The Curious Case of The Butcher of St. Mary Nook
When her uncle-in-law is charged with murder, probationary police officer Heather Prendergast, goes undercover in the sleepy village where she grew up and uncovers a viper's nest of fraud, bigotry, deceit . . . and the marauding hand of a ruthless serial killer.
Take a dollop of Agatha Christie, stir in a Morse-alike Detective Inspector, a sprinkling of Lewis Carroll, a dusting of PG Wodehouse, a pinch of wry humour, a murder in a bigoted Kentish village, an ambitious rookie detective with a Sherlock Holmes obsession and you have the headscratch of all whodunits.
Ambitious young police officer, Heather Prendergast, is summoned by her celebrity Aunt, Lady Elizabeth Trevelyan, when her uncle-in-law, Montague Locke-Mortice, is accused of murder. Returning to St Mary Nook, the Kentish village where she grew up, Heather is faced with what looks like an open and shut case. Locke-Mortice was found leaning over the corpse of Canadian journalist, Trevor Mathers, holding a bloody knife in the first class compartment of the commuter train from London. A high ranking civil servant and chair of the National Security Council, he vociferously protests his innocence and points the finger of guilt at one of the other passengers in the compartment - local farmer and businessman, Colonel Hamilton Dangerfield, the local vicar, Reverend William Bragg, and incendiary newspaper columnist, Elouise Decora. All may have had opportunity, but who had motive? The plot thickens when one by one the potential witnesses are murdered, suggesting that a serial killer is at large.
What readers say about The Prendergast of The Yard Casebooks
"One of those rare gems that hits you with its originality and charm."
"Like stumbling upon a hidden door in a London alley, one that leads to a parallel universe where tea is spiked with mischief and the fog has a mischievous grin."
"A breath of fresh air, it has all the elements of a crime mystery but has a quirky and funny edge to it. It's the first book I've actually had a laugh at for a while."
