Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: The Best Corpse for the Job
AUTHOR: Charlie Cochrane
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 289 pages
BLURB:
Tea and sympathy have never been so deadly.
Schoolteacher Adam Matthews just wants to help select a new headteacher and go home. The governors at Lindenshaw St Crispin’s have already failed miserably at finding the right candidate, so it’s make or break this second time round. But when one of the applicants is found strangled in the school, what should have been a straightforward decision turns tempestuous as a flash flood in their small English village.
Inspector Robin Bright isn’t thrilled to be back at St. Crispin’s. Memories of his days there are foul enough without tossing in a complicated murder case. And that handsome young teacher has him reminding himself not to fraternize with a witness. But it’s not long before Robin is relying on Adam for more than just his testimony.
As secrets amongst the governors emerge and a second person turns up dead, Robin needs to focus less on Adam and more on his investigation. But there are too many suspects, too many lies, and too many loose ends. Before they know it, Robin and Adam are fighting for their lives and their hearts.
REVIEW:
*wraps self in the Union Jack, grabs a fresh cuppa, and then spontaneously combusts in anglophile glee*
Yeah, I think it would be fair to save I loved this book. Hell, I think it would be fair to say I bloody adored it. It is just so bloody English. And as a self-proclaimed anglophile, I had so much fun reading it.
Schoolteacher Adam Matthews is trying to help his school find a new headteacher (not headmaster, thank you very much!), and to say it has been a bit of right mess would be an understatement. The first round of applicants had to be trashed due to reasons (ones that no one seems willing to talk about), and the second batch doesn’t seem to be shaping up much better. What with the dead body and all (those always do seem to put a damper on things). But while finding a dead body on school grounds has been a depressing turn on an already stressful day, Adam must admit that having Inspector Robin Bright walk into his life is a definite silver lining.
Robin Bright, himself, would just rather get this whole bloody investigation over with. Not that he doesn’t find Adam a temptation, he’s just a temptation that could get him in all sorts of trouble even if he isn’t the one who popped the dead man’s clogs. There is also the fact that St. Crispin’s doesn’t hold the fondest of memories for the good ol’ police inspector. What with the years of bullying he endured as a pupil there. Yes, Inspector Robin Bright would very much love it if this whole case was over and done with. Too bad the murderer isn’t cooperating.
This book was just too much fun. Ok, not too much, just the right amount of fun. The mystery was incredibly well done (seeing as I didn’t twig to the culprit till almost near the end) and the byplay between all the characters was just great. Not just Adam and Robin–which was a barrel of sex-tension–but I bloody loved Sergeant Anderson and Robin as they went about investigating. I had to stop chuckling every time they had a scene because they reminded be quite a bit of Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway from the Inspector Lewis mini-series on PBS (although Lewis is quite a bit older than Robin is). This may have not been what the author was going for, but it pleased me to no end since I quite love that show and that type of murder mystery has always favorite. Except…now with gay men! (Not that Anderson is gay, mores the pity.)
The school aspect also reminded me of another great story that came out recently–Caught! by J.L. Merrow–and if you loved that book, then you are going to really love this one. It has that same country-English feel (just with a few more dead bodies). I will say that if the slang that popped up in Caught! had you flummoxed then you are going to struggle here. I have a decent grasp on what was being said since I’m kinda obsessed with the country, but I think if you just let it flow over you you might just find yourself enjoying it for the local flavor that it is. You might not understand everything, but I think you can get a decent grasp of the meaning by context. Plus the English have some bloody awesome swear words/slang so maybe you can pick up a thing or two…
The mystery was superb, the character were all extremely well written, and I had a blast reading this. I will say that I might have enjoyed a little on-page sexy-times, but I’m not extremely put out that I didn’t get it. Just, if that is mandatory for you, you have been warned. Personally I don’t think the book suffered at all. It’s a great romance, that maybe plays second-fiddle to the mystery, but one that I can be enjoyed sans naked coppers.
For lovers of murder mysteries along the line of Josh Lanyon, and all anglophiles like me, I fully recommend this book.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
great review! Ty