In Sister Agatha – do I detect a nod to Ms Christie? – Paul Waters has created a wonderful new detective character: a nun with a wicked sense of humour and certainly no push-over. She is not above the occasional minor sin either, in the form of a sneaky cigarette or the bending of the occasional rule. The extra touch of genius here is to locate the semi-retired Irish nun to India.
The streets of Old Delhi are vividly evoked and the meeting of these two cultures is another joy. In what I sincerely hope is the first of many adventures, we find the sister at the Delhi Haveli Hotel, in the company of hotel manager and fellow sneaky smoker Avtar Mehta.
A highly entertaining and original addition to the cosy crime genre.
'I loved it!' Robert Thorogood, author of The Marlow Murder Club
'A charming start to a vibrant new mystery series' Vaseem Khan
When semi-retired Irish nun Sister Agatha Murphy meets Avtar Mehta round the back of his historic Delhi hotel, they form an instant bond over a sneaky smoke and good gossip. Then a street robbery outside the hotel, a dead body inside it, and the disappearance of a pilgrim guest bring the local police to the hotel, determined to close their cases quickly, and with them the Delhi Haveli Hotel.
I loved the well-drawn, fallible characters and meticulously presented historical detail of this book, set in the dual timelines of today and the American Civil War of the 1860s. The modern day challenges of Iris and Benny, negotiating the everyday challenges of a long marriage gone stale, are every bit as engaging as Aoife and Thomas’ more dramatic struggles to save their farm and battle prejudice. On top of all that, there's a mystery that kept me gripped.
"Callaghan’s attention to historical accuracy is impressive throughout... [A]n engaging epic about loss, loneliness, and desire that perfectly encapsulates relatable human struggles." ~Kirkus Reviews
Submerged beneath layers of history lies a long-ago buried secret.
During the pandemic lockdown, Iris Pearl impulsively relocates her dulling marriage across the country in a bid to revive it. But renovating their Prerevolutionary Pennsylvania homestead gives Iris more than she bargained for when she makes a gruesome discovery, one that hurtles her and Benny’s haunted past to the present.
Iris is desperately consumed by the desire to know what happened on her property over a…
I’ve read and enjoyed Peter Tickler’s Oxfordshire-based crime thrillers in the past and it was a pleasure to renew my acquaintance with flawed but affable private investigator Doug Mullen. Mullen, in contrast to Morse, is a much more down-to-earth character and the county he stalks is less dreaming spires and more scruffy backstreets. The writing style is easy, with welcome light touches, and the pacing is excellent, with a satisfying number of cliff hangers and engaging characters, plus a conclusion that is convincing, as well as unexpected. There’s even a grumpy dog to fall in love with! I shan’t leave it so long before my next Doug Mullen tale!
DISCOVER AN ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING CRIME THRILLER FULL OF TWISTS THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY Doug Mullen is house-sitting for Professor Mel Moody and looking after her dog, Rex. He receives an anonymous letter which changes everything. A friend’s mother has died and someone wants him to know about it. Flashbacks from his army days take over, as he remembers his friend Ben, whose body he discovered. It was presumed suicide but Doug always had his doubts. Doug is also contacted by his pregnant old-flame Becca who wants him to take up her friend Marie’s case. Marie’s husband is…
Primogeniture is a long word. No-one at Dorrage Hall has a clue what it means. Not even Mabel. And she usually knows everything. Trouble. It means trouble. Dorrage Hall is the sort of shabby country house where nothing and nobody works… except, the cook/housekeeper Mabel. It falls to Mabel to come up with a series of ingenious wheezes to bail out the failing estate and its hopeless inhabitants. She will stop at nothing. Not even selling erotic art. With bailiffs threatening, the future of the estate hangs in the balance. Claimants circle and an almighty row brews. Can Mabel sort out the family’s biggest mess yet?
