by Helen Cox
Evie laughed at how quickly Kitt had risen to the bait.
‘What about you, anyway, how are you feeling about going home?’
‘All right,’ said Evie. ‘A bit nervous.’
‘You don’t have to tell your mum so soon, you know, about you and Charley. If you wanted, you could wait a while.’
Evie shrugged. ‘That’s the thing, I don’t want to wait.’
‘I’d say that’s a very good sign,’ said Kitt.
‘I think so. In a weird way, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this all along.’
‘So you’re going to tell your mum, about the special someone you’ve met?’
Evie sighed and smiled out at the view. In the near distance she could see the White Horse of Kilburn, a limestone figure that was carved into the hillside many years ago. It was just a few miles outside Thirsk and whenever she saw it she knew that she was almost home again. The motion of the train always made it seem to her as though the horse had broken free of its restraints and was galloping along the terrain. She watched it canter, wild and untethered. Unapologetically itself in the moment without any fear of what tomorrow might bring.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘I am.’
If you enjoyed A Body in the Bookshop, order Murder on the Moorland now
Acknowledgements
Much gratitude is due to my agent Jo Swainson who continues to steer me through the experience of being an author with the grace and good humour so dearly required. I consider myself very lucky indeed to know you and work with you.
Heartfelt thanks also to my editor Therese Keating who has masterfully offered both sincere encouragement and a critical eye as needed; the very things an author requires to be the best they can be.
Appreciation is also due to my specialist readers: Hazel Nicholson for advising on police procedure, John Leete for explaining the ins and outs of hospital life and Matthew Tyson for his seemingly boundless knowledge of vintage cars. A huge thank you to all of you for supporting me in achieving a certain level of authenticity.
There are those also who have read chapters and segments on the way to spur me on through the writing process: Ann Leander, Claudine Mussuto and Dean Cummings. To be in touch with creative spirits such as yours is a great gift that I treasure and always will.
When it comes to the support of my family and friends I am a very fortunate soul. Thank you to Mam, Dad, Elaine, Sheena, Steven, Phil, Barbara, Ray, Christine, John, Tom, Gigi, Janet, Peter, Katie, Katell, Jackson, Maria, Louisa, Ian, Nigel, Matt and Esther for all of the times you’ve asked how things are going with my writing and for not pressing me too hard over my non-committal answers.
Lastly, thanks to my husband Jo for his patience with my writerly ways, for loving the strange bundle of contradiction that I am and for reassuring me that I should keep putting pen to paper.
If you enjoyed A Body in the Bookshop, look out for the next gripping Kitt Hartley mystery
A baffling death on the Yorkshire Moors leads Kitt to a literary treasure hunt - and a small village hiding a very big secret...
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Contents
A Body in the Bookshop
Also By
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Acknowledgements
Landmarks
Cover