Death of a Busybody
Death of a Busybody

Author: George Bellairs

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1464207372

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Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder "Fascinating period detail from the blackout days, a plot that keeps surprising, and contemporary crime novelist Martin Edwards' insightful introduction add to the fun." —Booklist Miss Tither, the village busybody, is not the best-loved resident of Hilary Magna. She has made many enemies: bombarding the villagers with religious tracts, berating drunkards, and informing the spouses of cheating partners. Her murder, however, is still a huge shock to the Reverend Ethelred Claplady and his parish. Inspector Littlejohn's understanding of country ways makes him Scotland Yard's first choice for the job. Basing himself at the village inn, Littlejohn works with the local police to investigate what lay behind the murder. A second death does little to settle the collective nerves of the village, and as events escalate, a strange tale of hidden identities, repressed resentment, religious fervour and financial scams is uncovered. Life in the picturesque village of Hilary Magna proves to be very far from idyllic.

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody
Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody

Author: Barbara Ross

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Published: 2020-06-30

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1496719956

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Jane Darrowfield is a year into her retirement, and she’s already traveled and planted a garden. She’s organized her photos, her recipes, and her spices. The statistics suggest she has at least a few more decades ahead of her, so she better find something to do . . . JANE DARROWFIELD, PROFESSIONAL BUSYBODY After Jane helps a friend with a sticky personal problem, word starts to spread around her bridge club—and then around all of West Cambridge, Massachusetts—that she’s the go-to girl for situations that need discreet fixing. Soon she has her first paid assignment—the director of a 55-and-over condo community needs her to de-escalate hostilities among the residents. As Jane discovers after moving in for her undercover assignment, the mature set can be as immature as any high schoolers, and war is breaking out between cliques. It seems she might make some progress—until one of the aging “popular kids” is bludgeoned to death with a golf club. And though the automatic sprinklers have washed away much of the evidence, Jane’s on course to find out whodunit . . .

Blessed Is the Busybody
Blessed Is the Busybody

Author: Emilie Richards

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2005-12-06

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1101118318

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Meet the unconventional Aggie Sloan-Wilcox, a minister's wife with her own calling: helping troubled souls in need of justice. When the naked body of a murdered woman turns up on Aggie's front porch--and suspicion falls on Aggie's husband--she doesn't have a prayer of clearing his name unless she can uncover the truth in a town not known for confessing its sins.

Busy Body
Busy Body

Author: M. C. Beaton

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Published: 2010-10-12

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1429944749

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Busy Body continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series—now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television. Agatha Raisin has always been ambivalent about holiday cheer, but her cozy little village of Carsely has long prided itself on its Christmas festivities. But this year Mr. John Sunday, a self-important officer with the Health and Safety Board, has ruled that the traditional tree on top of the church is a public menace; that lampposts are unsafe for hanging illuminations; that May Dimwoody's homemade toys are dangerous for children... Things have reached such a desperate pass that the Carsely Ladies' Society joins forces with the ladies in the neighboring village of Odley Cruesis to try to put a stop to Mr. Sunday's meddling—only to find that someone has literally put a stop to him with a kitchen knife. Agatha's detective agency is on the case, but when a man has made as many enemies as John Sunday, it's hard to know where to start...

Corpse at the Carnival
Corpse at the Carnival

Author: George Bellairs

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2023-06-27

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1504088425

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When a seaside festival ends in murder, Superintendent Littlejohn gets caught up in a baffling investigation in this acclaimed British mystery series. It’s holiday time in Douglas and the town is alive with the local carnival. A brass band and bagpipes lead a procession down the promenade, and the cheering onlookers slowly make their way to the pier. But when the crowd thins and the promenade empties, a man is found dead at the center . . . Detective Littlejohn, who happens to be in town visiting a friend, now faces a perplexing case. In a small town that runs on gossip, nobody seems to know the victim. The waitress who identified him knew him only as ‘Uncle Fred.’ Who would want to murder an anonymous man? It soon becomes clear there is more to Uncle Fred than initially thought. As Littlejohn is pulled deeper into the mystery, the layers of Uncle Fred’s secretive life begin to unravel and the superintendent finds himself racing to prevent a second murder . . .

The Quiche of Death
The Quiche of Death

Author: M. C. Beaton

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Published: 2010-04-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1429901535

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The first book in M. C. Beaton's New York Times bestselling Agatha Raisin series—now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television. Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and settles in for an early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. But she soon finds her life of leisure isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Bored, lonely, and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest: Surely a blue ribbon for the best quiche will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when the judge, Mr. Cummings-Browne, not only snubs her entry but also falls over dead! After her quiche’s secret ingredient turns out to be poison, she must reveal the unsavory truth. . . . That is, Agatha has never baked a thing in her life! In fact, she bought her entry ready-made from an upper-crust London quicherie. Grating on the nerves of several Carsely residents, she is soon receiving sinister notes. Has her cheating and meddling landed her in hot water, or are the threats related to the suspicious death? It may mean the difference between egg on her face and a coroner’s tag on her toe. . . . The Quiche of Death, the first book in this beloved series, is now a Minotaur Signature Edition, complete with a discussion guide and essay by the author.

Steeped to Death
Steeped to Death

Author: Gretchen Rue

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Published: 2022-09-06

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1639101659

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For fans of Laura Childs and Amanda Flowers, it’s teatime in Raven Creek—but a murder at the The Earl’s Study sets the stage for an intoxicating brew of small-town chicanery with a hint of the supernatural. Phoebe Winchester’s beloved aunt Eudora has a taste for adventure—and a knack for making magical tea. It’s even rumored that she just might be a witch. So when Eudora passes away and leaves everything to her niece—her Victorian mansion, her bookshop/tea store, The Earl’s Study, and one very chubby orange cat named Bob—Phoebe gets more than she bargained for. And she knows she’s in deep when a dead man is found on the shop’s back step, apparently killed while trying to break in. Two suspects immediately emerge among the townspeople of Raven Creek, Washington. There’s village busybody Dierdre Miller, who seems desperate to buy Eudora’s house, and handsome PI Rich, one of Phoebe’s childhood friends—but how well does she really know him after all these years apart? Phoebe knows she should leave it to the professionals, but as she starts to dig into the underbelly of Raven Creek, she begins to uncover the truth about Eudora. What’s more, her aunt might not have been the only witch in the family, as Phoebe soon discovers she has unique and unexpected gifts of her own. Now, it’s just a matter of putting her newfound power to the test and cast a spell that could catch a killer.

Death by the Glass
Death by the Glass

Author: Nadia Gordon

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2003-09

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9780811841801

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Chef and amateur sleuth Sunny McCoskey puts her heart and her life at risk when she decides to investigate what she suspects is foul play in the death of the owner of a posh Napa Valley restaurant, and the list of suspects is topped by her new lover and fellow chef, Andre.

The Body in the Dumb River
The Body in the Dumb River

Author: George Bellairs

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published: 2019-12-01

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 1492699578

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Discover the captivating treasures buried in the British Library's archives. Largely inaccessible to the public until now, these enduring British classics were written in the golden age of detective fiction. "A decent, hardworking chap, with not an enemy anywhere. People were surprised that anybody should want to kill Jim." But Jim has been found stabbed in the back near Ely, miles from his Yorkshire home. His body, clearly dumped in the usually silent ('dumb') river, has been discovered before the killer intended?disturbed by a torrential flood in the night. Roused from a comfortable night's sleep, Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is soon at the scene. With any clues to the culprit's identity swept away with the surging water, Bellairs' veteran sleuth boards a train heading north to dredge up the truth of the real Jim Teasdale and to trace the mystery of this unassuming victim's murder to its source. The Body in the Dumb River, like all of Bellairs' crime books, delves into the complex inner-workings of an insulated country community. With all the wittiness and suspense of classic British mysteries, this is a story that explores the long-buried secrets of a small town?and the disastrous events that take place when they finally come to light. Also in the British Library Crime Classics: Smallbone Deceased Continental Crimes Blood on the Tracks Surfeit of Suspects Death Has Deep Roots Checkmate to Murder

Any Man's Death
Any Man's Death

Author: Hazel Holt

Publisher:

Published: 2010-10-01

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780749008857

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When Sheila Malory is badgered by Annie Roberts to write the village history, she grudgingly agrees. When Annie suffers a fatal bout of food poisoning, Sheila questions whether her death is as accidental as it first seems.