This is a tale of engaging misfits and muddlers in a Kent village, whose theatrical endeavours rouse the long arm of the past with murderous consequences. Artist Libby Sarjeant's fresh start in a picturesque Kent village includes a new venture - the Oast House Theatre. She never expects it to include a new romance in the form of Ben, but who's complaining? She just isn't expecting ingredients three, four and five: mystery, intrigue, and the shadow of old murder...
'With fascinating characters and an intriguing plot, this is a real page turner' KATIE FFORDE praise for the series An addictive and unputdownable crime mystery novel perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis, LJ Ross, Miss Marple and Midsummer Murders! Lesley Cookman's bestselling series featuring amateur sleuth Libby Sarjeant is back for its nineteenth instalment! The Oast Theatre in Steeple Martin is hosting an incredibly popular touring production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Very soon, the production begins to attract far less positive attention as a document goes missing... ...along with its owner. When a body turns up, Libby Sarjeant and Fran Wolfe become involved with the investigation with the help, naturally, of their friends and relatives. Can they save the reputation of the show or is it tarred with the stain of murder? _________________________________________ Praise for the bestselling series: 'This is another gem of a book from one of my very favourite authors. The story was excellent and l never suspected who the murderer was' ***** Amazon review 'I really enjoy this series so much! Libby Sarjeant is a great protagonist and I enjoy the stories. I own them all and recommend them!' ***** Amazon review 'This was a jolly good read. The plot was complex and had a great Roundup at the end' ***** Amazon review 'Another fantastic investigation for Libby and Fran. Lesley Cookman has once again produced a fantastic and interesting story' ***** Amazon review 'Another Excellent Read from Lesley Cookman' ***** Amazon review
THERE'S A BAFFLING MYSTERY IN THE VILLAGE OF STEEPLE MARTIN...BUT ACTRESS AND AMATEUR SLEUTH LIBBY SARJEANT IS ON THE CASE! 'The characters are so likeable. I would love to visit the mythical Steeple Martin!' ***** GoodReads review Libby Sarjeant, former actress and artist, loves life in the idyllic English countryside. She's busy with her friends preparing a play for the pretty new Oast House Theatre in Steeple Martin when there's suddenly news of a baffling mystery - the murder of a cast member. Written by Libby's friend Peter, the play is based on real events from his family's history, and it seems that these events still cast a long shadow in Steeple Martin. From the Pink Geranium restaurant to the Manor Farm, Libby risks causing a scene as she uncovers secrets hidden in the village. Can Libby, with best friend Fran and Sidney the cat in tow, find the culprit and get her show on the road? The first book in Lesley Cookman's bestselling series featuring amateur sleuth Libby Sarjeant, this unputdownable cozy crime novel is perfect for fans of Betty Rowlands, Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis, LJ Ross, Miss Marple and Midsummer Murders. _________________________________________________________________ Praise for the bestselling series: 'Cozy village mystery with an amateur theater and links to the past. What's not to love?' ***** Goodreads reviewer 'Absolutely fabulous read. I couldn't put it down and had to finish it, reading through bath, breakfast and getting dressed' ***** Goodreads review 'I'm surprised this is not a BBC series... it's that good and I for one intend to read more of Libby's adventures' ***** Goodreads review
'With fascinating characters and an intriguing plot, this is a real page turner' KATIE FFORDE 'Lesley Cookman is the Queen of Cosy Crime' PAUL MAGRS A new year dawns over the sleepy coastal town of Heronsbourne and brings with it a brand-new case for amateur sleuth Libby Sarjeant. When a woman's body is found on the local golf course after an illicit New Year's party, news quickly spreads, and Libby finds herself being tracked down by locals desperate to share information about the victim, Jackie Stapleton. But things are never that simple in Libby's world. Whilst everyone had an opinion on Jackie, it seems nobody really knew much about her. Libby's chum DCI Connell is being more tight-lipped than usual, and even with her friend Fran Wolfe's help, discovering a motive for the killing is frustratingly difficult. Is the murder linked to some distinctly dodgy dealing, a dispute with the local golf club, or something far more sinister - a ghost from Libby's past? Gripping and unputdownable, Murder After Midnight is the latest instalment in the much-loved Libby Sarjeant series by Lesley Cookman. Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, J. R. Ellis and LJ Ross. Readers LOVE the Libby Sarjeant series: 'I've read all of the books in this series and love them all' 5* Reader Review 'Just can't get enough of reading about Libby and her friends' 5* Reader Review 'Libby's gang are like old friends and I was hooked from the start' 5* Reader Review 'Love this series, roll on the next one!' 5* Reader Review 'I adore the characters and the village. I wish I could live on All Hallows Lane and be a part of this gang. Hoping for a new novel soon. Highly recommend' 5* Reader Review 'The characters are so likeable. I would love to visit the mythical Steeple Martin!' 5* Reader Review
Murder in Steeple Martin - Book One in the Libby Sarjeant Murder MysteriesFirst in a series of British murder mysteries featuring retired middle-aged actress and sleuth, Libby Sarjeant. Artist and ex-actress Libby Sarjeant is busy directing a play for the opening of a new theatre in her village when one of her cast is found murdered. The play, written by her friend Peter, is based on real events in his family, which took place in the village during the last war. As the investigation into the murder begins to uncover a tangled web of relationships in the village, it seems that the events dramatised in the play still cast a long shadow...dark enough to inspire murder. Libby s natural nosiness soon leads her into the thick of the investigation, but is she too close to Peter's family to be able to recognise the murderer?
On growing up in the American South of the 1960s—an all-American white boy—son of a long line of Methodist preachers, in the midst of the civil rights revolution, and discovering the culpability of silence within the church. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist for The Birmingham News. "My dad was a Methodist preacher and his dad was a Methodist preacher," writes John Archibald. "It goes all the way back on both sides of my family. When I am at my best, I think it comes from that sermon place." Everything Archibald knows and believes about life is "refracted through the stained glass of the Southern church. It had everything to do with people. And fairness. And compassion." In Shaking the Gates of Hell, Archibald asks: Can a good person remain silent in the face of discrimination and horror, and still be a good person? Archibald had seen his father, the Rev. Robert L. Archibald, Jr., the son and grandson of Methodist preachers, as a moral authority, a moderate and a moderating force during the racial turbulence of the '60s, a loving and dependable parent, a forgiving and attentive minister, a man many Alabamians came to see as a saint. But was that enough? Even though Archibald grew up in Alabama in the heart of the civil rights movement, he could recall few words about racial rights or wrongs from his father's pulpit at a time the South seethed, and this began to haunt him. In this moving and powerful book, Archibald writes of his complex search, and of the conspiracy of silence his father faced in the South, in the Methodist Church and in the greater Christian church. Those who spoke too loudly were punished, or banished, or worse. Archibald's father was warned to guard his words on issues of race to protect his family, and he did. He spoke to his flock in the safety of parable, and trusted in the goodness of others, even when they earned none of it, rising through the ranks of the Methodist Church, and teaching his family lessons in kindness and humanity, and devotion to nature and the Earth. Archibald writes of this difficult, at times uncomfortable, reckoning with his past in this unadorned, affecting book of growth and evolution.
The Nightmare Affair is the first in a gripping new urban fantasy trilogy by Mindee Arnett. Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she's a criminal. No, she's a Nightmare. Literally. Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother's infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker's house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He's hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn't get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. Then Eli's dream comes true. Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli's dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she's up to and marks her as the next target. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner comes a delicious Victorian crime novel based on a true story that shocked and fascinated the nation. On 7th November 1843, Harriet Monckton, 23 years old and a woman of respectable parentage and religious habits, is found murdered in the privy behind the chapel she regularly attended in Bromley, Kent. The community is appalled by her death, apparently as a result of swallowing a fatal dose of prussic acid, and even more so when the surgeon reports that Harriet was around six months pregnant. Drawing on the coroner's reports and witness testimonies, Elizabeth Haynes builds a compelling picture of Harriet's final hours through the eyes of those closest to her and the last people to see her alive. Her fellow teacher and companion, her would-be fiancé, her seducer, her former lover—all are suspects; each has a reason to want her dead. Brimming with lust, mistrust and guilt, The Murder of Harriet Monckton is a masterclass of suspense from one of our greatest crime writers.
A beautiful bride is found strangled in a cowshed, and DI Hillary Greene believes that she's looking for a man - bridegroom or otherwise. However, the apparent bride was a guest from a fancy dress party held at a nearby farmhouse, so Hillary's eye turns first to the victim's boyfriend. Then she learns that the unpopular girl had other men hanging on a string, and the case gets more complicated. Dressed in a beautiful satin gown, what could have possibly enticed her into the filthy shed? Hillary is certainly going to have her plate full cracking this case.
Explores the famous murder of Andrew and Abby Borden through the eyes of their daughter, Lizzie, who was tried and acquitted of the crime, but who had significant cause for anger and resentment against her overly-frugal and strict father and step-mother.
