A British Mystery (Emily Castles Mysteries Book 1)

London. Emily Castles (26) had been invited to a Halloween performance party.
Midori Hana-bi’ (Emily’s Japanese neighbor, DJ), Zizi (Midori’s sister), Jake, Chris, Zsa-Zsa (Midori’s sister), Rob, & Joszef “Joe” were there.
Emily & Joe (Hungarian) got to know one another.
Later there was a knife stuck in Zsa-Zsa’s chest. But not the kind her/sister Zizi used.
She later died.

2 Scotland Yard detectives showed up.
Will the murder mystery be solved?

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A fairly well written cultural murder mystery book. It wasn’t always very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish, but never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great cultural murder mystery movie, or better yet a mini TV series. I’m not sure I grasped the whole story content so I will only rate it at 3/5 stars.

Thank you for the free Tyger books; bookfunnell; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

Okay, this is a British mystery story that takes place during a Guy Fawkes Day celebration at a decrepit old mansion occupied by a troupe of performance artists who have invited the whotoe neighborhood to come and be entertained at a giant pot luck. So some chaos is to be expected. Throw in a possible murder and a possible cover up of that murder, a bonfire and fireworks and lots of alcohol because that is how one celebrates on Guy Fawkes Day. Lots of chaos occurs. Add in that the neighbors do not know each other very well. Add in a question about how many almost identical sisters are there. Add in that the sisters are foreigners and that they travel between countries frequently. Was there a murder? A grieving woman thinks that there was a murder but almost everyone else thinks that she is imagining things.

Well the author does a good job of creating an impression of chaos. Maybe that is enough for one book, but I was hoping for a little more meat to the story. All of the plot and everything about the characters fills less than two pages and the rest feels like it is there just to make it long enough to be a book. If the whole thing could be read in ten minutes, okay. But this book takes an hour to tell a ten minute story. That is too much filler and too little meat for me.

Although I usually avoid novellas since they are just too short to get into characters, plot, and development of both, I enjoyed this one very much. The plot is straight and offers all it takes, especially tempo, but without ever getting hurried and hectic, just keeping the right pace. The end was totally unexpected (for me at least), although one must say retrospectively that there were hints.

What I liked most, however, is the style. Totally unusual for a cozy mystery and most certainly not everyone's taste. I'm not sure if I'd like to read 500 or more pages so artfully written; certainly not in one piece, that's why I assume the author sliced it into novellas -- a wise decision. It requires great talent and certainly many revisions to paint such an impressive mood picture with words. At times Ms. Smith's style reminded of the way Edgar Allen Poe and H. P. Lovecraft created a certain atmosphere in their stories.

A remarkably pleasant reading. It stands out positively from the monotony which appears so characteristic for many contemporary authors.

"When she was at school it had always been implied that heavy lifting should be avoided because it might damage a woman's uterus. Now she hoped that if she came to grief from ignoring this advice, and the blasted thing shot out of her as she heaved at the suitcase, that at least it might land on Chris's head and choke him, mythical giant squid-like, with fallopian tentacles." - Three Sisters (Emily Castles Short Mysteries Book 1)

Three Sisters is quite a departure from other Helen Smith titles I've read, but regardless, her quintessential quirkiness shines through. She has a way with words that brings a story to life that will have you smiling one moment, frowning the next.

Agatha Christie with a twist is probably the best way to describe this cosy mystery. Emily Castle plays amateur detective to a unique cast of larger-than-life characters (another Helen Smith trademark). Three Sisters - the title will become evident at the end - with its sense of theatre, is a short (novella) but entertaining read, which I have no hesitation in recommending to cosy fans.

Did I enjoy these books: Three Sisters and Showstoppers were okay. They were supposed to be quick reads but they did not hold my attention or interest. Each book was approximately 40 Nook pages and it took me almost all day to finish one story. I just could not get into them.

I did not connect with the leading lady, Emily Castle. I couldn't understand what she was thinking or doing. She seemed a bit too scattered. Emily didn't seem to like anyone in her neighborhood and appeared put out to have to talk to anyone. I'm surprised she ever left her house.

The mysteries that Emily finds herself somewhat involved in are not developed enough for my taste. I got the gist of what was happening but it was just difficult for me to really get into it...to wonder "whodunit?" Even the setting of the stage was confusing. I couldn't follow along with where Emily was and what she was seeing. And re-reading the synopsis for the books, I don't even remember Dr. Crowther being that important to the plot of the story. She was just kind of there but not really.

These stories could be really great but they fell flat in my opinion.

Would I recommend them: I would not recommend these books.

Will I read them again: I will not.

This is the first Emily Castles mystery I have ever read, and for the most part, I truly enjoyed it. Hardly any profanity (almost not worth mentioning) and no sex scenes, and a very easy-to-read book. Although this is a short book, I recommend that you have a dictionary handy. Helen Smith has a fantastic vocabulary, and her writing is very descriptive. And I can't tell you how much I appreciated that! I look forward to reading a full novel featuring the character Emily Castles.

I only have one criticism, and I suppose I can identify with to a degree. I myself am an unpublished author, and I tried to write mystery. And for some reason, it never really came out the way I wanted. I had potential in the area, but it was not my most comfortable genre. In time, I think I could get better, but I sort of gave up. What I see in Helen Smith is vast potential in the area of mystery-writing, but I do wonder if it is her most comfortable genre. Perhaps when she writes a full length novel with this character, she will have more time to develop the mystery. Although portions of the mystery story were quite clever, I felt that some parts of the story did not match up.

But let me say that I love the English feel of the book! Okay, so it helps that the author is English, but this book definitely has more an English feel that some "English" books I have read. I look forward to reading more from this author and Emily in the future!

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

4 STARS

Three Sisters is a British mystery novel. It is only 104 pages. It is a pretty good story. I did guess part of the mystery early. I liked Emily.

Emily likes mysteries. She is really feeling the loss of her dog. Which I can understand some of it.

I found it interesting that a group just moves into a empty house fixes it a little. They are having a big party and inviting everyone. It is Halloween and Guy Fawkes night. The group is a troupe of circus performers. Not sure what is real and what is just a act.

Emily sees one of the blindfolded knife thrower sisters get stabbed with a knife. The police are called and the dead girl stands up and says it was an act. Emily is not satisfied with the answer.

The setting is London, England at the end of Oct.

It is a clean read, some humor, some sadness. A interesting read as you try and figure out with Emily just what is going on. Who do you trust?

It would be interesting to see what happens next to Emily.

I was given this ebook to read by the author. In return I agreed to give a honest review of Three

Continuing my review of spooky books for September and October, I've reviewed a quirky and spooky--yet humorous--mystery. The first in the Emily Castle mystery series, this short novel follows twenty-six-year old Londoner Emily Castle to a strange party. Emily is grieving for her late dog, and the party thrown by a neighbor is her first attempt to begin her new life sans dog. The book is quirky and fun and a fast read. At the party, Emily witnesses a duo, sisters, performing a knife trick. One of the sisters looks like she dies on stage, and the crowd goes crazy with police arriving at the scene. But then the sister miraculously seems recovered... though Emily swears she saw her die.

Emily is thus left with a crime to solve--except no body to prove the crime even happened. Along her way to solving the mystery, she meets all sorts of eccentric characters. The party takes on the feeling of a circus mixed with a close-knit neighborhood mixed with a big city. It's an interesting read, and it made me want to keep reading until the end. Speaking of the end, although the crime is solved, the book opens with lots of possibilities for sequels.

Though there are references to adult content, none of it is shown explicitly, so this would be an appropriate book even for young, young adults. I look forward to reading the next books in the series.

"Everything was on the spectrum from brown to cream, and the overall effect was a sepia-toned display that had been put together by someone nostalgic for a time before Britons had learned to cook, but after they had learned to shop at supermarkets." - Three Sisters

A good mystery should read like a good magic show. Full of flash, curiosity, misdirects and in the end leave you wanting for more. We may learn what we think is the true outcome, the solving of a crime, but we will never know all of what was behind the curtain. It is what makes us pick up the next book in the series. Helen Smith has done this for me with these two novella's. I want more and more Emily Castle adventures!

I never get tired of a good mystery. A mystery must keep me guessing, be written with a flair for the flamboyant (despite the blandness of colours on the buffet table) and keep me biting my nails till the end. Whatever mystery I am reading must have a unique protagonist combined with a cast of other intriguing characters. It should draw me in and make me part of the sleuthing. Though I have been want to read the new sub-genre of a cozy*, I will forever be a fan of Agatha Christie and Sir Author Conan Doyle. Classical mysteries at their finest.

"The south London sky exploded with a thousand deaths that night" - Three Sisters

What makes me adore and driven with the need to send threatening e-mails for more more and more Emily Castles Mysteries is the combination of both the classical mystery, the cozy style (because she is an independent female and very smart) and a writing style which is reminiscent of a Hard Boiled Raymond Chandler (several metaphors and allegorical content remind me of The Big Sleep) and sublimeness of David Foster Wallace. The description of the buffet table is just a small example of the beautiful and poetic writing style of the author. I could see the table full of food and feel just as washed out as she was feeling. Each step was a hint, and a hint either leading you towards solving the mystery or down a dead-end.

How she managed to pull this off in under 50 pages with each book is beyond me. It works though, all aspects and conventions of the Mystery genre are not only intact but are more powerful than some of the full length novels I have read. They do not give you time to take a breath, it was non-stop reading with each and the stories kept me hopping. As with their length, Ellen has a shortened period of time to solve this mystery, whether stated or suggested. The surreal evening of Bonfire night (Guy Fawkes night) is a ticking bomb, the party is almost a traveling circus, a side-show pulling up in a covered wagon and pouring out with entertainers that could not possibly all fit inside. Three Sisters is like the wagon, so many distractions it is hard to keep up with what is going on and I felt like I was spinning in circles, despite the title which had me figuring out the main mystery, there were still tons of other blanks I had to fill.

"Sunlight streamed from the tall windows along the corridor and dripped coppery highlights into Victoria's plaits and Dolly's liquorice-coloured curly hair; a woman dressed as a child from a story about a tornado induced dream..." Showstopper

Moving onto Showstoppers, Emily is just coming up for air after the Bonfire party. We have several of the characters introduced in Three Sisters who are fleshed out. Emily seems to be coming into her own after the loss of a loved one and her constant temporary state of living. It is another race of the clock, but this time she has to engage with her neighbors, put herself out there more and trust in a few other people as well as own instincts.

These two novella's, for me a mystery buff at heart (I have my complete Nancy Drew collection to prove it) were the perfect vehicle to drive new fans into a the "bated breath" stage of wait. If you love a good stand alone mystery heroine who has a love for dogs, has not figured out where she fits in life and is a bit too traditional with a setting in a London we do not get to peak at with many other of these types stories.. pick these two stories up and keep tabs on each upcoming books. I hope we will get new adventures soon!

4.5/5 Stars!

Emily Castles Mysteries are fun, humorous and intriguing. You can't help but get drawn into the mysteries that Emily undertakes. It's like Scooby Doo or Nancy Drew, Emily gets the help of her neighbour, Dr Muriel and together they search for clues to discover the culprit to the murders.

Emily is still grieving the loss of her beloved Golden Retriever, Jessie and to help her think about something else, she is invited to a street party down the road. There is to be a bonfire and fireworks, plus performers and all sorts of entertainment. Moving from room to room throughout the house, Emily is trying to sort out what is an act and what is a real person. During a performance, a knife throwing act, two sisters' are blindfolded and throwing knives at each other, one gets misdirected and a sister dies, but does she. The next minute the sister walks on stage and gives a bow. Emily is determined to get to the bottom of it all. Was it really a murder or just part of the entertainment?

In both of these novellas, all of the characters are strong, personable people that everyone can relate to. Emily and Dr Muriel are determined, sticky-nose characters, that like to get into everybody's business in order to solve the mystery at hand. With Dr Muriel's analytical approach and Emily's thoughtful, intellectual methods, they both make a fantastic team to solve the mysteries. I enjoyed Showstoppers a little more than Three Sisters, as it was faster paced and the mystery began towards the beginning of the book, which allowed more mystery and more time to think about the suspects. Overall this is a great series with well written, light and funny mysteries.

Emily Castles is grieving the loss of her beloved dog, Jessie. She's feeling quite emotional and all alone in the world. Emily is invited to a neighborhood bonfire party by her new neighbors. This isn't your typical party and one thing Emily never expects is to witness a murder.

Readers are treated to a crazy evening complete with an eccentric group of performers who give Emily a run for her money. She's sure one of them has been murdered, but who could have done it? To make matters even more confusing, there's no dead body and she begins to wonder if anyone really died.

This is a short story, approximately 70 printed pages and a very quick read. Talk about leaving readers wanting more. This is the first of a series of Emily Castles mysteries set in London. It's fast-paced, funny, and mysterious all at the same time. I've never read anything by Helen Smith before, but she's a new-to-me author that I will be looking for in the future. I can't wait to see what Emily's next adventure will be.

Format Reviewed: Kindle

Just to get this out of the way: No problems with formatting noted. I read this on my Kindle Fire HD. No noted grammar or punctuation issues. If there were any, I was too engrossed in the story to notice.

I was a bit dubious when it came to reading this book because it was described as a cozy. I like cozies as in village stories or humorous mysteries. I don't particular care for them when they involve recipes or knitting shops (unless of course the recipes have some imaginative use of strychnine or the homicidal knitting shop owner has unusual uses for various sizes of knitting needles.) While this novella is a cozy in the sense that the story downplays the violence, it isn't fluffy and woolly like too many books in that sub genre.

As the view point character, Emily Castles, walks down a London street toward an extraordinary neighborhood Halloween/Guy Fawkes/Diwali party, I became struck by the author's cinematic eye for detail. The story unrolls with performances within performances. It is interesting to watch Emily make contact with people who had been her neighbors, but with whom until now she had only the most fleeting experience.

There's not much use in detailing the plot, but it does involve a mystery. I felt the story was more a vehicle for introducing Emily and her section of London although it is complete and satisfying.

I don't usually read Novellas because I like a more in depth experience of a fictional world, but the author offered me a chance to read this book free and I'm glad I accepted.

Three Sisters is the first chapter in The Emily Castle Mysteries.

Emily decides she will go to the bonfire party at the end of her block. She has nothing pressing and really needs to get out of the house.

The party is a combination of Halloween and Guy Fawkes night, where people dress up in costumes. At this party the participants each have a role they play and the guests are there as observers only.

The knife throwing event draws a large crowd. As the two woman throw their knives back and forth, one of them is struck in the chest.

Panic ensues and the police are summoned. Shortly after they arrive, the crowd begins to cheer. When Emily gets to the front of the crowd she sees the dead girl standing and smiling, displaying the prop, a rubber knife. It was all part of the performance, or was it?

Emily had seen the light go out of the girl's eyes. She was certain she had died.

I really enjoyed Three Sisters and became quite fond of Emily Castle. I dove right in and started digging for clues, going down wrong paths, suspecting everyone, and finally getting to the truth.

This author does an excellent job giving you a fun and intriguing mystery to solve in a short, easy read. I know I'll be watching for more about Emily Castle and her adventures.

Four Stars for this performance!

Background: In this Novella, Emily is invited to a party in her neighborhood and witnesses some strange activities and people. She does not normally come to these types of things. While there she witnesses a murder and it is up to her and another neighbor Dr. Muriel to solve the puzzle.

Review: First impressions I had while reading this were, `boy are these sentences super long.' It made it very hard to read since it was hard to gauge where a sentence would finally end. I felt like I was taking too much time re-reading these sentences rather than paying attention to the plot of the mystery. And when I read a mystery I want to try and remember all the details to see if I can figure it out before the end.

As for the story, I did enjoy it. There were a few quarks that were interesting, there is a carnival performance theme to the party Emily attends and the characters are funny and weird. It also forced me to remember some facts about drama that I learned while in Grad school and that was cool.

I felt like Emily, the main character, is a little off, she was almost annoyingly talking to everyone about the death of her dog. Now I know this is a big deal, and when my dog passes I will not leave my house for weeks, BUT if I were Emily going to a party that had a bunch a weird artsy people and shows and things, I could at least TRY to have some fun while there, she just obsessed and then figured out a murder had occurred.

I think that it is hard to really develop a story in a novella...so there were things I was confused about. All in all the mystery was interesting and I am about to read Showstoppers, the next book, so maybe more character development there.

Emily has recently gotten over the death of her elderly dog. She was there when he drew his last breath and the life went out of his eyes. Emily needs to break out of her sadness and agrees to attend a neighborhood party to celebrate All Hallow's Eve and Guy's Fawkes Bonfire night.

There is a troupe of entertainers who have set up in an old house down the street. Emily is intrigued by some of the `play acting' that is going on. She wanders along to a room where twins are dressing while a pile of knives lays on the bed. They are angry when they realize that a young woman, Midori, who is to be the DJ, has exited their bathroom and when they see Emily at the door.

Later in the evening Midori gets sick and has to go home. Emily is concerned about several of the `performers' and feels an unease. Then she witnesses the twins in their knife throwing act when a knife ends in the chest of one of the girls. A little while later the girl appears alive but Emily is sure that she saw the life go out of her eyes just like her beloved dog. Emily seeks help from her friend Dr. Muriel and they try to puzzle out the situation as others around them claim that it was all an act. But to Emily it seemed all too real and there are certain guests she doesn't trust.

I really enjoyed the quirky and unusual characters. The mystery is different with some twists woven in a fun story. This is skillfully written with evocative descriptions. If you like cozy mysteries I think you would enjoy these quick, fun stories.

I received this ebook for an honest review during Bookblast tour.

Make sure to read Three Sisters first in this series to be introduced to Emily as Showstoppers will leap right in. Three Sisters and Showstoppers were stories that were fast-paced from the beginning, light-hearted, and complete with quirky British humor. Smith's mysteries were set-up with precise thought and executed with twists and turns that made them both very entertaining reads. I think that Emily Castles is the newest proverbial nosey eccentric character that British cozy mysteries are so popular for creating.

I chose to feature these books because I am a big fan of British mysteries and their subtle humor, clues, and spunky dialogue. Smith's books delivered all this to me; they were the perfect 'snuggle on my end of the couch with a cup of English Breakfast Tea' type of mysteries.

Anyone who is a fan of British mysteries will enjoy reading these novellas just in time for the first full-length Emily Castles Mystery to publish. This is one book series worth following as you'll fall in love with Emily's commentary, humor, and energy. The character of Emily, as well as her supporting cast, will keep you wanting to make them a consistent part of your reading pursuits.

Right from the first page, Helen Smith's story glows like a roman candle: bright, colourful and full of surprises. This is a perfectly formed mystery in every way; each necessary clue is present and followed up, though as you would expect from a well-constructed mystery, there are plenty of false clues and blind alleys. This story is delightful to read on several levels: first there are the descriptions of the guests - Helen's vignettes of bonfire night party-goers are poignantly hilarious; then there is the succession of encounters you might expect at a busy party on bonfire night, where avant garde entertainment is included; and thirdly, the unfolding of strange coincidences and occurrences leading to the 'whodunit'. Even there Ms Smith has introduced an extra twist. This story is a real corkscrew of events, intertwined lives, relationships and clues that will keep you guessing to the end.

The Emily of the subtitle is bruised from having recently lost her dog to old age. Yet the faithful creature somehow seems to stay by her side. Whether a supernatural presence or simply a fond memory, we are never quite sure. In either case, Jessie is as much a part of the mystery and its solution as anything else.

This tale takes a different tack to Helen Smith's previous novels, being a short story of around 17,000 words. Humour is such a personal thing but in my opinion this one has the most intensely funny moments so far. I found myself laughing out loud at the descriptions of some of the characters. There is certainly a wealth of characters here to enjoy, from the smoulderingly attractive to the condescending and, of course, the thoroughly eccentric.

The story is set in one of the many Georgian and Victorian suburbs that exist in London and is most evocative of a life today which is sedate but so often insular. I didn't intend to read the whole story in one go but it was so entertaining and so intriguing, I was unable to put it down. Definitely one to read more than once. I sincerely hope this is the first of many and that Emily Castles will be back to entertain us again soon.

"Three Sisters" by Helen Smith is a great novella/short story. I started reading this not really realizing that it was a mystery book. The main character Emily Castles is going through a bit of a rough time at the beginning of the story. Her dog had just died a few days before and her going to this party was something to help get her mind off of things. Having lost dogs in the past, I could easily relate to Emily and her time of grief following the loss of a dog. Emily heads to the party and seems some unusual character's once she arrives. I like that the story gets right down to the action (which it kind of has to since it is such a short story). The sense I got from the story is that it would be almost like going to one of those murder mystery dinners and knowing that it's fake, but still getting caught up in all the action and wanting to find out what will happen next based off your actions. Emily quickly realizes that there is something else going on at the party, other than the party and takes up trying to solve whatever it is that is going on. Without giving too much away, I would recommend this story of Emily and her adventures of the night.

I like mysteries, cozy or otherwise, whether they are short-story ones or full-length novels. So, I was looking forward to this.

Three Sisters is a short forty-four-page mystery, which introduces us to Emily Castle. She attends a neighbourhood party in a large house inhabited by a rather flamboyant group of people. This is where a murder takes place and Emily dons her sleuthing hat to find the culprit; there are a number of suspects amongst the motley crew of party-goers.

I found that the story was too short for the plot and characters, both of which were undeveloped. The characters were very colourful, their situation--albeit bizarre--rather interesting and deserved more attention. I really wanted to know more about Emily and how she found herself to be modern-day Miss Marple, and there were many unanswered questions behind the nature of her relationships with the party attendees, as well as between the attendees themselves. Unfortunately, the whole mystery was spoiled by the fact that half way through I realised the title gave away the plot, and I was less motivated to finish the tale.

Helen's style is light and easy-going, and this was a story with great potential, but I would like to see it in a full-length novel with more detail and perhaps with a more enigmatic title.

Emily Castles has just lost her beloved dog and she is still struggling with this great void in her life. She receives an invitation to a huge party in her neighborhood and at first she decides that she's just not in the mood. But then she thinks, maybe that's what she needs to take her mind off her loss. She walks down to the end of the block and the party is already in progress. It's quite an elaborate affair with little plays and circus type acts being staged all over and the audience is expected to participate. There's a knife throwing act with 2 sisters who are blindfolded and throwing knives at each other simultaneously. Wait, was that a real knife and is that blood spurting out of her chest. Is she dead or is Kate imagining things because of her distress?

This (longish) short story is an introduction to amateur sleuth Emily Castles, who will be featuring in a mystery series.
In this story Emily is going to a Bonfire Night party at a neighbouring house, hosted by the inhabitants who are performance artists of various sorts. Emily is mourning the recent loss of her dog and sees the invite as an opportunity to socialise, but in the course of the evening she finds herself investigating a murder that may or may not have occured.

While we don't learn a huge amount about her background Emily is an interesting, quirky character and I'm sure we'll gradually discover more in the series. Despite the mention of a boyfriend he's possibly in the past, and although she knows her neighbours it is in a typical suburban passing kind of way. She comes across as a slightly solitary but very inquisitive individual. The other characters range from the harassed mum of three to the doctor of ethics via Hungarian performers and form a colourful cast.

From the beginning I was amused by the imagery used, for example describing fireworks as "like Midget Gems suspended mid-rinse in a toddler's open mouth" Comical but very graphic. I was also very pleased to see how well formatted and proofread it was - some of my recent kindle reads have been somewhat lacking on those fronts. I found myself laughing often, and the darker humour as the story progresses is the sort of thing I enjoy but may not be to everyone's taste. Emily's wanderings round the house and gardens as the story developed really drew me in and when I had to take a break from reading I found myself weighing up the story so far and debating with myself about what might happen. In short I thought this was a great read from start to finish and will be looking out for the series.

I liked the story and the main character. The situation where everything happens seemed bizarre. The other characters, while supposedly not knowing each other, interacted like old friends. I can't recommend this book. It should be lengthened and more thought given to the characters.

TITLE - THREE SISTERS
AUTHOR - HELEN SMITH
STARS - 4
REVIEWER - WENDE SHEETS

In Brixton South London, lives Emily Castles, who is 26. She is grieving for her beloved dog Jesse, who died just a week ago. The neighbors invited her to a bonfire to celebrate Halloween. It takes place in the "party house", where people are dressed in "character" and they kept everyone entertained. At times Emily was not sure what was real or not real. Emily watches what she believes is an actually murder, but those around her tell her its an act. Emily is convinced and is willing to keep looking for the clues.

This is a short read but one that kept you guessing. Who done it? Was that real or fake ? Was Emily really the only one to believe its real ?

complimentary book given for a free review. juliesbookreview.blogspot.com

Three Sisters introduces us to Emily Castles. Emily lives in London and is attending a neighborhood Halloween party. What a party this turns out to be! With so many strange things happening you don't know if it is part of the show or not. Emily is grieving the loss of her Golden Retriever, Jessie and thinks of him often while trying to enjoy the party. When an act goes horribly wrong, Emily is sure that she has witnessed a murder. The only trouble is, no body! With the help of the quirky Dr Muriel, Emily will snoop around until she finds out what is going on.

I enjoyed reading this short story and being introduced to Emily. I am also a dog lover so that part of the story drew me in. I usually don't read short stories but this one was good. I would like to learn more of Emily's back story and get to know her character better. I also like the London setting. You will breeze through this book. If you like a good cozy mystery, I recommend reading this one.

I really MUST preface this review with a proud proclamation: I am a huge Helen Smith fan! I have read Alison Wonderland and Being Light and The Miracle Inspector, and I loved each book. I loved Three Sisters, as well.

In Three Sisters, we're introduced to Emily Castles, a perfectly normal woman who just happens to pay a little more attention to what's going on around her than most. This interesting trait leads Emily into the world of sleuthing, and the reader can't help but follow on her heels--wondering all the while what danger she might be getting herself into.

Helen Smith's descriptions are clever, creative and richly-textured, and her dry, understated wit never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I look forward to more Emily Castles adventures!

I really was hopeful that this would be interesting, but, to me, it was just bizarre and not in a good way. I enjoy interesting/unusual and even bizarre stories, but this was just...not good. It was disjointed and hard to follow. Maybe it's just not my cup of tea or maybe this isn't really indicative of the author's other work, but I don't think I'll give the author another chance (I really disliked it that much, unfortunately).

Very unusual neighbors for sure! This is the second book in this series that I have read. We reunite with some from the first story.
Emily reluctantly goes to a very weird party one of her neighbors is having. She lives in London, and enters and sees a troupe of performers.
I think I would have turned around right then! Or at least in a few minutes, when she thinks she has witnessed a murder.
Emily is the type that once she sees something...she has to see it through. She cannot let it go, even when her own safety is in danger.
This is a very quick read, and with most mysteries once you begin, you won't put this one down until you are done. It is only 40 pages long!

I received this book from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.

This story is about some performing artists who travel the world presenting their art. I am not certain it was the author's intent but I felt the story was almost a piece of performance art. I did enjoy meeting Emily and her very interesting neighbors.

This was a weird and confusing experience in under 45 pages for me. The main character Emily Castle goes to a party down the street where there are several performers in character but it’s not very clear who’s performing and who isn’t because everybody, even her neighbours, is kind of weird. One of the characters is a girl asking everyone to get a suitcase to a gentleman down the hall. If this was supposed to pique my interest, it did not really have the desired effect. After pages and pages of describing everybody in this psychedelic place she meets, it got a bit more interesting when there is a knife throwing act and she thinks she saw the girl get hit and die. Yet when the police shows up she sees the girl standing and taking a round of applause, showing everybody a rubber knife. It was all part of the performance, or was it? There is nothing else to do than do her rounds and interact with the performers in order to figure out if her mind was doing tricks on her or not. The mystery was not very big, the ending was pretty predictable. 2 1/2 stars rating for me. *I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review *

The party setting for the story was not clearly explained, and the actions of the participants did not immediately make sense to me. Also, the dialogue left me hanging, waiting to see what would happen. When it finally came together, it made sense, but by that time I was glad that it was finished. Sorry, not my cup of tea.

I found this novella slightly puzzling - I really wanted to like it and did so the first few pages, but then it got confusing and uneven. Wanting to get away from the usual serial killers who prey on women which most mysteries seem to feature now, I was looking forward to a cozy, fun read, but unfortunately it got lost somewhere along the line. The character, who I empathized with because she had just lost her dog, was under-developed, but likeable. Hopefully she will be delved into a bit deeper in the next installment, which I will read.

Emily goes to a Halloween/murder mystery party in her neighborhood to help her recover from her dog's recent death. While there, the DJ gets ill, seemingly due to poison. Then, during the knife throwing act, Emily swears one of the sisters involved in the act is killed. Emily tries to convince others of this fact and begins her own investigation. This was a quick read though at times the writing was a little confusing to follow--a lot of characters without much description thrown into a short book in a short amount of time. All in all, a fun read. It was a decent mix of humor and mystery. I can see potential with the spirit of the dead dog helping to solve the mysteries. The author sent me this book to review.

[...]

I love British mysteries so this one was right up my alley. I like the characters but would like to see a longer story so they can be more fully developed. I will definitely look for more books from this author.

What a party, and what intriguing neighbors! This was a quick, easy read that only took about half an hour, but it was certainly packed with intrigue and suspicion. As the night goes on, you're never really sure what is true and what is performance, although the title of the story does give a bit of a clue.

I look forward to reading more of Emily's adventures in the future.

**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

REVIEW

Emily decides to go ahead and go to the party even though she is so very sad that her dog died. A performance troop was hired by her neighbor but somehow things are different. Everything they are doing is an act. They are putting on a show but things in between the act seem to be a performance too.

A girl doesn't die when she is accidentally stabbed during a fight between two of the knife throwers before the performance.

The story had a mysteriously dark side to it but was rather fun to read. It was still like a cozy mystery at the same time. It was nice to go back in time with Emily and her dog and the things they used to do. For some reason go back helped Emily solve the mystery. She had to figure out how to get the performances to stop so the characters would talk to her about the mystery.
If you love cozy mysteries that are well written, good plot, a fast read, I would recommend this book to you to read and probably re-read.

I was given a complimentary copy of THREE SISTERS from the author, Helen Smith for my view of the book.

Disclaimer: I was given this book for an honest review.

I started reading this just before going to sleep. I finished at a decent bedtime. I had to read it with the text-to-speech turned on as I found it going rather slowly. I didn't care for Emily, the main character. She seemed like a nosey neighbor more than anything.

Beware of the spoiler, the title of the book. That took all the mystery out of the story. Most of the time I found I was feeling left out. That the author just gave it all to me. And yet... Would you believe it? I still have no real idea whodunit. Since I don't like short stories, and I don't much like mysteries, this didn't feed me anything. Even the chance that I could travel to England and learn something new about the country or her people, fell flat.

Okay, there seems to be a lot of higher star ratings, so it may just be me. I don't feel at all compelled to see what happens to Emily next. But I wish the author well and that you all will find me wrong.

Emily is a likeable character but this story was too predictable to be enjoyed. The title gives away the storyline and makes the other "suspicious" incidents fall into line as not being as they seem, either, so there isn't any mystery here. Sorry but I would not recommend this to others.

I found this novella slightly puzzling - I really wanted to like it and did so the first few pages, but then it got confusing and uneven. Wanting to get away from the usual serial killers who prey on women which most mysteries seem to feature now, I was looking forward to a cozy, fun read, but unfortunately it got lost somewhere along the line. The character, who I empathized with because she had just lost her dog, was under-developed, but likeable. Hopefully she will be delved into a bit deeper in the next installment, which I will read.

Emily goes to a Halloween/murder mystery party in her neighborhood to help her recover from her dog's recent death. While there, the DJ gets ill, seemingly due to poison. Then, during the knife throwing act, Emily swears one of the sisters involved in the act is killed. Emily tries to convince others of this fact and begins her own investigation. This was a quick read though at times the writing was a little confusing to follow--a lot of characters without much description thrown into a short book in a short amount of time. All in all, a fun read. It was a decent mix of humor and mystery. I can see potential with the spirit of the dead dog helping to solve the mysteries. The author sent me this book to review.

[...]

I love British mysteries so this one was right up my alley. I like the characters but would like to see a longer story so they can be more fully developed. I will definitely look for more books from this author.

What a party, and what intriguing neighbors! This was a quick, easy read that only took about half an hour, but it was certainly packed with intrigue and suspicion. As the night goes on, you're never really sure what is true and what is performance, although the title of the story does give a bit of a clue.

I look forward to reading more of Emily's adventures in the future.

**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

REVIEW

Emily decides to go ahead and go to the party even though she is so very sad that her dog died. A performance troop was hired by her neighbor but somehow things are different. Everything they are doing is an act. They are putting on a show but things in between the act seem to be a performance too.

A girl doesn't die when she is accidentally stabbed during a fight between two of the knife throwers before the performance.

The story had a mysteriously dark side to it but was rather fun to read. It was still like a cozy mystery at the same time. It was nice to go back in time with Emily and her dog and the things they used to do. For some reason go back helped Emily solve the mystery. She had to figure out how to get the performances to stop so the characters would talk to her about the mystery.
If you love cozy mysteries that are well written, good plot, a fast read, I would recommend this book to you to read and probably re-read.

I was given a complimentary copy of THREE SISTERS from the author, Helen Smith for my view of the book.

Disclaimer: I was given this book for an honest review.

I started reading this just before going to sleep. I finished at a decent bedtime. I had to read it with the text-to-speech turned on as I found it going rather slowly. I didn't care for Emily, the main character. She seemed like a nosey neighbor more than anything.

Beware of the spoiler, the title of the book. That took all the mystery out of the story. Most of the time I found I was feeling left out. That the author just gave it all to me. And yet... Would you believe it? I still have no real idea whodunit. Since I don't like short stories, and I don't much like mysteries, this didn't feed me anything. Even the chance that I could travel to England and learn something new about the country or her people, fell flat.

Okay, there seems to be a lot of higher star ratings, so it may just be me. I don't feel at all compelled to see what happens to Emily next. But I wish the author well and that you all will find me wrong.

Emily is a likeable character but this story was too predictable to be enjoyed. The title gives away the storyline and makes the other "suspicious" incidents fall into line as not being as they seem, either, so there isn't any mystery here. Sorry but I would not recommend this to others.

Quite an interesting little murder mystery. There were parts that were so real (having lived in England) that I could see why a bit of the story went one way, instead of the opposite. Not too many cozy mysteries have a trio of sisters as the main characters.

Accepting an invitation to a `Bonfire Night' party, Emily Castles enters a surreal world of colorful performance artists, eccentric neighbors, and murder.

With this too brief novella, British author, Helen Smith introduces us to a new amateur sleuth, 26 year old Emily Castles. Keenly observant and not afraid to follow her instincts, Emily must prove to herself and her companions that she indeed witnessed a murder during the Bonfire Night celebration.

We don't get a chance to learn much about Emily in this short story, but that only left me wanting more and looking forward to her first full cozy adventure.

3.5 / 5

This was a fast, light, entertaining read that I finished very quickly.

Emily Castles attends a neighbourhood party at a large house occupied by a collection of performance artists. During the party strange happenings begin to occur. Are they just part of the entertainment or is something more sinister afoot? Emily thinks the latter, but no-one else believes her, and her noseying around soon puts her in danger.

Emily makes an appealing amateur sleuth. She's observant, determined, and funny at times. This droll novella reminded me a little of a Barbara Pym novel, but it was a bit too short to properly engage me. I didn't know much about Emily, apart from the fact that she recently lost a beloved dog, and that prevented me from really caring about her.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

While murder mysteries have never been my favorite genre, I did enjoy this short novella. It was pretty slow in the beginning, but things picked up quickly about half way through.

I felt like the mystery was a little bit rushed, and a little too obvious (I knew who dunnit right from the start), but I still found it very entertaining. I appreciated Emily's heartbreak over her dog's passing and laughed at how many times she had to mention it to everyone she met. The different acts going on at the party were fun and a little comical. I look forward to reading more of Helen Smith's work.

Emily is invited to a bonfire night/Halloween Party at her neighbors down the street. She doesn't really know them because they just moved into the house; but she decides to go because she is missing her dog, Jessie who just died. She finds herself amidst some rather strange characters and to top the night off, she is pulled into a murder. One that no one else believes happened.

This is a short piece of fiction that can be easily read in one sitting. From the get go, you are pulled in with some rather strange and unusual characters. The way the story is presented, I had the impression this was going to be a murder mystery night and some of the guests were the actors. This turned out not to be the case. There is little known about Emily and it is a bit confusing how she will end up being a sleuth. In this particular story, she seems more like a busy body. The story is short; but it packs a big punch with information. The reader must stay focused or will lose their way around in the course of the storyline. I did not actually find anything amusing in this story; but I do look forward to the next one. I suspect that Emily could get herself into some mischief. If you are looking for something fast-paced and unusual, I highly recommend this one.

I wish to thank the author for providing me with a copy for reading and reviewing purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. I was not compensated in anyway except for receiving the book to review.

This was an enjoyable book to read. Sometimes a light mystery works. It does lead me to want to read the rest of the series.

I did receive this as an ARC or freebie from the author but this is my honest review.

In 'Three Sisters,' Helen Smith introduces Emily Castles, a quirky young British woman who falls rather naturally in to the role of amateur sleuth. This particular piece suffers from a far too revealing title; as such, the mystery itself wasn't very difficult to solve. However, the novella was very well written and piqued my interest to read more of this series (and Smith's other work) in the future. I would particularly recommend this author for people who enjoy the tone and style of Janet Evanovich or Charlaine Harris' 'Aurora Teagarden' series, but who would prefer a 'cleaner' read.