An audio book.
The author's sold over a million crime fiction novels, so I thought I should read something of hers. This book is described as "cozy crime". I've read a book by Richard Osman which belonged to that genre but this book is cozier. Emily is 24, red-haired, and lives in London with Ben. When she loses her job, he leaves her within a week. A great-aunt who she's hardly met bequeaths her a house in a Wiltshire village as long as Emily looks after her pets. She accepts the offer and moves. The pet is a dog, Poppy. Maud runs the local shop. Toby is the eligible bachelor who looks after his old mother. He's allergic to dogs. Hannah runs the tea-room where Emily begins to work. Hannah and Toby used to go out.The pub landlord is XXX.
Emily soon becomes suspicious of her neighbour Alice, who has a metal fence among her garden. Poppy doesn't like her. Her young daughter suddenly disappeared - allegedly travelling. The great-aunt fell down the stairs 2 months after she got Poppy.
Emily tries to befriend Alice. Alice shows her the letters her daughter sends, and reads them out. They sound generic. Alice would like the stamps for her nephew, but Alice makes an excuse. Pete the postman tells Emily that Alice doesn't receive letters.
She's warned by Alice that Toby has a dark side. A lit firework is put through her letterbox.
Ben suddenly appears after 6 months. After an afternoon of love-making Emily's in love with him again. Hannah thinks that Dan's just after her money. She tells her that Toby likes her. Emily resigns from the tea-room job. She tells Ben about her suspicions. Ben thinks the pub, tea-room and village are rubbish. He warns her that whoever killed her great-aunt might kill her too. Ben accuses great-aunt's 2 sisters (Katherine and Denise) of pushing her down the stairs. He asks for money in exchange for silence. All they'd done wrong is to secretly sub-contract the care of Poppy until Emily took her over. He wants to sell "their" house and the dog.
Except for his looks Ben impresses nobody. She dumps him.
She visits Alice, who locks her in a bunker with her daughter. Alice and her daughter are both mad. After days, Toby visits Emily's house and alerts the police. Emily's found thanks to Poppy. The daughter remains mad. I'm surprised she's released.
Emily seems gullible and silly. Ben is obviously unpleasant and overbearing. Why does Emily think he has "undoubted charm"? The crime (which surely would have attracted national interest and would have had psychological after effects on Emily) is forgotten about as quickly as it happened.
Not a good book.
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