Publication: 8th April 2025 – Bookouture
When the family gardener is murdered near a site of legendary buried treasure, dog-lover and mystery-solver Cressida Fawcett is on the case!
1926, Sussex. The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is delighted to return to her parents’ rambling mansion to introduce them to her pug Ruby’s puppies. But when the pups go running off with Cressida in hot pursuit, they lead her to a bubbling stream – Hell’s Ditch. And the body of Bob the gardener is floating there, his outstretched hand clutching a soggy cheese and pickle sandwich.
Everyone assumes Bob died of natural causes. But when Cressida finds a glittering gold coin grasped in his other fist, she realises this is part of the long-hidden Saxon hoard. Was Bob struck down by the gold’s ancient curse? As Cressida interviews the colourful members of the local historical society, she learns that Bobhad been boasting of new-found wealth, much to the annoyance of his wife, and perhaps deadly jealousy of the other members…
Luckily for Cressida, eminent historian Sir James Colston, friend of the family, arrives at the mansion with tantalising information on the whereabouts of the rest of the Saxon gold. He promises to tell all, but the very next day he collapses into his morning porridge…
To Cressida’s horror, Marian -Bob’s widow and her parents’ cook – is accused of poisoning both the porridge and Bob’s sandwich and is carted off to jail. But Cressida is sure the answers are buried in the past. Just how far would a history boffin or a hard-up local go for an ancient pot of gold? And can Cressida dig up the truth before poison worms its way into her family’s kitchen again?
It’s my turn on the blog tour for Death in an English Village, the new enjoyable novel by Fliss Chester.
Death In An English Village is the seventh book in which the Honourable Cressida Fawcett finds herself solving a murder with the help of her pug Ruby. This time the murder is close to home, at her parents’ mansion in Sussex, and the victim is their gardener Bob. Initially it seems that Bob died of natural causes while eating his lunch, but Cressida is not so convinced, especially because she found him clutching in his hand a gold coin that could be linked to a missing Anglo-Saxon hoard which the local historical society is actively looking for. While everyone thinks that the killer is his wife Marianne, Cressida is convinced of her innocence and is determined to prove it with the help of her best friend Dotty and her brother (and Cressida’s possible future husband) Alfred, and DI Andrews and DS Kirby also arrive from London to help.
I quite enjoy this series. It is set in the 1920s and it features intriguing mysteries and a cast of engaging and likable characters. Cressida Fawcett is a wonderful protagonist. A young woman who loves her independence and is opposed to marriage, although a charming and understanding Alfred seems to be making huge steps in changing her mind; she is a fantastic interior designer and her two big loves are her puppy Ruby and her car, a Bugatti. She lives in London, but she is back to her parents’ house to introduce them to Ruby’s puppies, who create havoc among the staff and hilarious scenes in the story. The mystery left me guessing until the end, but Cressida’s investigative skills prove that she is an amazing sleuth. I can’t wait for her next investigation!
A huge thank you to Sarah Hardy and Bookouture for inviting me to join the book tour.
Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their business. Never far from a decent glass of something, Fliss also loves cooking (and writing up her favourite recipes on her blog), enjoying the beautiful Surrey and West Sussex countryside and having a good natter.
https://www.instagram.com/flisschester/
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