Book Review: A Killing at Smugglers Cove by Michelle Salter

Please join me in welcoming Michelle Salter back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, A Killing at Smugglers Cove.

Wartime secrets, smugglers’ caves, skeletal remains. And the holiday’s only just begun…

July 1923 – Iris Woodmore travels to Devon with her friends Percy Baverstock and Millicent Nightingale for her father’s wedding to Katherine Keats.

But when Millicent uncovers skeletal remains hidden on the private beach of Katherine’s former home, Iris begins to suspect her future stepmother is not what she seems.

The police reveal the dead man is a smuggler who went missing in 1918, and when a new murder occurs, they realise a killer is in their midst. The link between both murders is Katherine. Could Iris’s own father be in danger?

*****

Iris Woodmore is traveling to Devon to see her father marry Katherine Keats. Iris can’t help but be suspicious of her future Stepmother.

When she and her friends find a skeleton in the caves below the home Katherine used to share with her first husband, this does nothing to soften Iris’s fear that Katherine is keeping secrets.

Can Iris solve the mystery before her father marries Katherine and potentially marries a murderer?

I fast became a fan of Iris and her friends having read the previous novel in the series, The Body at Carnival Bridge. Therefore, I was looking forward to the next in the series, A Killing at Smugglers Cove. If this is the first book in the series for you, don’t worry. I haven’t read all of them yet (I plan to,) and I could keep up well.

It isn’t long before the reader is plunged into mystery and intrigue. I lost track of time when I was reading. I couldn’t put this book down.

Iris is a wonderful, strong character who doesn’t suffer fools and doesn’t conform to social norms. She loves her job as a journalist and doesn’t care what people think about her. She does have a fierce loyalty to her family and friends.

Katherine became all the more interesting in this novel and I think there’s scope for a set of stories detailing her life. I’d read them.

Supporting characters are brilliant. I love Percy and Millicent. The three of them make a good team.

As expected, there are many twists and turns in the plot and suspicion, suspense and tension grows throughout the book whilst being set in the lovely county of Devon.

This is a compelling, thrilling murder mystery and perfect for that holiday. Or for reading in the garden, or in a comfy chair. Whatever your reading situation, this is a great escape. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Iris.

About Michelle Salter –

Michelle Salter writes historical cosy crime set in Hampshire, where she lives, and inspired by real-life events in 1920s Britain.

The first book in her Iris Woodmore series, Death at Crookham Hall, draws on her interest in the aftermath of the Great War and the suffragette movement.

Say hello to Michelle via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bookbub. Click here to sign up to her newsletter. 

A Killing at Smugglers Cove is book four in the Iris Woodmore series and was released by Boldwood Books on 10th July 2023. Click here to buy. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.