September has arrived as well as a big box of my new Drew Davies Cozy Mystery – Book 3, Neither Life Nor Death. Below is a review from Chanticleer International Books and Reviews that I wanted to share. Happy Fall and Happy Reading!

Welcome to 1945 Mumbles, a charming Welsh town with a surprisingly high murder rate. Gail Noble-Sanderson’s Neither Life Nor Death, the third installment in the Drew Davies Railway Mysteries, thrills and warms readers’ hearts with the adventures of Mumbles’ very own detective heroine.

More than just a mystery novel, Neither Life Nor Death offers important life lessons that all readers will benefit from as they try to make sense of life’s most difficult periods.

But when Drew Davies finds herself at the center of a third murder, her life might well depend on solving it. This time she’s not only a detective, but a suspect.

Drew’s coveted brake van guard position is taken by a new friend, Peter—the nephew of longtime railway employee Jonesy, known as an unlikeable loner in Mumbles. When Drew and Peter stand up to dangerously destructive behavior at the railway, their courage doesn’t come without sacrifice.

Soon after, Drew stumbles upon Jonesy’s murdered body. Just like that, her life of independence is stripped from her as she becomes a suspect in the town where she used to be respected. As if life wasn’t confusing enough, sad news from Italy about her Nonna’s family throws another curveball in Drew’s plans.

No longer the conductor of her own life, Drew fumbles for the right answer to her dilemma. Although she wants to run and hide, Drew realizes with help from her loved ones she can only get back on track by uncovering the true killer.

Wading through dangerous distrust in post-war Mumbles proves to be more difficult than she anticipated. Does she have the strength to see this mystery through?

Noble-Sanderson’s enchanting prose, charming characters, and life-like setting make this short novel feel like a warm cup of tea.

What sets Noble-Sanderson’s craft apart is her refusal to let cozy warmth blunt the stakes. The same chapters that linger over Nonna’s kitchen and the rattle of the Mumbles railway also strip Drew of her standing and her certainty. Noble-Sanderson braids two investigations into one; the murder Drew must solve and the life she must rebuild. Each discovery about Jonesy’s death doubles as a step toward her own less-concrete questions.

Period and domestic detail never sit as mere decoration; the brake van rejection and the news from Italy do the quiet work of characterization, showing how a fiercely independent woman learns to lean on the people around her.

Neither Life Nor Death speaks to those who have felt hopelessness or have had to become detectives of their own lives. It reminds readers of the natural ebb and flow of our fortunes, encouraging us to take time to fall apart and return stronger than before, chasing new adventures.