I took a chance on this book as I had read the author's other book, Overnight Shift, and enjoyed it enough to give it a shot. I wanted to see what Bill could do within a full novel worth of space and he delivered. A Spot of Murder was a mystery with plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout the whole book. I had a bunch of theories about who ended up committing the crime throughout and that was a big part of the fun for me. The opening to the book is very strong, with just enough setup to introduce the first characters before setting up the murder to be solved. It immediately piqued my interest and switched me into sleuthing mode. Every time a new character was introduced I'd check the cover of the book to see if their description matched up and consider how they all fit into the puzzle. I enjoyed the way the book handled the main character Ino being gay. It felt like a big part of his character and was used to great effect. Bill has an intricate knowledge of the ways in which university politics would contribute to how a murder investigation would be carried out and that helps to ground the story in some realism. Some of the clues turn out to be red herrings or dead ends and I'm not gonna lie that I was sad to find that out about some of them. I know that makes it closer to a real investigation and that not all the clues need to tie together for the final reveal, but a few felt like they were meant to be more important and perhaps got re-prioritized as the book was being written. I don't think it takes away from the whole of the book but it was something I thought as I was in the process of reading it. I would gladly recommend this book to mystery lovers!

This was such a good read, I couldn't put it down once I started it! The story was engaging right from the beginning, and it kept me wanting more the entire time. The characters were all very well done, and I absolutely fell in love with a couple of them (I'm looking at you, shep-daddy). This ticked so many boxes for me. Enthralling murder mystery? Check. Loveable furry characters? Check. Adorable/cheesy romance? Double-check. If you share any of these interests, I highly recommend picking up this book, you won't regret it! And now I eagerly await the continuation of Dr. Reamer's story, provided I can be that patient.