Sign in with Facebook
Marlene's Reviews > The Appleton Case
The Appleton Case (Markham Sisters #1)
by
by
*edited 8/6/17 to reflect a conversation with the author as well as to edit my mistakes*
My GR friend (Hannah, I believe?) kindly alerted me to this author to help me complete my personal challenge of reading authors alphabetically from A to Z. X is for Xarissa! Woo hoo!
The Appleton Case (2015, *Vellum) is first in the Markham Sisters series of cozy mysteries by Diana Xarissa. This novella is set in 1998 in Doveby Dale, a fictional town in Derbyshire, England.
*This book was "created with Vellum," which appears to mean that Diana Xarissa self-published this book.
In the author's notes, Ms. Xarissa shares that the Markham sisters first appeared in Aunt Bessie Decides , which is book four in her Isle of Man series of cozy mysteries. Apparently, all of the Markham Sisters novellas begin and end with a letter to Bessie, "without giving away any details from the Bessie series."
I actually read this story in A Markham Sisters Collection - ABCD , figuring I'd have the option of reading up to four novellas within my August loan from the Kindle Lending Library. I have actually moved on to The Bennett Case , but will be unlikely to finish the rest since I'm now behind on my reading schedule!
Rating: 3 3/4 stars
The plot: This series centers around Joan and Janet Markham, two sisters who are both retired schoolteachers from their local village school. They purchase a bed-and-breakfast and must decide whether to keep it going as a B&B or to make it solely their personal home.
Joan is the older of the two sisters. She's slender and more serious, cooks all the meals, and likes to follow the rules by the book. Janet, over sixty, "was plump and always smiling." She's very curious and is not above snooping! Joan and Janet both love books and are thrilled that the library full of books was included in the house.
From Janet's letter to Bessie: "Joan and I actually had a similar experience lately, looking into a mysterious death here in Derbyshire. It all started just after we returned home from our holiday, when Joan, usually the sensible one of the two of us, had a rather startling idea."
Christian elements: I can't think of anything to include here except that Joan is the more upright of the two. Janet doesn't stray far from the path of right overall, but wants to satisfy her curiosity. She snoops where she shouldn't.
Is it clean/chaste? Yes!
What I liked:
*The mystery is extremely cozy. No gore here! In fact, it was definitely an atypical mystery, and I appreciated that.
*This book followed English spelling conventions and included a glossary at the back of the book for the English terms. The biggest surprise for me as an American was that the term pudding was a general term meaning dessert! Another surprise was that while "ground floor" predictably translates to first floor in American English, the "first floor" is what would be the second floor to an American! Some other new-to-me terms include boot (which is the trunk of a car) and trolley (which is a shopping cart)!
What I didn’t like:
*Although the spelling and grammar were fine, I found the occasional awkward sentence. I wrote to the author, and she said she would incorporate some edits for the handful of problems I caught. Also, I did notice an improvement in book two and don't remember noticing any issues in that book.
*This is not QUITE a dislike but is worth noting - ghosts are mentioned in this book.
*
The bottom line: This is a super-clean and super-cozy mystery, and I recommend it to fans of such. (It's really quite tame!) I started reading The Bennett Case and will decide afterwards whether I'll continue with this author.
My GR friend (Hannah, I believe?) kindly alerted me to this author to help me complete my personal challenge of reading authors alphabetically from A to Z. X is for Xarissa! Woo hoo!
The Appleton Case (2015, *Vellum) is first in the Markham Sisters series of cozy mysteries by Diana Xarissa. This novella is set in 1998 in Doveby Dale, a fictional town in Derbyshire, England.
*This book was "created with Vellum," which appears to mean that Diana Xarissa self-published this book.
In the author's notes, Ms. Xarissa shares that the Markham sisters first appeared in Aunt Bessie Decides , which is book four in her Isle of Man series of cozy mysteries. Apparently, all of the Markham Sisters novellas begin and end with a letter to Bessie, "without giving away any details from the Bessie series."
I actually read this story in A Markham Sisters Collection - ABCD , figuring I'd have the option of reading up to four novellas within my August loan from the Kindle Lending Library. I have actually moved on to The Bennett Case , but will be unlikely to finish the rest since I'm now behind on my reading schedule!
Rating: 3 3/4 stars
The plot: This series centers around Joan and Janet Markham, two sisters who are both retired schoolteachers from their local village school. They purchase a bed-and-breakfast and must decide whether to keep it going as a B&B or to make it solely their personal home.
Joan is the older of the two sisters. She's slender and more serious, cooks all the meals, and likes to follow the rules by the book. Janet, over sixty, "was plump and always smiling." She's very curious and is not above snooping! Joan and Janet both love books and are thrilled that the library full of books was included in the house.
From Janet's letter to Bessie: "Joan and I actually had a similar experience lately, looking into a mysterious death here in Derbyshire. It all started just after we returned home from our holiday, when Joan, usually the sensible one of the two of us, had a rather startling idea."
Christian elements: I can't think of anything to include here except that Joan is the more upright of the two. Janet doesn't stray far from the path of right overall, but wants to satisfy her curiosity. She snoops where she shouldn't.
Is it clean/chaste? Yes!
What I liked:
*The mystery is extremely cozy. No gore here! In fact, it was definitely an atypical mystery, and I appreciated that.
*This book followed English spelling conventions and included a glossary at the back of the book for the English terms. The biggest surprise for me as an American was that the term pudding was a general term meaning dessert! Another surprise was that while "ground floor" predictably translates to first floor in American English, the "first floor" is what would be the second floor to an American! Some other new-to-me terms include boot (which is the trunk of a car) and trolley (which is a shopping cart)!
What I didn’t like:
*Although the spelling and grammar were fine, I found the occasional awkward sentence. I wrote to the author, and she said she would incorporate some edits for the handful of problems I caught. Also, I did notice an improvement in book two and don't remember noticing any issues in that book.
*This is not QUITE a dislike but is worth noting - ghosts are mentioned in this book.
*
The bottom line: This is a super-clean and super-cozy mystery, and I recommend it to fans of such. (It's really quite tame!) I started reading The Bennett Case and will decide afterwards whether I'll continue with this author.
Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read
The Appleton Case.
Sign In »
