Kate Hardy writes for Mills & Boon and a few years ago she, along with other guests, came to the Felixstowe Book Festival and we had a delightful session discussing romance. She has now turned her talents to what is called nowadays “cosy crime”. I often wonder what makes up a cosy crime and I think it is a murder that takes place in a village, preferably delightful and enchanting where one would think nothing awful would happen. But as we know from Miss Marple in her village of St. Mary Mead there is wickedness everywhere.
I have to say straight away I simply loved The Body at Rookery Barn. Kate was kind enough to send it to me when I was recovering from my hip operation, for which many thanks, and it was just what I needed and cheered me up no end.
Georgina, our heroine, is a fairly recent widow and has moved to Little Wenborough in the country to make a new beginning and new friends. She has a barn near her house which she rents out as a holiday cottage and one morning she goes over to clean out after her latest tenant has left.
She is just about to open the door when she hears a voice ‘I really wouldn’t go in there if I were you’, Georgina could not see who it was, there was nobody there and the courtyard by the barn is empty. ‘I mean it, don’t go in. Call the police and the ambulance’
Puzzled by this seemingly disembodied voice Georgina comes to the conclusion that it must be her new hearing aids and she is picking up a local station so ignoring it she enters the barn to clear up and finds the body of Roland Garnett, a Classics lecturer who had been staying there for the last three weeks working on his book.
‘I did tell you not to open the door’ the voice said again. By now Georgina feared she was being watched and when the voice told her to call 999 she got annoyed and asked that this mysterious person show themselves. After calling the police she is then told to put the kettle on and make some tea as she has had a shock.
The case is handled by Inspector Colin Bradshaw who had transferred from London to Norfolk for the usual reasons that seem to dog fictional detectives, divorce, drinking etc and he was determined to do everything by the book.
Roland Garnett had not been the most likeable of individuals being demanding and full of endless complaints. Wifi was slow, mobile phone signal spotty, no takeaway deliveries and the oven did not work. When a friend of Georgina, who was a cook and delivered food for him refused to return on further occasions it became clear he was a bit of a pest around women. At first Bradshaw is suspicious of Georgina as he discovers that Professor Garnett was poisoned, with a dinner delivered by Georgina herself. But as the investigation continues and more is learnt about the lecturer the circle of suspects widens.
Now I am going to stop here because if I write further I am going to give away a lot of details and a surprise which I do not want to do.
Main question is – who is the owner of the voice talking to Georgina that only she can here and how is she connected to the house where she lives? I found this part of the book delightful and witty and also rather touching.
As I said earlier, I found this book utterly delightful. Witty, amusing, full of interesting characters who live in the village and then we have Colin who sounds rather attractive and it is clear there is a spark between him and Georgina...
If you want to found out who dun it and who is the owner of the voice, then please do get hold of a copy of this book. I understand it is the start of a series and I cannot wait for the next one.
