The Charleton House Mysteries series by Kate P Adams (#1-7)
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Overview: After 25 years working in some of England’s finest buildings, Kate P. Adams has turned to murder. Kate grew up in Derbyshire, the setting for the Charleton House Mysteries, and went on to work in theatres around the country, the Natural History Museum – London, the University of Oxford and Hampton Court Palace. Every day she explored darkened corridors and rooms full of history behind doors the public never get to enter. Kate spent years in these beautiful buildings listening to fantastic tales, wondering where the bodies were hidden, and hoping that she’d run into a ghost or two.
Genre: Fiction > Mystery/Thriller
1. Death by Dark Roast
The annual Charleton House Food Festival is about to begin. But the first item on the menu is murder… Nestled in the idyllic setting of Derbyshire’s rolling hills, the ancestral home of the Fitzwilliam-Scott family seems an unlikely location for murder. But when a young man is bludgeoned to death with the portafilter of a coffee machine, recent thefts from local stately homes are put in the shade, and caffeine-loving café manager Sophie Lockwood finds her interest piqued by a pair of unusual cases. Who would want to brutally murder a gentle giant of a man? And why would a thief, with an endless treasure trove to choose from, make off with a bowl from Charleton House that only has sentimental value? Enlisting the help of her charismatic and eccentric colleagues, including quick-witted tour guide Mark, Sophie sets off to extract inside information from Detective Constable Joe Greene in return for a generous supply of chocolate croissants. But just as Sophie finds her suspicions falling on a likely suspect, a trail of coffee beans leads to a shocking revelation that turns her caffeine-fuelled investigation on its head.
2. A Killer Wedding
Till death us do part… As a passionate couple take their marriage vows in an ancient chapel, death is already waiting in the shadows for one of the persons there present. When wedding photographer Nathan Wallace arrives in the stunning grounds of Charleton House, it seems that not everyone is pleased to see him. But nobody could have predicted just how upset someone would be by his presence. When suspicion falls on her chef, catering manager Sophie Lockwood ignores the advice of DC Joe Greene and sets out on an investigation of her own. But as visitors enjoy historical re-enactments all around her, she finds that searching for the extraordinary is a challenge in a setting where Mary, Queen of Scots recently enjoyed lunch and modern-day teenagers school Victorian gentlemen in the intricacies of gay rights.With colourful colleague Joyce distracted by an unexpected romance, Sophie dodges her own unsuitable suitor while exploring one dead end after another. Relying once again on the help of quick-witted tour guide Mark Boxer, she resorts to a clandestine foray into a twilight world, stumbling – quite literally, in Mark’s case – upon what appears to be irrefutable evidence. But could this, Sophie’s toughest case yet, have one more devastating twist?
3. Sleep Like the Dead
He would make a lovely corpse… When visitors gather deep in the frozen Derbyshire countryside for a sleepover in the opulent Long Gallery of Charleton House, joined by some notable guests from the past, no one expects that by morning Charles Dickens will have been murdered. Sleep- and caffeine-starved catering manager Sophie Lockwood makes her way to the staff breakroom the following day, wondering if she’s hallucinating when she finds the body of the famous 19th century author slumped over the desk. Seeing him wandering the Charleton grounds later in the day, very much alive, Sophie begins to question her sanity. Has Dickens risen from the grave? Or is the murderer’s work incomplete? With the dead man’s true identity revealed and the police on site, Sophie can’t resist launching her own investigation, enlisting the help of her closest friend and verbal sparring partner, tour guide Mark Boxer. Are present-day scandals and jealousies behind the murder, or does the truth perhaps lie in a half-forgotten crime from the past? Is there really a spark of romance developing between Sophie and DC Joe Greene? And just how significant will outspoken gift-shop manager Joyce’s talents as a Tiller Girl prove to be?
4. A Deadly Ride
The cycle of life and deathThe joyful Cyclemania event, hosted in the breathtaking grounds of Charleton House to celebrate the Tour of Derbyshire cycle race, is drawing to a close. But the summer sun is also setting on the life of one of the visitors. When outspoken cycling activist Olivia Sharp is found lying atop the carefully arranged flowerbeds, coffee-addict catering manager Sophie Lockwood immediately notices that she has been strangled with a bicycle tyre’s inner tube. But with DC Joe Greene, her friend in the local police force, away on holiday, the part-time sleuth is determined not to get drawn into the murder investigations this time. However, the people around her have different ideas, looking to Sophie to piece together Olivia’s background and hunt down the murderer. With her closest friend, tour guide Mark, out of action, Charleton’s very own Sherlock Holmes enlists flamboyant gift-shop manager Joyce to be her high-heeled, mini-skirted Watson, and together they set off on the trail of a trio of possible killers. Meanwhile, deskbound Mark helps in the only way he can, his online research leading him in an entirely different direction, way back to the battlefields of the Boer War. Has Sophie got it wrong this time and led herself and Joyce into danger?
5. Mulled Wine and Murder
The winter bears a berry, As red as any blood… As December casts its chilly eye over Derbyshire towns bedecked in festive cheer, the skeletal remains of a forgotten man lie hidden in the cellar of the historic Black Swan pub. The glow of a million fairy lights and the hauntingly familiar melodies of Christmas carols fill the vast halls of Charleton House, but when a group of volunteers fall ill after drinking mulled wine laced with poisonous berries, Catering Manager and part-time sleuth Sophie Lockwood wonders who’s failing to embrace the goodwill of the season. Despite DS Harnby warning her to leave the mystery of the mulled wine to the police, Sophie can’t resist making a few enquiries alongside her quest to piece together the tragic sequence of events that led to the century-old skeleton being abandoned in the pub cellar. Then an anonymous gift of poisoned cookies is left on her desk, and her delve into the past threatens to uncover a secret that will shock her well-respected employers, the Duke and Duchess of Ravensbury, to the core. Has Sophie’s sleuthing finally gone too far? Raise a glass of Christmas cheer as Sophie faces an unwelcome blast from the past, while her best friend Mark’s historical knowledge proves invaluable, and self-appointed sidekick Joyce makes her own unique and hilarious contribution. With these three around, this festive adventure can only come to a delightfully heart-warming close.
6. A Tragic Act
Death lies on her like an untimely frost… As the spring sunshine warms the expansive grounds of Charleton House, ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Ravensbury, love is in the air. Well-respected theatre director Miranda Summerscale is on site, preparing her cast for a production of Romeo and Juliet as part of the Derbyshire Shakespeare Festival, and a handsome, charismatic actor has caught the eye of catering manager and unintentional super-sleuth, Sophie Lockwood. Alas, in this most tranquil of settings the gloomy shade of death awaits. Looking for her best friend and sidekick, tour guide Mark Boxer, Sophie stumbles instead upon Miranda lying dead, a rope wrapped around her neck. Curious as ever, Sophie soon finds herself looking into the past of the volatile director, uncovering love triangles and professional jealousies, many foes and few friends. But could Miranda really have been as bad as some people say? While Mark enters into the spirit of the Festival, his incessant quoting of the Bard leading to a hilarious TV appearance, Sophie’s other sidekick, evergreen gift-shop manager Joyce, is enjoying the camaraderie of a budding friendship. Even Sophie is distracted by the hint of romance, wondering just how much her judgement has been impaired when she risks upsetting not only Joyce but also the Duchess, as she narrows the circle of suspects. With the opening night of Romeo and Juliet drawing ever closer, it looks increasingly likely that at least one person’s newfound happiness is also going to end in tragedy.
7. A Capital Crime
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive… For the first time since her engagement came to an unhappy end, catering manager and amateur sleuth Sophie Lockwood returns to London from Derbyshire to run the café for an art exhibition hosted by her employers, the Duke and Duchess of Ravensbury, in their splendid city home. On her first evening in the capital, while Sophie is listening to renowned botanist Dr Ambrose Pitkin praising the artwork of the Duke’s ancestor, a lethally sharp souvenir letter opener falls into the possession of someone with murder, not mail, on their mind. When Dr Pitkin is found the next morning stabbed to death in Green Park, Sophie is determined to see justice prevail, but it seems as though everyone who visited the Duke and Duchess the previous night had reason to want him out of the way. With so many questions to answer and a hostile detective inspector to deal with, Sophie wonders if this will be the first case to defeat her. And in the midst of her confusion, the last thing she needs is ex-fiancé Adam back on the scene. A moment of enlightenment over coffee with one of Dr Pitkin’s colleagues at the Natural History Museum leads Sophie to the truth. And it’s a truth that will have devastating consequences not only for her personally, but also for her noble employers.
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