Review: The Best Corpse for the Job by Charlie Cochrane

Title: The Best Corpse for the Job

Author: Charlie Cochrane

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Pages/Word Count: 298 Pages

At a Glance: More mystery than romance, and a little slow paced for my tastes.

Reviewed By: Jennifer

Blurb: Schoolteacher Adam Matthews just wants to help select a new headteacher and go home. The governors at Lindenshaw St Crispin’s have already failed miserably at finding the right candidate, so it’s make or break this second time round. But when one of the applicants is found strangled in the school, what should have been a straightforward decision turns tempestuous as a flash flood in their small English village.

Inspector Robin Bright isn’t thrilled to be back at St. Crispin’s. Memories of his days there are foul enough without tossing in a complicated murder case. And that handsome young teacher has him reminding himself not to fraternize with a witness. But it’s not long before Robin is relying on Adam for more than just his testimony.

As secrets amongst the governors emerge and a second person turns up dead, Robin needs to focus less on Adam and more on his investigation. But there are too many suspects, too many lies, and too many loose ends. Before they know it, Robin and Adam are fighting for their lives and their hearts.

Review: I will be honest and admit right off the bat that while I have eyed books by Charlie Cochrane before, until now I had not actually read anything but the author. And while this book is a decent mystery, I struggled to get into it for several reasons. I’m not sure why, but I could only read a few pages of it at a time, then had to put it down and switch to something else before coming back to it.

I do enjoy British novels; however, at times the terminology can be confusing to me when the context is not immediately clear, so maybe that’s why I had to walk away from the book so many times. There were many moments in this book when I was a bit confused as to what was being said, and had to look it up online in order not to miss something. But, maybe that’s just me. I mean, half the time I don’t know what my own students are saying, let alone keep up with British English.

Maybe it was intentional on the author’s part, but the first chapter was dull, and I felt like I was with Adam in the committee to select the new head teacher. As a teacher myself, I’ve never been on an interview committee before, but I can only imagine how it must feel to sit there and listen to all manner of interviews. And the school setting was very different from what I’m used to, it being set in a rather quaint English village, but I felt like it would be an enjoyable place to work.

Robin was a good character, and I enjoyed his role in the story. Even though I’m a teacher, I felt like I connected more to him than I did with Adam. Maybe it’s because I also had a miserable time in school when I was younger?

If you’re looking for a strong romance where that is the major plot, this book isn’t for you. While it does have romantic elements, the mystery is the main focus. It takes a long time for the characters to get together and even then, it wasn’t terribly exciting for me.