Book After Book

Publication: 19th June 2026 – Boldwood Books

Aunt Violet and her niece Hannah have a bookshop to run. But after a customer comes in asking for a rare book, Hannah takes a visit to the reading room of the British Library – a glorious domed building in the middle of the British Museum courtyard – to find out more

Hannah has barely finished making her request when a man at one of the hundreds of desks slumps over his work. Within moments, it becomes clear he is dead, stabbed in broad daylight, in the middle of the reading room surrounded by oblivious academics.

The reading room is an exclusive space where no one can enter or leave without detection. Yet the initial investigation yields no weapon, no witnesses, and no apparent motive.

But then Aunt Violet discovers the victim had been researching the unearthing of a lost piece of Italian sculpture. And Hannah –despite her new husband’s firm insistence that she let the police do their job – finds herself unable to resist the temptation of investigating just one more murder

A totally gripping cozy crime novel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Helena Dixon and Verity Bright.

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Murder in the Reading Room is the sixth book in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mysteries series featuring Hannah Clifford (formerly Merrill) and her aunt Violet as they solve mysteries as World War I rages in Europe.

I really love this series not only for its intriguing mysteries, but also for its historical accuracy, as the war is in the backdrop and often central to the story. In this sixth book, Hannah is no longer a single woman living with her aunt and working in a bookshop. Now she is a married woman, still working in the bookshop, but also thinking about starting a family. Her aunt Violet is still retaining her independence, but she is in a committed relationship with former Scotland Yard police chief Aidan Farrell and they are running a hotel together.

The story begins with Hannah going to the British Library in search of a book for a client and stumbling on a dead man. What, at first, appears to be an accidental death, quickly turns out to be a homicide involving lost artifacts and family legends. Helped by her aunt Violet, Aidan, and her new friend and journalist Matilda Gilmartin, Hannah investigates, putting herself in danger.

I really enjoyed this novel. The mystery was fascinating as it takes us back to the Renaissance and the history of Medicis. The historical moment in which the story is set is also important: the end of World War I and Armistice Day only a month before, but the shortages are still felt in every household. Also, for the first time women had the right to vote and aunt Violet was thrilled to take part in this historical event. Entertaining and immersive, I believe this is the last book in this series, but I will keep my fingers crossed for more and I will also look forward to reading the author’s next series!

A huge thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Anita Davison is the author of the Flora Maguire Mysteries and the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mysteries set in WWI from Boldwood Books.

Anita’s cosy mysteries might appeal to readers of Felicity Penn, Helena Dixon, Isabella Bassett, Verity Bright and Marty Wingate.

Publication: 26th June 2026 (eBook), 2nd July 2026 (paperback) – One More Chapter

Ex-Metropolitan Police sergeant Jodie Parker and her new husband, DCI Nathan Withers, are honeymooning at a luxurious eco-resort on a secluded Cornish island. But there’s a twist: they’re undercover, as the resort’s owner has hired them to investigate a series of sabotages, and Jodie’s mum Shirley and daughter Daisy – and their dog, Germaine – have somehow managed to get themselves invited along too.

The happy couple plan to make the most of the five star facilities, while discreetly questioning staff and guests. However, when a fierce storm traps everyone on the island, tragedy strikes – a guest is found dead in the wreckage of the boathouse, and it looks like murder…

With a killer among them, it’s up to Jodie and Nathan to solve the mystery before another life is lost.

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I am always excited to return to Cornwall thanks to a new Nosey Parker Mystery. In this tenth book in the series, former Met Sergeant Jodie Parker is on her honeymoon with her now husband of one year, DCI Nathan Withers, in a five-star luxury resort on an island off the coast of Cornwall. But is it really a honeymoon if they are accompanied by Jodie’s own teenage daughter, Daisy, her mother, Shirley, and their loyal dog, Germaine? In reality, Jodie and Nathan have been asked by the owner of the hotel to find out who is trying to sabotage him and his hotel. So, while Daisy and Shirley take advantage of all the facilities and luxuries offered, Jodie and Nathan try to quietly investigate the sabotages, until a body turns up and a timely appropriate storm cuts off the island from the rest of the world, leaving to Jodie and Nathan to find the killer before it’s too late.

The Cornish Honeymoon Murder was yet another entertaining and gripping read by Fiona Leitch. I loved the remote island setting and the locked room mystery that gave Agatha Christie vibes and made the novel very atmospheric. The mystery was well-developed: a victim with many enemies, guests with motives and secrets to hide, and many twists and surprises along the way. There is also a lot of humour and entertainment, especially when it comes to Jodie’s mother, Shirley, who is one of my favourite characters in the series and always makes me laugh, whenever she appears on the page.

Once again, Fiona Leitch didn’t disappoint and she drew me into another fantastic cozy mystery. The Cornish Honeymoon Murder is fun, thrilling, and I read it in one night. As always, at the end of the book there is a recipe to try and I am already looking forward to the next adventure!

A huge thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this intriguing novel.

Fiona Leitch is an author, tea drinker, and Jammie Dodger enthusiast. She writes the Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker series for HarperCollins, because she loves thinking about Cornwall, food, and murdering people (not necessarily in that order). Her biggest claims to fame are being thrown out of a TV studio debate by John Craven, having the shortest stand-up comedy career ever, and playing a French hen in a non-denominational school Christmas play, which she is definitely not still bitter about. She is a sucker for a happy ending (though not for the victim, obviously), a romantic subplot, and a cheesy pun. Her novels are currently in development with BBC Studios and Union Pictures.

Fiona is represented by Lina Langlee at the North Literary Agency.

Publication: 24th June 2026 – Boldwood Books

Scotland, 1930: Agatha Christie is getting married. She invites fellow members of the Detection Club to the windswept Isle of Skye for a quiet break while the banns are read. But tranquility proves elusive when the formidable Lord Blackwood, leader of a hunting party sharing their lodge, vanishes from the moors.

Sharp-eyed assistant to the Detection Club secretary, Eliza Baker, suspects foul play as the strange occurrences pile up: a mysterious grave in the churchyard, a missing rifle, and late-night excursions across the rugged island. There may be no body—yet—but someone at Dunmara Lodge is hiding a deadly secret.

As a storm cuts them off from the mainland, Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate lies, half-truths, and a treacherous landscape… but can they uncover the killer in the stalking grounds… or will the moors keep their secrets forever?

Head to the remote Isle of Skye in this delightful and gripping golden-age mystery series, perfect for fans of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright and T. E. Kinsey.

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I am always looking forward to a new case in the Detection Club series: it’s well-written, it features two of my favourite mystery writers, Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, and there is always a gripping mystery to solve. This fourth book in the series, The Case of the Christie Wedding Affair, has also the added bonus of the Scottish Highlands setting, one of my favourite places in the world.

The members of the Detection Club travel to Scotland to attend to Agatha Christie’s secret wedding to Max Mallowan and their expectations of a quiet week in a remote lodge in the Isle of Skye while the bans are read are disrupted by the arrival of a boisterous party of hunters led by Lord Blackwood, who, the next day, disappears. While the search is on, it is clear to the Detection Club secretary, Eliza, and her (romantic) partner Theo that something is not quite right among the people in the lodge, starting from the owner and his daughter who are clearly hiding something to the minister who can even read the bans rights. And Lord Blackwood’s wife and friends don’t seem excessively worried about his disappearance.

The Case of the Christie Wedding Affair is an intriguing, engaging, and delightful read. Fiction and real-life events mix as mystery, twists, but also romance kept me glued to the pages. I loved how the relationship between Eliza and Theo is developing and I enjoy the close friendship among the members of the Detection Club. A brilliant cozy mystery to keep you on the edge from start to finish!

A huge thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this gripping novel.

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Today, I am super excited to take part in the cover reveal for the next book by one of my favourite authors: MISS BERESFORD AND THE BEAST by Mimi Matthews. Set in the same world of the Somerset Stories, MISS BERESFORD AND THE BEAST is the first book in the Daughters of Somerset series in which a spirited Victorian beauty with a fondness for fairytales unwittingly falls under the power of a beastly, scandal-plagued nobleman.

MISS BERESFORD AND THE BEAST releases August 4, 2026 and it’s available to pre-order at your favourite online retailer now. 

A spirited Victorian beauty with a fondness for fairytales unwittingly falls under the power of a beastly, scandal-plagued nobleman in the first book in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s new Daughters of Somerset series.

Charlotte Beresford has spent far too long under the iron rule of strict governesses and unflinching finishing school teachers. When she’s offered a brief window of freedom—an invitation to spend the summer with a recent acquaintance in a remote corner of Yorkshire, far from societal expectations—she jumps at the chance. Never mind that her new friend is odd, their chaperone questionable, and the village rumored to be cursed. Charlotte knows how to look after herself. All she must do is show a friendly face, keep her wits about her, and—above all—avoid the derelict manor house that stands on the edge of the moors…

Battle-scarred and bad tempered, Magnus Sterling never intended to return to England, let alone Yorkshire. But now he’s inherited the title, it’s his responsibility to settle his late father’s affairs. It should be simple enough to do without riling up the superstitious locals. Indeed, they don’t even need to know that the infamous son of the equally infamous Earl of Eversleigh is back on British soil. Magnus will keep to himself, and to the crumbling manor house, and for once in his miserable life avoid any cloud of scandal. A straightforward enough plan, or so he believes, until he catches sight of the bold, auburn-haired intruder infiltrating the grounds of his estate…

And now let’s take a look at the gorgeous cover:

https://www.mimimatthews.com/books/daughters-of-somerset/miss-beresford-and-the-beast/

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning Victorian romances. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, BookPage, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes an Andalusian dressage horse, a miniature poodle, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.

Publication: 14th May 2026 – Macmillan

A luxury hotel in the Bahamas. A world-renowned writers’ conference. A killer on the loose…

Eleanor Dash can never catch a break, but she finally has the ticket to a relaxing weekend: an all-inclusive resort where she’s speaking at a conference for murder mystery writers. Then she checks in and finds a body on the floor of her hotel room.

Any one of the familiar faces at the resort could have been the intended target – or the culprit behind it all. Or perhaps it’s one of the other writers in attendance, who know all too well the many ways to craft a perfect crime.

Eleanor is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and must do whatever it takes to get out of this weekend alive…

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This book is funny, it’s mysterious, it’s pure chaos. There is a cast of intriguing characters, murder mysteries to solve, and addictive writing, and even though This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone is the third book in the Vacation Mysteries series, it can easily read as a stand-alone.

What I love about this series is as much the intriguing plots as the structure of the novel. The story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Eleonor Dash, a bestselling mystery author, who talks directly to the reader, so that we are right inside her head, with her chaotic thoughts that not always stay on points, her large use of footnotes, and her love for Taylor Swift (no complaints here!).

The setting of this novel is the Bahamas where Eleonor is attending a crime writing retreat together with her boyfriend, her sister/assistant, her ex-boyfriend (also known as the man who inspired her first novel and then spent ten years benefitting from it), her former best friend/current enemy, her editor, her mentor, and her stalker. So, that’s quite a few people to have to deal with, and things don’t get any easier after a man is found murdered in her own room and Eleanor is determined to find out who killed him.

This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone was yet another enjoyable and witty read from this series. The author brings you right into the world of book publishing, showing not only the best techniques to write a crime novel, but also the importance of reviews, and how significant social media can be for the success of a book. The mystery is compelling and full of surprises and, on the personal side, Eleanor is facing old enemies and old friends, her sister is hiding something, but at least her love life seems to be on the right track. The ending anticipates a new fantastic mystery in the next book and I can’t wait for it!

A huge thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.

Catherine Mack (she/her) is the pseudonym for the USA Today and Globe & Mail bestselling author of over a dozen novels. Her books are approaching two million copies sold worldwide and have been translated into multiple languages including French, German, Portuguese, and Polish. Television rights to Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies and its forthcoming sequels sold in a major auction to Fox TV for development into a series, with Mack writing the pilot script. A dual Canadian and US citizen, she splits her time between Canada and various warmer locations in the US.

Publication: 28th April 2026 – Kensington Books

After over a decade away, widowed mother of two Minnie Harper has left sunny Greece and returned to her native England at the turn of the 20th century—just as a cloud of suspicion falls over her younger sister in this cozy historical mystery for fans of Jessica Fellowes, Tasha Alexander, Deanna Raybourn, Rhys Bowen, and the PBS series The Durrells in Corfu.

The world is changing at the dawn of the 20th century, but respectable English families still dread a public scandal. So Minnie agrees to accompany her reckless sister, Delia, for a night on the town with her Bohemian friends. The evening involves a raucous house party, a visit to a fortune-teller, and an encounter with a flirtatious baron, but none of that unsettles Minnie more than running into Stephen Dorian, her former employer in Corfu, who stirs in her a mix of resentment and attraction.

Soon after, Delia discovers the body of her rumored beau in his own home, and Minnie insists on playing by the rules and informing the police. After all, fleeing the scene could suggest Delia is guilty of more than an improper late-night rendezvous…

When the sisters return to the townhouse, their parents, dreading the threat of gossip, insist that Minnie help clear Delia’s name. Her discreet investigation will take her back into Delia’s decadent circle and have her crossing paths again with the baron—a collector of antiques—and the infuriating Stephen Dorian. But her new social life is soon overshadowed by dangerous intrigue that leads her to question even her own past…

AMAZON

I love Emily Sullivan’s novels. Her stories are captivating, her characters are wonderful, the Victorian setting is quite atmospheric, and her writing is superb… I always find myself completely immersed in her novels. 

I loved A Death in Corfu and I couldn’t wait to read Minnie Harper’s next adventure, both in crime solving and, on the more personal side, with a certain grumpy author, Stephen Dorian, who first helped her solve a murder in Corfu, then left without saying goodbye and dedicated his new book to her. In A Murder in Marylebone, Minnie has done what she promised her late husband she would never do: return to England with her children. However, while still wondering about the revelations about her husband and his work and with her daughter eager to attend a school in England, Minnie returns to London. While her parents’ welcome is not exactly warm, her younger sister Delia is happy to see her after all this time and invites her to go to a party with her. As the night progresses, Minnie has her fortune told, she meets a notorious baron, and she bumps into Stephen Dorian accompanied by a beautiful woman, before ending with a murder. Once again, Minnie is involved in a murder case, determined to solve it, especially since the police think that the killer is her sister.

A Murder in Marylebone was utterly brilliant. I don’t know if I was more invested in the mystery, full of suspense and twists that kept me guessing until the end, or in the slow-burn romance between Minnie and Stephen that left me even more excited about the next book!

A huge thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this wonderful novel.

Emily Sullivan is the author of multiple critically-acclaimed historical romances, including A Rogue to Remember and Duchess Material. She lives in New England with her family where she enjoys reading about history and writing about rebellious women. A Death on Corfu is her first mystery. She can be found online at EmilySullivanBooks.com.

Publication: 28th April 2026 – Quercus Books

LAURA NEVER MEANT TO LIE. BUT OLD HABITS DIE HARD.

When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her mother, Laura, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Fliss, the budding artist Laura had just taken under her wing.

Annie is no stranger to murder – after all, she’s solved a few cases already. And something about the way Fliss died feels familiar. She’s seen a case like this before. Or read about it, rather, in the journals of her dead Great Aunt Frances, whose close friend was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way: with her heart surgically removed from her chest.

As threats pile up on Laura’s doorstep, it soon becomes clear that she’s next, and that she’s hiding something . . . With her mother’s life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it’s too late?

From the gritty streets of 1960s Soho to the lofty galleries of present-day West London, follow Annie and Frances as they race to bring a killer to justice.

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This third book in the Castle Knoll Files series is my favourite so far and I read it in one sitting, late into the night, unable to go to sleep until I reached the end.

As in the previous books, How to Cheat Your Own Death is also narrated in a dual timeline. In the 1960s, Frances Adams has arrived in London ready to start a new life and go to university where she meets the glamorous socialite Vera Huntington. Between clubs in Soho, art galleries, and beautiful clothes, Frances knows there is something quite mysterious about Vera that is confirmed when she is found murdered. In the present day, her great-niece Annie is in London to visit her mother Laura, a famous artist, whose new protegée has been worrying Annie. And when she finds her murdered in an alley, her heart removed, Annie knows that she must solve the case before her mother gets involved. However, her mother is clearly keeping secrets, her estranged father wants to reconnect, although his motives are far from fatherly, and the murder vividly reminds Annie of another murder in the 1960s she’s read about in one of Frances’ diaries. Luckily, Detective Crane is in town to help her, but he has his own motives and secrets to face.

How to Cheat Your Own Death kept me engrossed from the first to the last page. The atmospheric setting of London in the 1960s, two complex and intense mysteries that blend together, the very slow burn romance between Anne and Detective Crane that hopefully will see more action in the next book, and a prophecy that keeps the two protagonists on their toes. I am so looking forward to the next book!

A huge thank you to Quercus and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this gripping novel.

Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before moving to the UK to do a master’s and a PhD. She lives with her family in Surrey, where she can be found poking around vintage bookstores, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants. How To Solve Your Own Murder is her debut adult novel.

Publication: 19th March 2026 – Bookouture

One body falling from a tower could be considered an accident, but two is definitely murder… And Lady Poppy Proudfoot is determined to find the culprit!

Scotland, 1924: When Lady Poppy Proudfoot is invited to Glasgow University to celebrate a scholarship she generously established, she’s excited to return to her old stomping grounds. But the delightful champagne reception is interrupted by screams when a body plunges from the tower to the ground below…

While everyone exclaims at the tragic death of the young student, Poppy is instantly suspicious. Just moments before the body fell, tutor Mary Christie told her a student died falling from the very same tower eighteen years ago. Convinced another death is no accident, Poppy and the distractingly handsome Inspector MacKenzie begin to investigate.

As they do, they discover the murderer left behind clues – a threatening note referring to the death eighteen years ago, and a replica of the previous victim’s dress. Could it be Malcolm Kennedy, the porter with a grudge against privileged students? Or Mrs Lorimer, the jealous wife of a professor, who has a deft hand with a needle and thread? Or perhaps Mary Christie, who told Poppy about the first death, and might know more than she’s letting on?

When another young female student is found dead, Poppy knows that time is running out. And when she receives an anonymous note, asking her to climb the tower at midnight, she is terrified of what she might find. Can Poppy unveil the murderer before she, too, plunges to her certain death?

A gripping and page-turning whodunnit, this historical cozy crime novel is perfect for fans of the mysteries of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright, T.E. Kinsey and Catherine Coles.

AMAZON

It’s my turn on the blog tour for Death in a Scottish Tower, the captivating new novel by Lydia Travers.

I am always thrilled to return to 1920s Scotland with the Lady Poppy Proudfoot series by Lydia Travers and, in this exciting third book, Death in a Scottish Tower, we return to university where Poppy, accompanied by her loyal Labrador, Major, and armed of her notebook, is, once again, involved in a murder investigation.

Poppy is a fantastic protagonist. Smart, determined, and independent, she returns to Glasgow University, where, once, she was a student, to be honored for founding a scholarship for female students. And while she is enduring the prejudice of old men who don’t believe women should study, a woman asks for help investigating the death of her friend twenty years before and another one falls to her death from the university tower right in front of her. Are the two deaths connected? Poppy is determined to find out.

Death in a Scottish Tower may be my favourite book of the series so far. I loved the academic setting, the anonymous letters and the replica dress, and the Marys group (in honor of the Queen of Scotland). The charming and handsome Inspector MacKenzie is also there to help (and sometimes distract) Poppy in the investigation and, while I do love some slow-burn romance, I would also love to see something more happening between these two characters.

The mystery is well-developed with a few twists, tension, and a race against time to prevent another murder, the characters are all intriguing and multi-layered, and the romance progresses at a slow but steady pace. I can’t wait for more adventures!

A huge thank you to Sarah and Bookouture for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

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Lydia Travers was born in London. She moved progressively north until settling with her husband in a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. She has raised children, bred dogs and kept chickens; and for as long as she can remember has written for pleasure. A former legal academic and practitioner with a PhD in criminology, she now runs self-catering holiday accommodation, sings in a local choir and is walked daily by the family dog.

Lydia also writes as Linda Tyler and her first novel under that name, Revenge of the Spanish Princess, won a 2018 Romance Writers of America competition for the beginning of an historical romance. Her secondnovel The Laird’s Secret was Commended in the 2021 Scottish Association of Writers’ Pitlochry Quaich competition for the beginning of a romantic novel. The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency won the 2022 Scottish Association of Writers’ Constable Silver Stag trophy. She has had a number of short stories published in magazines, journals and anthologies in the UK, the USA and Australia.

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Publication: 17th March 2026 – Headline

She’s never been one for toeing the line.

Life hasn’t been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where she’s facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didn’t commit.

Awaiting trial, Vero is forced to live with her overbearing mother and nosy aunt. Threatening messages keep arriving at the door, demanding Vero ‘turn over the money… or else’.

But proving her innocence might be an impossible feat. Vero was one of the only people who had access to the cash. And her alibi is an old flame who ghosted her.

With the court date approaching and a mysterious stalker on Vero’s tail, Finlay decides a trip to Maryland is in order. But to sus out the real thief and get home to Virginia fast, they might have to cross a few lines along the way…

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The Finlay Donovan series is one of my favorites and I am thrilled that there are going to be at least four more books. Finlay Donovan, mother and author of suspense romance novels, is a fantastic protagonist, never a dull moment in her busy life as she buries and unburies bodies, steals from the Russian mob, and tries to figure out if her neighbour is a killer. In the sixth book in the series, Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line, the problem hits closer to home than ever when her best friend / accountant / live-in nanny is arrested for a crime she’s been running away from for two years.

Vero has been Finlay’s partner in crime since the first book when Finlay was first mistaken for a contract killer and she needed to hide a body, but now it’s Vero the one in trouble when her past catches up with her. When she was in college, Vero and her friends had organized illegal gambling nights, but they were discovered and when the money disappeared, Vero was accused of the theft. She swears that she didn’t do it and Finlay is determined to prove her innocence. I love the close relationship between Finlay and Vero, how not only they completely trust each other, but they are always ready to do anything to protect each other. Finlay travels to Maryland to help Vero and stays at her family home where between Vero’s exuberant mother and aunt, their nosy neighbours, and a boyfriend ready to spend his life on the run to protect her, Vero and Finlay rush to discover the truth. In the meantime, back at home, the handsome and charming detective Nick is experiencing first hand what it is like to be part of Finlay’s chaotic family when he offers to take care of her two lively young children.

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line was yet another hilarious, addictive, intriguing read and I can’t wait for more adventures!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Headline for providing me with a proof of this wonderful novel.

ELLE COSIMANO is an award-winning author. Her YA debut, Nearly Gone, was an Edgar Award finalist and winner of the International Thriller Award. Her novel Holding Smoke was a finalist for the International Thriller Award and the Bram Stoker Award. Her essays have appeared in The Huffington Post and Time. Elle lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with her husband, two sons, and her dog. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is her adult debut. 

Publication: 12th March 2026 – Raven Books

An empty house that isn’t empty. A victim who vanishes. An impossible crime?

Every Thursday at midday Audrey Brooks cleans the Petrov house. Mr Petrov is never home – in fact he seems to use the house purely as storage for his impressive collection of antiques – but that doesn’t affect the care with which Audrey mops, polishes, and carefully winds each of the dozens of beautiful clocks that decorate the tall, elegant, empty London mansion.

Until the morning she finds a corpse in the back bedroom, the pristine walls and floor covered in blood, and flees the house in panic.

Fifteen minutes later, the police arrive… and find nothing. No body. No blood. The only thing slightly out of the ordinary is the clock in that back bedroom, which is now running four minutes slow.

With no victim, the police are convinced there was no murder, but Audrey knows better. A man has been killed, and if they won’t do anything about it, she – and her annoying friend Lewis – will. Whodunnit is one thing, but this detective duo must also wrestle with when – and where on earth is the body? It’s not long since they solved the murder of their neighbour, so they’re not rookie sleuths, and at least this time the case has no connection to their home.

Does it?

A charming and witty locked-room mystery full of twists, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Tom Hindle, and Janice Hallett.

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I was happy to return to Marchfield Square and its residents, after enjoying Nicola Whyte’s debut, 10 Marchfield Square, but I didn’t expect to love Murder Like Clockwork even more than the first book and to find myself so absorbed in the story that I spent the weekend reading it.

The protagonists of this second book are still Audrey, Lewis, and Celeste who find themselves, once again, entangled in a murder investigation. Audrey, one of the residents of 10 Marchfield Square in West London, is a cleaner. She cleans the houses of wealthy people in Mayfair and she is very passionate about her job, determined to excel, no matter how strange the job or the situation is. And her strangest job must be the one in 35 Beaton Gardens, owned by a Russian oligarch as a second home. As far as she can tell no one has ever been in the home, but not only she must clean it every week, but, most importantly, she must wind each of the clocks in the house. When she finds a body in the house that then quickly and mysteriously disappears without leaving a trace, she enlists the help of her neighbour and friend Lewis to find out the truth. After their last murder investigation, crime writer Lewis is working on his next novel, although he still needs to go to the daily job he so much despises, so he is thrilled when he and Audrey are involved in yet another mystery which includes late-night stake-outs, following cars all around London, and convincing the police that a body has been dropped in the river. And watching over them, together with her loyal friend/butler/assistant Dixon, is Celeste, owner of the community at 10 Marchfield Square, who, following the events of the first book, is looking to find someone to rent one of the vacant flats, but no longer trusts her own judgement.

Murder Like Clockwork is captivating, beautifully-written, and entertaining, and features a cast of relatable and well-developed characters that you can’t help but like. I can’t wait for the next murder!

A huge thank you to Raven Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Nicola Whyte studied Drama at Aberystwyth University in Wales, and spent many happy years as a bookseller before becoming a web developer. She now co-owns a digital agency in the West Country. She’s been writing since she was very young, and her work has been listed for the Comedy Women in Print Prize, the BPA First Novel Award, the Cheshire Novel Prize, and the Daily Mail First Novel Award. She lives near Stonehenge in Wiltshire with her family.