Village Mysteries Series by Margaret Mayhew

Meet the Colonel (hardly anyone calls him Hugh). He moves to a quiet country cottage in Dorset, which he’d once visited with his late wife.He finds it easy to slip into local society and decides that Frog End’s upcoming annual fete will be the start of his mission to be a pillar of the community.But when Lady Swynford is found dead on the night of the fete, it becomes clear that Frog End has a darker side... moreMeet the Colonel (hardly anyone calls him Hugh). He moves to a quiet country cottage in Dorset, which he’d once visited with his late wife.He finds it easy to slip into local society and decides that Frog End’s upcoming annual fete will be the start of his mission to be a pillar of the community.But when Lady Swynford is found dead on the night of the fete, it becomes clear that Frog End has a darker side. And as Inspector Squibb investigates the case, the Colonel finds himself more involved than he could possibly have imagined.Discover Frog End, a beautiful English village with some dark secrets...THE DETECTIVEAt the grand old age of 55, the Colonel had been put out to grass by the British Army. In the same year, his beloved wife, Laura, died after a long illness. He found himself facing a bleak and lonely future. There were the children, of course, but they were grown up and had busy lives of their own.One summer, years before, he and Laura spent their leave in England, touring the West Country. They stopped at a village in Dorset called Frog End which had a spit-and-sawdust pub called the Dog and Duck. Laura had fallen in love with a stone cottage seen across the village green. She had admired the thatched roof and the pink roses round the door. Years later, after her death, the Colonel had revisited the same village alone and seen Laura’s dream cottage had aged badly and that it was up for sale. Against his better judgement, he bought it.THE SETTINGThe cottage was called Pond Cottage and the Colonel soon discovered that he had made a big mistake. The two-hundred-year-old building had deathwatch beetle, rising damp, a falling roof, rot and decay throughout. There was no heating and the wiring was a dangerous disgrace. Logs for an open fire were kept in a tin bath in the scullery and the nettle-infested lavatory was housed outside in a jungle. There was no sign of any pond.But there were compensations: a view over the beautiful village green, clusters of other stone cottages, a Norman church built on Saxon foundations, a graveyard of ancient tombs leaning at perilous angles. And, of course, the Dog and Duck. less

A village mystery from a bestselling author - The colonel has been living in peaceful Dorset village Frogs End for nearly a year, and is well respected for his role in solving the murder of the late Lady Swynford. But then the colonel encounters another dead body that of the once-famous actress, Lois Delaney. As the police embark on their investigation, the colonel makes some enquiries of his own and comes up ith a most surprising theory . . .

A shocking discovery in a friend's barnThe Colonel (few people call him Hugh) has settled into life in peaceful Dorset village Frogs End. He’s fixed his thatch roof, got the damp under control, and even acquired a cat called Thursday.But a letter from his late wife’s friend sends him to the Wiltshire village of King’s Mowbray. She writes ‘something horrible has happened.’Cornelia Heathcote, whose wealthy husband is away on business, has discovered a body buried under the floor of her barn... moreA shocking discovery in a friend's barnThe Colonel (few people call him Hugh) has settled into life in peaceful Dorset village Frogs End. He’s fixed his thatch roof, got the damp under control, and even acquired a cat called Thursday.But a letter from his late wife’s friend sends him to the Wiltshire village of King’s Mowbray. She writes ‘something horrible has happened.’Cornelia Heathcote, whose wealthy husband is away on business, has discovered a body buried under the floor of her barn.First the Colonel must work out who the bones belong to. But that’s just the beginning of his problems. For this victim had many enemies in the wealthy village . . . less

The Colonel turns reluctant sleuth once more when tragedy strikes at a Christmas party, in Margaret Mayhew s latest atmospheric village mystery Frog End, that most quintessential of English villages, is preparing for its annual Christmas pantomime. This year, it s Hans Christian Andersen s dark fairytale The Snow Queen. Local busybody Marjorie Cuthbertson is on the hunt for her leading lady and who better to play the icy queen than beautiful new resident, ex-model Joan Dryden... moreThe Colonel turns reluctant sleuth once more when tragedy strikes at a Christmas party, in Margaret Mayhew s latest atmospheric village mystery Frog End, that most quintessential of English villages, is preparing for its annual Christmas pantomime. This year, it s Hans Christian Andersen s dark fairytale The Snow Queen. Local busybody Marjorie Cuthbertson is on the hunt for her leading lady and who better to play the icy queen than beautiful new resident, ex-model Joan Dryden. But as interested as they are in their new neighbours, the residents of Frog End remain wary of the Dryden family, considering them aloof Londoners. Mystery is about to engulf the village however when a cast member collapses and dies at a Christmas party, having consumed a rogue mince pie. Was the death an accident or was it a malicious revenge strategy masked as an allergic reaction? The Colonel makes it his business to find out." less

A CHILLING DISCOVERY IS MADE IN ONE OF THE MANOR'S GREENHOUSESMajor Cuthbertson stumbles across a body among the fragrant tomato plants. A bloody spade lies next to the face-down victim.Ruth Harvey has taken over the manor in Frog End, where she runs a successful plant-selling business and provides gardening therapy for some of her husband Dr Tom Harvey's troubled patients... moreA CHILLING DISCOVERY IS MADE IN ONE OF THE MANOR'S GREENHOUSESMajor Cuthbertson stumbles across a body among the fragrant tomato plants. A bloody spade lies next to the face-down victim.Ruth Harvey has taken over the manor in Frog End, where she runs a successful plant-selling business and provides gardening therapy for some of her husband Dr Tom Harvey's troubled patients. They include embittered Lawrence Deacon, lonely Joyce Reed, widowed Tanya Carberry and wheelchair-bound Johnny Turner, the young victim of a horrific motorbike crash.Now murder threatens to destroy everything. Can the Colonel solve the crime before anyone else suffers? less