The second in M.H. Eccleston's cosy mystery series featuring art restorer - turned amateur sleuth Astrid Swift, Death on the Isle takes our heroine to the Isle of Wight during the renowned Cowes Week sailing festival.

On assignment for H.M. Customs, Astrid is contracted to examine and assess the maritime art collection of a deceased collector, held in his impressively situated property, "The Needles' Eye". Not long after arriving on the Isle of Wight, Astrid witnesses the discovery of a body beneath the pier at Yarmouth harbour. She recognises the deceased as a local anti-development lobbyist and, together with her newfound posse of friends in the local art circle, sets about covertly investigating the crime. It's not long before another body is discovered, this time very close to Art Club HQ, and Astrid again finds herself in the crosshairs of a very dangerous villain...

This is an enjoyable cosy mystery series and Astrid makes a loveably quirky heroine, still finding her feet after a cataclysmic relationship breakdown and resulting change in her circumstances. Astrid's impulsive and occasionally risk-taking behaviour simultaneously push the tension in the plot and add humour. The Isle of Wight is a stimulating setting, especially as Eccleston explores the tense dynamic between the island's permanent local population and the hordes of incomers (approximately 100,000 of them, according to Wikipedia) representing the "sailing set" during the Cowes week festivities.

I'd recommend Death on the Isle and the whole Astrid Swift series to readers who enjoy cosy mysteries set in exotic settings and with plenty of character interest.

My thanks to author M.H. Eccleston, publisher Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.