Flora and Jack find themselves embroiled in another murder when the new curate is found dead at the bottom of the church’s bell tower. The police suspect one of the bell ringers but the curate was living under an asumed name…
Murder at St Saviour’s is the 5th book in the Flora Steele series. It is not necessary to have read the previous books although her personal relationship with Jack has developed over the earlier murder cases.
The murder occurs in the first chapter so we are straight into the action. The curate Lyle Beaumont is found dead at the bottom of the bell tower but he had taken his cousin’s identity. Flora and Jack need to unpick why Lyle was living a lie and who knew the truth.
I enjoyed the historical and village setting although the pair do travel around to collect evidence and interview suspects. Flora and Jack uncover a host of secrets that put them in danger too but they are determined to find out the truth.
Murder at St Saviour’s is an enjoyable cosy murder mystery novel with a really easy to like main pair of sleuths.
Bookshop owner and amateur detective Flora Steele teams up with handsome crime writer Jack Carrington to unravel a curious murder in the village of Abbeymead!
Sussex, 1956: When Flora and her partner-in-crime-solving, Jack, arrive at the charming church of St Saviour’s the last thing they’re expecting to find is the curate, Lyle Beaumont, lifeless on the flagstone floor beneath the belltower, with a mysterious note in his hand.
Flora is dismayed to find the poor curate dead. But she can’t help being intrigued by the eclectic mix of bell ringers present at the old church – Mr Preece, the local butcher, Dilys Fuller, the busybody postmistress, and Stephen Henshall, a newcomer to the close-knit community. Any one of them could be the culprit – and Flora needs to act fast before someone gets away with murder…
When Flora and Jack begin their sleuthing, they quickly realise all is not what it seems with the victim, and the certainty of the dead man’s identity becomes the first twist in the investigation.
Just as they’re getting closer to the answer, the death of one of the suspects changes everything. As a series of unexplained accidents unfolds across the village, it seems no-one who was present at the church on the night of the curate’s demise is safe.
Has the bell tolled on Flora and Jack’s detective days? And will they work out the truth in time to save themselves?
A completely addictive cozy crime novel set in the fictional Sussex village of Abbeymead. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis!
Author Bio:
Merryn taught university literature for many years, and it took a while to pluck up the courage to begin writing herself. Bringing the past to life is a passion and her historical fiction includes Regency romances, wartime sagas and timeslip novels, all of which have a mystery at their heart. As the books have grown darker, it was only a matter of time before she plunged into crime with a cosy crime series set in rural Sussex against the fascinating backdrop of the 1950s.
Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband and one last cat, Bluebell. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.
