Dear Gentle Readers,

A statement made by Sherlock Holmes to Watson, as Holmes said within one of the adventures by Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventures of Copper Beeches," to be exacting as Holmes would prefer. And then, dear reader, "A Note to the Gentle Reader" follows. It is imperative that you read the note to begin your guidebook of explanations on how to protect yourself to not getting murdered in a quaint English village.

As you may be aware from reading murder mysteries by armchair travel or watching mysteries on your television, there are two parts of the village-the village, and the manor. Respectfully, the guide will explain the differentiation and the elements. Read each component carefully, as there is a quiz at the end of each of the two parts.

"Final Thoughts" concludes the volume. I shall provide my final thoughts beyond this note.

Respectfully submitted,
Enthusiastic Reader (on Instagram)

Final Thoughts:
• Do you love British mysteries of every shape and size in the setting of the English countryside? My answer is yes! I love reading British mysteries, especially those allowing me to travel by book. I also love watching British mysteries on tv, and the first that always comes to mind is the Midsomer Murders series. Each section of the two parts brought scenes from the various episodes of Midsomer Murders to mind.
• I read it in one sitting and am thankful a friend recommended the book. I have no immediate travel plans, but now I must carefully consider the guidance in this book before travel ensues. If your travel is planned to the English countryside, you must read this book, and/or quickly purchase as a gift for friends as needed.
• Hilarious! Absolutely hilarious! Loved it! The written word is complemented by the illustrations, and the illustrations are complemented by the written word. Additional stars are needed. ( )

Words try to be funny (but they're mostly not funny). Illustrations try to be Gorey-esque (but they're never as good as Gorey). The incident with the stamp was the best bit. Overall, far below my expectations. ( )

A combination of hilarious and macabre (and really macabre).

This book pokes fun at typical English village murder mysteries in a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" style. It's super quick to read because it's short paragraphs interspersed with frequent illustrations, and a couple of tongue-in-cheek quizzes to see whether you would survive your entry into "a murder village."

If you've read more than your fair share of murder mysteries that involve innocent looking villages with a surprisingly high body count, you'll find plenty to amuse here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for this digital review copy. ( )

Your guide to not to Getting Murdered in a quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson is a 2021 Ten Speed Press publication.

A must for mystery lovers- especially the British variety! Yes, I do love a quaint English village- and of course, crime fiction readers, do know better than to be fooled by the deceptiveness of the bucolic scenery. That is what made this satirical graphic novel so funny. There’s a lot of dark humor, along with many fabulous illustrations, which made this a very entertaining book! This is a quick, one-sitting type of book, and was a nice change of pace.

Overall, I loved this graphic novel and highly recommend it to mystery lovers, of course, and maybe more for those who aren’t aware of the dangers of visiting a quaint English village….

4+ stars ( )

Fun read in an Edward Gorey sort of way, with offhand warnings and with illustrations in black-white-grey-red (red for blood, of course).
Johnson and Cooper have given us potential travelers something to think about.
(It's written for Americans, but about England, so should I have used "gray", or stuck with "grey"?) ( )