Murder in the Cotswolds


Book Description

"Montana sheriff Chick Charleston confronts an English crime"--cover.




Murder in the Cotswolds


Book Description

A Montana sheriff solves a quintessentially English mystery in this lively episode in A. B. Guthrie Jr.’s beloved suspense series Sheriff Chick Charleston is used to the big sky, wide-open spaces, and no-nonsense attitude of the American West. But when his wife suggests a trip to England to research her family history, he is happy to tag along. The Cotswolds may not be Montana, but the rolling green hills have a majestic beauty all their own. No sooner does the sheriff begin to relax, however, than his vacation is interrupted by murder. An American tourist is found face down in the Ram’s Head Inn with a knife buried deep in his back. Fearing scandal and international headlines, the local constabulary asks Charleston for help in questioning the other Yankees visiting this quaint country village. He may be a fish out of water, but the sheriff’s hard-won experience and keen understanding of human nature soon lead him deep into a tangled web of local intrigue. Filled with the droll humor, meticulous plotting, and unforgettable character studies that distinguish Guthrie’s award-winning Western fiction, Murder in the Cotswolds provides delightfully unexpected entertainment from one of America’s most acclaimed authors.




Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in the Cotswolds


Book Description

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in the Cotswolds explores the dark history of this famously picturesque region of England. Behind the picture-postcard idyll, everyday life in this largely rural area saw murders, beatings, jealousy and alcohol-fuelled crimes. Nell Darby's book examines a selection of these shocking events in vivid detail. Drawing on contemporary sources, newspapers and prison records, she gives a fascinating insight into life and death in the surprisingly turbulent past of the Cotswolds. The cases she reconstructs come from all over the region—the towns, the villages, the countryside. They show how Cotswold people carried out violent crimes regardless of their location and upbringing—from unemployed farmers' sons to educated surgeons, dark deeds were committed by individuals from all walks of life. They also reveal the criminal consequences of greed, madness, malice, carelessness and drink. Women were involved almost as often as men, as victims and as perpetrators.Nell Darby's thoroughly researched and sympathetically written anthology of Cotswold cases be compelling reading for anyone who lives in the area or is interested in its history.




Death in the Cotswolds


Book Description

Thea Osborne is thanking her lucky stars. After two disastrous house-sitting incidents in which she unwittingly became embroiled in murder and mayhem, she is only too happy to have a bit of time to concentrate on her blossoming relationship with DI Phil Hollis. But the bad luck that plagues the hapless Thea and her beloved spaniel Hepzibah is never far away. With autumn drawing in, preparations for Samhain, the pagan origin of Halloween, are well underway when Ariadne discovers a very tangible reminder of the season of death: a body laid out like a sacrificial victim on Notgrove Barrow. It soon becomes apparent that the cosy village has more than its share of secrets. But just how far will some go to keep them hidden?




Murder in the Cotswolds


Book Description

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Maddox arrives at her posting in the Cotswolds to be met by male hostility. She immediately has to solve the death of a wealthy local woman – not an accident, but murder. The car involved is found to belong to newspaper editor, Richard Gower. Kate, finding herself attracted to Richard, works hard to prove him innocent. British Mystery by Nancy Buckingham writing as Erica Quest; originally published as Death Walk by Doubleday for the Crime Club




Peril in the Cotswolds


Book Description

Thea Slocombe is trying to settle into normal family domestic life with Drew and his two children in Broad Campden. But any sense of cosy domesticity is shattered when Thea finds the body of a neighbour. No longer a house-sitter, Thea has no choice but to stay in the village and deal with whatever happens next, even when this risks damage to her marriage.Unconvinced that the swift conclusion made about the death by the police is the right one, Thea is compelled to follow her nature and investigate herself. But what repercussions might there be for her, Drew and those with whom they share this corner of the Cotswolds?




The Dog at the Gate


Book Description

A man, a dog, and a fatal obsession ***** To say that David Wallace has been having a run of bad luck is like claiming that the maiden voyage of the Titanic was simply "an unfortunate excursion." The ill-fated American expatriate has lost his wife, his job, and his reputation. Just as it seems that all hope has vanished, he's informed that he is the heir to his great aunt's estate in the bucolic English village of Chambury. Once there, he discovers that his inheritance also includes his late aunt's grieving dog, a vintage typewriter, a mysterious key, and an entanglement in a series of unsolved murders. ***** James Ignizio is the author of more than a dozen books, several short stories, and over 350 articles. Included among his novels are "The Dog at the Gate" and the award-winning "The Last English Village," two cozy mysteries that take place in the Cotswold region of England




Out Comes the Evil


Book Description

Second in the traditional British mystery series featuring rural inn owner and amateur sleuth Alex Duggins: an intriguing departure for bestselling romantic suspense author Stella Cameron. Once again Alex Duggins and her veterinarian friend Tony Harrison are thrown into a major murder investigation. An almost fresh body is discovered in a disused well among the ruins of a 14th-century manor house ... the motive for the killing a baffling mystery. The victim was a widow who had lived quietly in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Folly-on-Weir for the past ten years. Who on earth could want her dead, and by such brutal means? As rumour and speculation engulf the town, another woman is attacked – and Alex discovers that behind a tranquil face lurks a cunning and vengeful mind. Despite warnings from the police to stop interfering, she finds herself in the sights of a ruthless killer who has decided she knows too much ... The Alex Duggins series will appeal to fans of Louise Penny and Elizabeth George.




Folly


Book Description

This traditional brand-new British mystery series is an intriguing departure for bestselling romantic suspense author Stella Cameron. It introduces rural inn owner and amateur sleuth Alex Duggins. Following the breakdown of her marriage, Alex Duggins has returned to her picturesque hometown of Folly-on-Weir in the Cotswolds in order to start afresh. But you can’t outrun the past, as Alex is about to discover when she stumbles across a frosted corpse buried in the snow. The subsequent murder investigation threatens to unearth old secrets – including Alex’s own. As Folly-on-Weir braces for a chilling winter and Alex finds herself top of the police’s suspect list, she determines to clear her name and find the real murderer. But as she begins to peel back the layers of deception that have long-concealed one of the town’s darkest secrets, she herself becomes the target of a ruthless killer who has nothing left to lose. Will Alex be the next snow-covered body to be found in the beautiful hills above the town?




Melody of Murder


Book Description

The arrival of a talented, ambitious and unusual new family leads to mayhem and murder in the peaceful Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir The idyllic Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir, with its traditional pub, sumptuous tea rooms and fragrant bakery, is a piece of paradise found ... until ‘those incomer Quillams’ arrive. A young piano virtuoso and his neglected but talented half-sister, their controlling father, the pianist’s beautiful, acquisitive and passionate mother, an ambitious family retainer, and an intimidating woman who has always run the Quillam household form a successful little empire - until it starts to crumble. The Quillams’ arrival has also attracted the attentions of a sly, clever and perverted killer who desperately needs a jackpot and knows where to find one – if the obstacles can be removed. Once again pub owner Alex Duggins and her veterinarian friend Tony Harrison must use their wits and resourcefulness to prevent further carnage – and ensure that they themselves don’t become the killer’s next victims.