Ann Purser has written both the series about New Brooms and the one about Ivy Beasley. Both are enjoyable cozy mysteries to read. I finished off both series while the first lockdown of covid19 was happening. Thank goodness for borrowing books from the digital library collection.
New Brooms is a cleaning agency owned by Lois Meade and along with her family and employees Lois solves mysteries that happen in and around the village of Long Farnden. The main characters are Lois and her husband Derek, Douglas, Josie and Jamie (their grown up children), Gran, Dot Nimmo (a cleaner for New Brooms), and Detective Chief Inspector Hunter Cowgill.
One group of books, each with a number… Warning at One, Tragedy at Two, Threats at Three, Foul Play at Four, and Found Guilty at Five.
There is another group of 7 books, each with a day of the week in the title. Most of these I read in the digital edition and didn’t think to take a screen capture of the cover.
Enquire Within is a sleuthing organization set up by Ivy Beasley along with Augustus Halfhide (known as Gus) a newcomer to the area of Barrington.
The first book in the series, The Hangman’s Row Enquiry introduces Ivy, who has recently moved into a senior’s residence and Gus, who has just moved into Hangman’s Row. Other characters involved in this first enquiry are Theo Roussel, Beatrice Beatty (Theo’s house keeper), Deirdre Bloxam (Ivy’s cousin) and Roy Goodman (another resident at the senior home). Ivy is naturally suspicious of any newcomers but even more so when a lady in the house next to Gus is found dead. Does she suspect Gus? the daughter? or someone else? Gus is quickly ruled out and they team up to work together to find out who the murderer is. As the sleuthing continues more and more facts are found out about Beatrice Beatty.
There is still something suspicious about Gus … but will Ivy and Deirdre ever find out?
The Enquire Within team becomes more and more suspicious of Beatirce Beatty and connections and secrets are found out about her and the murdered woman. They do eventually figure out who the murderer was.
It was a good book to read, not a heavy read where you are constantly trying to figure out the plot and the characters.
The third book in the Enquire Within series is The Wild Wood Enquiry, which I read in the digital edition. The main characters of Ivy Beasley, 70 something, Roy Goodman, her fiance, Gus Halfhide, and Deirdre Bloxam are into sleuthing to find out about a mysterious hand that was seen in the woods.
This book sees Gus’s ex-wife, Katherine, turn up unexpectedly and disappear just as quickly. Miriam and Rose, neighbours of Gus, discover what they think is a hand in the woods. But when they took the police back to see it, it had vanished.
A musician, Sebastian Ulph, is also looking for Gus’s ex-wife. Kath has told Gus the story that Sebastian stole all her jewelry and she thinks it is hidden in the woods. Eventually the team solves the mystery of the hand, the jewelry and the death.
This book didn’t grab my interest as much as the first ones did, but I did finish reading it. Here are some more books that I’ve read and posted about.
Time to join Stacking the Shelves and Book Date.
Myrtle
I wish I could spend more time reading books that I have bought to read, mysteries of course but my eyes get very blurry and sore. Some day I can read more then next time not much. I won’t give up for as long as I can still read even for a short period.