Narrated by Bridget Eaton.
Released 20th November 2020.
From the cover:
Heart-breaking tragedy or cold-blooded murder...?An Italian stranger arrives in Tamarisk Bay and brings with him mystery and intrigue....
It's Easter 1970 in the seaside town of Tamarisk Bay. Amateur sleuth and professional librarian, Janie Juke, is settling into motherhood and some quality time with her family. When her Aunt Jessica is due back from Rome after nine years travelling around Europe, she arrives back in town with a new Italian friend, Luigi, and the whole family soon get embroiled in a tangle of mystery and suspicion, with death and passion at the heart of the story.
As time runs out on Luigi as prime suspect for murder, Janie has to use all of her powers of deduction in the footsteps of her hero, Hercule Poirot, to uncover the facts. Why did Luigi come to Tamarisk Bay? What is the truth about his family?
As Luigi's story unfolds, tragedy seems to haunt the past, present and unless Janie acts fast, possibly what is yet to come.
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The Invisible Case, despite the appearance of a dead body, is actually a gentle, cosy kind of crime story. It is set in Tamarisk Bay, a quiet Sussex sea-side town, and although the story starts in 1970 the characters are still very much set in the 1960s - very nostalgic!
The story revolves around new mother, professional librarian and amateur sleuth, Janie Juke. At the start of the tale, Janie is eagerly awaiting the return of her Aunt Jessica, who has been away in Italy for a number of years, and who is now returning to British shores. When Jessica arrives, she is in the company of a mysterious young Italian man, called Luigi. Luigi's motives for coming to Tamarisk Bay are somewhat hazy, and he is very upset about the loss of his briefcase on the journey to England, which he believes to have been stolen - although he is very reluctant to divulge why he is so concerned about the loss of the contents.
Unfortunately for the whole family, Luigi has a habit of sneaking around and when he is connected to the case of the suspicious death of another strange visitor to their quiet town, his truculent attitude and secrecy about the contents of his briefcase make him a person of great interest to the local police. Janie is called upon to emulate her hero Hercule Poirot in trying to extricate Luigi from the tangled mess he finds himself in, and what follows is a tale rich in themes of family, lost love and the legacy of secrets of the past.
I must admit that I did struggle with the narrator of this audible book, but the nature of the story itself is really rather charming. There are some nice twists and turns in the Christie style, especially the lovely opening with Jessica and Luigi's train journey, and many opportunities for Janie to channel her hero Hercule Poirot. There's lots of nice 1960s nostalgia to be found here too, but also hints of the 1970s to come, and a rich undernote of romance from the Italian side of the story which adds an exotic feel to the piece.
Much of this tale is very touching, and there are times when the bitter-sweet air of grief and lost love is quite overwhelming, but there are some lovely notes of pulling together in a crisis and reconciliation that are very heart-warming too.
This is definitely mystery on the cosy scale and one that will appeal very much to the lovers of stories like Call The Midwife and The George Gently series - so if you like your crime on the gentle, nostalgic side then this will be one for you.
The Invisible Case is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer, or via the links below:
Thank you to Isabella Muir for providing me with a copy of this audio book in return for an honest review and to Rachel Gilby of Rachel's Random Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
Isabella is never happier than when she is immersing herself in the sights, sounds and experiences ofthe 1960s. Researching all aspects of family life back then formed the perfect launch pad for her works of fiction.
Isabella rediscovered her love of writing fiction during two happy years working on and completing her MA in Professional Writing and since then has gone to publish five novels, two novellas and a short story collection. The Invisible Case is the third book in her Sussex Crime Mystery series, featuring young librarian and amateur sleuth, Janie Juke. Set in the late 1960s, in the fictional seaside town of Tamarisk Bay, we meet Janie, who looks after the mobile library. She is an avid lover of Agatha Christie stories–in particular Hercule Poirot–using all she has learned from the Queen of Crime to help solve crimes and mysteries. All three novels are now available as audio books. As well as three novels, there are three novellas in the series, which explore some of the back story to the Tamarisk Bay characters.
Her latest novel, Crossing the Line, is the first of a new series of SussexCrimes, featuring retired Italian detective, Giuseppe Bianchi who arrives in the quiet seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, to find a dead body on the beach and so the story begins..
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