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Katherine Black

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A Most Unusual Demise: An unmissable, humorous, cozy crime mystery (The Most Unusual Mysteries) Kindle Edition

by Katherine Black (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 672 ratings

Book 1 of 2: The Most Unusual Mysteries

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A well-read old dear has an unhealthy interest in murder, in this sharp, witty, and refreshingly original cozy crime novel.

Retired librarian and bookshop owner May Morrigan lives in the affluent village of Blackheath with Fletcher, her best friend since they met decades ago, and May’s two dogs. What could be more normal? But May is not your average little old lady . . .

After an unpleasant church volunteer and an annoying local butcher meet their untimely ends, Fletcher and May team up to do some sleuthing. Soon, the elderly pair start working with a young journalist to investigate the case of a missing girl and its possible link to previous unsolved crimes. May finds this new project quite intriguing. She’s never met a murderer before—and now she just may get the chance, if they play their cards right . . .

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BW3M3TNG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloodhound Books (March 13, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 13, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2219 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 258 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #213,347 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #465 in Dark Humor
- #2,859 in Amateur Sleuth Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #3,068 in Murder

Customer Reviews:
4.3 672 ratings

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About the author

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Katherine Black

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Katherine Black was born and raised in Texas, but has spent most of her life in England. These days, her drawl is long gone unless she's had a few drinks or a late night.

Armed with an art history degree from the University of Texas (Hook 'em, Horns!) she worked in the arts in the UK and Europe before chucking it all in for the glamourous life of a stay at home mom. When she decided to pursue her dream of writing crime fiction, she completed an MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at the University of East Anglia. Her first novel, written as part of the MA, placed third in the Yeovil Literary Prize. Re-titled as A Most Unusual Demise, that story is published by Bloodhound Books and is the first in The Most Unusual Mysteries series. You can read more of May & Fletcher's adventures in January 2024!

Katherine's novel, Lufkin, Texas, was longlisted for the Crime Writers Association's Debut Dagger.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

672 global ratings

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Amazon Customer

Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023

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A captivating and brilliantly crafted novel that stands out in the realm of mystery and suspense. Black’s storytelling is both imaginative and gripping, masterfully weaving a tale that kept me on the edge of my seat. The narrative is rich with unexpected twists and turns, making it nearly impossible to put down. What sets this book apart is Black’s unique voice and her ability to blend suspense with elements of humor and wit.

One person found this helpful

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RMWARZ

Not What I Expected; Enjoyable Nonetheless

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2023

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The subtitle description of this novel calls it a “humorous, cozy crime mystery”. It is humorous, but the humor is dark, and although it begins deceptively like a cozy, it soon becomes apparent that May and Fletcher, the elderly housemates who are its protagonists, are anything but typical cozy characters. To say that May is eccentric is putting it mildly. To avoid spoilers, I’ll say no more. When a local secondary school student disappears, May and Fletcher join forces with quirky bookshop manager Bastian and an earnest young reporter to locate the missing girl, whom they fear has been abducted by a serial killer. All the characters are well-drawn and, although I had a pretty good idea of who the villain was early on, the plot zips along with an interesting investigative process by our amateur sleuths to its dramatic climax. I enjoyed this book, but if you are put off by dark humor, a spot of gory violence, or morally ambiguous characters, look elsewhere.

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2024

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This book kept me hooked from the first page. Fun, exciting, and full of surprise after surprise. I can't wait to read the next book in the series

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2023

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THIS IS A 2023 COSY!! It has all people in it. Yes there is sex, cross dressing, Gay people, etc.
I loved the quirky, loveable, people. All of them. I am 80years old and I like that someone
wrote a book about all people. Let's all grow up and acknowledge everyone deserves a life!!

3 people found this helpful

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LindaS

Why oh why?

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024

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I know this may sound petty, but I also know that I'm not the only one who dislikes single quote marks for dialog. Why authors feel the need to stray from conventional punctuation is beyond me. Why mess with what works? I find dialog with single quote marks incredibly difficult to read, which pretty much ruined the book for me.

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Chelsea

Humorous Cozy Crime Mystery

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2023

May Morrigan is not your average retiree. As a retired liberation, May now owns the local bookshop in the village of Blackheath. She lives in a centuries old home with her best friend Fletcher and her two adorable pups. However, she has secrets. After a local teen went missing around New Year’s and several local villagers meet their untimely demise, May teams up with Fletcher to investigate. They believe the missing teen is related to other similar crimes, but no one at the police force will listen. Teaming up with a local news reported, May and Fletcher are determined to find the missing team, and maybe take business into their own hands if they have to.

The Most Unusual Demise has quite the cast of characters. If you enjoy a cast of morally grey characters, this one is for you. Many had their own hidden secrets that just helped build the plot. There was a perfect amount of humor and mystery in this one. I do wish there was more of the dogs as I had high hopes they were going to get someone in trouble, but alas, they just enjoyed sitting by the fire. This did have a slow start, but once it got going it was fast paced until the end. I hope May can get a series going because she is an absolute perfect character for that.

3 people found this helpful

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Nicole R. Black

A page-turner with the most unique characters

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2023

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Loved everything about this cozy murder mystery. May Morrigan is one of the best protagonists I’ve read - intelligent, funny, flawed, but someone you’re definitely rooting for. I can’t wait to see what May, Fletcher, Bastian, and Danny get up to next. They’re too amazing to keep contained to one book. We need to follow along on more of their adventures!

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Twisty, quirky. Loved it.

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2023

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A most unusual cast of characters. Not all seem as they were introduced. As I'm sure the author intended I kept changing my mind about who the killer was.

One person found this helpful

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LJ Fox

Fun and twisty mystery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2023

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What a fun mystery debut this was! [Warning: if you are the type to blanche at bad language, this may not be the best book for you!] I will certainly look forward to reading more of May's antics. Although it's set in Blackheath, it retains the village story feel, with a well drawn cast of entertaining characters that you'll soon fall in love with, May, the chief protagonist who owns the bookshop, and the insatiable Bastian who runs it for her, Fletcher, her gay retired professor house mate, Danny Fox, the bright and eager young journalist, and Suzy from the cafe, his burgeoning love interest, for starters! A young girl goes missing, and there are a spate of deaths in the village. May and Danny are convinced the missing girls are connected to two previous cases, each 5 years apart, and their investigations lead them back and forth to a spine tingling denouement that I thoroughly enjoyed. May's character is intriguing and really gets you thinking, as Danny would have it, of the WHYs and HOWs of crime, punishment, and justice, and whether the latter two are - or even should be - the same thing.

2 people found this helpful

Penelope Taylor

Entertaining murder story with twists

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2023

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This book contains surprises galore .Nothing is what it seems .A clever story with diverse characters. In all a good read. Maybe unbelievable but an entertaining book

Denie

well i never!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2024

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That was twist after twist. Love the characters involved. They were so funny . The storyline was brilliant . Loved it well worth reading

One person found this helpful

Jason

Very morish

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2024

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I've spent the last 3 weeks getting to know the mind and imagination of Katherine Black, and have to say, she is very morish. I can't put her down. I used to go to bed at 8pm with a Horlicks, but since stumbling across Katherine, I find I'm up til midnight, every night. Sometimes later. I simply cannot put her down. I'm very much eagerly awaiting the next instalment from Katherine Black. 10/10! Cannot recommend enough.

Jill Woods

A Good Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2023

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A very unusual crime novel. Very entertaining, humorous, and a great plot.
The central character May, surrounded with numerous friends all of whom are as wacky as she is, but all of whom have extraordinary talents, make this a marvellous read.
Would recommend it to all murder mystery fans.

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A Most Unusual Demise: An unmissable, humorous, cozy crime mystery (The Most Unusual Mysteries) Kindle Edition

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Katherine Black

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