The Village Detectives and The Art of Murder by Fiona Walker

As her mother is about to sell the family home and move in to a retirement village, Juno Mulligan is returning to the village of Inkbury to help out.  Juno has asked her son Eric to look into the background of Dennis, her mum's gentleman friend.  The result is that he has had three previous wives and they have all died in suspicious circumstances.  Juno is convinced that her mum could be in danger.   

Old College friend Phoebe Fredericks, who writes murder novels under the name of Dorothy De'Ath, is also living in Inkbury and Juno ropes her in to help her look for a house to buy.  Phoebe is a bit of a hermit and keeps to herself and so doesn't really know very many people within the village or what may be available.  When they meet up in the local pub for lunch there is an argument between a couple of the other guests and one of them ends up dead. 

Juno, Phoebe and Mil, the landlord at the pub, team up together to find out who killed Si and why.  Juno is convinced that it will be Dennis.  

The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer

Gary Thorn sees that he has a meeting scheduled with a new client, Mr Sequence.  When they meet Mr Sequence offers Gary money to disappear and not attend the court trial which is due to start the next week.  Gary refuses.  His girlfriend Emily has moved to Brighton to take over the hotel where she grew up as it has been left to her by her father.  The hotel needs updating before it can be re-opened.  She changes its name to The Hotel Avocado as her father hated avocados.  

Gary has to disappear for a while as he, his friends and family are now being threatened.  His closest friend is Grace who lives next door with her dog Lassoo.  Together they eat a lot of pies.  Gary does not want Grace to be harmed and so pretends they are not friends to try to keep her safe.  He heads off to Brighton to stay with Emily but is followed.  

A Date with Justice by Julia Chapman

This is the ninth book in the Dales Detective Agency series. 

During a wedding reception Delilah's brother Will has a very heated argument with Ross Erwin, an Ecologist who is preparing a report on his neighbours farm.  The farmers want to diversify and open a glamping site.  The next morning Ross Erwin is found dead.  Will seems to be the most likely suspect.  

Samson returns to Bruncliffe for a break from his duties in London with the Met.  Together with Delilah they take on Will's case as they both believe he is innocent.  The Dales Detective Agency is growing in size as Delilah has offered some work, and a roof over his head, to Gareth the local gamekeeper who has lost both his job and home as he can no longer hold a gun licence.  They look through hours of wedding footage taken on guests' phones to work out who left the reception and when, and who could be a possible murderer. 

Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves

This is a Vera Stanhope story.  

When Julie Armstrong arrives home after a night out she finds her teenage son lying dead in the bath.  He had been strangled and surrounded by flowers floating on the water.  

The body of a young student teacher is then found in a rock pool.  She also had been strangled and surrounded by flowers.  There has to be link between the two young people who have been murdered.  Inspector Vera Stanhope has to work out what the link is and why someone would want to murder these two seemingly unrelated people.  

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

Whilst working as a waiter in a Berlin hotel, Maurice Swift meets Erich Ackerman.  Erich offers Maurice the opportunity to travel with him as his assistant as he goes on tour to promote his latest book.  Maurice is a budding writer himself.  Erich tells Maurice about his life as a teenage boy, about how Jewish people were treated and how he fell in love with another young man.  Maurice encourages the story telling and uses this to his own ends.  He is a good writer but lacks the inspiration to know what to write about.  

Years later when Maurice has made a name for himself and is married, he is again struggling for inspiration and tells his wife that he is writing during the day whilst she is at the local University lecturing.  He has already stolen stories from others and is about to do the same again.  

A Year at Castle Court by Holly Hepburn

Friends Sadie and Cat had always dreamed of opening up a biscuit shop together.  When Cat returns from working in a Michelin starred restaurant in France and Sadie's marriage is over they both need a new start and so take on the lease of a shop in Castle Court in Chester.  

Cat bakes the biscuits and Sadie decorates them.  Most of the other residents in the food area of Castle Court are helpful and friendly.  There are just a few who are not.  Over the first year they have a lot of ups and downs.  They make both friends and enemies within the Court.  

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Dr James Sheppard lives with his sister Caroline. Caroline always seems to know everything before he does, including who has died and how.    

Dr Sheppard receives a phone call telling him that Roger Ackroyd is dead.  He has only been with him a few hours beforehand and he had seemed to be ok.  When Dr Sheppard gets back to the house the room that Roger is in is locked from the inside and the key is still in the lock.  The door has to be forced to gain entry.  Once inside they find Roger has been stabbed and is dead.  The butler denied having made the phone call to the doctor.  The police are struggling to find the answers and so bring in Hercule Poirot as a consultant as he has recently moved in to the village.  He needs to work out how Roger was murdered within a locked a room and how the murderer escaped.  

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan

Grandmother Elspeth, daughter Jean and granddaughter Gertie all leave together in a small cottage on a remote Scottish island of Carso.  The woman are central to the local knitting circle.  

Gertie works in the local supermarket.  She has never left home or the island.  She is offered a job at the local airline which runs small planes from island to island.  She will work on the check-in desk whilst the usual check-in lady is off on maternity leave.  She has never been in an airplane and does not own a passport.  This will be a big move for Gertie if she accepts.  Before she has decided if she will take the job, the whole of the knitting circle are talking about it.  Gertie decides it is time to make a move and so looks for a place to rent and moves into a house with Morag who is the local pilot. Gertie makes new friends, takes on a new job and may even have met the man of her dreams.    

Death By Numbers by Jo Cunningham

Una is happy working with numbers and statistics as an actuary for an insurance company.  She comes across an anomaly around the predicted number of deaths in the seaside resort of Eastbourne.  Her mother has moved to Eastbourne and so Una goes to visit to try to get some additional insider knowledge.  The first strange death was being hit by a falling hanging basket.  This is not something Una has come across before.  

Una's mother and partner knew the people who had died, they were all in the same bingo group.  Una visits the site of the accidents and discovers that they all have numbers near to them.  The numbers are the same gold and black sticky panels that can be purchased from the local DIY store.  The numbers differ with each death.  She needs to work out what they mean and how they relate to the person.  As she gets closer to solving the mystery her own live could be in danger.  

Murder at the Rookery Grange Retreat by Gina Kirkham

Pru and Bree start their own investigation, along with members of their WI, when one of their own ladies has a suspicious accident.  Then one of the residents at The Rookery Grange Retreat is found dead and it looks like murder.  

Back in 1989 the couple who had owned Rookery Grange were found dead on Christmas Eve.  It looked to have been a murder-suicide.  Their children were there in the house but were unharmed.  An uncle had taken over the house which is now a residential home for the elderly.  

More bodies are found dead and they are not by natural causes.  One of their group books herself into the Rookery Grange Retreat to recuperate after a fall on ice.  She can keep an eye on their friend and see what is happening from the inside to help the investigation.  

Seven Days In Summer by Marcia Willett

Liv heads off to the family beach hut in Devon for a couple of weeks holiday with her twins and father in law.  Husband Matt stays at home to look after their restaurant as their manager has had an accident and is out of action.  

During the time Liv is away her cousin Catriona appears and tries to lure Matt away from Liv.  She always tries to make trouble. 

In Devon father in law Baz falls in love with Sofia who is staying locally with friends within Baz's social circle.  There is a huge age gap but it is love at first sight for them both. 

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson

On a train platform in London, Agatha Christie is pushed and then rescued from falling in front of an on-coming train.  Her rescuer, Dr Kurs, turns out to be the person who pushed her.  He blackmails Agatha.  If she won't do as he says and help him in his plot to kill his wife, then he will let everyone know about her husband's affair with the much younger woman Miss Nancy Neele.

When told to do so Agatha has to meet Dr Kurs by the pond.  Here he pushes her car, leaving her coat and overnight bag inside, and they set off a journey.  During the eleven days that Agatha Christie was missing in the winter of 1926, we learn of the plot made by Dr Kurs, his blackmail of Agatha and Agatha's attempt to manipulate the situation so that it appears she has carried out the request without actually committing a murder.  

Dark Undertakings by Rebecca Tope

Drew Slocombe has started a new job and career as a trainee undertaker.  He no longer wishes to be a nurse.  

He is called out to the home of Jim Lapsford who has been found dead in bed that morning next to his wife.  The local GP has already visited and declared the death to be by heart attack.  To save money the local GPs have been asked to only order a post mortem if the cause of death is not clear.  Jim, aged 55, had been in really good health and did not take any medication.  Drew is not convinced that it was a heart attack.  

As Drew talks to people and tries to make his own enquiries into Jim's life and death he finds that many people did not like him and he was known to have liaisons with lots women in the town.  Jim is going to be cremated and so Drew has only a few days to try to establish if he was murdered, and if so, who by.  

Last Light by Andy McNab

Nick Stone is assigned by British Intelligence to carry out an assassination in central London.  When he sees the age of the target, he deliberately misses.  He is then threatened.  He must travel to Panama and finish the job, or the life of Kelly, for whom he is a guardian, will be at risk.  

He heads off to finish the job and finds that there is a conspiracy plot and yet more innocent lives are at risk if he can't stop a plot to bomb a ship.  

A Year at the Star and Sixpence by Holly Hepburn

Just at a time when they both need to get away, sisters Nessie and Sam inherit a country pub from their estranged and now dead father.  The pub is in the village of Little Monkham in Shropshire.  When they arrive they find the pub in a very run down and messy state.  The village postmistress, who is also Chair of the local preservation society, announces to the sisters that they need to be re-opened by Boxing Day.  This gives them just 3 weeks to turn things around.  

Over the next year they do their best to make the pub into a thriving business which is back to being at the heart of the village again.  During this time Nessie is working her way through a divorce and is very attracted to Owen their neighbour.  Sam is trying to hide away from her previous life in PR in London and keep her head down and out of the limelight.  They make lots of friends in the village and finally find out things they didn't know about their father.  

The Picture House by the Sea by Holly Hepburn

Gina leaves her life in London and heads to Polwhipple to help her grandparents with their ice-cream business.  Ferdy, her grandfather, has broken his leg and won't be able to make all the gelato.  As well as selling to businesses they also run their own concessions area in the Palace which is the local cinema.  

The Palace is an old art deco building which Gina remembers from her visits in her teens.  She used to sneak in the fire exit with her friend Ben.  She is saddened to see the poor state of the building.  Goran, the owner, has let things slide and not kept up to date with modern technology.  His business sense is poor, he doesn't advertise films in advance and very few people visit.  

Gina can see great potential and convinces Goran to let her help and put on a film she feels will bring people in.  With the help of old friend Ben, who is now a builder, they are able to make a difference and then decide that they should work together as a team to improve the Palace back to its former glory. 

An Untidy Death by Simon Brett

This is the second book in the Decluttering Mysteries series. 

Declutterer Ellen Curtis is approached by Alexandra Richards who requests she meets with her mother to help sort out her flat which is full of newspapers.  Alexandra does not seem to like her mother very much and says to Ellen 'My mother's going to kill herself, that is if I don't kill her first'.  Ellen visits and gets on really well with Ingrid who used to be an actress.  Ellen then discovers that there has been a fire at the flat and Ingrid is now dead.  She is asked by the police whether or not she would have considered the flat to be a fire hazard as the old lady chain smoked.  Ellen seems to have been manipulated into a situation where she is being used to confirm the flat was a hazard.  Ellen is not so sure.  Ingrid was very clear that she was careful about her cigarettes and valued and took care of her life.  

The police seem to be disregarding the fire as an accident.  Ellen is not sure that it was and starts her own investigation into what could have happened as she is suspicious about the nature and timing of the death. 

The Clutter Corpse by Simon Brett

 This is the first book in the Decluttering Mysteries series.

Ellen Curtis has set up her own business helping people to declutter spaces in their homes.  Ellen is asked by her friend Hilary to help an elderly lady to declutter her home so that her son can be released from prison and go to live with her.  Whilst looking around the house to assess what will need to be done she finds a dead body.  The police immediate suspect that Nate Ogden, the son, is responsible for the murder.  

When the identity of the body is known, Ellen realises that she had met the young woman before.  She tells the police and then she herself is also under suspicion.  After being interviewed by the police Hilary then goes missing.  

The Back Road by Rachel Abbott

This is the second book in the DCI Tom Douglas series. 

Tom Douglas has recently moved to the village of Little Melham. One night a teenage girl is involved in an accident on a back road which is only used by the locals.  She has been hit by a car and then dragged to the side of the road before being left.  Luckily she is found in time and is in intensive care, in a coma, in the hospital.  

Ellie Saunders, Tom's neighbour, had gone out that night.  Her sister Leo, who had come to visit, had heard Ellie leave the house.  Max, Ellie's husband, had been out with colleagues and friends at a party held at the local rugby club.  He was driven home late by a colleague. There are a number of the locals who seem to have been out that night, they all have secrets to keep.  

Ellie starts to get messages and phone calls from a blackmailer.  Someone knows she was out and threatens to tell her husband she has been seeing another man.  The other man is also watching her, following her every move and won't accept that she does not want to see him.  

The Dead Ex by Jane Corry

Following an attack Vicki has been left with a head injury which has caused her to suffer from epilepsy.  Unable to cope with this, her husband David leaves her to go off with his mistress.  Vicki had taken advantage of aromatherapy to help her and then trained as therapist was a complete change in career. 

Vicki is visited by the police as her ex-husband David has gone missing.  They want to know when she last saw him.  They then believe that David is dead and that Vicki may have been involved.  Due to her medication and condition, she can struggle with her memory and this does not help her case.  The police think she is involved and may have killed him.  

Alongside Vicki's story is Scarlett who as a young child was placed into care when her mum was sent to prison.  

The Tanglewood Tea Shop by Lilac Mills

Having broken her leg, Patisserie chef Stevie is sacked from her job in a Michelin starred restaurant.  Her Great Aunt Peggy then dies and leaves almost all her money to Stevie.  This is her chance to get out of London and have a fresh start away from her family.  

Stevie finds a tea shop for sale in the welsh village of Tanglewood.  It is ideal for her as it also has living accommodation upstairs.  

Some of the locals are welcoming, others are not.  Stevie starts to have regulars who come in for drinks and cakes, and her gets a lot of tourists and hikers popping in.  

Here initial contact with Nick, the local stable owner, is not a positive one, but then they start to become attracted to each other.  

The Deadly Detective Agency by Ann Parker

When Abigail Summers wakes up to find that she is actually dead she suspects that she has been murdered.  With a help of her friend Hayley, who is a psychic medium, Abigail aims to find out who murdered her and why.  

Abigail meets a number of the other local spirits and they work together to find out how they died.  They give their finding to Hayley's husband, who is a local police constable, so that people can be brought to justice.  They are so good at what they are going that they decide to create their own detective agency and advertise to the local dead community.  They are then given other jobs to investigate.  

Village Books by Craig McLay

Village Books in Canada has a number of staff, all of them have their own problems.  They are a bit of an odd bunch.  After many months of being understaffed the manager is finally encouraged to employ a new assistant manager.  Aspiring actress Leah Dashwood joins the team.  The other assistant manager immediately falls in love with her.  

Property developers are trying to buy the store but the elderly owners are not wanting to sell, although their son and daughter would love to get their hands on it and sell it off straight away.  Other members of the team have their own ideas about how they can improve the store and keep it running.  This is not helped when Leah gets an acting job and the owners are both incapacitated and their children try to take over. 

Too Many Cooks by Rosemary Shrager

This is the third book in the Prudence Bulstrode series.  

Prudence has been asked to return to St Marianne's School for Girls to help the girls prepare for their end of year meal which they will be serving to their parents.  Whilst builders are digging out the old hockey pitch to create foundations for a new building they dig up a body.  Prudence immediately knows that this is Mr Scott who used to be her maths teacher.  He was believed to have committed suicide from his boat, so how has his body ended up buried at the school?  

Prudence and Suki start their investigation and for Pru this is a trip down memory lane and a chance to meet up with her old teachers.  

Poison at the Village Show by Catherine Coles

The villagers of Westleham are gossiping that Martha Miller must be to blame for the disappearance of her husband Stan.  He came home from the war but has now disappeared.  He went out to work one day and did not return.  There is talk of him being underneath Martha's potato patch.   

At the Westleham village show glasses of Martha's plum gin are handed around.  Suddenly, after drinking the gin, Alice Warren collapses and is pronounced dead.  

Martha needs to clear her name, find out why Alice died and who killed her.  She is helped by Luke Walker, the new vicar.  

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French

On the day of Alec Salter's 50th birthday party, his wife Charlotte does not turn up and she is not seen again.  Their 15 year old daughter Etty is really worried and contacts the police.  All the family are interviewed and have to provide alibis.  A few days later Duncan Ackerley, the father of a neighbouring family, is found dead.  He appears to have committed suicide.  

Now with Alec in his 80s and suffering from dementia, the family are arranging to empty the house and move him into a care home.  Greg and Morgan Ackerley decide they they will create a podcast about Charlotte's disappearance and their father's death to see if they can come up with anything that the police missed.  They plan to talk with many members of the local community.  

When someone who talks on the podcast is murdered the police send in a detective from another force to investigate all three crimes as they could be connected.  

It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square by Ali McNamara

Elle has lost her fiancé, job and home. She sees an advert for the job of a writer to document a family history which is circled in a newspaper left on a bench by an elderly man who stopped to chat.  The successful applicant must love Christmas.  She does not.  There is only an address so she turns up at the house in Mistletoe Square.  When she arrives a very large Christmas tree is being delivered and installed with the assistance of the neighbour.  

The house is owned by an elderly lady, Estelle, who is looked after by Angela, her housekeeper.  Elle is given the job and moves in with them.  

Estelle has a very unconventional way of telling her stories.  She starts with the first of the Christmas tree ornaments and completely brings the story to life by transporting them all back in time.  Each evening a new ornament is selected and a new story about the family revealed. 

The Secret Beach by Veronica Henry

It is 20 years since a terrible storm led to the tragic deaths of the lifeboat men in the small coastal town of Speedwell.  On the boat were Nikki's father and brother in law.  

Nikki now works on the lifeboats herself.  She has just been able to buy and move into one of the coastguard cottages.  This gives her access to the secret beach.  The secret beach is a special place for her as it holds lots of memories.  

A threatening note is posted through Nikki's door.  Someone knows her secret which has been kept hidden for years.  If the truth comes out it could be devastating to her family.  

The Family Cabin by James Caine

As it is almost Mike's 40th birthday, Dawn arranges a surprise weekend away with friends at the family cabin.  Mike seems to have been stressed recently and has been going out on his own and not saying where he is.  

When she arrives at the cabin everything looks as it should, but then she hears a noise coming from the basement.  Dawn goes down to investigate and sees that a lock has been placed on one of the doors.  She opens the lock and finds a young woman in there who has chains around her wrists.  The young woman begs for help.  Then Mike arrives, much earlier than expected.  Should Dawn tell Mike what she has found, or was it him who placed her there? 

Postscript by Cecelia Ahern

This is the sequel to PS I Love you.

Holly's sister Ciara has finally convinced Holly to do a podcast for her in her series of 'How to talk about...' and this one is 'How to talk about death'.  There is a small audience in Ciara's shop.  After the podcast one of the ladies, who also regularly visits Ciara's shop, keeps trying to talk to Holly.  She finally leaves a card for her on which are the words 'The PS, I love You Club'.  

The club is a small group of terminally ill people who want to do something special for those they will leave behind and they want Holly to help them in this task.  This brings back lots of memories for Holly just is she is moving on with her life and is in a new relationship.  Should she help them, or will this cause more hurt for her? 

Irresponsible Adult by Lucy Dillon

After being fired from her job as an estate agent, Robyn is offered a temporary job by her sister Cleo who has a cleaning business.  

Robyn does not do a lot of cleaning in her own home and has to follow very precise instructions by Jim who is her supervisor.  She has to follow the list given to her and do all jobs within a tight timeframe.  She learns a lot of things about herself as she works with Jim.  She also start to clean her own home too.  

Throughout their lives Robyn and Cleo have known that they should not talk to their mum about her family.  Whilst on her new tidying spree, Robyn finds some old boxes which she has not unpacked and they contain items which must belong to her mum.  Finally some old family secrets are revealed. 

New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe by Julie Haworth

When she returns home from travelling, Tori comes home alone as she has been dumped by her boyfriend Ryan.  Her mother's Cosy Cup Cafe needs a revamp and so she suggests turning it in to a cat cafe as she has seen in Asia.  With the help of the local vet, and a fireman who helped to save her own cat from a tree, Tori makes changes to the lay out of the cafe and takes on 5 rescue cats who are all available for adoption by people who visit.  The project starts well and then Tori is targeted by malicious bad reviews and an unexpected visit from animal welfare. 

Our House by Louise Candlish

Fi and Bram Lawson have separated and are sharing the family home on a birds nest custody arrangement so that their two young sons constantly live in the one home.  The story is told from both Fi and Bram's points of view.  

Fi arrived at the family home unexpectedly one day to find that another couple are moving into her house.  She has not sold the house and it has not been up for sale.  She can't get in touch with Bram, his phone is out of service.  She tells her side of the story via a podcast.  

Bram has been keeping a lot of secrets from Fi.  He has been banned from driving but as he hasn't told Fi he has continued to drive when it is his turn to look after their sons and take them to planned events.  He is involved in a 'road rage' event which leads to a crash that hospitalises a mother and daughter.  Bram is then being blackmailed.  Following the sale of the house and his disappearance, Bram writes out his version of events in a word document. 

Girl A by Abigail Dean

Lex Gracie, 'Girl A', is now a lawyer in New York.  She has to return to England as her mother has died in prison and she needs to collect the belongings and execute the will.  

Lex and her brothers and sisters were held imprisoned in the family home on the Yorkshire Moors.  Lex shared a room with her sister Evie.  They were bound to their beds and locked in their room.  The children were all abused and starved.  At the age of 15 Lex managed to escape and the children were all rescued.  

The story goes backwards and forwards, reliving the events of her childhood, and now meeting up with her siblings and agreeing what will happened to the family home which has been left derelict for many years.  

I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry

Poppy Page lives with her husband, 2 daughters and mother in law Betty.  She has always been faithful to her husband, until she meets up with her old boyfriend Matthew Gordon, from more than 20 years ago, at a Christmas party.  

During the book text appears from letters written by Betty to Poppy.  They explain what has happened during Betty's life and how her marriage to Jock was not happy and how he had manipulated her and made her suffer over many years.  

Poppy initially felt sorry for Matthew as his wife is very ill.  But then he starts to threaten her and she realises how dangerous he can be and how one silly mistake could cost her her whole family. 

Both Betty and Poppy are being made to suffer for one mistake and poor judgement.  

The Ambleside Alibi by Rebecca Tope

This is the second book in the Lake District Mysteries series. 

Simmy Brown, the local florist, receives an order to deliver flowers to a local address. The message on the flowers reads 'Happy birthday from a granddaughter you never knew you had'.  After delivering the flowers she heads to a local coffee shop for a quick break.  

The family who received the flowers want to track down who sent them.  It has caused a lot of unrest within the family.  Simmy won't give up the name, as she had promised she wouldn't when the flowers were ordered.  At the same time another local woman is found murdered in her home.  A men she saw and briefly spoke to in the coffee shop gives Simmy's name as his alibi to prove that he couldn't have been the murderer. 

With the help of her young friend Ben, and assistant Melanie, Simmy tries to work out who sent the flowers and what the relationships are.  At one point she gets too close to the truth and her own life is put at risk.  

The Windermere Witness by Rebecca Tope

This is book one in the Lake District Mysteries series. 

Following her divorce, Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown, has moved to Windermere on Bowness in the Lake District where she sets up a florist shop which is near to her parents who run a B&B in Ambleside.  

She has provided the flowers for the wedding of the daughter of a local millionaire.  After delivering the flowers to the hotel she sees and speaks to the bride's half brother Markie Baxter.  Within a few hours he is found murdered in the lake.  Simmy is initially asked to look after a younger daughter of the family, and then the family want to know what she and Markie talked about as she may have been one of the last people to speak to him.  

A lunch meeting is set up for Simmy to talk to the bride's father, but as she is about to get out of her car he is also murdered.  This is also witnessed by Ben, a local 17 year old school boy.  Simmy and Ben share all the information they know and try to work out who murdered the two men. 

From Shetland with Love by Erin Green

Following the death of her grandfather, Jemima is handed the keys to his allotment.  As she is currently taking a sabbatical from her job, she decides to take over the allotment and spend her time working on the land.  She also has chickens to look after. 

At the same time Melissa comes to the top of the allotment waiting list and is given the opportunity to take over an allotment which has not been cared for for a long time.  Her husband works away on an oil rig and she works part time at the local college, so she has a few days each week free to try to tame the allotment and start to grow her own produce.  

Both women are taken under the wing of Dottie, an 80 year old who only grows flowers on her allotment and dusts at the local Manor House one day a week.  

Many of the folks on the allotments have a lot to say about what the ladies should and shouldn't be doing and how to go about growing prize winning vegetables.  

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson

Mabel's husband Arthur suddenly dies and Mabel is left alone.  Arthur always liked to write lists.  He leaves one list unfinished.  This prompts Mabel to write her own list and to try to finish the last list that Arthur wrote which is 'Find D'.  

Mabel is convinced that, if finished, this would have read 'Find Dot'.  Dot was her best friend when she was growing up, and the girlfriend of Arthur's best friend who was Mabel's brother.  

Whilst she is coming to terms with the loss of Arthur and being on her own, Mabel meets a lot of new people, all of whom have their own problems and need help.  Mabel writes her own list of the things she needs to achieve to help them all.  

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

Set in Yorkshire in 1979, best friends Sharon and Miv hear information on the news about the Yorkshire Ripper.  Miv has a difficult homelife.  Her mum has stopped speaking, her dad works all day, and her Aunty Jean has come to stay to help look after the family.  

Miv spends a lot of time at Sharon's house.  They decide to write a list of all the suspicious people and do their own investigation to try to find the Yorkshire Ripper.  They follow people and decide whether or not they could be suspects.  The local shopkeeper is on the list for a very short time, but they really like him and he is friendly with them.  A lot of people are quite racist towards him as he is Indian.  The girls become friends with his son and see first hand how nastily some people treat them.  

During their investigations Miv and Sharon come across racism, bullying, domestic violence, alcoholism and much more.  Miv is sure that if they can find out who the Ripper is then her family will not have to move house and move away from Yorkshire and her friend.  

Only the Innocent by Rachel Abbott

Sir Hugo Fletcher is found dead in his home by the housekeeper.  It is clear that he has been murdered by a woman.  A woman with red hair was seen walking away from the house.   

Sir Hugo ran a charity to help young woman who had been trafficked into the country and set to work as prostitutes.  He helps to get them away from the traffickers and arranges for them to live in a home with a local family.  Everyone loves Hugo.  

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas has to investigate the murder.  He is certain that there is also a link with one of the saved girls having gone missing.  

Slowly he uncovers more and more dark secrets and truths about Sir Hugo.  None of his close family are upset by his death.  

The Weekender by Fay Keenan

Holly lives in Willowbury and runs her own shop.  When Willowbury's new MP Charlie Thorpe arrives, she does not make a good first impression.  Charlie feels that there is something familiar about Holly but can't place her. 

Holly and her sister want Charlie to help them to get a new drug available on the NHS for people who suffer from cystic fibrosis.  Holly's little nephew suffers from the disease.  The previous MP was not interested in helping anyone who did not provide payment for his services.  They hope that Charlie will be different.  

Never Saw it Coming by Linwood Barclay

Pretend psychic Keisha watches the local news stories to find people she can approach who may want to use her services - for a fee.  She tells families that she has had visions of their missing loved ones.  She usually likes to have her fee upfront.  

She approaches a man whose wife is missing and says that she has had visions of her.  The story she tells is too near to the truth of what really happened.  Keisha then becomes scared and realises that she may actually be sitting in front of a murderer. 

Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove by Jessica Redland

They met at school and now having been married for 12 years Elise feels that it must be time for them to start the family they have talked about.  Gary still says that he is not ready.  Then they suddenly part.  

Whilst Elise should be happy for her sister and best friend who are both about to get married, she is struggling with the breakdown of her own marriage, and also the thought that she may now never become a mother.  

She is set up on a date with Daniel, a local sales rep that one of her friends knows, who is also recently divorced and on his own.  He seems almost too good to be true, yet when she meets his brother he is quite hostile towards her.  

Elise has a few really good friends who support her through the difficult times.  

Seeds of Murder by Rosie Sandler

Steph Williams has secured a new job as gardener for the Beaulieu Heights gated community.  Each day of the week she will visit a different house to do their gardening.  The job comes with its own house and a good salary.  

A few things of value suddenly go missing from the gardens.  Then some of the residents receive threatening messages.  Steph overhears a few conversation and is concerns about the daughter of one of the families.  The residence committee get together and accuse Steph of sending the messages.  Steph has also received a threatening message and is given just 2 weeks in which to clear her own name and find out who the culprit really is.  In the meantime her own life could be in danger. 

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Just before she plunged off a cliff to her death Nel phoned her sister.  Jules ignored the call, just as she always did.   

Jules now has to return to the family home to look after her sixteen year old niece Lena. 

Jules has not been back to the house, or had contact with Nel, for a long time.  This brings back many memories.  Nel had been investigating and writing stories about the drowning pool.  Both Jules and Lena know that Nel would never have jumped.  

Not by Oolong Shot by Eryn Scott

This is book 6 in the Pebble Cove Teashop Mystery Series.

A haunted house at the top of a hill in Pebble Cove, which has been empty for years, is bought by triplet brothers who host a make-over TV show.  They are know as 'the flip-lets' as they flip houses to sell on at a profit. They have been warned that the house is haunted but they are not concerned.  

Rosemary and Jolene are asked to provide catering for the film crew.  In the evening when they go back to clear up they find one of the brothers dead.  It is obviously a murder.  Rosemary had heard two of the brothers arguing earlier that day.  With the help of the ghostly community in Pebble Cove she sets out to find what really happened and who killed the brother.  

Dazed and Infused by Eryn Scott

This is book 5 in the Pebble Cove Teashop Mystery Series.

Rosemary sees two young women wash up on the beach outside her teashop.  One is already dead, the other has a head injury and is suffering from amnesia. 

With the help of the local ghostly community Rosemary tries to find out who the mystery woman is, where they had both come from and how the two ended up in the sea. 

Due to a local festival taking place there is nowhere for the mystery woman to stay other than in the police station.  Rosemary offers to take her in and give her a temporary job whilst they work out who she is. 

Safe House by Chris Ewan

On the Isle of Man, Rob Hale wakes up in hospital after being involved in a motorbike crash.  He asks how his friend Lena is, as she had been on the back of the bike.  The police tell him there was no-one else involved in the crash, he was alone.  

Rob then finds that his parents have hired Rebecca Lewis, a private detective from London, to look into the recent death of his sister.  The death has been by suicide.  

Rebecca helps Rob in his quest to track down Lena.  She is the only person who believes that Lena exists.  There could be a link between Lena and Laura. 

The Missing Checkout Girl Mystery by Rachel Ward

The staff in the Costsave supermarket are like a family to each other.  Bea Johnson has been working on the checkout there for a number of years.  One morning one of her colleagues does not turn up for work and it is believed that she is another victim of the Kingsleigh Stalker.  Bea herself had been followed when on her way home from work.  

Bea is determined to do what she can to find out who the killer is.  She sets up a spreadsheet and, with a help of a couple of her colleagues, they take different people from the list to find out where they were during each attack to work out if any are a likely suspect.  

The Purrfect Pet Sitter by Carol Thomas

Now single and alone, Lisa Blake moves back to her family home.  When she left to go travelling, after her high school prom, she left behind all her friends.  She had initially kept in contact with her best friend Flick, but after a while contact between them had stopped.  Now that she is back, and starting up her own business as a pet sitter, she will bump into some of her old friends.  

She has not seen Nathan her school sweetheart of many years and she is not sure that she wants to bump into him again.  She does reconnect with Flick and they are able to pick up on their friendship.  Flick's husband is not too happy about it as he is worried that Flick will again be hurt by Lisa.   

Lisa does bump into Nathan and finds that he is now a very hunky fireman. 

Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewel

In the summer of 1986, as teenagers, Vince and Joy met at a holiday park.  They spent their days together and fell in love.  One morning Vince discovers that Joy and her family have suddenly packed up and gone home overnight.  Joy has left a note for Vince but it has got wet in the rain and he can only read a few words.  

Over the years they both have other relationships but don't find the same amount of happiness as they had with each other.  

Vince's new flat mate decides that he needs to find Joy so that he can find love again.  When she is finally tracked down it is just as Joy is about to get married.  Vince watches from a distance but doesn't feel that it is the right time for them.  

Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett

This is the third book in the 'Her Majesty the Queen Investigates' series. 

A severed hand is found in a bag which washes up on a beach near to Sandringham.  From a ring on one of the fingers the Queen is able to identify that it belonged to Edward St Cyr.  He was not a popular person who seemed to have more enemies than friends. 

Mrs Raspberry a local resident is seriously hurt in a hit and run accident.  

During the Christmas break the Queen, along with her assistant Rozie, undertakes her own investigation.  

Summer at the French Olive Grove by Sophie Claire

Having suffered an injury whilst on her travels and filming, Lily returns to the village of St Pierre in Provence to spend time with her grandmother whilst she recuperates.  Since the death of her father Lily has not wanted to put down roots and is happy to spend time travelling around the world and making her films.  

In St Pierre she finds that Olivier, her childhood friend, is staying next door with his parents.  She has not seen him for 13 years although they grew up and used to play together.  

Olivier is now a master baker and is happy to settle in St Pierre.  He wants to start a family.  He and Lily rediscover their friendship and challenge each other to do things outside of their comfort zones.  As a teenager Lily had a crush on Olivier and her feelings for him may not have changed.  

Smile by Roddy Doyle

Victor moves into a new apartment and visits a local pub.  He finds himself in there most evenings on his own having a couple of pints.  One night a man, Fitzpatrick, comes to speak to him.  He is someone who remembers Victor from their school days.  Victor can't place Fitzpatrick but they talk about their time in school and the students and teachers that they remember.  This brings back some unwanted memories of the ill treatment they suffered from some of the Brothers who taught in the school.  

Since those days Victor had become a celebrity writer and radio broadcaster.  His wife was also a household name as she had been fronting and hosting a cooking show.  They are now parted and Victor just has his memories of their good times.  

The Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald

Having decided to move from Australia to Edinburgh and to stay with her cousin, the only job Lou can find is working in a halfway house for very high risk offenders.  The offenders currently in residence include killers, drug dealers and an old celebrity paedophile.  

Life with her cousin is not easy as the house slowly fills up with more and more people and Lou struggles to be able to sleep before having to go out for her night shifts.    

After working in the halfway house for just a few days Lou is held captive by the prisoners and fears for her life.  

The Winter Garden by Heidi Swain

Following the death of Eloise who owned the Broad-Meadows Estate in Suffolk, Freya, who had been taken in as a gardener and a friend feels she will have to leave.  She can't work for the horrid nephew who has inherited the estate.  He constantly berates Freya for a lack of qualifications, yet wants her to stay and keep the estate looking nice for prospective buyers.  He takes her cottage off her, which is a part of her salary package, as he wants to rent it out to make more money.  

Freya hears a radio interview about Prosperous Place in Norfolk and decides to visit.  She meets Luke, the owner, and they talk about creating a winter garden.  Luke then offers Freya the job as head gardener so that she can create the winter garden they have discussed.  She is offered a house in Nightingale Square which will become her new home.  All the residents of Nightingale Square are friendly and welcoming.  With the exception of Finn.  He is an artist who works and lives in one of the converted barns on the estate.  Their first meeting does not go well and they really struggle to be polite to each other on the odd occasions they have to work together.  

Because of You by Dawn French

On 1 January 2000 two women give birth in the same London hospital.  One has a still born daughter, the other has a healthy daughter.  

Hope leaves the hospital with a baby hidden in her overnight bag.  She then moves back to Bristol with baby Minnie to be near her family.  

Anna leaves the hospital without her baby and with a husband who will use the disappearance of their daughter as a tool to further his political career.  

When Minnie is 17, she needs to register with a doctor and requests her birth certificate.  Hope finally has to tell Minnie the truth about her birth.  

The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

Following the breakdown of her marriage, Hanna returns to Ireland and moves in with her mother.  She takes on the job of librarian in Finfarran.  

After a number of years Hanna really needs to get out and live somewhere on her own.  She has an old rundown cottage which was left to her by an elderly aunt years ago.  She decides to renovate it and make it habitable.  Just as she commits to a loan to be able to undertake the work, her job is at risk as the library may close as part of a regeneration project.  She has to find a way to help the community and convince the local council that the community of Finfarran need support to, not just those in the nearest town.  

Summer Kisses at Mermaids Point by Sarah Bennett

Images suddenly appear on-line of a real mermaid being seen at Mermaids Point.  This brings lots of visitors to the area.  Laurie Morgan runs a cafe, her parents have a shop and her brother has a boat offering sea tours. They could all benefit from extra trade with more visitors coming to mermaid hunt.  

Jake Smith, a reporter, hires a cottage for the summer.  He tells people he is there to write a book about myths and their origins.  He really wants to know the truth behind the mermaid stories. Jake is attracted to Laurie from their first meeting.  He then uncovers something which may indicate that her family are involved in shady deals.  

Murder at Madingley Grange by Caroline Graham

Brother and sister, Simon and Laurie, are left in charge of their aunt's large gothic mansion house for a few weeks.  Simon is convinced they can capitalise on this opportunity by setting up a 1930s murder mystery weekend for paying guests.  

He advertises for help and employs the only two people who apply.  They have their own agenda as to why they want to be in the house.  

Simon plans the weekend, but it is Laurie who has to do most of the work.  Each of the guests is given a character to play and one of them is to be the victim.  No-one want to play the victim.  They all want to investigate.  Finally a body does turn up.  

The Stranger in Our House by Sarah A Denzil

Aaron, Meera and their children Noah and Uma move from their small London apartment to a cottage in the lovely village of Little Crake.  

Noah goes missing for 3 days.  He was last seen walking towards the forest.  Aaron finds him in the hollow of a tree, he is only partly clothed, has cuts on his upper body and is covered in mud.  Noah has no memory of what has happened to him and why he is there.  He then becomes withdrawn from his family.  He walks around the house at night and draws a lot of evil, dark sketches.  He becomes very cruel and starts making trouble at school.  

Meera is convinced that the boy who came back to them from the forest is not their son. 

How it all Began by Penelope Lively

Rose works as an assistant to Lord Peters.  She should be accompanying him to Manchester where he is to make a speech.  As her mother has been mugged and broken her hip, Rose needs to stay at home to care for her.  Lord Peters asks his niece Marion to accompany him instead.  The whole trip is a disaster.   

Lord Peters decides that he needs to do something different to get his name mentioned in a more positive light.  This set off a whole series of unlikely events.  

Marion, who has been seeing a married man, sends him a text message about their next meeting.  She doesn't know that he has been unexpectedly called back home.  His wife sees the message and is then adamant that she wants a divorce.  Marion is not sure that she actually wants to continue with their relationship.  

Rose meets one of her mother's mature students and starts a friendship with him.  Everyone's lives are changed after the one event of the mugging.  

Date With Evil by Julia Chapman

This is the 8th book in the Dales Detective Series 

Delilah, with the help of Ida, is trying to keep the Dales Detective Agency running whilst Samson is in London helping to clear his name with the Met police.  The agency is getting busier and busier and they are struggling to cope.  

One person has been constantly trying to speak to Delilah, she then turns up at the agency.  She is the mother of the local estate agent who went off travelling.  She is not convinced.  She has received a postcard and does not believe it is from him.  She wants Delilah to investigate and find out where he is.  

Ida is investigating some missing washing which has been stolen off a washing line.  Suddenly a number of cases all fall into place when links between them emerge.  

Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton

This is the last book in the Alphabet mystery series.  There is no Z as Sue Grafton died before she could write the final book in the series. 

After serving 8 years in prison, Fritz McCabe has been released.  His parents have received a copy of a video which was made in 1979 that shows their son and his friends sexually assaulting a 14 year old classmate.  This was received along with a blackmail demand for money.  Mrs McCabe contacts private investigator Kinsey Millhone. 

Kinsey has to find and interview all the people who were involved in a series of events which led up to Fritz being sent to prison.  These started in a private school where an examination paper was stolen and a couple of the students used this to their advantage.  There was a house party and one of the students was shot and killed.  Two of the boys involved went to prison, but the ring leader disappeared and has not been seen or heard from since.  

Ned Lowe, who has tried to murder Kinsey, has been seen again in the local area and so she needs to be very carefully and keep a watchful eye out wherever she goes. 

I have now read all 25 books in this series.  

The Interview by CM Ewan

At 5pm on a Friday Kate enters an office building to attend an interview for her dream job.  Maggie her recruitment agent joins her for a few minutes to wish her well, settle her nerves, and arrange to meet up afterwards to talk about how it has gone.   Kate signs in and is soon escorted up to the 13th floor to the offices of Edge Communications.  

She is expecting to be interviewed by a woman, but instead Joel White appears who has just arrived in London from New York.  The interview starts and Kate is asked if she will undertake a psychometric test.  Maggie had already warned her that the company liked to do things differently and she could be asked some unconventional questions or to undertake a strange exercise, so she agrees.  The questions become more odd and intrusive.  Kate thinks about getting up and walking out.  

She starts to feel uncomfortable.  The office around has emptied as everyone has gone to a local pub for a drink. There is just Kate and Joel left in the offices on the 13th floor.  Joel leaves the office for a minute and then does not come back.  Kate finds that she has been locked in, her handbag and mobile phone are gone.  If this is an interview exercise it has gone too far.  Kate wants to get out but can't. 

In Pursuit of Happiness by Freya Kennedy

Jo Campbell is happy with things in her life, but secretly she wishes to become a published author.  She has been busy writing a book but no-one has ever read it.  

Finally Jo allows her friend Libby to read the book.  Libby loves it and shares a copy with an author who is coming to do a book signing at her bookshop.  Ewan the writer makes contact with Jo and asks to meet her.  He then says he will mentor her and asks her to accompany him on his research trip.  

New friend Lorcan, who has come to stay with his granddad, did not like Ewan and was aware that he had previously stolen work from other writers. 

Last Days of the Bus Club by Chris Stewart

This is the fourth book in the Driving over Lemons Trilogy!  

Chris and Ana are still living at El Valero, raising sheep and growing lemons, oranges and pomegranates.  Daughter Chloe is just finishing school and heading off to university.  

Stories told by neighbours are passed on.  Rick Stein visits to film for one of his cooking shows.  After lots of flooding a bridge is washed away and needs to be rebuilt.  Chris is asked to undertake a few public speaking events where his grasp of the Spanish language causes a few misinterpretations.  

I have previously read the other three books:
Driving Over Lemons
A Parrot in the Pepper Tree
The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society

Case Sensitive by AK Turner

This is the third book in the Cassie Raven series. 

Cassie is living on a narrowboat to 'house-sit' for one of her friends.  One morning she hears something knocking on the side of the boat and finds a dead body in the canal.  The man is wearing designer clothing but has no identification.  He has lovely golden-green eyes.  

Police Officer Phyllida Flyte visits the mortuary and there is a small spark of some recognition about the unknown man.  It takes a her a while to place where she has seen him.  He had been a policeman with the Met and had left his job and moved to Canada 10 years ago.  If he should have been in Canada how had he ended up in the canal at Camden?  Cassie, who had been sure that she was losing her connection with the dead, hears him say something to her which sparks off some ideas which she and Phyllida can investigate.   

Did You See Melody? by Sophie Hannah

Needing some time on her own away from her family, Cara Burrows books a two week break in Arizona.  When she finally arrives at her hotel in the middle of the night the receptionist gives her a room key.  Cara makes her way up the lift and into the hotel room only to find that it is already occupied by a man and a teenage girl.  The receptionist apologises for the mistake and gives Cara an upgraded suite as an apology.  

A couple of days later Cara hears one of the guests, an elderly lady, asking for the police to be called as she has seen Melody Chapa.  Cara finds out some details from another guest and then starts to investigate the story on her ipad.  Melody Chapa is believed to be dead.  Her parents are serving life in prison for her murder.  Everything Cara saw and heard when she entered the wrong hotel room points to the girl in there being Melody Chapa.  Cara's life could be in danger as she has also seen the girl.  

The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts by Alison Sherlock

After losing her job as a window dresser in New York, and before going to join her parents in Australia, Amber Green stops off in England to visit her godmother in Cranbridge.  

She has not been to Cranbridge for many years and is shocked to find that that the village store which is run by her godmother Cathy and son Josh is in financial trouble.  Since being widowed Cathy has not wanted to change things in the store and has left it as it was when her husband was there.  Josh is desperate to make changes so that the shop can survive but does not want to upset his mum who has been ill recently.  

With Amber's help Josh is able to clear out some of the old stock and declutter the cramped shop.  Amber clears out the windows and puts in some seasonal displays to attract people into the store.  When the weather turns and the village starts to flood people use the shop as a place of sanctuary. 

Tea is so Intoxicating by Mary Essex

Commander David Tompkins considers himself to be a very good cook.  He therefore decides that he and his wife Germayne should convert a part of their old house and garden into a tea house.  Other people in the village are not keen on this idea at all.  When David and Germayne first arrived in the village there were rumours that they were not properly married.  This was in fact true as Germayne was getting divorced from her first husband Digby.  They did very quietly get married one day to rectify the situation.  

Everything that David does seems to go wrong.  He used to work for the Dolly Varden Cosy Tea Shops and so is convinced that he can make a success of the idea.  Unfortunately he worked in an office and not in one of the tea shops.  Whilst setting up the new venture Ducks, Germayne's daughter, comes to stay for a while.  Then first husband Digby arrives too.  Mimi, a cake cook, is employed and she needs to live in which further complicates the situation.  David is annoyed that so many people have arrived and Germayne is at the end of her tether with David's ideas.  

The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah

Lucy had thought her marriage to William was happy.  But 2 weeks after she gave birth to their daughter, William left her for Jane Brinkwood who had been acting as their doula (this is not a term I have ever come across before but it is a person who helps and supports during a pregnancy and birth).  

A couple of years on William and Jane get married.  Lucy has a new partner, Pete, and they all end up at the same luxury holiday resort in the Culver Valley.  Lucy and Pete are having a few days away on their own.  William and Jane are on honeymoon.  

Jane has been receiving odd threatening notes since their arrival and is convinced they are from Lucy.  She makes a big scene at the start of an evening meal and then walks off with William back to their cottage.  Jane is found stabbed to death, William is in the room with his back turned and claims he did not see anyone.  Forensics show that blood spatter on his shirt is consistent with him being turned away and he is not a suspect in the murder.  

A police detective and his wife are also present at the resort and at the evening meal and are struggling to find out who committed the murder. 

The Village Inn of Secret Dreams by Alison Sherlock

Belle helps her aunt Angie and uncle Mick to run The Black Swan Inn in Cranbridge.   She has lived with them for many years.  The Inn is not doing well and ideally they want to sell up and retire.  But if they do what will happen to Belle?  

On his return to Cranbridge Pete Kennedy makes a drunken offer to buy the pub.  This is immediately accepted and Mick and Angie start to plan for their retirement and book a cruise.  Pete has big ideas for opening a high class restaurant.  Belle is not convinced that this is the right thing for the village.  

Pete moves into The Black Swan once Mick and Angie have moved out and he and Belle need to find a way for them to be able to live and work together.  

One Enchanted Evening by Katie Fford

Set in 1966.  Meg's mum is running a small, old fashioned, hotel in Dorset.  She rings Meg and asks for help as there is an important annual event coming up and the hotel owner is abroad sorting out family business.  Meg has been working in kitchens in London and wants to become a professional chef.  On her arrival at the hotel the drunken chef walks out and Meg is left to prepare a meal for 50 people on her own.  

Justin, the son of the owner, turns up to check on things and is not impressed to find a woman in the kitchen.  Meg is tempted to leave him to it but her love of cooking keeps her there in the kitchen.  

Meg and her mum work hard on ways to update the hotel so that it can become profitable and stay open.  

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

During the very hot summer of 1976 Mrs Creasy, a resident of The Avenue, goes missing.  Ten year old friends Grace and Tilly turn amateur sleuths, they want to find Mrs Creasy and also, as God is everywhere, they decide they want to find him too.   

The local residents are all talking about why Mrs Creasy has gone.  Could it be that she has found out what really happened in The Avenue in 1967? 

Return to Half Moon Farm by Holly Hepburn

Daisy temporarily moves to Kent with her twin boys as her mother has become ill and needs looking after.  Daisy has not seen her mother for many years.  She is shocked by the dilapidated state of the farm.  The roof is leaking, there are broken windows and her sons are horrified by the very poor wi-fi signal.  

Local man Drew has been helping her mother with some of the repairs and also by tending the orchard where he gets a lot of mistletoe.  

Daisy finds some old love letters in the loft which had been written to her grandmother.  They are not from her grandfather.  She discovers that there are family secrets and a rift between her family and the family who live in the local manor house and who own the local castle.  But as the daughter of this family is in the same school class as her sons they keep bumping into each other.  

The Book Lovers' Retreat by Heidi Swain

Friends Emily, Rachel and Tori have been planning a 6 week holiday to a lake-side cottage, which is used in the film adaptation of their favorite book 'Hope Falls', for years.  Just before they are about to go Tori's father pulls the plug on her allowance and life style and she suddenly can't go.  Rachel and Emily need the holiday.  Emily needs to make a decision about her job and if she wants to set up her own business and Rachel has to decide whether or not she is going to move in with her boyfriend Jeremy.  

There is always a waiting list of people who want to go to the cottage so the agent provides details of people on the list for Rachel and Emily to see if they want to invite anyone to join them.  They decide on Alex who seems to have very similar likes and is a mega fan of the book and film.  Things do not work out according to their plan.  

Faking It by Portia MacIntosh

Having not seen her identical twin for a number of years, at a very low point in her life when there has been a fire at her flat and she has just lost her job, Ella receives a phone call from sister Emma asking for her help. 

Emma wants Ella to stand in for her and pretend to be her for the next 6 weeks.  This means pretending to me mum to two children and wife to Emma's husband.  Only Emma, Ella and Emma's husband will know about the switch.  Emma leaves very precise information about what is in her calendar and where Ella needs to be.  Ella, not being as organised as Emma, doesn't always remember to look ahead to see what she should be doing.  She definitely does not like most of the people that Emma has to mix with, except for the uncle of one of her son's friends.  

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

The story goes backwards and forwards through the life of Elaine Risley.  

Starting as a young child with her brother when they were moving around with their parents until a time when they settled for a while and Elaine finally goes to school and makes some friends. She had never had any girl friends before. 

Then moving through her life as a young adult starting out in her career and marriage.  Going on to her as an older woman returning to Toronto for an exhibition of her paintings where she may or may not meet again with Cordelia who had been both a friend and bully to her whilst they were growing up. Back in Toronto Elaine has a walk down memory lane and reminisces about her past.   

The No Show by Beth O'Leary

At breakfast time on Valentine's Day Joseph Carter has arranged to meet Siobhan in a cafe for breakfast.  She waits but he does not show up.  

At lunchtime on Valentine's Day Joseph has arranged to meet his girlfriend Miranda in a restaurant.  She arrives and waits, and waits.  She sends numerous text messages and receives no reply  After waiting for over an hour she leaves.  

At 6.30 in the evening Joseph has agreed to be a fake date for his friend Jane who has to attend an engagement party.  She has been pretending that she has a boyfriend and Joseph has agreed to go along with her so that she is not alone.  Time ticks on and he does not show.

The following day he contacts each of them to give a bit of an explanation as to why he didn't turn up, but to none of them does he give the whole true story.  

As time does on we learn a bit more about each of the girlfriends and Joseph to understand what is really going on in his life.  

After He's Gone by Jane Isaacs

As he leaves the house one Saturday morning to go out and play golf Cameron Swift is shot and killed by a gunman on a motorbike.  Shortly afterwards a photograph of the body is anonymously put out on Twitter.

DC Beth Chamberlain is part of the team investigating the murder and she is also asked to be the family liaison officer.  She is taking care of his girlfriend and two children who were in the house when Cameron was shot outside. The police investigate Cameron's background and finances and it looks like he could be a part of a local money laundering scheme.  Then another woman phones the police from India where she is on holiday with her children wanting to know why she had not been informed of Cameron's death.  He appeared to have been living two separate lives. Neither woman knew about the other one.   

The Mysterious Affair of Styles by Agatha Christie

At Styles, a large country house, Mrs Inglethorp is suddenly taken ill and dies.  She may have been poisoned.  Prior to her being taken ill she was overheard arguing with someone in her room.  It is thought that the argument was with her husband.  Her evening coffee or hot chocolate could have contained strychnine.  

The police ask the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who is living locally, to help with their enquiries.  

A Trick of the Light by Ali Carter

Artist and pet portraitist Susie Mahl has been asked to be tutor in residence at a Scottish country house.  There is a group of keen artists attending the residential stay.  This is the first of its kind in a family home as a way of building much needed funds.  There is a family feud between twin brothers as one, by virtue of being born first, has inherited the house, land and title.  

Susie has the students drawing still life, highland cows and landscapes.  During the stay the guests get to try out a lot of Scottish food and traditions.  

Something is happening in the house and Susie wants to find out what is going on.  She is sure that not everyone is being truthful and she knows that someone has been in her bedroom.  

Date with Betrayal by Julia Chapman

This is book 7 in the Dales Detective series 

Delilah knows that there will be a hitman coming to Bruncliffe and the target is Samson O'Brien.  She has been asked to put a tracker on Samson's phone so that his support officer can track him.  But Delilah is not convinced that she can trust the detective.  Instead she gets a group of locals together and hatches her own plan to track Samson and keep him safe.  

Samson has no idea what is going on and spends the day doing some investigation into thefts from the local allotments. 

The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen

Needing a summer escape, Ava rents Brodie's Watch in Maine.  She will use the time to finish writing her next food book.  She will have lots of time and space to try out new recipes.  

The previous tenant had moved out quickly before the end of her lease and seems to have disappeared.  At first Ava does not feel comfortable or welcomed into the house.  Then things change.  The ghost of Captain Brodie is seen in the house.  He speaks with her and says that no harm will come to her whilst she is in the house.  He knows what it is that she wants and needs.  He appears to her some nights and takes her hand and leads her up the stairs to the turret room where there is a widow's walk from which a teenage girl fell and died about 20 years ago.  Ava tries to find out what she can about the history of the house and also about Captain Brodie.  Both can be incorporated into her book.  

She contacts someone who deals with paranormal activity to say she thinks her house is haunted.  After some digging into the history of the house and the people who have died there, and a visit by a small team of people to do some investigation, Ava is told to leave the house immediately as her life could be in danger.  

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser

Within the same month Thea is made redundant from her job and then finds that her husband has been having an affair with one of her friends.  As she is packing her things to leave she receives a letter from the solicitors of her great-uncle advising that she has inherited his house and collection of old books in Scotland.  With no-where else to go Thea heads up to Scotland to deal with the house, an old lodge which was split away and sold off from the manor house in which Lord Hollinshaw lives.  Charles Maltravers, who is Lord Hollinshaw, would like to buy back the lodge.  Thea isn't sure if she wants to sell, or perhaps use it as a holiday let.  In the meantime she will stay there. 

Whilst in Scotland she will need to find a job and sees an advert for an assistant in a second hand bookshop.  The shop is owned and run by Edward Maltravers.  He is the older brother of Charles.  The brothers do not get along and have not spoken to each other for years.  

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

At the age of 64, postman Albert Entwistle receives a letter from the post office advising him that in 3 months time, when he reaches his 65th birthday, he must retire.  

Albert has lived alone since his mum died and suddenly realises that he has no friends, no hobbies and doesn't know what he will do.  Albert has been keeping a secret which has shaped his life.  Now is the time that he must do something about it.  He asks for help from Nicole, a young single mum who lives on his post round.  She helps him to set up an email account and accounts on social media so the he can try to find the love of his life who he had let go.  Finally Albert comes out to his work colleagues as being gay.  

Albert and Nicole become good friends and support each other with their jobs and finding love.  

The Mystery of Mrs Christie by Marie Benedict

Following an argument with her husband Agatha Christie goes missing.  The police find her abandoned car near a cliff edge and it contains her overnight bag and a fur coat.  There is no sign of Agatha.  

The story goes back to when Agatha first met Archibald Christie, their love affair and marriage.  Then switches to 1926 and the time of her disappearance.  Archie is hiding from the police the fact that there had been an argument and he had received a letter from Agatha on the morning of her disappearance.  They were to spend the weekend apart, Archie playing golf with friends and Agatha visiting Yorkshire, but she never arrived at her planned destination.  

The police are sure Archie has something to do with his wife's disappearance.  Then 11 days later she is discovered at the Harrogate Spa Hotel and claims that she has no memory of who she is and offers no explanation for what has happened over the last few days.  

The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson and Tad Safran

In the five years since their mother died Will and Ella have not received Christmas presents from their father.   They decide to sign him up on a dating app so that he can find love again in the hope that if he is happy they will get presents.  They immediately have a response from a Ms Truelove.  

The next day a parcel arrives which contains a small chick hidden within the greenery of a tree.  The following day another gift arrives.  They quickly realise that the gifts are following the song of The Twelve Days of Christmas.  They receive a visit from an Environmental Officer who issues them with a fine for holding the birds.  The house is soon overrun with animals.  

The story becomes rather silly with the number of animals and people in the house.  

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Christmas is approaching and the bookshop where Carmen works is being used as a film set which is disputing her usual daily routine.  Her sister is looking for a nanny and so Carmen will need to move out and find somewhere else to live.  A businessman is buying up local shops and changing them to sell his rather low end touristy tatt which he says is very profitable, he is really interested in the bookshop and keeps making offers.  

The owner of the bookshop is nearly 80 and has the chance of a final trip of a lifetime and so he needs as much money as he can find to fund the trip.  Carmen tries all that she can to improve sales and make the bookshop profitable.  Once the electrics are sorted and they can see further back in the shop Carmen uncovers many rooms of previously unseen stock.  

Carmen finds she quite likes the new male nanny, but her heart is really with Oke who has moved away on a work trip and is not replying to her messages.  

Christmas at The Little Village Bakery by Tilly Tennant

Spencer returns home to the village of Honeybourne for Christmas and brings his American fiancée Tori.  His mum and dad are returning from Spain to join them and Tori's parents have also decided that they will come over from America to be with their daughter.   

When Spencer bumps into Jasmine, his first love, he unexpectedly questions his feelings for both Jasmine and for Tori.  Millie who runs the village bakery with boyfriend Dylan, is really busy over the Christmas period both looking after the shop and looking after her baby Oscar, but she is there for Spencer to talk to.  

The parents do not hit it off and sparks fly between them and then between Spencer and Tori who both feel that the other's parents are not making an effort to get along.

The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley

Portrait artist Meg is asked to go to Lancashire to paint the portraits of Clara Mayhem-Doome and her husband Henry.  She hopes to get the paintings finished by the Solstice so that she can head back to London before Christmas.  She was not expecting to find Lex, an old friend of University there.  He is not happy to see her.  

Whilst Meg is painting, Clara is writing her memoirs so the story goes backwards and forwards in time.  

As Meg spent a lot of time in a pagan community she has never celebrated Christmas.  Clara is determined that Meg will stay with them for the celebrations.  This could give Meg an opportunity to speak with Lex and give him her version of the events of the night they spent together years ago.  

Blade of Light by Andrea Camilleri

This is book number 19 in the Inspector Montalbano series.  I've watched the programmes on the television but this is the first of the books I have come across.  

Inspector Montalbano and his team investigate an armed robbery which has been reported to them by the husband of the woman who was robbed.  When he speaks with the husband, the wife and the wife's friend they all give slightly different accounts of times, locations and happenings.  He is not convinced that this is a straight forward robbery and that the wife did not know the robber.  

At the same time a farmer reports that a locked door has appeared on one of his disused barns, then a body turns up which seems to have been a mafia killing.  Although this is not something Montalbano is supposed to be investigating he can't help but do so.