Winter has arrived in the town of Windermere, and has bought with it the death of Frances Henderson, the best friend of Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown's mother. Having known the Henderson family all of her life, Simmy has lots to cope with, as well as the confusion at being bequeathed something in Frances's will. When Frances's husband is violently murdered in his home, Simmy must face the fact that the family to which she was once so close, holds some dark and sinister secrets.

Simmy has been adjusting to life in Windermere, running her florist shop, integrating into the community and trying to put her tragic past behind her.But just when Simmy thinks her life is quietly coming together, it starts to unravel at the seams. She delivers a bouquet of flowers with a mysterious message attached to an elderly lady, and sinister secrets come creeping into the light. And when another old woman is found murdered in her own home, Persimmon knows her peaceful life in Windermere is about to be shaken once again.Simmy is inexorably drawn into the centre of the murder investigation as the prime suspect names her as an alibi. Trying to rebuild her own life, Simmy must untangle the murky lives others and uncover the motive behind the murder before another one is committed.ReviewRich in psychological insight . . . Tope is particularly skilled in creating interesting and unique characters --Deadly Pleasures About the AuthorREBECCA TOPE is the author of fifteen previous crime novels. She lives on a smallholding in Herefordshire, with a full complement of livestock, but manages to travel the world and enjoy civilization from time to time as well. Most of her varied experiences and activities find their way into her books, sooner or later; for example, bee keeping, milk recording, spinning, arguing, undertaking and gardening. She is also currently the membership secretary of the Crime Writers' Association.

Mystery and intrigue in the beautiful Cotswold countryside.Following a string of disastrous house-sitting assignments, and with troubles in her recent personal life, Thea Osborne is understandably apprehensive about her latest commission: a wintery month in an isolated farmhouse with only an assortment of animals, including her loyal spaniel Hepzie, for company.With the summer lushness of the Cotswolds turned icy grey, Thea spends her first few days exploring the tiny but beautiful hamlet of Hampnett, and the nearby town of Northleach. While discovering more of the surrounding area she meets some of the mysterious local characters: the unappreciated au pair from Bulgaria and the elusive Kate from a neighbouring farm. But then the weather turns extreme, and so do events.When she stumbles across a man lying dead in a snow-filled field, Thea is once again at the heart of a mystery in the gorgeous Cotswold countryside...Exciting and thought-provoking, with a plot which...

A shattered peace in the tranquil West Country.The peace of a small West Country village is rudely shattered when a bomb explodes in the local supermarket. Karen Slocombe, a member of the Food Chain Group and staunch supporter of local produce, would not normally care for the loss of a supermarket, but she does take offence to such violence and that fact that she and her daughter were very nearly caught up in the explosion.When, a few days later, Karen witnesses the horrifying murder of an adjacent stallholder at the local farmer's market, she begins to wonder just who is committing these seemingly motiveless crimes and why does she keep finding herself in the middle of the crime scene?

Nina Cattermole had an unusual death: head-butted by a horse as she protested against the local hunt. The official verdict – a freak accident. But for the Cattermoles it is merely the start of their troubles for on the day of the funeral a family friend, himself a hunt saboteur, is found dead.

When irascible farmer Guy Beardon meets a very dirty death in his own farmyard, at first it seems like an accident. But when two more deaths occur foul play seems certain...

Summer has come to the Lake District town of Windermere, where Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown runs her own florist shop. But with the shop struggling for money, a contract to provide floral displays for a hotel in Hawkshead couldn't be more welcome. However, Simmy's association with the hotel soon turns sinister when she finds a body in the lake.To make matters worse, her friend, Ben - responsible for alerting her to the discovered body - is now missing and thought to be kidnapped. Caught up in both a murder and kidnapping investigation, Simmy begins chasing clues left by her missing friend.With many suspicious characters bustling in and out of the hotel, while simultaneously trying to cope with her father's encroaching dementia, solving the puzzle seems a gruelling challenge, but Simmy is compelled to uncover the truth . . .

A collection of twelve new short stories. Set in the rolling hills and villages of the Cotswolds and brimming with warmth and intrigue, this collection of twelve short stories from Rebecca Tope features familiar characters and places from her popular Cotswold Mystery novels. A suspicious funeral, a fatal encounter at a garden centre, and a country walk marred by the discovery of a hidden corpse, are just some of the perplexing situations with which Thea Osborne, her friends and a further cast of characters must contend. Including 'The Blockley Discovery' and 'With Slaughter in Mind', A Cotswold Casebook reminds us that death and crime will visit even the most idyllic country villages.

Fanny Collins has arrived in Oregon after traversing the Oregon Trail in 1846 with her family. It is now 1848 and the Gold Rush is about to begin. Fanny has found a friend and partner in Carola Beaumont and together the two young girls set up in a 'boudoir' in Chemeketa (later named Salem) to provide sexual services for single men. There is a disarming innocence to their intentions, which is not entirely destroyed after a year and a half in the job. The great majority of their clients are pleasant and appreciative. There are, however, exceptions. As the Gold Rush escalates, fortunes change for almost everyone. With births and deaths as well as countless sexual encounters, this story embraces the whole of pioneer life.

Fifty-five-year-old Jim Lapsford makes an unusually healthy-looking corpse. A devotee of vitamins and herbal remedies, it seems ironic that he succumbed to a heart attack. Trainee undertaker Drew Slocombe isn't so sure of this conclusion, but Jim's cremation is just days away...

Thea Osborne is determined to avoid trouble during her latest commission house-sitting in the pretty Cotswold village of Daglingworth. Anticipating a relaxing two weeks spent looking after an old corgi and a hibernating tortoise, spiced with phone calls to boyfriend Drew Slocombe, Thea settles down quite contentedly – for about half a day. Until, that is, a dead body is discovered in a nearby quarry. Having encountered a group of environmental activists, Thea suspects the death might be a backlash from angry residents against their radical ways. And while she can empathise with the activists' views against wind farms, badger culls and building developments, Thea's not so sure about their violent methods. As real tensions begin to unravel, even Thea, a seasoned crime-solver, is surprised by the truth...

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown's flower shop near Lake Windermere is doing good business. But when Simmy receives a string of anonymous delivery orders, each one causing their recipient great distress, she begins to suspect that the messages they contain mask a sinister intent. When one of the recipients disappears, it would seem that her worst fears have been confirmed. As if that isn't enough, Simmy's friend Kathy turns up, on the trail of her wayward daughter Joanna, who she fears has grown unhealthily close to one of her university tutors. When Kathy attempts to reason with her daughter she finds that Joanna's older lover may be even more menacing than she had imagined. With both Kathy and Joanna in peril, Simmy and her friends find themselves caught up in a web of deception, blackmail and murder. It seems that Simmy Brown faces her most puzzling, and perhaps her most dangerous, case yet.

Thea Osborne and her faithful spaniel, Hepzie, have taken on a house-sitting assignment in the charming Cotswold village of Temple Guiting. But as always, an idyllic village can harbour a disquieting number of secrets and when a skeleton is discovered at the roots of an old beech tree, Thea is grateful for the presence of her partner DS Phil Hollis. There is no concrete evidence as to who the bones belonged to although it isn't long before theories and rumours abound. Thea soon finds herself drawn into a murder investigation - perhaps the countryside isn't that quiet after all.