Neighbours Carole and Jude investigate the murder of a bookstore owner in the latest Fethering village mystery from the original king of British cozy crime, internationally best-selling, award-winning author Simon Brett, OBE. For fans of Richard Osman – but with added bite!

The pen is mightier than the knife!

Carole Seddon adores gossip. Not that she’d ever let anyone know. She finds the best way to learn the goings on in the English seaside village of Fethering is via her sociable neighbour, Jude. After an unpleasant visit to the local bookshop, Carole’s curious to learn why the usually lovely owner is letting her obnoxious lump of a husband destroy her business?

Recently retired Roly Strickland is taking over his wife’s dream of a quaint country bookstore with one of his own—The Blood Shed. But after a particularly fraught author event showcasing just how unsuited Roly is to bookselling, Jude makes a horrific discovery.

Stabbed in the back behind a bloody curtain is Roly. With so many suspects, Jude and Carole once again must don their sleuthing caps to investigate a murder in the crime section!

Not met Carole and Jude yet? Dive right in, and discover why The Guardian called Simon Brett “one of British crime’s most assured craftsmen”. Fans of Janice Hallett and M.C. Beaton are in for a treat.