Flora Steele heads to Cornwall with author Jack Carrington to help him explore the county to gain ideas for his latest book. Before they depart, they receive a note warning them not to go. Then shortly after arrival, their landlord is found dead in the orchard and the pair find themselves embroiled in another murder case…
Murder at Primrose Cottage is the third book to feature Flora and Jack. There are mentions of events from the first two books (The Bookshop Murder and Murder on the Pier) but no spoilers so they could be read out of sequence.
The pair discover a wartime link that is very secretive and their late landlord had shown an interest in it. However, his brother also has a motive for murder. Flora and Jack seems to be targeted by someone who doesn’t want them in Cornwall and a series of accidents put them in danger. Is there a connection between the two plot strands?
I was quite surprised at unmarried friends Flora and Jack holidaying together as I felt this jarred with the 1950s setting. The geographical setting was brought to life and I can’t wait to visit some of the places when we go on holiday. I was also interested in the history which provided a backdrop to the plot. The local characters are vividly portrayed especially housekeeper Jessie and local ‘witch’ Mercy.
Murder at Primrose Cottage is an enjoyable murder mystery.
Book Description:
Join Flora Steele – bookshop owner, bicycle-rider, daydreamer and amateur detective – in her quest to solve a brand-new murder mystery!
Cornwall, 1956: When Flora Steele sets off for a peaceful vacation with crime writer Jack Carrington in his little red Austin, the last thing she expects to find is a body at their pretty rental cottage!
Shocked by the discovery, inquisitive Flora joins forces with handsome Jack to find out how the poor man came to such an untimely end in the overgrown orchard of Primrose Cottage. They discover Roger Gifford was a man with plenty of friends and the villagers seem devastated by his sudden death…
So why was he murdered? And who has blood on their hands – his estranged wife Beatrice, his wayward younger brother Lionel, or the suspicious newcomer Mercy Dearlove?
The baffling case gets even more complicated when a second man is found dead and a set of puzzling clues lead them to an intriguing wartime mystery connected to Jack’s estranged father.
As old secrets emerge and Jack receives an unsettling letter, it seems the crime writer is in danger of a fate befitting his fictional characters. Will Flora be able to crack the case and save Jack? Or will this be one murder too many for Flora Steele?
Author Bio:
Merryn taught university literature for many years, and it took a while to pluck up the courage to begin writing herself. Bringing the past to life is a passion and her historical fiction includes Regency romances, wartime sagas and timeslip novels, all of which have a mystery at their heart. As the books have grown darker, it was only a matter of time before she plunged into crime with a cosy crime series set in rural Sussex against the fascinating backdrop of the 1950s.
Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.
