A babbling brook runs alongside a wooded glade, surrounded by autumn light and birdsong. But next to the stream a young woman lies dead, her once bright blonde hair now limp and lifeless…
Melissa Craig has settled into a new job in the charming Cotswolds village of Upper Benbury. She is teaching French to several of the local teenagers, which gives her a fascinating insight into the young people’s lives. Material for a new novel perhaps…
Her quiet life is interrupted when she sees her new neighbour running out of the woods in a blind panic. Melissa rushes to help him, but what she finds leaves her breathless: the body of a young woman is lying on the bank of the river.
When suspicion falls on Melissa’s neighbour, a man with a difficult past trying to make a new start, Melissa feels determined to prove his innocence. With the village in turmoil, and the police sure they’ve got their man, she must act quickly.
As she interviews the local residents, she realises there are several sinister characters lurking inside those charming Cotswold cottages… Could one of them have hurt Cissie? Was it the strange old man with a cottage near the river? Or the ailing ex-choirmaster with quite an eye for the ladies?
When Melissa Craig decides to get her teeth into a case, she doesn’t let go – nothing will stop her from solving this murder. Can she prove the innocence of her new friend? And will she unearth the culprit before another young life is taken?
I received a copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in return for an honest review
My Thoughts…
It’s no secret that I love this series, but how can I not? The plots keep getting darker and more menacing, whilst still retaining the essentials of a cosy mystery.
Melissa is a complex protagonist, a crime writer, whose career and private life, often takes second place to her crime solving.
There are new characters to meet, for Melissa and because of the changes in her personal life, Melissa is even more driven to solve the crime that features in this story.
The picturesque Cotswold setting, realistic characters and an interesting twisty plot makes this story an atmospheric, interactive crime-solving mystery.
Jane Hunt Writer 
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