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A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN COZY VILLAGE MYSTERY FROM A BESTSELLING AUTHOR
An absorbing Christmas mystery
The Colonel (few people call him Hugh) is busier than ever this Christmas. The Frog End Players have enlisted his woodwork skills to build a set for their annual Christmas pantomime.
This year, it's Hans Christian Andersen's dark fairytale The Snow Queen. Local busybody Marjorie Cuthbertson is on the hunt for her leading lady -- and who better to play the icy queen than beautiful new resident, ex-model Joan Dryden. But as interested as they are in their new neighbours, the residents of Frog End remain wary of the Dryden family, considering them snooty Londoners.
But tragedy strikes at the village party...
One moment, one of the guests is enjoying a festive mince pie. The next, they are on the floor, clawing at their throat.
A tragic allergic reaction or did someone mean to kill?
The Colonel must find out if this was just a terrible accident... or bitter revenge.
DISCOVER A BEAUTIFULLY DRAWN PICTURE OF ENGLAND WITH A BAFFLING MYSTERY FOR THE COLONEL TO UNRAVEL
Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie and Stella Cameron.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE VILLAGE MYSTERIES
"A wonderfully written cozy of the highest caliber." Ann
"A murder mystery you can read before bedtime!" Carol
"The Colonel, Naomi, and Thursday have stolen my heart." H. G. Williams
"If you enjoy Miss Marple or the Midsomer Murders type of story then you'll like this." Carole
THE DETECTIVE
At the grand old age of 55, the Colonel had been put out to grass by the British Army. In the same year, his beloved wife, Laura, died after a long illness. He found himself facing a bleak and lonely future. There were the children, of course, but they were grown up and had busy lives of their own.
One summer, years before, he and Laura spent their leave in England, touring the West Country. They stopped at a village in Dorset called Frog End which had a spit-and-sawdust pub called the Dog and Duck. Laura had fallen in love with a stone cottage seen across the village green. She had admired the thatched roof and the pink roses round the door. Years later, after her death, the Colonel had revisited the same village alone and seen Laura's dream cottage had aged badly and that it was up for sale. Against his better judgement, he bought it.
THE SETTING
The cottage was called Pond Cottage and the Colonel soon discovered that he had made a big mistake. The two-hundred-year-old building had deathwatch beetle, rising damp, a falling roof, rot and decay throughout. There was no heating and the wiring was a dangerous disgrace. Logs for an open fire were kept in a tin bath in the scullery and the nettle-infested lavatory was housed outside in a jungle. There was no sign of any pond.
But there were compensations: a view over the beautiful village green, clusters of other stone cottages, a Norman church built on Saxon foundations, a graveyard of ancient tombs leaning at perilous angles. And, of course, the Dog and Duck.
VILLAGE MYSTERIES SERIES
Book 1: OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE
Book 2: THREE SILENT THINGS
Book 3: DRY BONES
Book 4: THE SEVENTH LINK
Book 5: BITTER POISON
Book 6: THE LIFELINE
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