After reading and enjoying the first three books in the Elderwick Mysteries series, I have become familiar with the main characters.
When Constance’s van breaks down, Dr Laurel Nightingale, Albert and Maggie are only too willing to help move Constance’s Food from the Plump Tart Bakery to Elderwick Hall for a function. As they near the hall, the weather takes a turn for the worse with a storm breaking while the food is being moved into the hall.
The failure of most of the catering staff and the supplies they were due to bring, to turn up, prompts Constance to offer her help with the catering. As the guests arrive, the weather worsens, electrical power is lost, and the telephones and internet stop working. The deteriorating weather and an unexplained death prompt the Elderwick trio to try and find answers; later, it is not only the weather that traps the guests, staff and the trio in the hall. Laurel is not only trying to unravel the cause of the mysterious events at the hall but is coping with a more personal problem.
I enjoyed the book immensely; it was a quick read for me. More, please, Ms Gray.
Blackheath, during the approach to Christmas, is blighted by the murder of Caspar Campbell, a friend of the Morrigan household.
The Morrigan family home, Greenway, is due to host its first family Christmas for many years. The celebrations include the return to the family home of May Corrigan’s identical twin sister, Cass, on the insistence of Minty. Minty is May and Cass’s somewhat unconventional ninety-six-year-old mother.
Fletcher, May’s friend, is the other member of the household, apart from May’s mini Dachshunds, Bess and George. Fletcher is writing, directing and producing the village pantomime, Peter Pan.
The star of the show, a fading, predatory actor, Clarke Woolf, is playing Widow Twankey and causing Fletcher problems trying to manage Woolf’s attempted philandering.
The run-up to Christmas brings the sharing of family secrets, while May is trying to navigate her way through an acrimonious divorce.
This is a great book. I read it very quickly, putting aside things I shouldn’t have put aside to find out how the story ends. It certainly turns out to be a most curious Christmas.
I had been meaning to read some of Gina Kirkham’s work for some time, so when the opportunity presented itself to me, I grabbed it eagerly. This was to be my first acquaintance with the ladies of the Winterbottom Women’s Institute. The opportunity to become extras in an upcoming film was an opportunity too good to miss for these women. The chance to meet an attractive male actor, Flynn Phoenix and his co-star, Dana Simon, cast in the leading roles, was another attraction.
The filming is to take place in Black Abbey Towers, a building with a dark history, currently owned by the church and occupied by the Archdeacon Clement Gregory of Fallow Falls and his wife, Fiona. The Archdeacon’s wife is none too keen on the intrusion of the film-makers and their entourage. However, her husband is keen to obtain the money the film-makers will bring into the church’s coffers.
Four of the ladies of Winterbottom W.I., Ethel, Hilda, Kittie and Millie are taken on as extras. The ladies, ‘The four Wrinkled Dears’, are joined by another lady, Olive, recruited from the cast of extras, and they are soon sleuthing. At first, trying to locate a missing Housekeeper and then a murderer. With Prunella Barnes, the Winterbottom WI’s president, in the late stages of pregnancy. It was down to Bree Richards, the W.I.’s vice president, to rein in the sleuthing ladies.
The story is overshadowed by Black Abbey Towers’ dark history, and the house itself is a labyrinth of secret passages, holding even darker secrets of its own. The film crew’s very mature female stunt coordinator, Dorothy May (Dottie) Barker, plays a significant part in the action, a lady with remarkable talents.
I enjoyed this book; it was a great read and I will seek out more of Gina’s work.
My thanks goes to Philip for being part of my blog tour. I’m excited to have my first children’s book, The Secret Dragon, out this year. The book has been written for 5-7 year olds and it’s the first in the Saffy’s Secret Quest series. Publication date is 28th July but it’s available for pre-order now. Here’s a little bit about it:
The blurb
When Saffy discovers a dragon statue at the bottom of her garden, her boring summer holiday becomes full of excitement.
The statue is a real dragon called Lily. She’s from the magical world of Mandoreum, a place that’s in danger and in need of Saffy’s help.
There are clues to solve, a wicked witch to battle and secrets to be kept at all costs. Will Saffy be able to save Mandoreum before it’s too late?
Extract:
Saffy looked up at the statue – at its huge, cotton wool feet, up to its mighty scales dangling down and up into its face and row of red gums, which were looming closer and closer as the dragon bent towards her.
Suddenly, the dragon looked very fierce indeed.
Saffy put her hands over her eyes and peeked through her fingers. The dragon was still there.
Pop! Now the dragon had gone.
She looked all around. There was no sign of it. Had there really been a huge, menacing dragon leaning over her?
Author bio:
Esther
Esther has been a freelance writer for over twenty years, regularly writing articles and short stories for magazines and newspapers such as Writers’ Forum, Writing Magazine,The Guardian, Best of British, The Cat, This England, Yours and The People’s Friend.
Winner of several competitions, including those run by Writing Magazine and The Global Short Story Contest, she has also had the privilege of judging writing competitions and relished being given the role of head judge of the Writers’ Forum monthly short story competition.
Esther loves writing, but she also enjoys helping others, which she achieves in her role as a tutor for The Writers Bureau. She also runs their monthly writing club, Let’s Write.
She has had two how-to books on writing published as well as two collections of short stories. Her first children’s book is coming out in July, where she writes under the name of Esther Moonstomp.
Acts of Convenience had sat on my TBR pile for a long time. I finally lifted it off the heap last week and started reading it. The Assisted Dying Bill passing through Parliament has given the story a timeliness that perhaps an earlier read wouldn’t have.
Cassie is a nurse, used to early deaths and personal tragedy. The book charts an uneasy glimpse into an ever-increasing dystopian future where the acts of convenience are only convenient for the few wealthy enough to avoid their consequences. The story is of love, coping with adversity and a resolute determination by Cassie, not only to care for and protect her family and friends but to expose wrongdoing. The story’s Voluntary Euthanasia Bill is the first step on an ever-steeper descent on the slippery slope to a troubling future. If we hadn’t seen the decimation of the NHS and the increasing influence of the private sector, most of this story would seem complete fantasy. I sincerely hope it isn’t what it seems, a vision of the future.
If you only read one book this year make sure that this is the one, it is brilliant.
It isn’t unusual for human bones to be discovered during archaeological excavations, in this case, on the site of a proposed new farm shop, at Elderwick Hall, in whose grounds the discovery was made. The hall has had a long and troubled history, so finding an unknown burial wasn’t a huge surprise. However, once all of the remains had been uncovered, the questions followed, whose remains were they, how long had they been there and what was the cause of death?
Although being there when the discovery was made, Laurel tried to avoid being drawn into the inquiry. She had decided to steer clear of detective work but eventually, reluctantly, to help her friends, she succumbed to the inevitable and started with the help of Maggie and Albert, to investigate the murder.
Laurel’s fractious relationship with D.I. Coral; doesn’t help the situation, particularly, as Laurel was at the site when the remains were discovered. The story is multilayered with a glorious cast of characters, including Albert’s stroppy cockerel, Aroon, it is set in the delightfully painted East Yorkshire village of Elderwick. Who wouldn’t want to buy cakes from the Plump Tart, enjoy tea and cakes at the Pleasant Pheasant or sink a pint at the Snooty Fox?
I thoroughly enjoyed, A Storm in a Teacup, which is the third in the Elderwick Mysteries series. I read it quickly; wanting to find out how it ended, more please, Rachael.
The story is set in Inverness and the surrounding rural area of the Scottish Highlands. An escalating series of fatal road accidents on straight sections of the A9 road are beginning to interest Detective Inspector Alec Mc Kay, of Inverness’s Major Investigation Team, (MIT). He starts to think these accidents are being deliberately caused, to kill or injure the occupants of the targeted vehicles. However, there doesn’t seem to any common factor regarding the victims or connection linking them to each other. Interwoven with this investigation is a press campaign casting doubt on a twenty year old murder conviction. The murder was investigated by Detective Superintendent Rory Grant the late husband of the current head of the MIT, DCI Helena Grant. Helena Grant, is concerned that the campaign will defame the reputation of her late husband. Investigating the murder story and employed to write ghost articles for rabble rousing campaigner Iain Pennycook; is veteran free lance reporter, Craig Fairlie. The outcome is unpredictable in every respect.
This crime fiction story is fast-paced, engaging and well-told; I raced through it and will seek out other books by Mr Walters. This is an excellent book.
This book had been lurking on my TBR pile for a while, I wish now I had got to read it sooner. I met Christine at an Indie Author’s book fair in Huntingdon’s Commemoration Hall. I liked the title and being a lover of crime fiction After a brief chat with the author, bought a signed copy of “Make You Sorry.”
Detective Inspector Nick Morgan has relocated from the Met in London to the South Coast and Gullhaven Cove. He has slept overnight, downstairs in the family’s new home, Cliffside House, belonging to his mother-in-law. The family is due to move in that day, and the furniture van is on its way when Nick discovers the body of a dead teenage boy in the master bedroom on that Friday Morning. Although not due to start his new job until the following Monday, Nick finds himself thrown into the fray three days early. From this point on, a succession of bodies turn up; in the main, singly but not always. The killings seem to be linked but finding the link is difficult. The plot is twisty with the growing number of murder investigations complicated by, difficulties finding temporary accommodation, marital problems and a very troublesome interfering mother-in-law.
I enjoyed the book immensely and will be exploring other books by the same author, I’m pleased I stopped and spoke to Ms Rae Jones and bought the book.
Detective Sergeant Alex Brady is the unpopular new boy at Moorford police station. His sudden arrival following a personal, tragedy and professional misjudgment, leading to demotion, doesn’t help him settle into this new workplace. Despite the difficult relationship with most of his colleagues, the experience from a career in the tough areas of Manchester becomes an asset. A series of gruesome murders gets underway within and near the town soon after Brady’s arrival, it is then the value of Brady’s experience and sharp intellect show their worth. The murder investigation is complicated by a persistent unknown stalker, terrorising a woman living alone. Solving the murders seems a near-impossible task. Although the murders appear to follow the pattern of earlier unresolved events, no clues, are left behind by the perpetrator to these or the earlier murders.
The characters are well drawn and believable; the plot is intricate but accessible, the balance in terms of description and information is for me exactly right. I enjoyed this book immensely reading it very quickly and I found it difficult to put down. I shall seek out more books from Mr Devine.
A locked room and an unresponsive guest in Dorothy Little’s, Tulip Cottage prompts Dorothy to ask her neighbours, Dr. Laurel Nightingale and Albert for help. Later the same day a famous crime author Hugh Quintrell, consults Laurel to help cure his writer’s block. However, the professional relationship he wants with Laurel is not as client and therapist but a collaborative one to solve the crime discovered at Tulip Cottage.
Elderwick, Laurel’s new home has seen a number of murders since her arrival from Somerset a few months earlier, prompting her thoughts that she may be the catalyst. Reluctantly at first together with her friends Albert and Maggie, she sets out to unravel this new mystery.
Elderwick is an ideal village with the Plump Tart Village Bakery, The Snooty Fox Pub and of course the centre of much of the cognitive action, The Pleasant Pheasant tea room. The pictures formed in the mind’s eye are something I particularly enjoyed.
With numerous twists and turns to keep me on my toes, I raced through the book very quickly. I found it an enjoyable read, more please Ms Gray.
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