Death in the Village - Betty Rowlands

Death in the Village: A totally gripping British cozy murder mystery by Betty Rowlands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to be really sad when this series comes to an end, I've become quite fond of Sukey and her investigations. This is book eleven and I think that there are only two more left in the series. Reading these books is very much like meeting up with an old friend for a good old chin wag. I've never been a fan of the term cosy mystery and I think in many ways, this doesn't totally fit into that category, but there is something cosy about the familiarity of these books.
This time Sukey is involved in the investigation into a missing girl. There is also a question mark over death from seemingly natural causes. As the story progresses more things need to be looked into and it's not clear if any of them are connected at all. Sukey now has a boyfriend, a journalist who's father happens to live quite close to her. She enlists him to help out with a bit of poking around into something that isn't really an ongoing investigation and in the processes manages to solve the whole thing.
I have to admit that I had got this one all figured out before Sukey and the other detectives. She didn't make as many dramatic leaps this time, but she did seem to miss one or two things that seemed a bit obvious. I did think that there was a bit of a lack of understanding around computers, the idea that the police wouldn't even look at a missing person's computer until it was suggested that she might have met someone online seemed a little unlikely, even if this book was originally written in 2011.
Sukey now has familiar characters around her, although they are different from those that appeared in the earlier books. Her son Gus, who I've always really liked got barely a mention in this book. I suppose that he will have long finished university and moved away from home, but it would still have been nice to have some input from him.
I'm looking forward to the last two books with a mix of pleasure and sadness. They are always a good read, but I will miss them when I've reached the end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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