The Tale Of Hill Top Farm | Book Review

The only mystery series I love to read have been Nancy Drew novels. Up until now. I’m not one for murder mysteries. Ghosts, theft, art heists, and car chases are as dark as I like to get with my mystery stories. So you may be surprised that I knowingly picked up a murder mystery, let alone a murder mystery series. Let me tell you about the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter.

Are you a Beatrix Potter fan? If you don’t know who she is, but the name sounds familiar, Beatrix Potter is well known around the world for her charming stories about animals and watercolor paintings for children, particularly Peter Rabbit. I love her whimsical characters; cats in jackets, bunnies with dresses, and washerwoman (or should I say washer-hedgehog?) Mrs. Tiggiewinkle. Even as an adult I cherish the beauty and simplicity of the BBC mini series made with her stories. I still read her books every spring. They’re simply lovely.

So you can imagine my surprise that the real life Beatrix Potter was turned into a mystery solving detective of sorts for a fictional murder mystery series. At least, that is what is sounds like. It really is not all so bad, I promise. I picked it up because it was recommended by someone online and they claimed the story was “charming.” And it is! The author is American, but has done a wonderful job not only researching the real life of Beatrix Potter, but the land, the village, the language, the culture, and the time period. I honestly thought it was written by a British author. I studied abroad in Canterbury, Kent, England so badly done British accents and ways of speaking in stories really throw me off. This was very well written.

And it is not a murder mystery exactly. There is a lot more to it. The characters are well developed and although the story can be slow at times it does leave you in suspense when needed. The animals in this story also talk. They talk to humans too, but the author made it so that the humans cannot understand them even though the animals understand the humans. If Susan Wittig Albert had decided to make the humans and animals converse it would have been too much, but her secondary animal characters are sweet and propels the story. I actually love the element of whimsy it adds to the story and how it relates well to the imaginary world of Beatrix Potter, who at times seems to understand the animals more than any of the villagers.

The first book in the series, The Tale of Hill Top Farm is about a woman in the village, Miss. Tolliver, who mysteriously dies the day after her birthday. Some seem to suspect foul play while others suspect she poisoned herself. It is at this time that Beatrix Potter buys Hill Top Farm in the year 1905 and begins her move into the village of Sawrey. She makes friends despite so many against her buying the farm. There are also numerous thefts in town including money, a book from the church, and a painting that belonged to Miss. Tolliver. This is truly the story about how Beatrix found the courage to separate from her controlling parents after the fiancé’s death and start a life for herself and how she wins the respect of Sawrey in the process.

A slow moving book at times with a confusing amount of characters, I actually enjoyed this slower paced read and the big mystery was actually much less of mystery at the end than suspected. I kept thinking big and drawing all sorts of conclusions that fizzled and never came to be. And I actually appreciated that. Mysteries don’t have to turn into gruesome murders or dark plots to be interesting. And the mystery of this novel turns secondary to the character development of Beatrix. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but you will see what I mean. I also enjoyed the charm of the animals. It felt much like reading a fairytale for grownups.

I often brought it with me as a companion on walks at Topsmead State Forest, a park close to my home. The old mansion and the grounds remind me a lot about the descriptions of the village in the book. It is a lot of fun to read this book at a place of nature like in the book. This book is one of eight in a series and I am looking forward to reading the next one.

I highly recommend this book for all fans of Beatrix Potter, people who enjoy slow paced mysteries, cottage core enthusiasts, book lovers, and those who enjoy a touch of whimsy in your books.