‘Purvis? The Stowbridge art dealer?’ Iris looked shocked. ‘He’s a local councillor. Can’t trust anyone nowadays.’
After the trial, which ended in the conviction of the culprits on a long list of charges, Ken Harris took Melissa Craig to dinner at Le Vieux Manoir.
‘I see the Hon. Pen got off with a suspended sentence,’ she commented as they tucked into moules marinière. ‘Was she really so dominated by Charlotte Heighton that she had to go along with everything she was told to do?’
‘That’s what her Counsel pleaded, and the court accepted,’ he replied in a detached tone.
‘I gather you don’t believe it?’
‘Did she strike you as someone who could be that easily led?’
‘Frankly, no, but Dittany Blair is more charitable than we are. She wants Mitch to keep her on as fashion adviser at Dizzy Heights.’
Harris looked up from his plate in astonishment. ‘He won’t agree to that, surely?’
‘I don’t think so for a moment, and I told her so,’ said Melissa emphatically. ‘When it comes to his business reputation, he doesn’t compromise an inch. That’s something Dittany will have to accept if she’s to have any future with him.’
Harris paused in the act of mopping up the sauce from the moules with a piece of French bread and looked thoughtful. ‘Do you think she will – have a future, that is?’ he asked.
Melissa shrugged. ‘Time will tell. I advised her not to rush into any long-term commitment until she knows him a bit better. Incidentally, Iris is cock-a-hoop – he’s commissioned her to do a painting of Heyshill Manor.’
‘He’s going to carry on running it?’
‘Of course. He’s put in a new manager and is turning the gallery into a function room for private parties. It’ll be ideal for discos – the kids can turn up the decibels as high as they want without disturbing the hotel guests.’
‘So all’s well that ends well?’
‘You could say that.’
After dinner, he drove her back to Hawthorn Cottage.
‘Coming in for coffee?’ she said, but before he could reply, his pocket pager started bleeping.
‘I’ll come in and use your phone, if I may,’ he said, with a resigned sigh. ‘I’ll take a rain check on the coffee.’
Nothing dangerous ever happens at Christmas, especially in the Cotswolds, does it? But when Melissa Craig stumbles across a missing murder weapon, she needs to find the killers before they get to her first…
Don’t miss Melissa’s next case: Murder on a Winter Afternoon!
Murder on a Winter Afternoon
A Melissa Craig Mystery Book 5
Available to order now!
A snow-covered cottage is nestled in the hills, all ready for Christmas… but inside a body lies dead upon the floor.
Melissa Craig is enjoying her first winter in the Cotswolds, taking brisk walks through the snowy fields and basking in the winter sunshine. The only thing Melissa is plotting is her Christmas shopping.
But after the unexpected death of local writer Leonora Jewell, Melissa is asked to complete Leonora’s final book. However, on her first visit to the cottage, she finds a gruesome object overlooked by the police: a metal bar covered with dried blood.
Terrified, Melissa rushes to the nearest telephone box to call the police. But by the time they reach Leonora’s cottage, the murder weapon has mysteriously vanished.
With no murder weapon, the detective in charge of the case scoffs at Melissa’s suspicions. Furious and frustrated, Melissa focuses on finishing Leonora’s novel. But as she reads Leonora’s notes for the book, she starts to wonder… did Leonora accidentally plot out her own murder?
As Melissa does some investigating of her own, she uncovers some pretty suspicious local characters. But with the police unwilling to help, can Melissa solve this vicious crime alone? By hook, by crook, or by the book, Melissa must find the killers before they strike again…
If you adore Faith Martin, Joy Ellis and P.D. James, you’re in for a treat with this unputdownable mystery novel!
Hear More from Betty
Want to keep up to date with Betty’s latest releases?
Sign up here!
We promise to never share your email with anyone else, and we’ll only contact you when there’s a new book out.
Also by Betty Rowlands
THE MELISSA CRAIG SERIES
Murder at Hawthorn Cottage
Murder in the Morning
Murder on the Clifftops
Murder at the Manor Hotel
Murder on a Winter Afternoon
A Letter From Betty
Dear Reader
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Murder at the Manor Hotel, I hope you enjoyed it! If you’d like to stay in touch with news about my future publications, then please sign up to my newsletter here:
Sign up here!
If you really loved the book and would like to spread the word to other readers, I’d be so grateful if you would leave a review. You can also follow my fan page on Facebook and Twitter via the links below.
All very best,
Betty
Murder at Hawthorn Cottage
A Melissa Craig Mystery Book 1
Get it here!
Meet Melissa: cat lover, caring mother… daring detective?
Melissa Craig is absolutely delighted with her new life in an old crumbling cottage, spending her days pruning the primroses and getting to know Binkie, the ginger cat next door. She only wishes she had made the move to the countryside sooner.
But when a knock at the door brings news of a shocking discovery, she suddenly finds herself thrown in to the middle of a baffling mystery: the bones of a young woman have been found in the woods just behind her new home.
Perhaps the little village of Upper Bembury is not as idyllic as it first seemed?
Strange phone calls in the night convince Melissa that the police are barking up completely the wrong tree, so she can’t resist doing a little digging of her own. From the bingo hall to the beauty salon and beyond, her search ruffles a few feathers and uncovers many of the village’s most scandalous secrets, but gets her no closer to finding the culprit…
The discovery of a tatty old photograph in a drawer is the final piece of the puzzle she needs, but as a newcomer in this close-knit community, does Melissa have what it takes to get to the bottom of this extraordinary murder mystery alone?
A joy to read! An absolutely unputdownable whodunnit for fans of Agatha Christie, P.D. James and Faith Martin.
Murder in the Morning
A Melissa Craig Mystery Book 2
Get it here!
Cream teas, buttered crumpets and a very curious crime…
Melissa Craig is settling in nicely to a new teaching position in the quaint little village of Upper Bembury, getting to know her way around, drinking tea with the eccentric staff, even sowing the first seeds of romance…
But when she arrives one morning to find police outside her classroom, Melissa is shocked to hear that her beautiful colleague Angelica has been found dead in her home.
As everyone in Angelica’s life comes under suspicion, Melissa makes it her mission to go in search of the truth, not least because she’s romantically entangled with none other than the police’s prime suspect.
The discovery of a vandalised portrait of the murdered girl might be just the clue that Melissa needs to clear her lover’s name, but when a second body surfaces, she knows she needs to act quickly. Can Melissa uncover the ugly truth in this beautiful village before another innocent life is taken?
Do you love murder mysteries by Agatha Christie, P.D. James and Faith Martin? If so, make this puzzling and absolutely page-turning whodunnit your next read!
Murder on the Clifftops
A Melissa Craig Mystery Book 3
Get it here!
French cheese, fine wine and… a mystifying murder?
A delightful afternoon stroll turns to disaster when t
he guests of an artists’ retreat in the French mountains spot the body of a man at the bottom of a cliff.
Amongst them is Melissa Craig who, binoculars at the ready, suddenly finds herself at the centre of a very puzzling mystery. Was it an accident, or was he pushed?
Her suspicions are confirmed when another body is found days later in almost exactly the same spot. It can’t be a coincidence; someone in this idyllic French village is up to no good, and it’s up to her to find out who.
Between the eccentric locals and mischievous guests, Melissa finds herself with no shortage of potential suspects: was it the surly handyman with a dark past, or perhaps the short-sighted widow with an excellent golf swing? But the real question is: how close to the edge will Melissa have to tread to find the culprit…?
An absolutely unputdownable murder mystery you’ll read in one sitting. Perfect for anyone who loves Agatha Christie, P.D. James or Faith Martin.
Published by Bookouture in 2018
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Betty Rowlands 1993, 2018
Betty Rowlands has asserted her right to be identified
as the author of this work.
Originally published as Exhaustive Enquiries by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1993
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-78681-662-7
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Murder at the Manor Hotel Page 25