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Persimmon Brown #4
The Troutbeck Testimony: The evocative English cozy crime series
A huge funeral for Windermere's popular resident, Barbara Dodge, is taking place and florist Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown and her new assistant, Bonnie Lawson are busy compiling wreaths in preparation. There's word of a series of sinister dognappings occurring in nearby Troutbeck and whilst taking a walk up Wansfell Pike, Simmy and her father, Russell, stumble on a dog, strangled to death - it's not long before Simmy reluctantly finds herself caught up in a murder investigation .
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 21, 2015
About the author
Rebecca Tope
73 books198 followersRebecca Tope is best known as the author of over twenty crime novels. She has also recently produced the e-book entitled 'The Indifference of Tumbleweed'. She has every intention of continuing with the murder stories, as well as a variety of other kinds of fiction.
She has experienced many different kinds of work in her time - running antenatal classes, counselling troubled couples and being an office girl for an undertaker, for example. There were also several years monitoring the output of dairy cows, as well as every sort of task associated with book publishing. In 1992, she founded Praxis Books, a small British press.
She lives surrounded by trees she has planted herself, tending her own sheep.
She has experienced many different kinds of work in her time - running antenatal classes, counselling troubled couples and being an office girl for an undertaker, for example. There were also several years monitoring the output of dairy cows, as well as every sort of task associated with book publishing. In 1992, she founded Praxis Books, a small British press.
She lives surrounded by trees she has planted herself, tending her own sheep.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
May 3, 2022
I loved this one, I do think this was one of the best so far in this series. It was twisty and I just didn’t guess who was doing what and the ending surprised me completely. Although these books are slow burners they are really good.
October 1, 2021
I'm not sure why I picked up this book as I didn't like the previous novels in this series, chiefly due to the obnoxious main character. The minor characters were unpleasant and untrustworthy, except the police officer who was painted as ineffectual and lacking any masculinity. The novel sagged horribly in the middle when all we got was introspection, chatting, flower arranging for a funeral and endless, endless repetition. It was as if the author recapped every time she sat down to write again. A good editor would have dealt with that but it would have left only a flimsy mystery which was wrapped around mistaken identity and speculation. The notion that someone making an evil threat could shortly after turn into a chum was risible.
September 23, 2016
Not at all engaging, ridiculous plot and not the slightest bit scary! I won't be bothering with any more in this series!
November 8, 2016
Book 4 in the series is back up to the standard of the first two, and was an enjoyable mystery set in familiar locations in the Lakes. One of the great joys of this series is knowing the places, which are literally just dozen or so miles from where I live. That sense of intimacy with a place, the familiarity with the characteristics of the people in the book, makes for such an enjoyable read.
July 11, 2017
I have really enjoyed this series of books. Sadly this one had a poor middle and seemed to loose its way (perhaps a bit of filler to reach the page number expected).
All this said it was a good story line and with some twists and turns along the way. All the more enjoyable because I recognise the a landmarks and area.
All this said it was a good story line and with some twists and turns along the way. All the more enjoyable because I recognise the a landmarks and area.
January 24, 2019
Much like the second book in the series, this suffers from a lot of talk and little progression in the murder mystery.
New character developments help to add the ongoing plotlines of the series and one departure feels abrupt, here's hoping they return in a later book in one form or another.
New character developments help to add the ongoing plotlines of the series and one departure feels abrupt, here's hoping they return in a later book in one form or another.
October 27, 2019
I am enjoying this series from this author. The setting is the Lake District in northwest England. It reads as a beautiful and mysterious area and is a perfect setting for these murder mysteries. Simmy Brown is a florist who finds herself unwittingly involved in murder and mystery. These are intriguing mysteries with credible characters and satisfying solutions.
January 31, 2024
Preferred other novels on this series
February 7, 2017
I haven't read any books by this author before, but I found it to be a good read. It had a clever plot, pretty settings, good characterisation and it was somewhat whimsical which I liked. I recommend this book and I plan to read more by this author.
April 9, 2020
Really enjoyed this. Best one of the series so far
April 1, 2021
As a cosy mystery a la Midsomer Murders, The Lake District Mysteries are quite good.
However, I am not relating to Persimmon Brown very much in this book. Her antipathy to DI Moxon is annoying and I am at a loss as to why she thinks he is interested in her. She is quite shallow regarding his appearance, not taking into account his protection in the previous books where she was thrown over a bridge. Yet she seems attracted to Ninian who doesn't seem responsible at all.
I know she is grieving still over the loss of her baby, yet she gets annoyed over any form of responsibility for another human being.
These books seem quite verbose in descriptions of the activities around the flower shop and subsequent journey. I guess its about setting the scene. The 'friends' all seem to be a bit short and curt with one another and there's no real camradrie amongst any of them.
I concur with other reviewers re their reaction to Simmy Brown as a main character.
There are currently 9 published books in the series, which I will continue to read.
However, I am not relating to Persimmon Brown very much in this book. Her antipathy to DI Moxon is annoying and I am at a loss as to why she thinks he is interested in her. She is quite shallow regarding his appearance, not taking into account his protection in the previous books where she was thrown over a bridge. Yet she seems attracted to Ninian who doesn't seem responsible at all.
I know she is grieving still over the loss of her baby, yet she gets annoyed over any form of responsibility for another human being.
These books seem quite verbose in descriptions of the activities around the flower shop and subsequent journey. I guess its about setting the scene. The 'friends' all seem to be a bit short and curt with one another and there's no real camradrie amongst any of them.
I concur with other reviewers re their reaction to Simmy Brown as a main character.
There are currently 9 published books in the series, which I will continue to read.
September 12, 2021
I picked up this book in a charity shop in the lake district as I was staying in Troutbeck on holiday. I liked that I had been to the places mentioned. I understand this is the 4th in a series and I hadn't read the others but I felt it stood up ok as a stand alone as although there are references to the earlier events they are not directly connected.
I found the book an ok read. The challenge for me is that the main character is just irritating. Both she and her father seem to jump to unwarranted conclusions on the flimsiest of evidence and at times bordering on discriminatory prejudice. Whilst this in itself isn't unrealistic combined with her constant inner monologue about getting things done on time for the funeral or wedding, and who she can trust it all felt unconvincing and her connection to the murder and dognapping seemed remote and lacked any credibility. For me it was a bit of a slog and I was left feeling disappointed. I have read other books by this author that I have really enjoyed so it might just be this is not the series for me.
I found the book an ok read. The challenge for me is that the main character is just irritating. Both she and her father seem to jump to unwarranted conclusions on the flimsiest of evidence and at times bordering on discriminatory prejudice. Whilst this in itself isn't unrealistic combined with her constant inner monologue about getting things done on time for the funeral or wedding, and who she can trust it all felt unconvincing and her connection to the murder and dognapping seemed remote and lacked any credibility. For me it was a bit of a slog and I was left feeling disappointed. I have read other books by this author that I have really enjoyed so it might just be this is not the series for me.
July 2, 2024
I picked this up while on holiday in the Lake District. I had read the previous three but had no real memory of them - perhaps a warning sign.
The setting and descriptions of the Lake District are enjoyable but I found the main character unlikeable and her relationships with supporting characters somewhat annoying and unbelievable.
There wasn't much mystery solving, rather Simmy speculates about her employee's lives and worries about her father. Her interactions with so-called friends and family were bordering on objectionable and I didn't really warm to any of them. I can see that this is intended as part of a longer series and the efforts are directed to establishing long standing characters but I would have enjoyed more mystery solving. In the end the confusion and solution were quite far-fetched. I don't think I'll bother with any more in this series.
The setting and descriptions of the Lake District are enjoyable but I found the main character unlikeable and her relationships with supporting characters somewhat annoying and unbelievable.
There wasn't much mystery solving, rather Simmy speculates about her employee's lives and worries about her father. Her interactions with so-called friends and family were bordering on objectionable and I didn't really warm to any of them. I can see that this is intended as part of a longer series and the efforts are directed to establishing long standing characters but I would have enjoyed more mystery solving. In the end the confusion and solution were quite far-fetched. I don't think I'll bother with any more in this series.
March 6, 2018
It’s hard to reconcile that this book was penned by the same author as the Cotswold mysteries which as examples of the cozy sub genre of crime fiction I typically enjoy. Sadly, and by comparison this is a very poor relation not even redeemable by being set in my more favoured location. The writing felt amateurish, dull and repetitive. The plot was thin and as a result not very engaging. And to cap it off in a cast of generally insipid characters I just really disliked Simmy. Everything about the way she thinks, talks and acts came across as cold and just incredibly irritating. So, having read and reviewed I’m quickly moving on to something hopefully much better.
June 18, 2024
This is an improvement on some of the earlier books in the series, the plot is still completely unlikely, but less so than some of the other books.
The Cumbrian background is still the main draw to read these books. The plot and characters are easily forgettable.
I'm starting to get really creeped out by the main character's friendship with a teenage boy, it just seems to be more and more unnatural as these books progress. Her way of running a business is so terrible it's almost painful to read.
I've still got a few more of this series to read, but I'm only really continuing with the series because I hate giving books away unread.
The Cumbrian background is still the main draw to read these books. The plot and characters are easily forgettable.
I'm starting to get really creeped out by the main character's friendship with a teenage boy, it just seems to be more and more unnatural as these books progress. Her way of running a business is so terrible it's almost painful to read.
I've still got a few more of this series to read, but I'm only really continuing with the series because I hate giving books away unread.
July 11, 2017
this book is good for those who like gentle reading . i found it very hard to stay focused on the story as it didn't have the substance to keep me intrigued . it was slow moving and i lacked excitement with the story. it took me a few days to as i got bored quickly so had to come back off and on. it wasn't till the last chapter that i finally understood what the mystery and murders was all about. i have read a lot of the COTSWOLD MYSTERY SERIES and found them good but i just couldn't get into the LAKE DISTRICT SERIES.
November 29, 2021
A good enough cozy, I suppose. A florist in a small town is caught up in murder, dognapping, and various family dramas, including her own.
Maybe I would have gotten more out of this if I was familiar with the series, but I just didn't feel as engaged as I normally do with a small-town England murder mystery. I didn't actually like any of the characters. The idea of a florist is an interesting one, as she would naturally find her way into most of life's important events, but it didn't work for me.
Maybe I would have gotten more out of this if I was familiar with the series, but I just didn't feel as engaged as I normally do with a small-town England murder mystery. I didn't actually like any of the characters. The idea of a florist is an interesting one, as she would naturally find her way into most of life's important events, but it didn't work for me.
October 3, 2020
I liked the main character's honesty about her negative feelings and the setting, though it wasn't described that much. Some of the relationships seemed unlikely and there was quite a bit of repetition about certain characters; personally I didn't like the total acceptance of casual, uncommitted sexual relationships just for the sake of it either, even if it mirrors the real world! The plot seemed to be going well but rather fell flat at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2023
This was an odd book. I’ve read quite a few of the Cotswolds novels and quite enjoyed them, but the characters in these books all seem to be quite annoying and rude sometimes and this was no exception. The story seemed muddled and hard to follow and although I enjoyed the fact that it was set in Windermere where I had a short break last month, the characters were mostly all annoying or wimpish, so probably won’t read many more of these!
May 9, 2017
Although this is the fourth alliterative title in Lake District Mysteries it was the first of the series I have read.
It is typically Tope [sorry!] with her easy style of writing which takes no effort to read although I found the plot a little confusing with the sub-plots going on and was astonished to find whodunit.
It is typically Tope [sorry!] with her easy style of writing which takes no effort to read although I found the plot a little confusing with the sub-plots going on and was astonished to find whodunit.
April 19, 2022
A bitter, rude protagonist who spends a good portion of the novel moaning about people for doing perfectly ordinary things. The story is slow and the secondary characters have barely formed personalities. The conclusion was more engaging, but unfortunately did not make up for the slog of the first 200 pages.
March 7, 2023
I suppose you’d class this as a ‘cosy mystery’. The story’s pretty thin, padded out with the characters going over and over the same things. I didn’t really care about them, or the plot, and the denouement was a bit “is that it?” It passed the time, but I wouldn’t bother with any more from the series.
November 29, 2018
While Rebecca Tope's mysteries are, for me at any rate, average, I enjoy following the characters she has created. Couple this with descriptions of the Lake District, Windermere and Bowness and this series makes for a pleasant, if undemanding read.
March 10, 2020
The 4th in the series introduces a new character, concerns about Simmy’s father’s health and another convoluted plot involving dognapping, an anonymous letter and murder. Unfortunately the motive for the murder was unrealistic and the reasoning behind Simmy working out “whodunnit” unbelievable! (Motive - revenge - mistaken identity)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2020
Returned to the series for some predictable escapism, predictable only in terms of the characters rather than the murder plot that was pretty good and had me wondering right up to the eventual denouement. Easy read and familiar characters.
December 18, 2020
This is the first Rebecca Tope book I've read. Nice enough, gentle book, lovely descriptive settings, but not particularly inspiring, not really a page turner. I was happy to read it to the end though. Easy reading and a bit of escapism.
February 14, 2017
Strangely addicted to these tales of Lake District strife
July 23, 2017
a boring , slow and undramatic thriller.
September 2, 2017
Another great entry in this prolific writer's series. There are several to choose from, so check her out if you love Cumbria!
December 22, 2018
Maybe the best of this series so far, although plot is a bit convoluted. Enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews