Published by Boldwood Books, 26 January 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-80483-146-5 (PB)
Sophie Sayers and
her boyfriend, Hector Munro, have just returned to the village of Wendlebury
Barrow after a holiday in Scotland visiting Sophie’s parents. Although they
have only been away for a week quite a lot has happened in the village.
Sophie is
delighted to hear that her friend, Carol, the local shopkeeper, has just got
engaged and is sporting an enormous diamond ring, but like the rest of the
village she is angry and dismayed to discover that the local bus service, the
aptly named Highwayman bus company has decided to axe the local bus service.
They say that the service is no longer viable, especially as it has been
plagued by a number of mishaps or practical jokes, like the young man who
released two pigeons on a bus. To make matters worse the regular bus driver on
the route has been sacked after an altercation with his inspector after the
driver tried to enforce the company’s no eating policy with a very awkward
regular customer who lives in Wendlebury Barrow. A lot of the villagers are
very upset about this, especially the older people and the children who are
unable to drive or cannot afford a car. Sophie is concerned about the villagers
whose lives will be so badly disrupted but she is also worried about the effect
upon herself because the loss of the buses means that Hector is pushing forward
the schedule for Sophie to learn to drive. Although Sophie has got her
provisional license and has passed her theory test she has a deep-rooted
dislike of the idea of driving herself, which stems from her relationship with
a manipulative former boyfriend, and she has enjoyed being chauffeured in
Hector’s Land Rover. She has to accept the validity of Hector’s arguments that
learning to drive would be useful for her to take a more proactive part in
promoting the bookshop in which he has just made her a partner and also for
collecting stock for their latest venture, a large second-hand book department.
This does not mean that she is happy when Hector pushes her into having her
first lesson with him that very evening. The lesson is for from successful but
when Sophie secretly makes an appointment with the only driving instructor in
the village it goes even worse than her lesson with Hector, which makes it
clear she needs a new strategy if she is ever to learn to drive.
Sophie joins in
with the campaign to persuade the Highwayman bus company to change its mind,
which involves using the bus as frequently as possible before it disappears.
Some people are making multiple journeys and holding up banners, while one
innovative young man intended to superglue himself to the seat although this
demonstration misfires. They are all shocked when a sudden suspicious death
occurs and Sophie has to turn her attention to investigating the crime, despite
the fact that her probing could put her own life in danger.
Driven to Murder is the ninth book featuring Sophie Sayers. It is a
delightful cosy crime novel with many likeable returning characters and an
engaging central protagonist who develops in confidence and independence with
every book. The transport issue at the centre of the plot highlights one of the
major challenges for rural communities. This is a very enjoyable easy read,
which I recommend. ------- Reviewer: Carol Westron
Debbie Young was born and raised in Sidcup, Kent. When she was 14,
her family relocated to Germany for her father’s job. Debbie spent four years
at Frankfurt International School, broadening her outlook as well as gaining
the then brand new IB (International Baccalaureate). She returned to the UK to
earn her BA (Hons) in English and Related Literature at the University of York,
then lived and worked for a while in London and the West of England as a
journalist and PR consultant. In 1991
she moved to the Cotswolds. In 2002, she married a Scot named Gordon whom she
met in Swindon – and not, as village rumour once had it, a Swede named
Scottie. In 2003, her daughter Laura was
born. Best Murder in Show was the first
in her series featuring Sophie Sayers. There are now eight books in
this series.
https://authordebbieyoung.com
Carol Westron is a
successful author and a Creative Writing teacher. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary
and Victorian
times. Her first book The Terminal Velocity of
Cats was
published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 8 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. interview
www.carolwestron.com
To read a review of Carol
latest book click on the ti tle
Death and the Dancing Snowman
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