Showing results by author "Clare Chase" in All Categories

It’s always an occasion when the Hale family descend on their country pile, Lockley Grange. Almost everyone in Saxford St Peter has been called upon to dust the rooms, tidy the garden, and cater for the party. Eve Mallow’s delighted to be invited: years ago she babysat for the Hale children, and she can’t wait to see how they turned out. But the night will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The following morning, Lance is found dead in his indoor pool. He’d been the life and soul of the party, but Eve saw him arguing with friends and family.

Arthur’s Boatyard is a jewel in the crown of Saxford St Peter, a famous firm that’s been fixing barges and boats for a hundred years. But their centenary celebration shows it’s not all plain sailing… The owner, Anthony Mottram, seems to be at daggers drawn with half the village. So when he turns up dead in his own workshop, Eve Mallow knows she needs to chart her path carefully if she’s to find his killer.

Bella Winter is happily settled in Hope Eaton, with her business flourishing: antiques sold and problems solved. So when Margie Fleming approaches her to sell a family heirloom, a beautiful marble statue of a mother and child, Bella jumps at the chance. But the day before the sale, Margie is found dead: drowned in the river Kite, a year after her older sister Bethan died the same way. Everyone is convinced it’s a tragic accident, but Bella isn’t so sure. One mysterious death might be a coincidence. Two feels a lot like murder…

Amateur sleuth Eve Mallow is enjoying a very well-deserved holiday in a charming cottage with her new husband. But murder never takes a break… Nestled among the trees of a gorgeous country estate, Hideaway House is the perfect place for a holiday–complete with roof terrace, cosy fireplace and four-poster bed. It’s been a labour of love for charismatic Duncan Blake, who shot to fame thanks to his TV shows restoring old buildings, and he’s hoping his hard work will pay off with a good review.

Everyone in Saxford is delighted when jeweller Cleo Marbeck suggests a prize for the village’s best garden. Flowers are planted, grass is cut, and the competition is on. But the event only digs up dirt… Twenty-five years ago, a young woman fell to her death in Cleo’s house, and rumours soon resurface about Cleo’s part in the tragedy. Eve’s best friend Viv is hosting Stevie, her son’s fiancée, ahead of the wedding. On the open garden day, Stevie has a horrible flashback: the memory of a woman lying at the bottom of a staircase.

When novelist Julian Fisher buys Farfield Castle to turn the charming old building into a writers’ retreat, he wants the neighbours onside. But he has his work cut out: Saxford St Peter locals tried to buy the castle for the village, and are furious that only the very rich will be able to enjoy it.

The charity fair at Seagrave Hall is a key date in the Saxford St. Peter calendar. New resident Eve Mallow is particularly excited by this year’s special guest: the explorer Verity Nye, who's engaged to the heir to the Hall. Eve loves Verity’s determination and can’t wait to meet her. But when they talk, Verity hints that she has something troubling on her mind. So after the festive mood is tragically interrupted by Verity’s fall from a third-floor window, Eve can’t be sure that it’s an appalling accident. Especially when one small boy claims he saw someone behind her.

When a body is pulled from the dank and dangerous fens on the outskirts of town, everybody assumes it was a tragic accident. But Detective Tara Thorpe, newly joined and determined to prove herself, suspects there’s more to the story. Tara is desperate to investigate further, but her supervisor Patrick Wilkins has other ideas. He would rather die than let this ambitious upstart show him up - even if it means some digging in Tara’s secret past to keep her under his thumb.

Eve Mallow is delighted when she’s asked to cater Founders’ Day at Southwood School. It’s the best–and most secretive–school for miles around, and Eve can’t wait to see what it’s really like. But when she arrives, the atmosphere is far from scholarly. Natalie Somerson, ex-pupil and professional gossip, is the guest of honor, but nobody seems to want her there...especially when her speech stirs up an old scandal about a secret love affair. So why was she invited?

from the start, Eve finds herself in a sticky situation. Famous guest artist Nena Field is a complete nightmare, painting everyone in a bad light. So when Eve finds her body in Blind-Eye Wood, there’s no shortage of suspects. But who could have hated her enough to take her life? Was it the curiously over-qualified cook, the secretive manager, or the chatty receptionist, mysteriously missing at the time of the murder? Determined to find the killer and save Simon’s business, Eve sets to work sketching out a theory of the crime.

Eve Mallow is looking forward to her 15 minutes of fame when Saxford St. Peter is chosen as the location for a new drama series. A devoted people-watcher, Eve is thrilled to learn that TV stars are just as glamorous - and tempestuous - as she’s always imagined. But then someone delivers a bouquet of poisonous flowers to the director Rufus Beaumont, making Eve worry that some of the rivalries she’s noticed are deadly serious. And when Rufus’ body is found in the church where the funeral scene took place, it’s clear that someone’s out for the kill in real life.

It’s spring in Saxford St. Peter - time to get back in the garden, listen to the birds, and take gentle strolls in the woods. But for some, it’s the season for murder. Eve Mallow is relishing the gentle pace of the village until a new arrival stirs everyone up. Ashton Foley is back: a teenage tearaway turned interior designer to the stars. So when he’s found murdered in the woods near his mother’s home, Apple Tree Cottage, there’s no shortage of suspects. A jealous husband? A spurned lover? Or has someone from his past life caught up with him?

Saxford St Peter is Eve Mallow’s beloved home, but she can’t resist the chance to spend a weekend in the nearby Abbey Hotel, famed for its glamorous owner, Debra Moran, and an array of celebrity guests. For a confirmed people-watcher like Eve, it’s perfect: She can observe the rich and famous while sipping tea in the gardens, her faithful dachshund, Gus, by her side. But her relaxing break takes a shocking turn when Debra is found lying dead in the shadowy woods around the hotel.

Meet Bella Winter. She loves vintage clothes, antiques and… solving crimes? Bella Winter moved to charming Hope Eaton for some peace and quiet after quitting her busy city job. She delights in spending time in her little antique store on top of the hill, hunting for bargains at auctions, and getting to know everybody–because if there’s one thing Bella’s good at, it’s solving other people’s problems. But her peaceful life is overturned when she finds eccentric local historian Professor Oliver Barton dead in the ruins of Raven Hall, a trowel lying near his outstretched hand.

Everyone in Saxford St Peter is desperate to know more about Harry Tennant, the newcomer who owns the Old Mill. He usually keeps himself to himself, but he’s finally invited the villagers round for drinks, and Eve Mallow isn’t the only one looking forward to having some questions answered. But two days before the party, a terrible fire sweeps through the mill, and Harry is found dead. When Eve passes the burned remains of his beautiful house, she can’t resist the call to investigate.

Nobody was surprised when Clemmie Crowe passed away–she’d been sick for a long time. But Bella Winter isn’t sure it’s as simple as it seems. Why was Clemmie so agitated the day she died–and why did she ask a local policeman to call on her?

May Day should mark the start of spring. But this year, it means murder... Fortunately antique store owner and amateur detective Bella Winter is on the case! Everyone in Hope Eaton climbs the hill to Sweet Agnes’ Spring on May Day, to greet the dawn and leave tokens among the flowers. Antique store owner Bella Winter grumbles about the early start, but she has to admit that watching the sun rise over the flower-strewn grove is worth it.

As the sun rises, a wealthy young woman, Samantha Seabrook, is found drowned in the ornamental fountain of a deserted Cambridge courtyard, the only clue: an antique silver chain wound tightly around her throat. It’s Tara Thorpe’s job to discover what happened to Miss Seabrook. But the case becomes personal when she learns that Samantha had been receiving death threats, rather like the one that landed on Tara’s doorstep the night the woman died. Together with Detective Inspector Garstin Blake, Tara tracks the killer to the dank and dangerous fens on the outskirts of the city.

Seasoned obituary writer Eve Mallow has a new assignment: to tell the life story of famed musician Bernard Fitzpatrick. A chance to spend a few days in the sweet little village of Saxford St. Peter, walking the country lanes with her beloved dachshund, Gus, and meeting new people sounds like a dream. But it turns out that Bernard’s life was much less interesting than his death. On the day she arrives, news breaks that the charismatic cellist was the victim of a grisly murder. Could this quaint English village be hiding a dark secret?

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 realizes there is no love lost between Cammie and the family that 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.