Aspire to Die: An Oxford Murder Mystery (Bridget Hart Book 1)

Isn't it great when you buy a book purely on the spur of the moment, not knowing the author(s) at all. I have read literally hundreds of crime/mystery/murder novels and think I know a good one when I read it. This is an unpretentious, pacey, well written novel. The characters ring true, and in DI Hart we have a good heroine (should I say hero??) Her team are well drawn and the suspects are all well characterised. If you are very clever...there is a clue towards the end which if you have paid attention should tell you who the murderer is. I liked this so much I will order book 2. I hope I haven't overegged the cake. It's not Christie or Winspeare, but it is darn good. P.S. There is a very nasty review from America which gives away the whole plot. I don't think Amazon should have printed it.

Second series (for me) from M S Morris. Good read. Female protagonist has a broken marriage. Set in Oxford, I was immediately reminded of the Beerbohm novel ‘Zuleika Dobson’ - as this Z (Zara) is also beautiful, extremely popular- and ends up dead. The sleuthing’s good, the team promising. I felt very early on that they were all being a bit misogynistic and ignoring female suspects - although the suspect who I was convinced ‘dunnit’, didn’t! The divorced protagonist has a daughter, an ex still in the picture and a new interest. All very promising.

I enjoyed this novel but prefer the D I Raven books

Bridget Hart is a newly promoted detective, she has got a rare day off. It's her daughter, Chloe's birthday and she plans her annual baking of a cake. The flour is slightly out of date, but no gremlins, so should do.The phone rings - it's her new boss - there's been a murder in Oxford, it's Bridget's case. She can't get out of it, the other two DI's are on their own cases. Day off cancelled, cake cancelled.Moving between excitement at her first murder as SIO, and trepidation, she changes into more business like attire.Arriving at the venerated Christ's College, she crosses Thom Quad heading for the police tape condoning off a small area.The murder victim is Zara Hamilton, daughter of media mogul, Sir Richard Hamilton, twin of Zac, ex girlfriend of Adam and study partner of Sophie, who found the body.Bridget and her team will have their hands full.Well written, a flavour of the ancient university campus and the complex thread of human relationships

Well written good plot

I've read all 7 books in this series now with increasing enjoyment. They remind me a little of the Elly Griffiths archaeology/crime series with Dr Ruth Galloway, in that the mysteries are good and you want to know what happens and whodunnit, but it's the relationships between the characters that intrigue and charm and leave you wanting to know more at the end of each book. These are easy reads, but the detail about Oxford is excellent, the authors have done their homework, and the settings for the murder mysteries are all authentic. You could easily navigate your way around Oxford using these books as guides and I know Oxford well. The authors are not Colin Dexter, neither are they trying to be, and after a rather stiff start you are drawn effortlessly into the world of Inspector Bridget Hart, a single mum to a teenage daughter, with a tricky ex, a grouchy but not unlikeable boss, and a wonderful set of young colleagues who are immensely likeable and about whom you care, together with a skilfully drawn cast of characters from across Oxford, from a tour guide, a host of academics, the students and the homeless. Some of the denouements are a bit forced, too many tops of towers and teetering on balconies perhaps, but Oxford is the City of Dreaming Spires after all. I can't wait to find out what happens to these sharply drawn characters next, where the murders, ingenious and intriguing as they are, are always secondary to the development of Bridget, her daughter Chloe, sister Vanessa, partner Jonathan, together with Jake, Ffion and Ryan, her young colleagues. This would make a great gentle mysteries tv series, maybe on Amazon Prime.

The first book in this series of murder mysteries involving DI Hart is a well-written tale with numerous twists and turns, red-herrings and believable characters.It is something of a shame that the dialogue is spoilt by constant references to the Inspector's choice of classical music,(surely once is enough to get the message across is sufficient?) and the less said about the ridiculous ending, the better. Nevertheless, this is a real page-turner and I shall certainly read the next in the series.

I can see the characters fleshing out as the book progressed. I had managed to narrow down my list of suspects but didn't beat Bridget to the final outcome.