#BlogTour: MURDER IN COVENT GARDEN by Anita Davison @AnitaSDavison @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources

Publication: 14th March 2025 – Boldwood Books

Nobody should be in the market… for murder!

Even though its famous opera house has shuttered its doors for the war, Covent Garden remains one of the most exciting, bustling areas of London. It’s where Hannah Merrill and Aunt Violet have their bookshop and, in spite of the recent spate of burglaries in the area, it’s generally thought to be a good neighbourhood.

So Hannah is surprised when she sees a fellow shopkeeper – a jeweller named Jacob Cornelis – having a heated argument with a stranger. Especially when the next day Cornelis is found dead in his shop, apparently the victim of another burglary.

But what shocks Hannah more is when she meets the policeman supposedly there to investigate the crime. Because he is none other than the man who Hannah saw arguing with Cornelis the day before.

Hannah knows it’s up to her and Violet to investigate. But they don’t know they’re about to uncover a secret underworld of theft, murder and blackmail. And they must act fast, before the Covent Garden Killer strikes again…

A gripping and unputdownable Golden Age cozy crime mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Helena Dixon and Verity Bright.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/MurderCoventGarden

It’s my turn on the blog tour for Murder in Covent Garden, the new fantastic mystery by Anita Davison, out today!

The Miss Merril and Aunt Violet series is one of my favourite historical series. I enjoy the mysteries and the suspense and I like that the protagonists are two independent women, a young woman and her aunt who owns a bookshop in Covent Garden.

In Murder in Covent Garden, a series of burglaries have the police running around in search of the thieves, until one burglary ends in murder. Hannah and her aunt Violet knew the victim, the owner of a jewelry shop near them who frequently visited their bookshop, so, of course, they involve themselves in the investigation of his murder, especially since Hannah had seen him just a few hours before his death arguing with a man who turns out to be one of the detectives involved in the investigation. Was he just the victim of a burglary gone wrong or his murder had nothing to do with it?

There are also other things keeping Hannah busy: a nosy and ambitious journalist who keeps popping up; the return of a man from her aunt’s past that could maybe put in trouble her aunt’s relationship with detective Aidan and her aunt herself who seems to be keeping secrets from her; and then her fiancé Darius who was once very supportive, but, now that they are engaged, he doesn’t seem to approve of her independence or her interest in solving murders.

Easily read as a stand-alone, Murder in Covent Garden is set in the summer of 1917. The war in Europe is in the backdrop, though very much present, with men being conscripted, war rationing, and even Hannah and Darius waiting for the end of the war to get married. While the mystery is intriguing and captivating, I also enjoyed all the personal drama in the protagonists’ lives. I am already looking forward to the next book in the series!

A huge thank you to Rachel and Boldwood Books for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.

Anita was brought up in London, a city with a history that has always fascinated her and influenced her first attempts at writing. Her first three novels featured a 17th Century West Country family on the losing side of the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. Other previous work includes an Edwardian Cosy Mystery series featuring amateur sleuth, Flora Maguire set in early 20th Century London and Cheltenham. Anita’s most recent work is the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mysteries set in WWI from Boldwood Books.