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Official Synopsis from Goodreads: Swiss-American police officer Agnes Lüthi is on leave in Lausanne, Switzerland, recovering from injuries she sustained in her last case, when an old colleague invites her to the world’s premier watch and jewelry trade show at the grand Messe Basel Exhibition Hall. Little does Agnes know, another friend of hers, Julien Vallatton, is at the same trade show―and he’s looking for Agnes. Julien Vallatton was friends with Guy Chavanon, a master of one of Switzerland’s oldest arts: watchmaking. Chavanon died a week ago, and his daughter doesn’t believe his death was accidental. Shortly before he died, Chavanon boasted that he’d discovered a new technique that would revolutionize the watchmaking industry, and she believes he may have been killed for it. Reluctantly, Agnes agrees to investigate his death. But the world of Swiss watchmaking is guarded and secretive, and before she realizes it, Agnes may be walking straight into the path of a killer. Tracee de Hahn’s next mystery, A Well-Timed Murder, is another magnetic mystery that will engross readers from the opening page to the stunning conclusion.

Genre: Mystery
Setting: Modern day Switzerland

***I received an eARC copy of A Well-Timed Murder from the publisher, Minotaur Books, via NetGalley***

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Review: Another solid entry in the Agnes Lüthi Mystery series! A Well-Timed Murder by Tracee de Hahn is a great follow-up to Swiss Vendetta, the first book in the Agnes Lüthi Mysteries. Set in modern day Switzerland and set about three weeks after the events in Swiss Vendetta, we are thrust right back in Agnes’s daily life as she is recuperating from her injury and about to return to her work in Violent Crimes. Agnes is called by her friend Julien to investigate the death of his friend, the watchmaker Guy Chavanon.

I liked the mystery here. Once again Tracee de Hahn has written a spellbinding mystery with nods to classic whodunits, and I enjoyed trying to figure it out. I was suspicious of the murderer almost right away, but couldn’t ever figure out why, so I liked sifting through the clues and weeding out the red herrings.

As with Swiss Vendetta, I really enjoyed the character of Agnes Lüthi. She’s calm and collected, with an educated eye, and I like reading her control of the situation. I really love classic style murder mysteries, ones where the main character studies the crime scene, and interviews all of the suspects, and A Well-Timed Murder followed this style well. We get a bit of Agnes’s personal life outside of the murder investigation, but not so much where it overshadows the murder. I like it when mysteries are focused on the case at hand, and not so much all of the extra stuff going on, and so I enjoyed this.

As much of the mystery centers around the Swiss watch industry, I found the setting fascinating. I liked hearing about how the use of quartz altered the industry, and would like to know more. One thing that slightly irritated me was that in the synopsis it mentions Chavanon’s new technique in regards to watches. This technique was never explained that I could see, and so that was a bit frustrating. I wanted to know what the technique was and how it would change the industry!

I’m so far very pleased with this series. It’s only two books so far, but there’s something quiet and smart about Agnes that I just love, and I enjoy that so far the mysteries have been clean and engaging. I don’t care for a lot of gore, sex, and language in the mysteries I read, and so I’m enjoying this series quite a bit.

Bottom Line: A great addition to the Agnes Lüthi Mysteries!

Does this sound like a fun read? Do you like mysteries set in today’s time, or do you prefer mysteries set in different time periods? ü