I am thoroughly enjoying taking part in the Isabel Ashdown blog tour and reading through some of her back catalogue. The latest being 33 Women.

33 Women starts when sisters Celine and Pip getting a call telling them their reclusive mother has died. They reunite at their mother’s house in order to sort her estate which brings up lots of memories of their sister who was murdered years before. When a woman’s body is found nearby in similar circumstances to their sister, it raises questions about what really happened to her. Is it anything to do with the mysterious residents of Two Cross Farm, the women’s commune next door and what does the number 33 mean?

I enjoyed this book very much.  It was an interesting story and I especially liked the elements of the story that were based in the commune.

The majority of the story is told from two points of view. In the present day we hear from Celine as the sisters along with their aunt Una navigate not only the legacy of their mother’s death but the memories of their childhood and specifically the death of their sister Vanessa which has never been solved. The other main voice is Bramble, both in the present day and also at the start of the commune. As one of the founding members Bramble has been there from the beginning and is integral to the whole back story. It was her chapters that I found the most fascinating and the women in the commune were intriguing.

There were lots of elements to this story but they were easy to keep track of and intertwined well. There were twists that I did not see coming and I found myself want to read more and more as the story drew to it’s conclusion.

This was a great mix of family drama and murder mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed.