Sir Lance Hale is found dead after a party at his home. It is the third tragedy for the family but were all the deaths actually murder? Eve Mallow knows the family and wants to find the truth…
Mystery at Lockley Grange is the 13th book in the Eve Mallow series of amateur sleuth murder mysteries.
Eve used to be the nanny for the Hale children. Now they are all grown up and sadly one died after falling from a cliff. The mother of the family also died after being run down by her brother in law. Now Lance is killed too and Eve wants to find answers.
On the personal side, Eve and Robin are just weeks away from their wedding. Do they really have time to investigate a murder? Of course they do! As usual they are ably accompanied by Gus the dachshund and their friends. There are lots of suspects to ask questions and discover motives, and I was kept guessing by the twists of the plot.
I really like Eve’s character. Her inquisitiveness isn’t overwhelming but feels natural as part of her obituary writer career. She is gentle in manner and sensitive to the feelings of others, especially the recently bereaved. However, I also feel she has a spine of steel that gives her a determination to get justice for the victim.
Mystery at Lockley Grange is an enjoyable addition to this series of cosy murder mysteries.
Famous diplomat Lance Hale is throwing a party at Lockley Grange to celebrate his latest award. But when he’s found face down in his swimming pool, Eve Mallow is sure someone thought he deserved to die…
It’s always an occasion when the Hale family descend on their country pile, Lockley Grange. Almost everyone in Saxford St Peter has been called upon to dust the rooms, tidy the garden, and cater for the party. Eve Mallow’s delighted to be invited: years ago she babysat for the Hale children, and she can’t wait to see how they turned out.
But the night will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The following morning, Lance is found dead in his indoor pool. He’d been the life and soul of the party, but Eve saw him arguing with friends and family. She’s convinced it was no accident – especially when she finds a threatening note tucked into his desk drawer.
But who wanted to make sure indiscreet Lance was silenced for good? His right-hand woman, who could spill the family’s secrets, but won’t say a word? His older son, who’s drowning in debt, or his younger daughter, whose career he’d sabotaged?
As Eve sets to work at isolated Lockley Grange with loyal dachshund Gus at her heels, she uncovers past tragedies, blackmail and hidden cameras watching her every step. Eve knows she’s wading into dark waters… can she find the killer, or is she in over her head?
Author Bio
Clare Chase writes classic mysteries. Her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations.
Her debut novel was shortlisted for Novelicious’s Undiscovered Award, as well as an EPIC award post-publication, and was chosen as a Debut of the Month by LoveReading. Murder on the Marshes (Tara Thorpe 1) was shortlisted for an International Thriller Writers award.
Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat and finds the mid-terrace she currently occupies a good happy medium.
As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.
Half term, woohoo! It was such a long time at school and we have been desperate for a break! The weather has been grey and dreary but the relaxation has been epic! We have had lots of family time including a clip and climb session with cousins. But the highlight of the week has been the arrival of a new family member… welcome Shelly!
I have wanted a tortoise for a long time and I couldn’t resist any longer! We are all besotted with her.
It’s Mum’s birthday tomorrow so we had all the family together again to celebrate and I loved this pic: what a beautiful smile 🙂 Happy birthday!
Wade Darling is accused of murdering his family. Days before the trial his lawyer dies and the case is handed to Neve Harper. She is keen to win until she is threatened with her darkest secret being exposed if she does…
Conviction is a legal thriller with strong psychological elements.
What a fab moral dilemma! Neve has a guilty conscience and now her secret gives others a hold over her. Her stepdaughter’s life is threatened too but to save them both she has to throw the case. Easier said than done as she has to look like she is doing a good job at defending Wade to avoiding casting suspicion on herself.
Neve wrangles with her conscience as she has to decide between her professional reputation and the danger to her family. The emotional turmoil she faces is easy to identify with and makes her very human even if we don’t agree with her choices.
There is plenty of drama and I loved the legal elements as the court case proceeds. The twists and turns of the trial were brought to life effectively and this felt really authentic. The blackmail is unpleasant and innocent people are caught in the crossfire which adds to the drama and tension. I thought that the atmosphere was maintained well and I was completely swept up in the plot. The ending left a final twist which was fab!
Conviction is a tense and gripping read.
Book blurb:
TO STEAL A MAN’S FREEDOM ALL IT TAKES IS . . . CONVICTION
Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept before burning the family home to the ground.
When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could be the career making case she’s been waiting for. But only if she can prove Wade’s innocence.
A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must lose this case or the secret about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed.
Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about until she follows orders.
Neve must make a choice – betray every principle she has ever had by putting a potentially innocent man in prison, or risk putting those she loves in mortal danger.
For fans of Steve Cavanagh, Linwood Barclay and Gillian McAllister, introducing the latest novel from the master of the moral dilemma, Jack Jordan.
1922, Mabel is hired to act as a private secretary at a conference for suffragettes. One of the potential leaders is murdered shortly after arrival and Mabel calls upon her London Ladies’ Murder Club to help her investigate while they wait for the police…
Murder of a Suffragette is the 4th book in the Mabel Canning series of cosy murder mysteries set in the 1920s.
Annie Harkin has always been prominent among the suffragettes and it has negatively impacted her health. But she still believes she has the strength to lead them again and joins the conference where she is killed before the members elect a leader. Luckily Mabel is on hand to start off the murder investigation while the ladies wait for the police to arrive. She is joined by her neighbours who have helped her in the past.
Mabel has had a thoroughly modern outlook throughout the series so I enjoyed seeing her alongside the suffragettes. Her romanctic relationship with Park continues to simmer and add an extra dimension as a subplot. Mabel has a number of suspects and motives to explore. There is little violence as you would expect from the cosy genre of murder mystery. I enjoyed the historical aspects to the plot and characters which have been well researched.
Murder of a Suffragette is an enjoyable historical murder mystery and I liked the added social commentary surrounding the fight for women’s suffrage.
Book Description:
Women from all around the country have joined together to fight for the vote. But when one of them is killed, only amateur sleuth Mabel Canning can halt a murderer’s campaign…
Fellbridge Hall, England: Mabel Canning is thrilled to be organising a suffragette conference. But when all the women are settled in the sprawling country mansion, she barely has time for a sip of gin before chaos ensues. Leading suffragette Annie Harkin has been found murdered in her bed, clutching a white feather in her outstretched hand…
As the guests clamour for justice for Annie, young police officers Ned and Ted arrive in time to trip over the banners and be roundly ignored. And with a killer on the loose, the suffragettes swiftly vote for Mabel and her pals to take control. When it comes to solving mysteries, there’s nobody equal to the London Ladies’ Murder Club!
But soon it’s clear many a suffragette is hiding a secret under her sash. Eccentric veteran of the cause Dorothea Goose is acting rather flighty; why is she so afraid of the police? Would Annie’s rival go this far to replace her as leader? Or has someone taken a life to stop the cause of women’s lib?
Then Mabel uncovers what happened to Annie’s closest comrade in the years before the war, and she is sure the answers lie in the past. But will Mabel be elected as the killer’s next victim? Or can she crack the case and save the fight for Votes for Women?
A totally addictive whodunnit bursting with suspense and sparkling with wit, from USA Today bestseller Marty Wingate. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman, Verity Bright and T.E. Kinsey.
Author Bio:
Marty Wingate is a USA Today best-selling author of both mysteries and historical fiction. Marty enjoys weaving humor into her books and creating characters—from quirky and loveable to sinister and duplicitous—that leap off the page. Before embarking on her series about the London Ladies Murder Club with Bookouture, Marty published three contemporary cozy mystery series (the Potting Shed, Birds of a Feather, and First Edition Library books). She has also published two standalone books of historical fiction and found stories of the past to be compelling. She’s delighted to combine her penchant for both mysteries and histories to bring her readers more satisfying stories. Marty currently resides near Seattle, Washington.
Detective Ellie Reeves is preparing to rejoin her team after a short break following a tough case and personal issues. She finds the bodies of twin girls out in the snow and is shocked that they haven’t been reported missing. Could the parents be responsible for the murders or are they in danger themselves…?
The Ice Sisters is the 10th book in the Ellie Reeves detective thriller series set in America. There are no spoilers about past cases but the personal relationship plot strands continue from earlier books.
The last case hit Ellie hard and she is also in emotional turmoil because the man she likes, Cord, is going to marry his pregnant lover. But her personal life is forced into the background as she is needed to lead a major homicide investigation into the deaths of two young girls. The identities of the twins are difficult to establish and it becomes apparent that secrets from the past could lead other girls into the killer’s path.
There are some big and emotional issues handled in the book which add depth to the plight of the characters. The child murders are handled sensitively and there is little graphic detail about their deaths. The writing is ever so fast paced with chapters just a couple of pages long. This keeps the momentum of the plot rapid and maintains the tension as we see multiple perspectives including the killer and his prey.
The Ice Sisters is a tense and fast paced crime thriller but also features plenty of emotion.
Shock slammed into her as she spotted the two little girls lying on the cold hard ground, snow swirling round their fragile bodies. Twins with button noses and heart-shaped faces, their pretty green eyes closed forever…
As the snow falls and a bitter wind blows, Detective Ellie Reeves is devastated to discover the bodies of two little girls, alone and frozen on an icy lake, in the isolated town of Cold Mountain. The girls are holding hands, with matching bows in their blonde curls, and when Ellie realizes they are twin sisters, her heart breaks for their mother, who must be desperately wondering where her little darlings are.
But, back at the police station, she is horrified to discover that nobody has reported the sisters missing. Are their parents in danger too? When an abandoned car is found near the girls’ bodies, and Ellie learns that the female driver is in hospital, she prays that the injured woman will know something about the twins.
A DNA test shows that the woman in hospital is the twins’ mother Barbara, and Ellie rushes to interview her. But when Ellie arrives at the hospital she is faced with an empty bed. Barbara has fled and her house is abandoned too. As Ellie searches the family home, she is chilled to see there is no sign of any children. If Barbara is the twins’ mother, where are the toys and photos of her precious girls?
When another little girl disappears, Ellie knows that finding Barbara might well be the key to saving an innocent child. But who is Barbara running from? Or does she have something to hide? And with the clock ticking and a fearsome winter storm brewing, can Ellie find the truth before another innocent life is lost?
This pulse-pounding and utterly addictive crime thriller will have you staying up way past your bedtime and tearing through the pages! Perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Lisa Regan and Kendra Elliot
AUTHOR BIO
USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. But she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a teacher instead. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job.
With over ninety books to her credit, she’s penned romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and YA novels, but she especially likes writing dark romantic suspense and crime fiction set in small southern towns.
Sir Lance Hale is found dead after a party at his home. It is the third tragedy for the family but were all the deaths actually murder? Eve Mallow knows the family and wants to find the truth…
