by Debbie Young
With a theatrical sigh, he stepped back to look up to the first floor of the cottage. The curtains had not been closed, so he assumed Sophie must be away for the weekend. Or perhaps she was out somewhere locally – babysitting, probably. She’d never get a date in a place like this.
He trudged back down the front path, let the gate clank shut behind him and slid open the side door of his van. He clambered up inside, reached his sleeping bag down from the shelf, and slammed the door shut.
Weary and aching after his long drive from Bremen, he couldn’t wait to crash out. Still, he thought, that was the joy of having a camper van. Unexpected developments didn’t matter. He could just turn in for the night here and wait to see what the morning would bring.
He hoped it would bring Sophie. She’d soon help him get the job of Director for the Wendlebury Players, as advertised on her bookshop’s website, to tide him over while his own company was resting. He didn’t suppose it would pay much, but his living expenses would be pretty negligible, when he shacked up with Sophie again. He could probably persuade Sophie to pay for his van repairs, too, now that she was a rich householder.
Yes, Sophie. Good old Sophie. He didn’t foresee any problem there. Since she’d moved to Wendlebury, Damian had begun to realise that he could do a lot worse.
More Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries for You to Enjoy
If you enjoyed this book, you might like to know that the next in the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries, Murder in the Manger, will be published on 6 November 2017 and is now available to pre-order here.
And if you missed the start of the series, here’s a link to Best Murder in Show.
Murder in the Manger – A Christmas Special
When Sophie Sayers volunteers to write a traditional Christmas nativity play, she finds the task attracts far more trouble than she'd anticipated - not least the strange woman who accuses the entire village of murder in the middle of the performance.
Nor has she reckoned on her ex-boyfriend Damian pitching up as the play's director, just as her romance with local bookseller Hector is finally taking off. Will Hector's jealousy scupper their new relationship? And can Sophie prevent Damian breaking the heart of lonely shopkeeper Carol who takes him in as a lodger?
As she tries to unravel all their secrets, Sophie's imagination goes into overdrive. Can you solve the mystery of the strange woman’s missing baby before she does?
For fans of cosy mysteries everywhere, Murder in the Manger is the perfect Christmas read, making you laugh out loud at the eccentricities of English village life and warming your heart with its traditional community values.
Acknowledgments
For making this book very much better than it would have been if I was left to my own devices, I would like to thank the following wonderful people:
Alison Jack, my editor, who always manages to find and resolve my mistakes without denting my confidence
David Penny for planting the idea of a live person in the bonfire (he will forever be in my head “Penny for the Guy”), for generously sharing his expertise in crime and thriller writing, and for his heartening confidence in my ability
Orna Ross for her encouragement, enthusiasm and wise guidance as a beta reader
Belinda Pollard for her wisdom and warmth as a beta reader with an Australian perspective (the book she’s now writing about beta reading will be a must-read for any author)
Lucienne Boyce, for her brilliance at beta reading, in particular her eye for detail, for the ridiculous and for her sense of decency (she’s saved my characters more than once from doing something in dubious taste)
Richard Bradburn for suggesting “Murder at the Vicarage” when I needed to cite a play that featured a vicar
Rachel Lawston of Lawston Design for her much-admired cover design for this book and for the whole Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries series
Pauline Setterfield of Hawkesbury’s Parochial Church Council for advice about the All Souls’ Day service
I would also like to thank:
All my family, friends and neighbours for their encouragement and enthusiasm, especially my parents, and my sister Mandy Gooding; neighbours Emma Barker, Marina Pogose, Chris Taylor; old schoolfriends Aaren Purcell, Elizabeth Scahill, Jane Martin, and Susanne Mitchell (and her daughter Madalen); American friends Becky Brain and Shay Tressa DeSimone; and my author friends around the world, especially members of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
Booksellers everywhere, especially the staff of the Anthology in Cheltenham, the Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Tetbury and Nailsworth, the Cotswold Book Room in Wotton-under-Edge, and Foyles’ Bristol branch, for their politeness and diplomacy to the Mr Neeps of this world, as well as to me.
Every word of support and encouragement makes my day and drives me to write my next book. Thank you.
Debbie Young
About the Author
Debbie Young writes warm, witty, feel-good fiction inspired by life in the English village where she lives with her husband and daughter.
Her Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series of seven stories cataloguing the course of a year in the village of Wendlebury Barrow will be published during 2017 and 2018.
She also publishes a new themed collection of short stories every year, such as Marry in Haste, Quick Change and Stocking Fillers. Her short stories also feature in many anthologies.
She is frequently invited to read her work or speak at public events and has performed at events such as the Cheltenham Literature Festival and Stroud Short Stories. She is founder and director of the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival.
A regular contributor to two local community magazines, the award-winning Tetbury Advertiser and the Hawkesbury Parish News, she has published two collections of her columns, Young by Name and All Part of the Charm, which offer insight into her own life in a small Cotswold village very similar to Sophie Sayers’ Wendlebury Barrow.
Keep up to date with news of Debbie Young’s book news and events via her website, www.authordebbieyoung.com. You can also follower her on Twitter at @DebbieYoungBN.
Copyright Page
TRICK OR MURDER?
by Debbie Young
© Debbie Young 2017
Published by Hawkesbury Press 2017
Hawkesbury Upton, Gloucestershire, England
Cover design by Rachel Lawston of Lawston Design
All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-911223-19-1 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-011223-20-07 (paperback)