1924, Walden 

Reporter Iris Woodmore decided a move to London would be better to avoid a scandal in her hometown, Walden. When, her arch-rival, Archie Powell, is found dead, her secret could be safe. 

However, Archie’s death after an argument with her doesn’t help. The spotlight is on Iris, which means her secret could be exposed anytime. Unless she finds the killer before the police do and protect her reputation. 

The story comes in Iris’s first-person POV. 

Considering the premise, this book wouldn’t be effective as a standalone. You’ll have to read at least the previous book and preferably the last three books to have a better idea and understand the situation. There is enough background information if you want to jump right in. 

The story starts four months after the previous book ends. It’s May Day and Iris is annoyed about her situation. The murder takes a while to happen but this delay is necessary to catch up with the changes. 

NGL, I was pretty irritated with the FMC in the last book. She made it hard to empathize with her even in this one but finally, she showed some promise. I like her mystery-solving brain. It’s her taste in men I find stupid. Anyway! 

The dreaded nemesis is dead, and not surprisingly, there are quite a few suspects. After all, the man, despite his charming and magnetic personality, made many enemies. 

There’s quite a bit of repetition with the FMC risking everything for someone who couldn’t and may not do the same for her. It was starting to grate on my nerves. She has been stuck in the loop for too long. Okay, I understand… but TBH, I can’t say he deserves what she’s putting herself through to protect him. 

The mystery is well done. They are grasping at any lead and many are dead ends until a random and unexpected lead brings things together to complete the picture. 

Percy comes later on and we do see some of his antics. There are new additions to the character list, and I think they will reappear in other books too. I sure am excited to see how a certain track will unfold. 

The ending gives a lead to the next setting, and naturally, something will happen for Iris to investigate. I can only hope she has learned her lessons by now. Making her repeat the same mistakes would affect her arc and make readers disinterested. 

To summarize, Murder at Mill Ponds House is a good continuation of the series and might be the book that marks a definite change in the FMC (if we are lucky). The mystery is cool and the pacing is decent, so give it a go if you read the series before. 

Thank you, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.