Eve Mallow is in the little village of Saxton St. Peter, on her latest assignment, to write a feature obituary of the famed cellist, Bernard Fitzpatrick. Her wirehaired dachshund, Gus, is with her, and she has rented a picturesque cottage with a picturesque history for her stay. The villagers are friendly, and the subject is interesting.

The subject gets more interesting when it's revealed that Bernard Ftizpatrick didn't die due to a fall. He was killed with a blow to the back of his head with a blunt instrument.

Eve isn't willing to leave the investigation to the police, especially after meeting the detective in charge. She also quickly realizes that Fitzpatrick's genial reputation isn't supported by the people who actually knew him well.

His secretary, Adam Cox, clearly resented his bullying management style, and the was he blocked Cox's efforts to move on to another position--and now that Fitzpatrick is dead and his estate passing to a local art trust, Cox will be director of it. His former publicity manager, Fiona Goddard, quit a while ago, and has been strangely unable to land a new position, despite a seemingly impressive resumé. Her husband, Andrew, has his own reasons to loathe the cellist. A promising younger cellist, Colin Wentworth, who hasn't made much progress professionally yet, is revealed by Fitzpatrick's will to be his illegitimate son--and inherits only a cello Fitzpatrick used early in his career, before he could afford a finer instrument. Several members of the board of the arts trust have their own grudges against him.

Who else might have hated Bernard Fitzpatrick? Can Eve trust her new friends?

When another murder happens, new questions arise, and Gus starts warning her of strange activities in the little lane outside the cottage, Eve starts to get really worried, and has to trust an odd collection of new friends--Viv, the local baker, her brother Simon, who runs the local stable and has a reputation of being a ladies' man, and the oddly uncommunicative, and oddly always around at unlikely times, gardener, Robin Yardley, who seems to have no past at all prior to his arrival in the village just a few years ago. Who is he really?

There's some really likeable, enjoyable characters here. Eve, despite dismissing the police, is actually fairly careful and doesn't willfully rush into dangerous situations. This is clearly going to be another British village with an improbable murder rate, but it is a very enjoyable community.

A very enjoyable, light read or listen.

I bought this audiobook. ( )

I was intrigued by the title as it reminded me of titles of Nancy Drew mysteries that originated my love of mysteries in 4th grade. As the character of Eve Mallow arrived in the Suffolk village of Saxford St. Peter from London description of the setting was easy to imagine with the atmospheric writing. Eve has arrived in the village for a 2-week stay in a furnished cottage rental from a brother and sister. The cottage is named, "Elizabeth's Cottage" due to its unique history and is situated on Haunted Lane. Eve has come to personally interview multiple individuals before writing an obituary of a world-famous cellist as he accidentally drowned in the River Sax. However, on arrival, Eve quickly learns that cellist Bernard Fitzpatrick has been murdered. This illicits a very new experience for Eve in more ways than one.

I enjoyed meeting Eve as a divorcee with grown children out on their own and a woman finding her path forward from an ex that is still attempting to have control over Eve's decisions and actions. Born to a British father and American mother Eve grew up in Seattle and at age 18 moved to London for her studies and has continued her residence in the city. I loved how Eve's heritage, life experiences, and now the idyllic setting reminding her of Seattle and walks on the beach give her pause that the future could be something different. I also loved the little dachshund named Gus from the start but particularly his enthusiasm and adventuresome delight for his independent explorations and ball playing with Eve at the beach.

I'm looking forward to spending more time with Eve and Gus.

p.s. Be sure to read "About the Author" to learn what sparked the author's creativity to have the heroine of this series be an obituary writer. ( )

The first time I have encountered a sleuth who is an obituary writer. Eve Mallow is keen to find out what people thought of the deceased, cellist Bernard Fitzpatrick. On the day she arrived in the village to begin work on the obituary Eve discovers that the police have announced that he was murdered. She feels a little uncomfortable that she might put herself in danger by actually interviewing the murderer, and, even worse, that she might realise this is the person the police are looking for.

She realises also that there are many candidates - the fact that Peter was charismatic doesn't mean that he was popular or well-liked. In fact he was very self-centred and even manipulative.

A nice start to what looks like it will be an interesting series worth following. ( )

Mystery on Hidden Lane: An utterly gripping cozy mystery novel (An Eve Mallow Mystery Book 1) by [Chase, Clare]Eve has been sent to write the obituary of Bernard Fitzpatrick, a cellist. When she arrive in the village she begins to hear talk that his death may have been a murder. Using her journalist nosiness, she begins on the trail to find the true story.
Eve was a character that was easy to relate to, and who can resist a quaint, little village. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who enjoy light murder mysteries.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. ( )

cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, England,*****

I loved it because it is actually a very good whodunit led by a woman with an unusual career who had been unaccustomed to sleuthing and set in a lovely village. And she has a long haired dachshund ;)
Eve writes obits for niche magazines about people of their interest, and in this case it is a renowned cellist. The easiest way to manage interviews and whatever is to lease a cottage for a couple of weeks, and the best part of that is the good people she met who want her to stay despite her other life in London. Lo and behold, it turns out that the death was not a simple misadventure but murder! Let the sleuthing begin!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )