Showing results by author "Victoria Tait" in All Categories

A secret on the savannah. A bewildering death. Can a silver-haired sleuth solve a mystery before the sun sets? Community vet “Mama Rose” Hardie just wants to enjoy her golden years in Kenya, taking care of local animals, and supporting her disabled husband. But her tranquil life is blown apart when a childhood friend returns and stirs up a hornet’s nest. When a long-forgotten tragedy is dragged out into the open, she barely catches her breath before her former classmate falls prey to a wily predator. With the police warned off, this incorruptible woman agrees to help the victim’s ...

When murder is served at a Scottish Burns supper, it’s not the haggis that hides the deadliest secret. Can an amateur sleuth catch the killer before they toast another victim? Antiques expert, Dotty Sayers, is thrilled to return to the Cotswolds to reconnect with old friends and run the auction house where her career began. She and her friend, Sergeant Keya Varma, organise a traditional Burns Night celebration, but things go awry when one of their guests meets his end before the first whisky is poured.When the new police inspector is pushed aside by headquarters before she can crack the ...

It’s love at first light on a golden Sri Lankan beach… until the tide turns deadly. Café owner, Keya Varma, is overjoyed to escape the English Cotswold winter for tropical sunshine, and her happiness soars when her CSI partner surprises her with a marriage proposal. A quiet ceremony on a golden beach seems the perfect start to their life together. But paradise loses its sparkle when a priceless sapphire disappears, and a body is found on the sand. With the local police quick to accuse the newlyweds, Keya’s honeymoon takes a disastrous turn. Caught between suspicion and island ...

A hidden skeleton. A missing girl. Can a determined café owner uncover the truth, or will a deadly secret remain buried for ever? Sergeant Keya Varma is delighted to begin her new part-time role as the Cotswolds’ Rural Engagement Officer, while fulfilling her long-held dream of opening a small neighbourhood café. But she gets herself into a stew when builders uncover a young girl’s remains during the renovation work. While Keya and her police colleagues make progress reopening the case of a local girl who vanished thirty years ago, her brief taste of success turns bitter when a friend...

Bidding is underway in the Cotswolds… but some truths should never go under the hammer! Antiques expert, Dotty Sayers, is proud to be taking over a prestigious Cotswold auction house, but when a scandal involving its owners hits the headlines, the business teeters on the brink of collapse and Dotty must fight to keep its doors open. Taking a break from the saleroom, she attends a reading at a local bookshop and is saddened to learn of the owner’s death when her best friend, cafe owner Keya Varma, is appointed to manage her first crime scene. Back at work, Dotty undertakes a routine ...

One dead body. Multiple identities. Can an amateur sleuth see through the charade before she becomes the next victim? Young widow Dotty Sayers is delighted with her new auction house job in Britain’s picturesque Cotswolds, until she discovers she’s about to lose her home and her chance at a fresh start. Disguising her disappointment, she reluctantly takes part in an autumn parade, but the day’s pageantry is tarnished when an unknown man is found dead. The police ask Dotty to appraise items from the victim’s home, but rather than learning his name, she uncovers a trail of false ...

A solstice sunrise reveals a mysterious death at Cotswold’s standing stones. Can a rural police officer illuminate the truth before darkness falls? Passionate and hard-working community cop and café owner, Sergeant Keya Varma, serves up lattes and law in equal measure. Yet her dedication to her dual duties is tested when a festive midsummer gathering turns deadly at an ancient ring of stones. Aided by her fellow officers, this dedicated detective delves into the puzzling demise of a vibrant young woman. With no apparent cause of death and the community united in grief, Keya wonders if ...

A spooky spectacle turns deadly when a singer’s voice is silenced forever. Does an amateur sleuth have the ghost of a chance to unmask the killer before the jack-o'-lantern’s candle is snuffed out?Emerging antiques expert, Dotty Sayers, is excited about traveling to Ireland for a prestigious auction. Alongside her friend, Sergeant Keya Varma, Dotty revels in Dublin’s iconic sights and finds herself spellbound by haunting melodies at the Bram Stoker Festival. But a Halloween parade turns tragic when a musician’s last melody leads to his final breath. With the police operating a ...

On a Mediterranean island shaped by sunshine, stone, and centuries of history, a stolen artefact leads to a death beneath a vaulted ceiling. Can an amateur sleuth navigate a labyrinth of clues before the investigation endangers someone she loves? Antiques expert, Georgina Carey, is intrigued to travel to Malta with her aunt to assist with an exhibition celebrating the island’s cultural heritage. But on opening night she notices a guest acting suspiciously. Following him through marble corridors, she’s uneasy when he disappears among the stone pillars, and alarmed when he turns up dead ...

An antique TV show. A dead celebrity expert. Can a shy amateur sleuth step into the lime-light and expose a murderer? Dotty Sayers is enjoying her job in a Cotswold auction house. When she’s offered a place on an antique TV show, she nervously agrees to a makeover and is surprised by the admiring glances she receives. But working at a historic country hotel, she realises the production is in jeopardy when, at the bottom of the circular staircase, one of the experts is found dead. Dotty can’t help wondering if the death was accidental or if someone else was involved. She promises to stay...

A missing child. A half-baked ransom demand. Can a community cop sift through the clues and rescue the tot before teatime? Sergeant Keya Varma’s culinary dreams come true as she joyfully opens her own café. And attending her sister’s wedding is the cherry on the cake. But her excitement sinks like a souffle when a customer’s little boy disappears. Shaken as well as stirred into action, the part-time police officer joins the search, but she’s shattered when even a ransom payment doesn’t bring the rug rat back home. For Keya, justice is served with a side of scones, but can she ...

A murder on stage. Her father a prime suspect. Can an amateur sleuth step into the limelight and find the killer before the final curtain falls? Dotty Sayers and her cat, Earl Grey, are anxious about visiting her parents in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Dotty and her father accept a stranger’s VIP tickets to a Fringe Festival play, they discover more than the best seats in the house. On stage for the first act, Dotty hears a shot in the dark and presumes it’s part of the script. So she’s shocked when a spotlight illuminates a controversial politician’s dead body. Befriended by a local ...

A cancelled wedding. A runaway bride. Can a community cop find the frightened fiancée before the church bells ring? With her sister’s nuptials nearing, Sergeant Keya Varma plans to dazzle in a drop-dead gorgeous outfit. But when the venue double books and cancels the ceremony, her sibling wonders if she’ll ever tie the knot. Taking the plunge to plead for help, they visit the other bride, dismayed to find she’s just disappeared. Desperate to track down the wife-to-be, Keya identifies sinister suspects all with a hand in the marriage. As her enquires continues, she questions whether ...

A joyful Christmas festival turns deadly when a corpse ends up as the chilling centrepiece. Can an amateur sleuth unwrap the tinsel-tangled mystery before the merry cheer melts away? Talented antiques enthusiast, Dotty Sayers, is thrilled to be organising a Christmas display at a Yorkshire country house. She enjoys decking the halls, but the season is far from jolly when the chief guide is found dead, her body as cold as ice. When cops dismiss the death, Dotty turns to her prickly American colleague, only to learn he has his own secrets to solve. But when he disappears, this amateur ...

At a summit on poaching, the keynote speaker becomes the hunted when murder takes the stage. Can a golden years amateur sleuth solve the case before she becomes an endangered species? Community vet ‘Mama Rose’ Hardie is passionate about saving elephants in her native Kenya. She and her ailing husband attend a wildlife conference at a luxury resort in the shadow of the snow-capped Mount Kenya. But the event is threatened when the principal speaker is found dead in her hotel room. With the authorities tied up in Nairobi, Rose sets out to bring the killer in herself. But with multiple ...

Beneath a tranquil island's charm, a deadly mystery emerges from the lake. Can an amateur sleuth uncover the truths hidden within decades of tradition before the past claims another victim? Troubled antiques expert, Georgina Carey, is reeling from the loss of her husband, her job, and her self-assurance. When she’s offered a commission to value the estate of a deceased Portuguese collector in the Azores—wherever that is—she reluctantly accepts. A lakeside house nestled in the lush greenery of São Miguel Island seems like the perfect retreat to confront her past and prepare for her ...

A fraught family reunion. A corpse by the coast. Can an amateur sleuth crack this egg‑xtraordinary mystery, or will she be left scrambling for answers? Spring signifies new beginnings, yet rookie antiques expert Dotty Sayers is uncertain about her future. A colleague’s invitation to Northumberland, in search of hidden family treasure, offers her a fresh start. Once there, she befriends her neighbour and assists with a prestigious project at a nearby castle. But when her mentor vanishes and a body washes up in a secluded cove, Dotty wonders why the people around her keep turning up dead....

A body in the Cotswolds. A cryptic floral clue. Can a budding community cop unearth the secrets of a 40-year-old case before the truth withers away?With a mixing bowl of responsibilities, Sergeant Keya Varma conscientiously combines her rural police duties with managing the rising success of her bustling café, kneading in the essential support of family and friends. But her well-baked routine crumbles when a local journalist is found dead in his car. Battling her new boss, who relishes red tape more than results, this dedicated detective is simmering with frustration. Yet Keya finds ...

Whispered legends in an ancient land. A mysterious death behind closed doors. Can a visiting antiques expert separate truth from folklore before another life is lost? British antiques expert, Georgina Carey, is intrigued to travel to the windswept town of Essaouira, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. Tasked with cataloguing a family’s crumbling collection in a historic house, her arrival unsettles more than just the layers of dust. But her work has barely begun when she discovers the body of a mysterious guest within the Moroccan villa’s timeworn walls. She expects the police to bring ...

A charity ball. A dead guest. Can an amateur sleuth solve the case or will it ruin Christmas for ever? Aspiring antiques expert, Dotty Sayers, is excited about organising a ball in a Cotswold country house. When a lecture on modern art leads to a kiss under the mistletoe she thinks all her Christmases have come at once. But her festive cheer turns sour when a partygoer is found dead on the dance floor. The police ask Dotty to help wrap up the case of a stolen painting, but as the search continues she becomes entangled in the murder investigation. When this amateur detective realises the ...