chloe as she tries to pull off a stunning launch for her new business venture. It doesn’t help that the murder victim is her best friend Franco, who is/was also the event organiser, so the only way is downhill from there.

Although there is a lot of humour and situation comedy, as I’ve mentioned, there’s also a more serious thread running through the story with Chloe’s dad suffering from Lewy body dementia. The author’s own father-in-law was affected by this condition, and the loving and sensitive way that both she and Chloe deal with it is a wonderful way to honour his memory and to raise awareness of the condition.

In conclusion, I would say that the mystery is well put together and kept me reading until the last page. And just so you know, there’s enough bling, fake tans, and designer gear to keep even the lovely GC happy as well. What more could you want from a book? Thank you, Lou Collins. The rest of the series is now firmly on my wish list.

The Only Way is Murder was published by BOLDFACE PRESS LIMITED on 20 July 2024. You can buy your own copy of the book on Amazon (UK) or Amazon (US).

You can find out about reality TV series The Only Way is Essex here.