Book Review - The Rhyme of the Magpie - Marty Wingate

Title:  The Rhyme of the Mag[ei

Author:  Marty Wingate 

Review:  This was a cozy little mystery which takes place in and around Mildenhall and Lakenheath , Suffolk, England. The mystery revolves around a murder that has taken place in a wooded area frequented by a prior lecture who has gained fame by the way he is able to teach and get the interest of everyone for the subject matter at hand. He has disappeared and it falls to his daughter and his new assistant to solve the murder and find the professor. His daughter is upset with her father for remarrying after the death of her mother. She was her father's assistant prior to that and has now struck out on her own in a new career. 

The story involves a small cast of characters and a love interest between her and the new assistant. It is all resolved in the end and I will admit to being surprised by who turned out to be the murder. I enjoyed the book and would read other offerings by this author. On a separate note as a retired Air Force member it should be noted that RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath are two big Air Force Bases although RAF Mildenhall is scheduled to close in the near future. This aside there was not one mention of any Yanks (Americans) in the book nor any mention of the Air Bases.

I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley. I would rate it at 4 stars.

Thanks Frank for this review.

Synopsis:  For readers of Laura Childs, Ellery Adams, and Jenn McKinlay, the high-flying new Birds of a Feather mystery series from Marty Wingate begins as a British woman gets caught up in a dangerous plot when her celebrity father disappears.

With her personal life in disarray, Julia Lanchester feels she has no option but to quit her job on her father’s hit BBC Two nature show, A Bird in the Hand. Accepting a tourist management position in Smeaton-under-Lyme, a quaint village in the English countryside, Julia throws herself into her new life, delighting sightseers (and a local member of the gentry) with tales of ancient Romans and pillaging Vikings.

But the past is front and center when her father, Rupert, tracks her down in a moment of desperation. Julia refuses to hear him out; his quick remarriage after her mother’s death was one of the reasons Julia flew the coop. But later she gets a distressed call from her new stepmum: Rupert has gone missing. Julia decides to investigate—she owes him that much, at least—and her father’s new assistant, the infuriatingly dapper Michael Sedgwick, offers to help. Little does the unlikely pair realize that awaiting them is a tightly woven nest of lies and murder.

Praise for Marty Wingate

“Marty Wingate plants clever clues with a dash of romantic spice to satisfy any hungry mystery reader.”—Mary Daheim, bestselling author of The Alpine Yeoman

“Classy, clever, and utterly charming . . . Brew a pot of tea and settle in with this immensely enjoyable mystery.”—Rosemary Harris, author of Pushing Up Daisies and The Bitches of Brooklyn, on The Garden Plot

"Put the kettle on and settle into a well-crafted village mystery with a delightful new sleuth." —Connie Archer, author of Ladle to the Grave

Kindle Edition
Expected publication: June 2nd 2015 by Alibi (first published May 26th 2015)