Death at the Village Chess Club
With her Curiosity Shop open for business, Alice Carroll is finally settling into life in the picturesque Cotswold village of Little Pride. But then her old life comes knocking… Alice’s ex boyfriend, Steven, who dumped her to travel the world, has run out of money and asks Alice to sell off his collection of chess sets.
Alice decides to host a tournament to showcase the boards, and her plan seems to be working. That is, until chess pieces begin to mysteriously disappear. And when a body is discovered outside the tournament, Alice realises that the victim was a pawn in another, far more dangerous game.
As the host of the event, Alice is eager to help the police investigate. She doesn’t know why anyone would be interested in stealing random chess pieces, let alone willing to kill for them, but she’s determined to find out. Can she solve the case before someone else gets hurt?
Or will this be one gambit too far for Alice?
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/VillageChessClub
Author Bio
Debbie Young writes warm, witty, feel-good contemporary fiction inspired by life in the English village where she lives with her Scottish husband and their teenage daughter.
Her Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series begins with “Best Murder in Show” and the first seven books run the course of a calendar year in the life of a classic English Cotswold village. Originally intended to be a seven-book series, further books will follow, due to reader demand.
She also writes the romantic comedy mystery series, Staffroom at St Bride’s, set in the staffroom of an English girls’ boarding school. The series will eventually be six books long, running the course of an academic year, and the first book is “Secrets at St Bride’s”.
Her books were shortlisted in 2020 and 2021 for The Selfies Award, given to the best self-published adult fiction in the UK.
She also writes short stories and has published three themed collections, “Marry in Haste”, “Quick Change”, and “Stocking Fillers”, and had stories included in many anthologies.
When she’s not writing, she does other bookish things, such as speaking or reading her work at literary events, such as Crimefest, the leading international crime writing event, the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, the event that she founded for her local community.
She’s a member of the Society of Authors and the UK Ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors.
She loves reading, bellringing, singing in the local choir, gardening, knitting, sketching and travelling with her family in their camper van. Her many hobbies mean she is never short of ideas for her gentle tales of rural life.
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Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/debbie-young
Why Should You Read It?
Debbie Young delivers another delightful mystery in Death at the Village Chess Club, the latest installment in her charming cosy mystery series. Set in the picturesque Cotswold village of Little Pride, this book combines an intriguing whodunit with the warm, small-town atmosphere fans of the series have come to love.
Alice Carroll, now comfortably running her Curiosity Shop, finds herself drawn into yet another mystery when her ex-boyfriend, Steven, reappears, asking her to sell his chess set collection. What begins as a simple sales opportunity soon spirals into a puzzling crime—chess pieces start vanishing, and then a body turns up outside the tournament she organized. As Alice tries to unravel the sinister motives behind the crime, she finds herself caught in a web of deceit, strategy, and danger.
Young crafts an engaging mystery with plenty of red herrings and suspects, keeping readers guessing until the very end. The charming village setting, with its quirky residents and close-knit community, adds to the book’s appeal, making it a cozy yet suspenseful read. Alice remains a likable and resourceful protagonist, and her interactions with the local police and fellow villagers bring warmth and humor to the story.
The only reason this isn’t a five-star read is that some of the mystery’s twists felt a bit predictable, and certain character motivations could have been explored in more depth. However, the novel is still an entertaining and well-paced mystery, perfect for fans of lighthearted detective fiction.
If you enjoy cosy mysteries with a clever premise, a charming setting, and a heroine who refuses to back down, Death at the Village Chess Club is a delightful addition to your reading list!
