I'm pleased to welcome Hayley Mason to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Hayley on the pages of the Vivien Brandt Mystery series. DUG TO DEATH is the second book in the series and was released at the end of October.
All Hail the Sidekick
I’m Hayley Mason, neighbor to Vivien Brandt. Vivien and her husband Geoffrey moved in about six months ago, and I have to say they’ve considerably livened up the place.
Vivien, being from California, has no doubt had some growing pains getting used to the English way of things. She frequently gets into the wrong side of the car, for instance, and keeps called the ground floor the first floor. Plus, there’s the dead bodies she seems to come across all too frequently.
Having American relatives myself, I have some small understanding of what it must be like for her, so it was natural for us to become friends. Well, that and our mutual love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course. But I’ve come to appreciate her quick mind and her desire to help people. She just doesn’t always know the right way to go about it.
For instance, take the British tendency to moan. About the weather, the government, or the neighbor’s dog. Vivien always wants to do something about it. I have to keep explaining that the moaning is the doing. It’s when the British stop moaning that you need to be worried. Like, for instance, when they’re mysteriously killed.
Vivien also tends to blurt out whatever’s on her mind or ask personal questions of people she barely knows. Last week she asked the new minister if he would officiate a gay marriage only twenty minutes after being introduced to him. That’s the kind of thing that takes months to decide after much discussion within the diocese!
But, knowing Vivien as I do now, I know it all comes from a good heart. She’s managed to win over the kids at the library where she works. She doesn’t hesitate to come to the aid of her new neighbors, whether it’s helping them decorate or finding out who murdered their loved one. Plus, her devastatingly handsome husband Geoffrey adores her (and he’s a respected research scientist so you know he wasn’t just carried away by his feelings).
If more proof is needed, my hearing dog, Cadbury, worships the ground she walks on. Though that might be because she brings him treats and sometimes drops them.
Yes, Vivien has definitely been an asset to our little village community here in Yorkshire. Even now, she’s helping our neighbor Tabitha’s mother with a property dispute, though she’s got her own hands full dealing with her new stepdaughter.
And then there’s her Siamese cat, Sydney. The furry fury. Occasionally willing to tolerate those who woo him with food or pets (on his terms), Cadbury and I agree he’s to be approached carefully. But there’s no denying he’s been helpful when it comes to solving a mystery, though I don’t personally think he does it intentionally.
That’s the lot. I spend a lot of time these days writing my novel about a preacher seduced by a pole dancer (working title: Tithes and Thighs), but it’s always exciting when Vivien invites me to be sidekick on one of her adventures. As a matter of fact, I have to go now, we’re off to interrogate a slimy politician about a dodgy land deal.
Want to find out what happens? Pick up a copy of Dug to Death, the second Vivien Brandt Mystery. Or the first, Moved to Murder, if you want the backstory.
Ta for now!
****************************************************************************
Review
The Second Vivien Brandt Mystery
Vivien Brandt was enjoying her new life in England with her new husband, taking interior design classes and making good friends. That is until her husband's adult daughter moved in after finishing her studies. With Sara treating her as the evil step-mother Vivien is happy to help try to save a local green space. Soon she's knee deep in council politics, dodgy development, and murder! But with her friends by her side Vivien will sort through it all, after all, solving a murder has to be easier than dealing with her step-daughter!
Environmental concerns, dodgy politics, and nasty developers are the root of the mystery in DUG TO DEATH. I appreciate Vivien's investigative style, especially keeping the police involved. Red herrings kept me, as well as Vivien, guessing, pondering the possibilities and jumping to more than one wrong conclusion.
At first I really disliked Sara. Although she was 24 she acted more like a petulant teenager. Her behavior put Vivien in a really untenable position. Indeed family issues are a major part of the second Vivien Brandt Mystery. Vivien has had a lot of change, getting remarried, moving to a different country far from her family, the trauma from the first book in the series, and now an adult daughter who treats her like rubbish. And while her new husband adores her he vanishes into his work. No wonder Vivien looks to help her neighbors. While I really like Tabitha, her mother Serena is not my cup of tea. And they call Vivien out for being blunt? Through it all communication becomes key, some issues are resolved, and Sara grew up a bit. I still dislike Serena.
Perhaps because I'm an Anglophile who actually has a friend who lives in Sheffield, I found Vivien's continued translations of British words into their American counterpart annoying. I suppose once in a while would be OK, or if she was actually speaking to someone, but her internal corrections were putting me right off. Despite that I really did enjoy the book and the whole concept of the series.
Family drama adds to the angst and excitement of DUG TO DEATH where local politics and murder combine to make an enjoyable and entertaining read.
****************************************************************************
Dug to Death: A Vivien Brandt Mystery by Gianetta Murray
About Dug to Death
Cozy Mystery 2nd in the Series
Setting - South Yorkshire, England
Publisher: Catmom Press
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Print Length: 294 pages
"Wicked stepmother" wasn't something Vivien wanted on her resume (or CV!).
But six months after moving from California to join her British husband in a quiet Yorkshire village, Vivien and her cat Sydney are confronted with a volatile 24-year-old stepdaughter and the sparks begin to fly.
It certainly doesn't help when they join a local protest and a body turns up.
In this sequel to Moved to Murder, Vivien must once again work with her enterprising neighbors to solve a murder and clear her family's name. Which isn't easy when you're dealing with people who "Ear all, see all, and say nowt"!
About Gianetta Murray
Gianetta Murray grew up in California in the heady days of Silicon Valley, but for the last twenty years has lived a slightly more peaceful existence in England with her husband and a minimum of two cats. She enjoys rewatching Hollywood musicals and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, plays guitar and ukulele, and stresses about using all the pears provided by the tree in her back garden. She dreams about one day being spit on by Jonathan Groff.
Author Links:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/p/Gianetta-Murray-Author-100095221600878/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gianettamurray/
GoodReads Gianetta Murray
Substack Gianetta Murray | Substack
Blue Sky Gianetta Murray - Author (@gianettamurray.bsky.social)
Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - More Stores
No comments:
Post a Comment