Kate Palmer is manning the first aid tent at the local fair when Sienna Stone flounces in. Kate is angry about Sienna crashing into her car and quickly sends her away. But within hours, Kate discovers Sienna’s body on the beach after being pushed off the cliffs, and finds herself the prime suspect…
A Body on the Beach is the fifth book to feature amateur sleuth Kate Palmer and her now husband, retired police officer Woody Forrest.
Kate can’t resist a new investigation especially when she needs to prove her own innocence. As she digs deeper into the life of Sienna Stone, she finds a collection of suspects and motives. I loved it when Kate’s sister points out that Palmer is an anagram of Marple!
Kate is able to use her nursing to access other characters without coming across as nosy. She is supported by her husband Woody and in this book we see her maternal side as her son visits and she has concerns about his new girlfriend. Her relationship with her sister Angie has also become more positive now that Angie’s behaviour is more settled.
The case itself concentrates on the motives of the characters and there is no graphic description of violence or forensics. I found the style of writing easy to read and love the traditional setting of a quintessential English village.
A Body on the Beach is an enjoyable cosy murder mystery, continuing a good series.
It’s Tinworthy village’s summer fete: a brass band, cream teas, gentle gossip… and a body on the beach? The party’s just getting started for super sleuth Kate Palmer!
Kate Palmer thought spending the day at Tinworthy’s annual summer party would involve sea air, sunshine and Cornish cream cake – how very wrong she was! When Kate goes for a cliff-top walk she is shocked to spot the body of Sienna Stone – Cornwall’s biggest gossip – on the sandy beach below.
Rumours swirl around the close-knit community and all eyes are on Kate. Half the village saw her arguing with Sienna at the party earlier that day. It was the usual bickering between neighbours, but when Kate finds herself in the frame can she – and her new husband Woody Forrest – solve the puzzling death and clear her name?
There’s a long list of people who might have wanted to push Sienna – her long-suffering husband Irvin, her jealous younger sister Sally and Timmy Thomson, the man who idolised her, not to mention all the villagers who felt the sharp end of her tongue. Finding out the truth isn’t going to be easy…
Just as Kate thinks she’s getting closer to an answer, an unexpected afternoon visitor shares some curious information over tea and scones that sets her on an entirely different path. And soon she starts to wonder if she might be in real danger too…
Can Kate solve the curious case before the murderer declares the party over? Or have her days of sleuthing come to an end?
If you love cosy crime stories complete with quirky characters, twisty plots and plenty of suspects, A Body on the Beach will have you absolutely hooked until the very last page! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Clare Chase.
Author Bio:
Aged 18, Dee arrived in London from Scotland and typed her way round the West End for a couple of years before joining BOAC (forerunner of British Airways) in Passenger Services for 2 years and then as a stewardess for 8 years.
She has worked in Market Research, Sales and at the Thames TV Studios when they had the franchise.
Dee has since relocated to Cornwall, where she spent 10 years running B&Bs, and only began writing when she was over 70!
