Murder on the Moor

November 21, 2016
In Deering’s winning fourth mystery set in 1930s England (after 2014’s Murder at the Mikado), Hubert “Beaky” Bloodworth needs the help of Eton classmate Drew Farthering. Soon after Beaky and his beautiful bride, Sabrina, moved to Bloodworth Park Lodge, the family estate in the village of Bunting’s Nest, someone bashed in the head of the local vicar. More murders follow, and the suspects include Sabrina. Meanwhile, Drew and his American wife, Madeline, investigate noises in the house’s old north wing, paw prints of a massive hound, and a long-standing feud with the old man of the neighboring estate, as well as the unknown person who’s been lurking about the ruins of a stone church and an ancient kiln out on the moor. Delwyn, the family’s handsome Welsh gamekeeper, spends a lot of time on the moor, but then again, so does Sabrina. Deering smoothly blends suspense and humor with a touch of romance. Agent: Wendy Lawton, Books & Such Literary Agency.

November 15, 2016
English gentleman and amateur detective Drew Farthering does a spot of investigating in his fifth case (Dressed for Death, 2016, etc.).On a dark and stormy night, Drew gets a call from Hubert "Beaky" Bloodworth, one of the old boys from Eton. Beaky has only just inherited the family manse, where, unfortunately, it seems someone has bashed in the head of the local vicar with one of the stones from his own churchyard. So Mr. and Mrs. Farthering take a jaunt to Yorkshire to see what they can uncover. Beaky's bride, Sabrina, is rather too glamorous for village life--or indeed for Beaky--and seems a bit chummy with rakish gamekeeper Rhys Delwyn. The other local gentry are tackling a feud with the Bloodworths that goes back decades. And local scoundrel and poacher Jack Midgley is buying rounds in the pub more often than his position should allow. The plot thickens when Sabrina's old nanny is found dead in her home. After Drew spends a night alone on the moors, waiting for the murderer's assignation with Midgley, he winds up very nearly accused of the crimes himself. But the ending, while heavily foreshadowed, neatly ties up all the loose ends into a tidy package of justice. Yet another entry in the classic genre of the English country-house murder, cliched but competent.

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February 1, 2017

In their fifth adventure (after Dressed for Death), Drew Farthering and his wife, Madeline, are off to the forbidding Yorkshire moors to help out one of Drew's old friends from school. A series of troublesome incidents in the area has culminated with the suspicious death of the vicar. Drew has his pick of suspects, including his friend's new bride, who seems more interested in the gamekeeper than her husband. For fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, these charming British mysteries are a treat not to be missed.

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