Beaufort Scales Mystery Series by Kim M. Watt

A tranquil village. A poisoned cupcake. A murdered vicar. A simple case - or it should be. But all clues point to the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute, and Detective Inspector Adams is about to discover there’s much more to the W.I. than bake sales and jam making. Alice Martin, RAF Wing Commander (Ret.), and current chair of the W.I., knows the ladies of the Women’s Institute are not guilty. But she has a bigger problem... moreA tranquil village. A poisoned cupcake. A murdered vicar. A simple case - or it should be. But all clues point to the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute, and Detective Inspector Adams is about to discover there’s much more to the W.I. than bake sales and jam making. Alice Martin, RAF Wing Commander (Ret.), and current chair of the W.I., knows the ladies of the Women’s Institute are not guilty. But she has a bigger problem. Toot Hansell has a dragonish secret, and she needs to keep the police well away from it. And she’d really rather not be arrested for murder. Again. Meanwhile, Beaufort Scales, High Lord of the Cloverly dragons and survivor of the days of knights and dragon hunts, knows even better than Alice that the modern dragon only survives as long as no one knows they exist. But he also knows friends don’t let friends face murder inquiries alone. Beaufort fully intends to Get Involved. This investigation is about to take on dragonish proportions. Best put the kettle on. A funny cozy mystery (with dragons), for anyone that likes their mysteries gentle and well-stocked with cake, tea, and friendship. And dragons, obviously. less

Warring staff.“Accidental” poisonings.Topiary of dubious intent.Throw in the full complement of the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute and dragons doing yoga on the terrace, and DI Adams is starting to wonder if she might have made a small misjudgement signing up for this particular spa weekend in the country.And that’s before the dead body in the sauna and the storm that cuts them off from the rest of the world... moreWarring staff.“Accidental” poisonings.Topiary of dubious intent.Throw in the full complement of the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute and dragons doing yoga on the terrace, and DI Adams is starting to wonder if she might have made a small misjudgement signing up for this particular spa weekend in the country.And that’s before the dead body in the sauna and the storm that cuts them off from the rest of the world.Now she’s dealing with a houseful of guests (and staff) who’re looking more suspicious by the moment, fending off protesters wielding table condiments, and trying to keep everyone safe as the storm closes in. She needs to find the killer, keep the dragons hidden, stop the W.I. forming some sort of pearl-and-twinset posse, and try to resist the urge to arrest everyone.And that’s even before she addresses the problem of the invisible dog.Sure. It’s going to be a wonderful weekend.A Manor of Life & Death is a feel-good cozy mystery, perfect for those who like their whodunnits served with a generous helping of humour, friendship, and magic.This is the third Beaufort Scales cozy mystery (with dragons) - check out Baking Bad and Yule Be Sorry for more dragonish adventure! less

"I confess, this series is laugh-out-loud funny! Completely creative, and with recipes!" - Amazon reviewerA picture-perfect Yorkshire village.You know the sort.Village greens. Dry-stone walls. Summer bake sales.A surprisingly high body count.Dragons …Toot Hansell nestles in the fells of the Yorkshire Dales, peaceful, river-girt, and ruled (in a subtle yet oddly irresistible manner) by the ladies of the Women's Institute... more"I confess, this series is laugh-out-loud funny! Completely creative, and with recipes!" - Amazon reviewerA picture-perfect Yorkshire village.You know the sort.Village greens. Dry-stone walls. Summer bake sales.A surprisingly high body count.Dragons …Toot Hansell nestles in the fells of the Yorkshire Dales, peaceful, river-girt, and ruled (in a subtle yet oddly irresistible manner) by the ladies of the Women's Institute. It's the sort of village where one might expect the greatest drama of the year would be someone getting a burnt scone at the summer fete.However.Toot Hansell is also home to dragons. Dragons with a fondness for barbecues, tea, mince pies, and investigations.Because Toot Hansell also has a surprisingly high crime rate, and neither the Women's Institute nor the dragons are going to stand for that sort of thing. They've been watching Poirot. And one can't wait on the police to do everything …Grab a cuppa and settle in with the first four books in the Beaufort Scales cozy mystery (with dragons) series.And mind the cat. I think they may be up to something...• • •BAKING BAD:"Baking Bad is a total romp that any dragon-lover not stuck in the smaug (see what I did there?) will love. Get your talons on this book now and enjoy." - Amazon reviewerA tranquil village. A poisoned cupcake. A murdered vicar.A simple case - or it should be. But all clues point to the local Women’s Institute, and Detective Inspector Adams is about to discover there’s much more to Toot Hansell than bake sales and jam making.There's the dragons, for a start …YULE BE SORRY:"… another warm and funny caper in the Yorkshire Dales, a celebration of friendship, and a joy to read." - Amazon reviewerA festive tale of kidnappings, explosions, and stolen turkeys.One should never meddle in the affairs of dragons, but someone has been doing just that. They’ve been making dragon scale baubles that are nothing short of lethal, and kidnapping delivery drivers all over the Yorkshire Dales. And while the Women's Institute might not need to get involved, there's a limit to what the police can do when they don't believe in dragons …A MANOR OF LIFE & DEATH:"Hilarious, engaging, exciting and touching by turns (and sometimes all at once) and of course bolstered by oodles of tea and cake." - Amazon reviewerWarring staff. “Accidental” poisonings. Topiary of dubious intent.Throw in the full complement of the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute and dragons doing yoga on the terrace, and DI Adams is starting to wonder if she might have made a small misjudgement signing up for this particular spa weekend in the country.And that’s before the dead body in the sauna and the storm that cuts them off from the rest of the world …GAME OF SCONES:"Each installment of the Beaufort Scales series just gets better and better." - Amazon reviewerBribery. Corruption. Murder. Who said local politics were boring?Suspicious deaths on the Skipton city council don't sound as though they should have anything at all to do with the Toot Hansell Women's Institute, and they certainly shouldn't involve dragons. Or not in the mind of DI Adams, anyway.The Women's Institute and dragons may have different ideas, of course …NOTE:These cozy mysteries contain:- no graphic violence - no sex - no strong language; however it does contain some blasphemous language - copious quantities of cake and tea. You may need supplies. less