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Bunch Courtney Investigation #2
In Her Defence
Bunch Courtney’s hopes for a quiet market-day lunch with her sister are shattered when a Dutch refugee dies a horribly painful death before their eyes. A few days later Bunch receives a letter from her old friend Cecile saying that her father, Professor Benoir, has been murdered in an eerily similar fashion. Two deaths by poisoning in a single week. Co-incidence? Bunch does not believe that any more than Chief Inspector William Wright. Set against a backdrop of escalating war and the massed internments of 1940, the pair are drawn together in a race to prevent the murderer from striking again.
282 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2019
About the author
Jan Edwards
41 books41 followersJan Edwards - winner of the Arnold Bennett Book Prize with Winter Downs - Bunch Courtney Investigation #1.
She also has the Winchester Slim Volume prize and British Fantasy KEW award. Plus a joint British Fantasy Award for best Small Press (Alchemy Press).
Her latest book. In Her Defence - Bunch Courtney Investigation #2 is available now in paper and kindle formats!
Her short fiction can be found in crime, horror and fantasy anthologies in UK, US and Europe.
Jan edits anthologies for The Alchemy Press and Fox Spirit Press, and has written for Dr Who spinoffs with Reel Time Pictures as well as a short story in the accompanying book.
More details available at : http://janedwardsblog.wordpress.com/
Newsletter signup https://www.facebook.com/Janedwardsbo...
She also has the Winchester Slim Volume prize and British Fantasy KEW award. Plus a joint British Fantasy Award for best Small Press (Alchemy Press).
Her latest book. In Her Defence - Bunch Courtney Investigation #2 is available now in paper and kindle formats!
Her short fiction can be found in crime, horror and fantasy anthologies in UK, US and Europe.
Jan edits anthologies for The Alchemy Press and Fox Spirit Press, and has written for Dr Who spinoffs with Reel Time Pictures as well as a short story in the accompanying book.
More details available at : http://janedwardsblog.wordpress.com/
Newsletter signup https://www.facebook.com/Janedwardsbo...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 25, 2019
In Her Defence is set in Sussex in 1940 as the German army advances through Europe. Bunch (Rose) Courtney’s home, Perringham House, has been requisitioned by the MoD and Bunch is living with her grandmother in the Dower House while running the family estate.
Bunch had made her purchase of two Jersey heifers at auction on a busy market day. She and her recently widowed sister, Dodo (Daphne) were lunching at the local pub, along with Dodo’s father-in-law. Bunch noticed that a young woman sat alone at the bar, looking unwell, was attracting attention from the other patrons. Suddenly the woman fell to the floor writhing in agony. Panic broke out and Bunch, who is a trained nurse, tried to help but to no avail.
Several days later Bunch received a letter from an old school friend, Cecile Benoir, asking to meet her in the village. Cecile and her father left Berlin via France for England due to the war and now, after his untimely death, she is in need of a job and somewhere to live.
Two suspected poisonings so close together are too much of a coincidence for Bunch. Although this is the second book in the series (I haven’t read Winter Downs, the first) there are enough back references to get a sense of the characters and know that Bunch and Chief Inspector William Wright are meeting again in less than auspicious circumstances. I get the feeling each of them would like to take their acquaintance a little further—but perhaps are held back because of the political and economic climate.
The story is told from Bunch’s perspective and it’s clear her view of the world is limited and sometimes tested due to her gender and social position. Jan Edwards conveys the time and place and the atmosphere of the war years very well. The characters are realistic, doing the best they can under the circumstances with the inclusion of rationing, land girls and the military presence. Not to mention the negative attitude towards anyone seen as a foreigner. The uncertainty and difficulty in adjusting to the changes in their way of life has affected everyone.
Bunch is a resourceful, likeable and unconventional protagonist, kind but very well able to stand her ground, and determined to find out whatever information she can regarding the deaths.
An enjoyable cosy murder mystery reminiscent of vintage classic crime.
I chose to read and review In Her Defence for Rosie Amber’s book review team, based on a digital copy kindly supplied by the author.
Bunch had made her purchase of two Jersey heifers at auction on a busy market day. She and her recently widowed sister, Dodo (Daphne) were lunching at the local pub, along with Dodo’s father-in-law. Bunch noticed that a young woman sat alone at the bar, looking unwell, was attracting attention from the other patrons. Suddenly the woman fell to the floor writhing in agony. Panic broke out and Bunch, who is a trained nurse, tried to help but to no avail.
Several days later Bunch received a letter from an old school friend, Cecile Benoir, asking to meet her in the village. Cecile and her father left Berlin via France for England due to the war and now, after his untimely death, she is in need of a job and somewhere to live.
Two suspected poisonings so close together are too much of a coincidence for Bunch. Although this is the second book in the series (I haven’t read Winter Downs, the first) there are enough back references to get a sense of the characters and know that Bunch and Chief Inspector William Wright are meeting again in less than auspicious circumstances. I get the feeling each of them would like to take their acquaintance a little further—but perhaps are held back because of the political and economic climate.
The story is told from Bunch’s perspective and it’s clear her view of the world is limited and sometimes tested due to her gender and social position. Jan Edwards conveys the time and place and the atmosphere of the war years very well. The characters are realistic, doing the best they can under the circumstances with the inclusion of rationing, land girls and the military presence. Not to mention the negative attitude towards anyone seen as a foreigner. The uncertainty and difficulty in adjusting to the changes in their way of life has affected everyone.
Bunch is a resourceful, likeable and unconventional protagonist, kind but very well able to stand her ground, and determined to find out whatever information she can regarding the deaths.
An enjoyable cosy murder mystery reminiscent of vintage classic crime.
I chose to read and review In Her Defence for Rosie Amber’s book review team, based on a digital copy kindly supplied by the author.
April 4, 2019
In Her Defence is the second investigation by Bunch Courtney and Chief Inspector William Wright in the Sussex countryside. I haven’t read Winter Downs, the first book of this series but the reader is soon up to speed with Bunch’s back story. As a result of an accident, Bunch has had to leave the ATS and has taken over management of the Perringham House estate in her father’s absence. She is aided by a team of Land Girls but since the main house has been requisitioned by the military, she shares the Dower House with her grandmother.
Bunch is happiest when riding her horse, but the constant paperwork required by the government makes estate management really onerous. Thank goodness Cecile, her old school friend from Switzerland, has come to help her with office work. But the death she witnesses at the market and the murder of Cecile’s father drive her back into detective mode despite the protests of the intriguing Chief Inspector Wright. Bunch is a prickly, outspoken young woman who has rejected the amenable personality of Dodo, her sister. There is an atmosphere of fear and unease engendered by rationing and the threat of invasion, while unpleasant attacks on locals with connections to Europe, increase the danger. The mystery behind the murders is cleverly disentangled and it is fascinating to follow the activities of a small village close to the south coast in 1940.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good “Who dunnit,” and also to those interested in the social history of the war years. I was a little confused in the first chapter by meeting several characters who used more than one name (Bunch is really Rose) so I would recommend reading Winter Downs first, but I intend to read that now since I really like Bunch’s character and the context of the mysteries.
Bunch is happiest when riding her horse, but the constant paperwork required by the government makes estate management really onerous. Thank goodness Cecile, her old school friend from Switzerland, has come to help her with office work. But the death she witnesses at the market and the murder of Cecile’s father drive her back into detective mode despite the protests of the intriguing Chief Inspector Wright. Bunch is a prickly, outspoken young woman who has rejected the amenable personality of Dodo, her sister. There is an atmosphere of fear and unease engendered by rationing and the threat of invasion, while unpleasant attacks on locals with connections to Europe, increase the danger. The mystery behind the murders is cleverly disentangled and it is fascinating to follow the activities of a small village close to the south coast in 1940.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good “Who dunnit,” and also to those interested in the social history of the war years. I was a little confused in the first chapter by meeting several characters who used more than one name (Bunch is really Rose) so I would recommend reading Winter Downs first, but I intend to read that now since I really like Bunch’s character and the context of the mysteries.
April 4, 2019
This is the second Bunch Courtney story and this time Jan Edwards transports us back to July 1940 where the slower pace of life in both the Sussex countryside and wartime Britain are reflected in the style of writing. The story continues six months on from the end of book one. Bunch (Rose) Courtney has recovered from her injuries gained helping Brighton policeman DCI Wright bring down a murderous gang in the first story. Many lives were torn apart by these events and the families are gradually getting over the shock and returning to what now passes for normality. Bunch's sister Dodo (Daphne Tinsley) is well into her pregnancy, although still grieving for her late husband Georgie. The family home, Perringham House, is still inhabited by lots of army personnel, although not the officers that were originally expected, much to Bunch's disgust, and Bunch herself is still at the Dower House with Granny. This is a time when people from all classes are experiencing a much harder way of life. Older men are coming out of retirement to take the places of those signing up, women such as the Bunch's Land Girls are doing harder manual work and ladies like Bunch and Granny are active running the estate and volunteer groups. Even Perry the Fell pony has been put into harness to pull the small cart. Despite the blackouts and increased rationing, there is still an air of defiant optimism, and reading it I felt sorry for them, knowing that there would be five more much harder years to come. Many of them remember the earlier Great War and still bear the physical and mental scars. There is talk of internment on the South Coast and an increasing mistrust of anyone with a foreign accent.
Bunch is meeting her sister and George's father Barty for a pub lunch after the fortnightly livestock market when a young woman with a strange accent is suddenly taken violently ill and dies in Bunch's arms before the doctor can arrive. The investigation into the death of the Dutch girl falls to DCI Wright and crime reunites the pair. It looks to all those present very much like a poisoning. A few days later Bunch receives a letter from an old school friend. Cecile had an English mother and French father, and before they were forced to flee back to France has spent much of her life working for her scientist father in Germany. Now living locally she begs Bunch to meet her. Bunch is intrigued, and at the meeting finds out that her friend's father Professor Benoir has also died from poisoning very recently. Surely it can't be a coincidence and despite warnings to stay away, she just can't help getting involved, particularly when she believes she can get more out of the locals than the police ever can. She gives Cecile a job and a home but suspicion is rife, and even Bunch can't help wondering what it is her friend can't tell her. Within two weeks more grim events take place, and when Bunch is warned not to get involved by her diplomat father she starts to wonder just how serious the situation is and what sinister military forces are at work.
The wartime setting is vital to the story, since it affects everyone's behaviour and way of thinking, and this makes for an excellent murder mystery. Once more the pace is relatively gentle but all the clues are there for the reader to find along the way. The characters are well described as we get to know many of them better, and Bunch and DCI Wright are starting to make an excellent team. The author has clearly done a great deal of research. I particularly liked the ending to this story and all the local words and dialect that were included. Field mice will always be sheer-meeces now! I am already looking forward to the next story in this series.
Bunch is meeting her sister and George's father Barty for a pub lunch after the fortnightly livestock market when a young woman with a strange accent is suddenly taken violently ill and dies in Bunch's arms before the doctor can arrive. The investigation into the death of the Dutch girl falls to DCI Wright and crime reunites the pair. It looks to all those present very much like a poisoning. A few days later Bunch receives a letter from an old school friend. Cecile had an English mother and French father, and before they were forced to flee back to France has spent much of her life working for her scientist father in Germany. Now living locally she begs Bunch to meet her. Bunch is intrigued, and at the meeting finds out that her friend's father Professor Benoir has also died from poisoning very recently. Surely it can't be a coincidence and despite warnings to stay away, she just can't help getting involved, particularly when she believes she can get more out of the locals than the police ever can. She gives Cecile a job and a home but suspicion is rife, and even Bunch can't help wondering what it is her friend can't tell her. Within two weeks more grim events take place, and when Bunch is warned not to get involved by her diplomat father she starts to wonder just how serious the situation is and what sinister military forces are at work.
The wartime setting is vital to the story, since it affects everyone's behaviour and way of thinking, and this makes for an excellent murder mystery. Once more the pace is relatively gentle but all the clues are there for the reader to find along the way. The characters are well described as we get to know many of them better, and Bunch and DCI Wright are starting to make an excellent team. The author has clearly done a great deal of research. I particularly liked the ending to this story and all the local words and dialect that were included. Field mice will always be sheer-meeces now! I am already looking forward to the next story in this series.
July 21, 2020
This is a cozy mystery, but not too cozy.A profound sadness runs through this book, as World War II begins in earnest. The reader's awareness of historical events gives them a different perspective to the characters, who cannot share this knowledge, a duality of viewpoint that the author sustains throughout.
When two exiles are poisoned, Bunch Courtney finds herself back in the thick of things. With a leg injury that keeps her from enlisting in the women's services, she is living at her parents' country house in Sussex and managing the estate under the watchful eye of her paternal grandmother. Her father is a diplomat and her mother a socialite whose brittle exterior hides her grief for two sons who died in the Spanish flu pandemic after World War I.
Bunch finds herself resuming her on-off flirtation with Detective Inspector Wright, as well as the handsome but infuriating Colonel Everett Ralph, whose forces have taken over her former home from the military, confining her to the Dower House with her formidable grandmother.
After a young Dutch refugee dies in Bunch's arms, poisoned by an unknown assailant, Bunch is drawn into the mystery by the arrival of an old school-friend, Cecile Benoir, a refugee herself, who has been working with her father, a research chemist, in Berlin. Obliged to flee, Benoir has brought his daughter first to France, his homeland, and then to England, that of her dead mother, where he may be doing secret work for the British government. But he has been poisoned with cyanide, a chemical that has sinister connections with the work of the Third Reich.
Bunch gives her bereaved friend a place to stay and a job looking after the estate accounts, but is drawn inexorably into the mystery of Professor Benoir's death and that of Cecile herself.
The story keeps the reader guessing right up until the end, and the denouement is both tense and tragic. Bunch Courtney is a likable and three-dimensional character. She is sharply aware of her circumstances and of the darkness of the war. She refuses to be rebuffed, and has a fierce sense of justice. Though she is utterly different to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, she has something of the same sagacity and tenacious intelligence.
This is much more than a country house mystery, and Edwards evokes the Sussex milieu, the countryside and the era, with a love for detail that never drags on the narrative.
This will be a pleasure for any fan of crime fiction, and a worthy successor to the first book, Winter Downs.
When two exiles are poisoned, Bunch Courtney finds herself back in the thick of things. With a leg injury that keeps her from enlisting in the women's services, she is living at her parents' country house in Sussex and managing the estate under the watchful eye of her paternal grandmother. Her father is a diplomat and her mother a socialite whose brittle exterior hides her grief for two sons who died in the Spanish flu pandemic after World War I.
Bunch finds herself resuming her on-off flirtation with Detective Inspector Wright, as well as the handsome but infuriating Colonel Everett Ralph, whose forces have taken over her former home from the military, confining her to the Dower House with her formidable grandmother.
After a young Dutch refugee dies in Bunch's arms, poisoned by an unknown assailant, Bunch is drawn into the mystery by the arrival of an old school-friend, Cecile Benoir, a refugee herself, who has been working with her father, a research chemist, in Berlin. Obliged to flee, Benoir has brought his daughter first to France, his homeland, and then to England, that of her dead mother, where he may be doing secret work for the British government. But he has been poisoned with cyanide, a chemical that has sinister connections with the work of the Third Reich.
Bunch gives her bereaved friend a place to stay and a job looking after the estate accounts, but is drawn inexorably into the mystery of Professor Benoir's death and that of Cecile herself.
The story keeps the reader guessing right up until the end, and the denouement is both tense and tragic. Bunch Courtney is a likable and three-dimensional character. She is sharply aware of her circumstances and of the darkness of the war. She refuses to be rebuffed, and has a fierce sense of justice. Though she is utterly different to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, she has something of the same sagacity and tenacious intelligence.
This is much more than a country house mystery, and Edwards evokes the Sussex milieu, the countryside and the era, with a love for detail that never drags on the narrative.
This will be a pleasure for any fan of crime fiction, and a worthy successor to the first book, Winter Downs.
June 21, 2021
I enjoyed Jan Edward’s Bunch Courtney’s first adventure so much that I decided to read the second book next.
In Her Defence begins six months after the end of Winter Downs. The so-called phoney war is becoming a thing of the past, rationing is biting and the black-out is causing a few problems despite the onset of summer and the lighter nights.
Another issue to raise its ugly head is xenophobia. Anyone with a foreign sounding name or accent is a target for the frightened locals. The German army is marching relentlessly through Europe and soon there is only the Channel between the Sussex inhabitants and the enemy.
Starting explosively with the death of a young Dutch woman in a crowded pub in which Bunch just happens the be having lunch, she is then contacted by an old school chum whose father has just been poisoned leaving her homeless and penniless. The two had been working in Germany for some time and are now under suspicion by others. Bunch takes her in but soon finds her friend’s behaviour suspicious and disquieting.
In the meantime life goes on and Bunch has issues with the new CO living in her family home. He and the men under his command are taking liberties and abusing the property, Chamberlain stands down and Churchill takes over and advocates internment camps for all foreign nationals exacerbating the mistrust of anyone with a foreign background and the number of attempts on life and those resulting in deaths mounts up.
Neither Bunch nor the detective on the cases, Chief Inspector Wright believe in co-incidences and end up working together to find out who is behind the dreadful deeds.
The book is a ripping yarn delicately interlaced with historical fact and beautifully written. And a neat twist – but no spoilers!
In Her Defence begins six months after the end of Winter Downs. The so-called phoney war is becoming a thing of the past, rationing is biting and the black-out is causing a few problems despite the onset of summer and the lighter nights.
Another issue to raise its ugly head is xenophobia. Anyone with a foreign sounding name or accent is a target for the frightened locals. The German army is marching relentlessly through Europe and soon there is only the Channel between the Sussex inhabitants and the enemy.
Starting explosively with the death of a young Dutch woman in a crowded pub in which Bunch just happens the be having lunch, she is then contacted by an old school chum whose father has just been poisoned leaving her homeless and penniless. The two had been working in Germany for some time and are now under suspicion by others. Bunch takes her in but soon finds her friend’s behaviour suspicious and disquieting.
In the meantime life goes on and Bunch has issues with the new CO living in her family home. He and the men under his command are taking liberties and abusing the property, Chamberlain stands down and Churchill takes over and advocates internment camps for all foreign nationals exacerbating the mistrust of anyone with a foreign background and the number of attempts on life and those resulting in deaths mounts up.
Neither Bunch nor the detective on the cases, Chief Inspector Wright believe in co-incidences and end up working together to find out who is behind the dreadful deeds.
The book is a ripping yarn delicately interlaced with historical fact and beautifully written. And a neat twist – but no spoilers!
April 7, 2019
Bunch Courtney is back. “In Her Defence” is the second book in the series, following on from “Winter Downs” winner of the Arnold Bennet Prize. As a great fan of Bunch’s it’s great to be immersed once more in the world of 1940s England. In war time, the role of women is changing and Bunch can use this to her advantage when on market day in the local town she witnesses the death of a young Dutch girl. The victim has obviously been poisoned and when Cecile, an old friend of Blanche’s, reveals that her father has recently died in similar circumstance, Blanche is keen to investigate. Teaming up with Inspector Wright the pair follow a complex paths of clues leading to an expected resolution.
“In Her Defence” is a great read. The book is tightly plotted. The period details give a depth and the author is not afraid to explore some of the darker sides of patriotism in times of war, when anyone who is the slightest bit different from the norm is immediately seen as a threat. The relationship between Bunch and Wright is developing in a highly satisfactory way and I am very much looking forward to seeing where that goes next. Bring on Book 3.
“In Her Defence” is a great read. The book is tightly plotted. The period details give a depth and the author is not afraid to explore some of the darker sides of patriotism in times of war, when anyone who is the slightest bit different from the norm is immediately seen as a threat. The relationship between Bunch and Wright is developing in a highly satisfactory way and I am very much looking forward to seeing where that goes next. Bring on Book 3.
June 28, 2019
So pleased to discover this absorbing new series. Enjoyed this second novel even more than the first - which I loved. In this one we learn more about Bunch Courtney and her new life, running the family estate on the South Downs in late spring 1940. The author captures the feel of the Sussex landscape superbly well. She also builds a terrific atmosphere of fear and mistrust of foreigners. (Sadly, history is repeating itself). A sense of growing menace, not only from across the Channel but within the rural community, that feels totally authentic for the time. It’s a pleasure to read an historical murder mystery without anachronisms. Careful research adds interesting background with a deft, light touch for an effortless read. A gripping mystery with believable characters and twists to the very end.
April 4, 2019
With the setting in the Sussex countryside, I felt the heat of the unseasonably warm Spring.
The author’s descriptive writing took me into a world gone by. I loved the details of the war years. I loved the horsey side of things too.
Rose (Bunch) Courtney’s childhood home, Perringham House, has been taken over for the war effort. Bunch and her grandmother and staff are living in the Dower House. There is a hierarchy of diplomats, military and civilians.
Bunch and her sister Dodo witness a horrible death in the pub on a busy market day.
She receives news that an old friend’s father has died a similar horrible death, looks like poisoning. Could they be connected?
With further deaths the locals get twitchy. Bunch is again the amateur sleuth along with Chief Inspector Wright. Bunch keeps her eyes open and her ear to the ground, pursuing the locals for any gossip which may shed light on the goings on. There were plenty of twists and turns in this murder mystery.
The author’s attention to detail made for a great read, especially with the local dialect (I was reading in the accent in my head!)
I usually read fast-paced crime fiction set in the present day, so this was different for me. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to the author for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.
https://steflozbookblog.wordpress.com...
The author’s descriptive writing took me into a world gone by. I loved the details of the war years. I loved the horsey side of things too.
Rose (Bunch) Courtney’s childhood home, Perringham House, has been taken over for the war effort. Bunch and her grandmother and staff are living in the Dower House. There is a hierarchy of diplomats, military and civilians.
Bunch and her sister Dodo witness a horrible death in the pub on a busy market day.
She receives news that an old friend’s father has died a similar horrible death, looks like poisoning. Could they be connected?
With further deaths the locals get twitchy. Bunch is again the amateur sleuth along with Chief Inspector Wright. Bunch keeps her eyes open and her ear to the ground, pursuing the locals for any gossip which may shed light on the goings on. There were plenty of twists and turns in this murder mystery.
The author’s attention to detail made for a great read, especially with the local dialect (I was reading in the accent in my head!)
I usually read fast-paced crime fiction set in the present day, so this was different for me. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to the author for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.
https://steflozbookblog.wordpress.com...
April 4, 2019
Bunch Courtney is back and is as feisty as ever! She is an excellent character and it has been great to catch up with her again.
Set in Sussex in the month of May, in 1940, In Her Defence is book 2 in the Bunch Courtney series. It starts with Bunch meeting her pregnant sister, Dodo, for lunch on market day and witnessing the horrific murder of a Dutch girl. It's obvious she has been poisoned, but by who? And why? Bunch is unable to just leave the investigation to the police. She can't help but try to help figure things out, however often she is warned about interfering!
When an old school friend, Cecile, gets in touch saying that her father has been murdered in a similar way, alarm bells start ringing and Bunch is convinced these poisonings can't just be a coincidence. She is determined to discover the truth and Cecile's secretive behaviour is causing her even more concern.
Jan Edwards knows how to write interesting characters with interesting stories to tell. The descriptive language transported me to a time and place I obviously have no experience of, but could easily imagine as I lost myself in the story. It's so beautifully written, I was completely captivated.
I highly recommend to anyone who loves a good murder mystery, historical or otherwise.
If you haven't read book 1, Winter Downs, as yet, then I highly recommend that you do. It was the winner of the Arnold Bennett Award don't you know!
https://chataboutbooks.wordpress.com/...
Set in Sussex in the month of May, in 1940, In Her Defence is book 2 in the Bunch Courtney series. It starts with Bunch meeting her pregnant sister, Dodo, for lunch on market day and witnessing the horrific murder of a Dutch girl. It's obvious she has been poisoned, but by who? And why? Bunch is unable to just leave the investigation to the police. She can't help but try to help figure things out, however often she is warned about interfering!
When an old school friend, Cecile, gets in touch saying that her father has been murdered in a similar way, alarm bells start ringing and Bunch is convinced these poisonings can't just be a coincidence. She is determined to discover the truth and Cecile's secretive behaviour is causing her even more concern.
Jan Edwards knows how to write interesting characters with interesting stories to tell. The descriptive language transported me to a time and place I obviously have no experience of, but could easily imagine as I lost myself in the story. It's so beautifully written, I was completely captivated.
I highly recommend to anyone who loves a good murder mystery, historical or otherwise.
If you haven't read book 1, Winter Downs, as yet, then I highly recommend that you do. It was the winner of the Arnold Bennett Award don't you know!
https://chataboutbooks.wordpress.com/...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews