The village of Frog End may be peaceful, but that doesn’t mean that the Colonel’s life there is quiet not with his friendly but nosy neighbour Naomi, desperate to know what he is keeping in his new shed; the curious Miss Butler, who tracks his every move with her German U-boat captain s binoculars; and the attentions of the local vicar, who’s keen to involve him in church affairs. That is not forgetting the demands of the aloof, imperious cat Thursday, who seems to have adopted the Colonel. So the Colonel is pleased when his old friend Geoffrey Cheetham invites him up to the village of Buckby for the weekend, to coincide with a RAF reunion event. After depositing an outraged Thursday at the Cat Heaven cattery, he drives up, and meets his fellow guests at the Cheethams B&B: including a Lancaster bomber crew, reunited for the first time. But everything is not as it seems, and the Colonel finds himself taking on the reluctant role of sleuth once more when tragedy strikes . . .”

I was so delighted to pick this up. I do love a good mystery and I enjoyed this one. This story is more of a mystery at a slower pace but not in any way does the book lose your attention. I was thoroughly engrossed and had many thoughts on the story-line and was into each character and their situation. Although there was a couple of things I would have liked to seen a bit tighter and expanded on. First, half way through the story you learn something about the Colonel. A situation that he tends to get himself in to-quite often it seems- that Naomi-a nosy yet caring lady- points out. I feel that should have been introduced closer to the beginning to the story to give it more depth. Secondly, the ending did not end as I would expect it to and I’m still undecided if it worked for me. I have to say it ends differently than how most mysteries end.

I really did enjoy the overall story and found the plot to be brilliant and how the title fitted in with the story was well executed. And I enjoyed the history of the Bomber Command that the author included in the story. That was a wonderful addition to the plot. The author’s rendition and attention to that particular detail was well written and intriguing. World War II enthusiasts would be interested in this aspect of the story. A good read.

Stephanie Moore Hopkins