Book Review: A Timeless Celebration by Dianne Ascroft

Title: A Timeless Celebration ( Century Cottage Cozy Mystery Series #1)

Author: Dianne Ascroft

Published on: October 25th, 2018

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Lois Stone has moved from Toronto to Fenwater after the death of her husband – a mugging incident gone wrong. She thinks that nothing bad can happen in a calm and charming town like Fenwater. But things go wrong when an antique watch from a Titanic survivor is stolen from the museum days before its display. To add to this mess, Lois’ house gets burgled and surprisingly, someone saves Lois from the burglar – a grey smoke-like shadow.

Lois’ friend, Marge, was responsible for the safe-keeping of the watch, and with the watch now missing, her career is in jeopardy. Lois convinces Marge that together they would find the missing watch before the day it is supposed to be displayed. But when Lois’ house is burgled for the second time, Lois is not sure if Fenwater was the right place to move to.

The first thing I observed about the book was the writing. It is poetic and charming. I loved Ascroft’s storytelling style – unique and precise. Overall, the story is a tad bit slow but since it is a cozy mystery, I didn’t mind.

Two middle-aged ladies solving a mystery was an interesting concept. And the ghost goat – Beldie, added an interesting twist to the story. A ghost that saves Lois! The calico cats – Raggs and Ribbons were just adorable. And so cat-like! As a cat owner, I can totally relate to cats wanting to sleep on a comfy sofa or a chair. (The one at home demands that she should get the best seat and makes sure that she gets it!)

The budding romance between Bruce and Lois was lovely. One always gets a second chance when it comes to love – that is what one can infer from the story. The suspect list is long and Lois is unstoppable. She discovers an illegitimate affair and she also makes a new friend – Ken. Lois met her husband when she started learning to play the pipe. And now that he’s no more, she did not want to practice it anymore. Ken inspires her to continue and she finally joins the group.

There are two kinds of plots in a mystery – do not reveal the identity of the perp till the end (surprise ending) and the identity of the perp is known and the protagonist works towards proving the perp guilty. This story is of the latter type. Though Lois did not believe/ did not suspect, many a time, I wish I could just go into the story and warn Lois!

Since the identity of the perp was obvious, the ending was pretty okay. The climax just before the ending was worth it!

A Timeless Celebration by Diane Ascroft is a charming cozy mystery about a missing antique, finding love again, two calico cats and a ghost.

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