On this page you’ll find just a handful of the wonderful shorter reviews the Amy Rowlings Mysteries have accrued so far.  Over at Amazon and Goodreads the books average 4 or 5 stars, across 90% of the ratings. Thanks to everyone kind enough to leave a written review.

Murder At The Mill

Kindle Customer

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2024

 
Frances Griffith

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2024

This was a brilliant book. Kept me riveted. It was also really funny in places. I‘ll be looking for a follow-up to this. Amy and Bodkin make a great team.
 
DKG 70

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2024

A totally deserving 5 stars.

An absolutely amazing reading experience, beautifully descriptive of both surroundings and characters. I was so totally immersed in the characters and plot that I did not want the book to end. You can tell how much thought the author has put in, to produce such an enthralling book.

I was humming and hawing all the way through, debating “whodunit” and no I did not manage to figure it out!!!! Really well thought out with plenty of spanners in the works to throw us off the scent, brilliant.

Amy fancies herself as an amateur detective and Bodkin is the real deal, their relationship is such fun, Amy can be quite sassy when she fancies! I cannot wait to see how things progress between them both in the next book. I actually felt like I really knew the characters and Amy doesn’t half get you rooting for her. I love it when a book has such developed characters from the start, it makes it such a pleasure to read.

This book was a salve for my reading soul.

Death At The Lychgate

MoiraH

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 December 2023

The Murder Awards

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2023

 
ALYSON R

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2024

 
A last-minute invite for DI Bodkin and Amy to a fancy evening at the Town Hall where Chief Supt Grayson is receiving a public service award ends in a case of murder for Spinton police when local construction developer and Man of The Year award winner Nelson Kelly is found stabbed in a corridor by his publicist. The station is very understaffed so Bodkin initially arranges for Kent police accredited Amy to accompany him to his interviews with female witnesses and after that she finds herself fully immersed in the investigation. There are plenty of suspects, ranging from a corrupt former mayor, various rival businessmen using bribes and insider knowledge to win council contracts, and jealous spouses and lovers, producing a complete tangle of lies and deception for Bodkin and Amy to wade through in order to find the truth behind Nelson’s death. Meanwhile the real losers in this story are the poverty-stricken families living in rat infested slums and forced to rely on church charity to make ends meet. It’s a story where the kindness of some townspeople makes a stark contrast with greedy conniving others.
With its beautiful Art Deco inspired cover, this is a great Golden Age murder mystery full of slow and steady detecting which includes a final gathering of all the suspects in a denouement worthy of Poirot. There are return appearances from regulars such as Big Nose Beryl, blonde bombshell Trixie and Amy’s parents, but sadly we don’t see as much of favourites the wonderfully talented PC Ferris who has earned a singing spot at the swish Milton Hotel and Amy’s very capable and reliable best friend farmer and single mother Alice. It’s lovely to see the developing tender and caring relationship between Amy and Bodkin is still going strong too and long may it last!!
 
Rosie Bray

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2023

 

Imagine you’re swept back in time, to a bygone era, a time before WW2, before sweeping societal reforms and before all of the technological breakthroughs that we take for granted now.

What starts out as a potentially tedious night out at an awards evening for Amy and Inspector Bodkin, turns into a murder investigation following the discovery of the body of one of the award winners. Amy steps up to help Bodkin with the investigation, due to him being overstretched due to understaffing.

The story follows the investigation, but also gives an insight into life in the 1930s, highlighting the abject poverty that some are forced to live in, compared to that of the more affluent members of society.

This book was an absolute joy to read, and I loved being kept in the dark until Amy did her big reveal, when all of the facts and evidence was laid out against the various suspects. The sweet simplicity of the storytelling was a breath of fresh air.

 

Murder on the Medway

Jane Porter

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 2024

 
Booklover BEV

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 April 2024

1939 whodunit mystery.
Book Four from Amy Rowling and it’s a cracking read.
Young Effie Watkins is discovered in the reeds beds at the side of the gurgling Silverstream,  Amy and Inspector Bodkin are spending a pleasant afternoon together, never a dull moment with these two around.
As the investigation intensifies Amy builds up a list of suspects.
What a blinding book this is, from this amazing author. All the characters in this series grow on you and you feel completely drawn into them.
I loved this book four the best in the series and eager for more to come.
Chill out it the perfect read to make your reading day complete.
 
ALYSON R

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 April 2024

 
It’s the start of the industrial holiday fortnight and while Amy and Bodkin, now an item, are enjoying the sunshine in the local park, a group of children nearby discover the body of a young woman in the reed bed of the Silverstream that runs into the River Medway. Bodkin and Amy wade across to the body which shows no sign of how she died. DCI Laws, horribly understaffed, asks Amy for her help on the murder investigation and she is delighted to receive her own identification card from the police. Hot on the case, she traces the origin of the woman’s dress and soon the pair have a name for their victim. It transpires young Effie Watkins was a bit of a wild child with some rather unsavoury friends. Has she really left them all behind in Maidstone, could one of her new male admirers from the local boating club whose affections she toyed with be responsible for her death or maybe it was an angered and jealous wife or girlfriend? Bodkin has serious concerns for Amy’s safety as she continues to investigate the affluent members of the Highwater Boat Club on her own, and at the same time Amy’s worries surrounding a battered woman and her children opens a whole can of worms in her friendship with Bodkin as more of his hitherto unknown history is revealed, including at last his first name!! Once again, Amy relies on her idol Agatha Christie’s famous sleuth’s methods to help Bodkin catch a killer.
With another fantastic Art Deco inspired cover, this is a great Golden Age murder mystery full of slow and methodical detecting, and a great range of worthy suspects.
There are return appearances from regulars such as the wonderfully talented PC Ferris who has earned a singing spot at the swish Milton Hotel and Amy’s very capable and reliable best friend farmer and single mother Alice. It’s lovely to see Amy finally getting to really take part in the investigation alongside Bodkin and also to learn more about the man’s past and family as he and Amy develop an even closer relationship. I wonder what the future holds for this pair next! 5*
 

Hopes and Fears: An Unspoken Christmas Story Featuring Amy Rowlings

Phoebe’s mum

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2024

 
Donna Morfett

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 December 2022

 
I am yet to read the Unspoken trilogy on which this is a continuation but I have read the cosy mysteries which feature both Alice and Amy. It was odd not to see Bodkin pop up.
This story is mainly Alice’s, she’s taken on two evacuee children to her countryside farm. Stephen and Harriet are great kids, they have clearly settled into life on the farm and Alice is great with them.
As a surprise, Alice decides she will invite their parents to stay over Christmas. However she discovers that Rose has kicked her husband out. Rose is thrilled at the invitation and is desperate to see her kids, however the war and snow have a different idea.
Amy is still working in the factory but is now producing soldiers’ uniforms. When she learns Rose’s house has been bombed she decides to go to London to try and locate her.
This is such a sweet heartwarming story and the relationships with all the characters is so wonderful.I want to be around that table, just listening to them chat.I love Amy from the cosy mystery series and her character is just as sweet in this. Someone you’d love to be best friends with, and it shows throughout as she’s shown kindness by (almost) everyone she encounters.
It was nice to learn more about Alice and you can see why her and Amy are friends.
In short, this is a race against time, with the backdrop of World War 2, and heavy snow, interspersed with wonderful characters a brilliant story and great ending. I may have shed a tear.
 

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 December 2022

 
This book was an utter joy to read. I loved the characters, the authors style of writing and the plausible storyline. A lovely book to read whilst curled up in front of a warm fire with a glass of mulled wine. 5* from me.
 
TVL

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 November 2021

 
What another fabulous read! I took Hopes & Fears on my recent holiday as I didn’t want to wait until Christmas and as usual I was just hooked from the first chapter. Trevor’s writing makes me feel like Im actually in the room as I feel like I know the characters so well. The flow of the chapters between Alice, Amy, Godfrey etc kept me intrigued throughout. Trevor’s research clearly stands out and I’ve learned so much throughout this book. Another 5* book. Thanks Trevor x