Tea, Second-Hand Books and One Extremely Suspicious Death
There are certain things you reasonably expect to find in a second-hand bookshop.
Dusty shelves.
Forgotten bookmarks.
A customer who insists that a battered paperback from 1987 is a priceless first edition.
Possibly a cat.
What you do not expect is a dead man in the rare-books room.
Unfortunately for Clara Bellamy, that is precisely what happens in The Murder at Bramblewick Bookshop, the first book in The Bramblewick Bookshop Mysteries.
And her quiet new life in the Cotswolds rapidly becomes considerably less quiet.
Welcome to Bramblewick
Bramblewick is the sort of picturesque English village where hanging baskets flourish, tea is taken seriously and practically everyone knows everyone else's business.
Naturally, nobody admits to gossiping.
Recently widowed Clara Bellamy, fifty-eight, has decided that beginning again might be easier somewhere new. She purchases the village's struggling second-hand bookshop, The Crooked Bookmark, imagining a future filled with books, eccentric customers and perhaps the occasional argument over opening hours.
Instead, she finds Edwin Pritchard, chairman of the Bramblewick Historical Society, dead inside the locked rare-books room.
At first, his death appears unfortunate rather than sinister.
Clara is not convinced.
A valuable Victorian book has disappeared.
The shelves have been rearranged.
And inside Edwin's pocket is a handwritten message containing six rather unsettling words:
You should have left her buried.
That is generally the point at which a sensible bookshop owner telephones the police and stays well out of the investigation.
Clara does telephone the police.
The second part proves more difficult.
Everyone Knows Everyone. Almost Nobody Knows the Truth.
Edwin Pritchard spent decades studying Bramblewick's history.
Unfortunately for several residents, he also spent decades learning their secrets.
Old scandals.
Family disputes.
Property arguments.
Village grudges that everyone claims to have forgotten.
And perhaps one secret somebody was prepared to kill to protect.
As Clara begins quietly asking questions, she discovers that the history of Bramblewick is not quite as charming as the tourist brochures suggest.
Several villagers had reasons to dislike Edwin.
A few had reasons to fear him.
At least one appears determined to make certain Clara stops asking questions altogether.
Clara Investigates. Mabel Interferes.
Fortunately, Clara is not entirely alone.
There is Mabel Finch, whose ability to acquire information would be impressive if she did not insist that she never gossips.
There is Tom Arkwright, supplier of tea, cakes and the occasional piece of common sense.
There are assorted Bramblewick residents, customers, suspects and self-appointed experts.
And then there is Monty.
Monty is mainly interested in biscuits.
Nevertheless, this does not prevent him becoming involved.
Clara soon discovers that running a bookshop while investigating a murder requires several useful skills: patience, observation, the ability to recognise when somebody is lying and a willingness to make another pot of tea when matters become complicated.
Bramblewick provides plenty of opportunities to practise all four.
A Cosy Mystery for Readers Who Like Their Murder with Tea
The Murder at Bramblewick Bookshop is a traditional British cosy mystery built around village secrets, old books, suspicious behaviour and characters who seem entirely respectable until somebody starts asking inconvenient questions.
There is murder, certainly.
But there is also humour.
Friendship.
Village life.
Second-hand books.
Tea.
Biscuits.
And the peculiar pleasure of discovering that the person who appears least suspicious may deserve rather closer examination.
If you enjoy bookshop mysteries, amateur sleuths, Cotswold villages, eccentric neighbours and murder investigations conducted with considerably more tea than official police procedure probably recommends, Bramblewick may be worth a visit.
Just remember one important rule.
When visiting The Crooked Bookmark, check the rare-books room before closing.
You never know what somebody may have left behind.
Discover The Bramblewick Bookshop Mysteries
The Murder at Bramblewick Bookshop begins Clara Bellamy's adventures in a village where books contain stories, residents contain secrets and murder has an unfortunate tendency to interrupt perfectly good cups of tea.
Welcome to Bramblewick.
Browse carefully.
And never assume the quietest person in the room has nothing to hide.
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