I’ve had this cozy mystery series, The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, on my TBR list for quite a while, and I’ve just now managed to check out the first book in the series from my library and read it. I thought it might be fun, and indeed this little story pushes all of the right buttons for a low-stress, delightful, homey read on a semi-winter’s day.

The point of view character is Beatrix Potter, author of a set of children’s books about little animals with human characteristics, the most famous of which is The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Our tale of Hill Top Farm shows Ms. Potter, a middle-aged spinster who has just experienced a great personal loss, trying to come to terms with her loss, stake out her independence from her controlling parents, and begin to farm on a new piece of land that she has purchased in the Lake District of northern England.

Yes, the Lake District. Charlotte Mason. Swallows and Amazons. William Wordsworth. Ambleside. Coniston. Keswick. Windermere. All of these places and some of the names are mentioned in the book, and the whole story is just full of pleasant associations. Beatrix Potter herself talks about her life and her books and drawings, and she carries her animal friends with hr as she works to find a place for herself in the village of Sawrey near the hill top farm that she wants to make her home. Unfortunately, there are some disturbing things going on in this peaceful village: a sudden death, art theft, false accusations, and gossip. And Ms. Potter is drawn into the complications and distressful events of the village as she attempts to make sense of some rather unusual occurrences.

Nothing very violent or dreadful happens in the novel, and the mystery is about as sedate and cozy as a mystery can be. Some village eccentrics and talking animals (only the other animals can understand each other) and tension over changing times make up most of the drama in the book. Then, Beatrix Potter’s personal is undergoing a mild and slow sort of revolution as she begins her quest for independence, a revolt that I assume will continue to unfold in the remainder of the series. I can’t vouch for the rest of the series since I haven’t read those books yet, but I am looking forward to doing so at the leisurely pace that the books themselves call for. I am pleased to have found a series that should be fun and undemanding for interspersing in between the “hard stuff” that I sometimes read.