An annual festival at Lovelace Manor ends in tragedy with the death of a celebrity historian in a bizarre hot air balloon incident. Amateur sleuth and professional obituary writer Eve Mallow is on hand to investigate the tangled relationships that could provide the motive and identify the killer…
Mystery at Lovelace Manor is the eighth book in the Eve Mallow series.
The book starts with the balloon incident and then goes back in time a couple of days to show events leading up to the death. Relationships between the victim and a host of suspects are strained so Eve has plenty of people to investigate.
The familiar characters from the rest of the series return including Gus the dachshund. Eve and Robin are still keeping their romance a secret which adds another dimension to their characters and the plot.
The book is written in the third person, mainly showing Eve’s perspective. There is little violence or graphic detail about the victim’s injuries. The plot develops at a moderate pace as Eve explores the alibis and motives of the suspects. I liked the way that the author maintained the mystery and kept me guessing.
Mystery at Lovelace Manor is an enjoyable cosy murder mystery novel.
Lovelace Manor has a famous past… but when a historian becomes history at its annual open day, amateur sleuth Eve Mallow is on the case!
Everyone in Saxford St Peter flocks to Lovelace Sunday, the festival celebrating the romantic history of beautiful Lovelace Manor. This year will be even more exciting, as famous TV historian Cammie Harington is planning a spectacular stunt with a hot-air balloon for her new show.
Eve Mallow jumps at the chance to volunteer – it’s a great people-watching opportunity. But she soon realises there is no love lost between Cammie and the family who owns the manor… so why did Cammie agree to come?
When Cammie’s hot-air balloon tumbles from the sky, Eve feels sure this is no accident. Alongside dachshund Gus, she sets to work investigating the mystery, piecing together all the odd things she’s seen and heard.
Could the killer be discreet Diana, lady of the manor, who fell out with Cammie years ago? Or Diana’s dashing brother Sebastian, whose dark secret Cammie knew? Why was the loyal gardener following Cammie around? And had Cammie uncovered something explosive about the manor’s past, as she claimed?
When someone breaks into Cammie’s cottage and a priceless Lovelace heirloom goes missing, Eve is sure she’s on the right track… but can she solve the case, before the killer brings her crashing down?
A completely gripping English cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Frances Evesham, J.R. Ellis and Betty Rowlands.
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.
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