Libby and Max are on a picnic at Cleeve Abbey when human remains are found. They are quickly revealed to be centures old and a ghost hunt ensues. But then one of the ghost hunters is attacked. What is the link between the old bones and the current assault?
Murder at the Abbey is the 8th book in Frances Evesham’s Exham on Sea series of cosy murder mysteries. This is the first book I have read by this author and I hope to catch up on the rest of the series. There are mentions of past events which I assume featured on the previous books.
Libby and Max are both in their fifties. They are a newly married pair of amateur sleuths and private investigators. They are horrified when one of their friends is attacked. I was surprised as I had a hit list of characters I thought might be bumped off! An actual murder doesn’t occur until nearly three quarters of the way through the book although the owner of the ancient bones met a sticky end centuries earlier.
I found myself a little overwhelmed by the number of characters to begin with. However, I soon settled in to the plot and pace. I wonder if this would have been slightly easier if I had read the previous books in the series but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book overall.
There is some forensic detail and violence but the descriptions are minimal due to the cosy mystery genre. The plot focus in upon the investigation and the gathering of clues but events do occur at a reasonable pace. I was kept guessing until the very end and enjoyed trying (and failing!) to put the clues together.
Murder at the Abbey is an enjoyable cosy murder mystery and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Murder at the Abbey book blurb
The Brand NEW instalment in the bestselling Exham-on-Sea series.
An unsolved murder echoes down the corridors of Cleeve Abbey for years.
The Exham-on-Sea’s History Society’s annual summer picnic comes to an abrupt end when human bones are discovered in Washford River, beside historic Cleeve Abbey.
Thrilled to find evidence of a possible centuries-old murder mystery, the members of the society organise a ghost-hunting night in the ruins of Cleeve Abbey, despite amateur sleuth Libby Forest’s reservations.
Libby is a woman of many talents, a baker, chocolatier, even a reluctant sleuth. However she’s no fan of the supernatural and her doubts are justified when a friend is attacked under cover of darkness at the ghost-hunt.
Distressed and angry, Libby sets out with her new husband Max and their two dogs Bear and Shipley to uncover the connection between the murder of a sixteenth century monk and a present-day attack in picturesque Somerset.
With friends and neighbours as suspects, Libby and Max close in on the culprit only to find that others are still in danger.
There’s no time to lose as the sins of the past threaten lives in the community.
Murder at the Abbey is the eighth in a series of Exham-on-Sea Murder Mysteries from the small English seaside town full of quirky characters, sea air, and gossip.
Author Bio – Frances Evesham is the author of the hugely successful Exham-on-Sea mysteries set in her home county of Somerset. Boldwood has republished the complete series. Frances has also started a new cosy crime series set in rural Herefordshire, the first of which was published in June 2020.
