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Murder At The Playgroup: A humorous murder mystery (Pippa Parker Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 400 ratings

Beneath the pink wafers lurks death...

Pippa Parker never wanted to move to the chocolate-box village of Much Gadding in the first place. When she meets the locals, she’s absolutely sure. There’s just one problem; she’s eight months pregnant.

The village is turned upside down when Barbara Hamilton, pillar of the community, is found dead at Gadding Goslings playgroup. No one could have murdered her except the people who were there. Everyone's a suspect, including Pippa…

With a baby due any minute, and hampered by her toddler son, can Pippa unmask the murderer? Will Much Gadding return to normal? And does anyone in Much Gadding even know what normal is?

Murder At The Playgroup is the first humorous mystery featuring Pippa Parker, mum and amateur sleuth, and set in the quiet but eccentric English village of Much Gadding.

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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071RVMWWD
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ White Rhino Books (May 4, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 4, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 229 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1521236208
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 400 ratings

About the author

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Liz Hedgecock
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Liz Hedgecock grew up in London, England, did an English degree, and then took forever to start writing. After several years working in the National Health Service, some short stories crept into the world. A few even won prizes. Then the stories started to grow longer...

Now Liz travels between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, murdering people. To be fair, she does usually clean up after herself.

Liz’s reimaginings of Sherlock Holmes, her Pippa Parker cozy mystery series, and the Caster & Fleet Victorian mystery series (with Paula Harmon) are available in ebook and paperback.

Liz lives in Cheshire with her husband and two sons, and when she’s not writing or child-wrangling you can usually find her reading, messing about on Twitter, or cooing over stuff in museums and art galleries. That's her story, anyway, and she's sticking to it.

Further info lurks at http://lizhedgecock.wordpress.com. For bite-sized pieces, follow Liz on Twitter at @lizhedgecock.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
400 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the mystery content enjoyable and interesting. They appreciate the engaging plot and good character development.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

8 customers mention "Mystery content"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the mystery content. They find it entertaining with a good lead character and an interesting plot that keeps them guessing until the end. The book gets interesting quickly with a good twist at the end. Some readers enjoyed reading it up until the penultimate chapter, while others felt it was just okay.

"...Quite a few laughs and a very interesting plot, although I found the ending rushed and unsatisfactory...." Read more

"Book was interesting and dealt w/ husband/wife/mother-in-law everyday issues. Kept me guessing who the murderer might be." Read more

"This book started a little slow but really got interesting really fast. I am looking forward to the next book in this series" Read more

"Definitely a longer read than I was expecting, which was nice. Good twist at the end. Lots of Pippa and her toddler...." Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development. They praise the even pace and commend the editing.

"...Despite that, I think the book is worth reading. Even pace, good character development, and congratulations to the editor: one of the most error-..." Read more

"Interesting characters and good mystery..." Read more

"Fun mystery with a great lead character..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2024
    This kindle e-book novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account book 1 of 6

    Liz Hedgecock is one of my favorite authors. I have listened to a number of books and series.

    Pippa and Simon have moved back to the town where he grew up. They have rented a cottage. She joins a playgroup. On the second meeting there is a murder. Pippa helps the police solve the murder.

    I would recommend this series and author to reader of family and friends relationships mystery novels. 2024
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2020
    I loved reading this book up until the penultimate chapter. Quite a few laughs and a very interesting plot, although I found the ending rushed and unsatisfactory.

    Pippa is a lovable character (for 90% of the story), the support players are good, and the humour remains unforced, although the toddler is a bit confusing: barely speaking and then, occasionally, expressing himself in complex sentences, while he’s still in diapers. Whatever. The baddies are convincing, except for one whom I felt sorry for.

    The author does a good job of turning the tables on quite a few situations at the very end, although the mystery is solved mostly behind the scenes. In fact, the most interesting thing is an ethical dilemma, hinted at but ultimately bulldozed over in an effort to make Pippa look clever. She declares herself a great fan of Agatha Christie, Miss Marple, and other classic literary sleuths. She should perhaps follow the lead of Poirot instead, a shrewd investigator who applies heart and compassion to his work, instead of just chasing personal acclaim.

    Despite that, I think the book is worth reading. Even pace, good character development, and congratulations to the editor: one of the most error-free I’ve read in a long time.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2018
    Temporary home. New village. Husband away for work all week. Eight months pregnant. A murder. A rather negative mother-in-law. A lot of problems to solve all at once. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2022
    Book was interesting and dealt w/ husband/wife/mother-in-law everyday issues. Kept me guessing who the murderer might be.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2022
    This book started a little slow but really got interesting really fast. I am looking forward to the next book in this series
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
    I really enjoyed this, even if I bought it for a silly reason. I’m doing a book scavenger hunt, and needed to read a book with a character named Pippa. So I bought this. And I enjoyed it so much I’ll be reading the rest in the series to find out what happens to Pippa, Freddie, and the others.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2017
    Author Liz Hedgecock’s delightfully funny, impulsive, feisty heroine Pippa Parker is the mother of a toddler and eight months pregnant to boot. She is also a dyed in the wool city girl whose workaholic husband has moved her from her beloved London to the small, rural and odd village of Much-Gadding.

    The locals are not at all sure of what to make of her, or she of the. Her not so helpful, snarky mother in law is for certain to be avoided and the house missing hubby has arranged for is the size of a thimble. Needless to say, Pippa is not happy. When Barbara, a local pillar of the community is found dead at the community playgroup Pippa has just joined is murdered, what else is a girl to do but turn sleuth to clear the one friend she’s managed to make.

    Fast paced, funny, fun, I couldn’t stop turning the pages or trying to guess who done it until the end. I loved the quirky cast of character’ Pippa meet up with as she settles into small town living. I hope this is one of many Pippa Parker mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and highly recommend
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2017
    A lovely little read where the delight is not so much the plot as in the main character herself. I hope this is the first of many P.Parker mysteries. OK, I know this sounds a cliche, but I really couldn't put the book down once I'd started it. V.highly recommended for cozy mystery fans who have an hour or two to spare.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Craig
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fun filled romp in a quaint English village
    Reviewed in Canada on June 14, 2017
    This is my first cozy mystery and it was a great way to be introduced to the genre. The writing is light hearted and fun, the characters feel genuine and behave believably and the central mystery is compelling.

    The author does a wonderful job of painting the picture of village life as Pippa Parker moves into her new home. As someone who has lived in a small English village there are so many staples that are absolutely nailed here, from the busy local pub to the gossiping neighbours and the power hungry old ladies. I can totally picture this quaint little village in all it's glory.

    I loved the relationship between Pippa and Freddie (her toddler son). It creates a lot of fun dialogue and adds to the light tone. This is balanced by Pippa's relationship with her husband, which is fraught with ups and downs as they await their second child. This added a touch of realism and brought the whole story back down to earth. There are several side characters that are also fun in their own way, I particularly enjoyed the librarian.

    My only complaint is a backhanded compliment, I wish the book was longer! The ending felt like it came too soon, but a large part of that was due to how much I was enjoying the book. Already looking forward to the sequel!

    I should add that I was given an Advanced Review Copy for free, but I enjoyed the book so much that I bought a copy :)
  • Joanne
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fun mystery & ensemble of village characters
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2017
    Very enjoyable mystery with a well-crafted cast of characters. Will strike a chord with readers who have survived house moves and toddler wrangling, even if they're not detectives. Loved the ex copper turned librarian. Ending could have had a little more space to breathe but was still very satisfying. Look forward to seeing more of Pippa's adventures!
  • Kaye Nutman - Hybrid Writer. Author of 'Headscarves, Headwraps & More'
    5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read
    Reviewed in Australia on January 7, 2019
    An eight months pregnant would-be detective with a toddler in tow - who’d have thought a protagonist like that could be so appealing? I was enamoured from the first pages of this well written and cleverly constructed story and look forward to the next in the series. Now I have discovered this author I will take a look at other series written by her as I enjoy her style. A real bit of escapism.
  • Kim L.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Pippa becomes a sleuth in her new village.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2021
    Pippa Parker moves to a new small village even though she didn't want to. She is very startled when she finds a pillar of the community has been found dead at the Playgroup. Pippa is eight months pregnant and also has a toddler but decides that she has to solve this mystery but can she do it in time? She knows nobody could have committed the murder other than the people that were at the playgroup. And she catch the murderer and put the village back to normal?
  • Adrienne P. Ryan
    4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Pippa
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2017
    I liked the storyline. It felt like a good summer read. I would say this would appeal to anyone who doesn't want anything to deep. Something that can be picked up and down with ease. Nice short paragraphs. It's a bit of fun. She is damn near perfect though!! I gave it 4 stars mainly because I felt the ending a little rushed.

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