The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery

I raced through this very fun, very readable murder mystery locked room story.  The detecting duo are an unlikely coupling, and were probably my favourite thing about the book, though I did also laugh out loud at the bumbling inspector from Scotland Yard.  I liked the way the story layered as it grew, and the way I felt involved in the detecting as I experienced everything alongside of Stephen so I felt like I was also on the verge of figuring everything out alongside side of him (I wasn't!)

I would note that I did find the swearing a bit of a surprise - it had felt like a cosy crime up until that point, you know, one of those excellent early Sunday evening pre-watershed period crime series, so I felt that it jarred a little with what I'd thought I was reading.  The language does add to the humour of the character it comes from ultimately, but a little bit of me wondered if it had been included simply to mark the book out as an adult novel, since the author does also write excellent children's stories.

With thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for my ARC.