Mostly Murders

Far too many people grow boring with age, but in Great Diddling the opposite seems true.

Author Berit Gardner moves to Great Diddling in search of inspiration and gets even more than she bargained for when an explosion at a village tea party kills Reginald Trent, a man who is hated by most of the village, including his own family. But the story Berit is dropped right into isn’t just the story of Reginald’s murder. It is also, very much, the story of how the town deals with the aftermath of the murder. In a traditional cozy mystery novel, people would carry on with their everyday lives, and very little would change in the village. But in Great Diddling people are surprisingly enterprising in the face of death, and before long a very unorthodox book and murder festival kicks off with surprising results for both visitors and locals.

At first glance The Murders in Great Diddling looks like any other cozy mystery with a village, a much-hated murder victim and an intrepid author-amateur sleuth investigating the quirky villagers. But this novel very quickly shows itself to be more than that. As the book and murder festival is planned by the villagers, observed by Berit, Great Diddling shows its true colours, managing somehow to be both absurd, chaotic and hilarious, while at the same time remaining cozy, understated and subtle.

you see everyone as dysfunctional, lonely, odd, and yet so fundamentally human. Such clear observations, but almost tender in the way you handle them.

This is a description of Berit from the book, and I think this is also a perfect characterisation of The Murders in Great Diddling itself. Katarina Bivald sees every single flaw and fault in her characters, but also sees their worth and value, and presents all of this to the reader wrapped in a downplayed, gentle sort of humour, allowing her to create downright crazy scenarios without ever seeming over the top, excessive or ridiculous. Recommended for readers who appreciate subtle but sharp humour, underdog struggles and cozy reads deviating from the standard formulas.

Cozy mystery – Contemporary