A Brush with Death by Fiona Leitch | book review

A Brush with Death is the second book in Fiona Leitch’s Nosey Parker Mysteries, a delightful cozy mystery series set in the Cornish village of Penstowan.

Title: A Brush with Death
Author: Fiona Leitch
Series: The Nosey Parker Mysteries #2
First Published: February 12, 2021
Publisher: One More Chapter
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley

*** Thank you to One More Chapter, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***

When a body turned up at her last catering gig it certainly put people off the hor d’oeuvres. So with a reputation to salvage, Jodie ‘Nosey; Parker is determined that her next job for the village’s festival will go without a hitch.

But when chaos breaks out, Jodie somehow finds herself in the middle of the action, once again.

The body of a writer from the festival is discovered at the bottom of a cliff, and the prime suspect is the guest of honour, the esteemed painter Duncan Stovall. With her background in the Met police, Jodie has got solving cases down to a fine art and she knows things are rarely as they seem.

Can she find the killer before the village faces another brush with death?

A love triangle turns into a love… square?

I LOVED the first book in this series, Murder on the Menu (you can read my review of that book here), so I couldn’t wait to jump into the follow-up. Sequels to really great first books can be hit or miss so I was kind of nervous to read A Brush with Death since I enjoyed Murder on the Menu so much.

At first I was a bit disappointed in the main character Jodie. In the first book we learn that she had moved back home after a disastrous marriage (which began when she got involved with a married man) so I was a bit disappointed in her when she got involved with another married man, the artist Duncan Stovall (who turns out to be one of the main suspects in the murder).

Not only do I have no patience with anyone who gets involved with married people, but Jodie already had TWO amazing men in her life – her best friend Tony Penhaligon, and hunky DCI Nathan Withers. I wasn’t sure if a third man would add anything to the story.

But the humour and interesting characters that were such a strong point in the first book were just as prominent in this book, which was the reason I kept reading. And I have to admit that Jodie’s relationship with Duncan was a necessary to keep the story moving along and was an integral part of the murder mystery, so I had to grudgingly admit that it was a good storyline. *sigh* Don’t you love/hate it when an author proves you wrong?

Another standout book

All of the characters I loved so much from Book 1 are back in this story and they are all just as charming as ever. I’m falling even more for Tony and Nathan and I do hope that Jodie will end up with one of them (although I still have no idea which one I prefer) and I loved seeing more of Jodie’s mom and daughter.

The mystery itself was interesting – involving the art world, relationship secrets and a possible crime boss. The pacing is solid – the romance and action moves along quickly without lags but is never confusing, even though several more characters were introduced.

One of the things I really enjoy about this series is that Jodie is an ex-cop herself. That, plus the fact that her father was a well-liked DCI, gives her a lot more credence as an amateur detective and I enjoy that she has a good relationship with the local police force (as opposed to so many cozy mysteries where the main character is constantly butting heads with various police).

I’m really looking forward to the third book in the series, A Sprinkle of Sabotage, is coming out next month and I absolutely CANNOT wait to get my hands on it. This is quickly becoming one of my favourite cozy mystery series. If you love a smart protagonist, interesting love interests, unique murder mysteries and a good dose of delicious food, humour and British charm in your cozies, then you’ll fall in love with this series too.