Murder, Methodists, and Other Calamities

A Cozy Regency Mystery of Love and Murder

Mrs Phoebe Hartwell, widowed apothecary and unofficial village doctor, is quite used to keeping Hartleigh alive with nothing more than herbs, vinegar, and stubbornness. What she is not used to is a tall, inconveniently attractive Scottish physician arriving from Edinburgh under a cloud of disgrace… or a steward dropping dead after taking her sleeping draught while half the parish is polishing its Sunday shoes.

When Mr Pritchard fails to wake up and smells suspiciously of bitter almonds, Phoebe’s neat world tips sideways. Sir Montague wants the death declared natural, the coroner wants answers, and the Methodists want reassurance that attending chapel will not lead directly to cyanide at breakfast. The only person on her side appears to be Dr Gabriel Sinclair: sardonic, exiled, and entirely too willing to become her reluctant partner in detection.

As gossip flies faster than the carrier pigeons, Phoebe and Gabriel juggle panicking parishioners, very nervous Methodists, and a houseful of suspects who all had access to the draught that turned deadly. If they cannot untangle the truth, she stands to lose her livelihood, her hard won reputation… and the slow, impossible something growing between them.

Perfect for readers who enjoy cozy Regency village mysteries, sharp banter, competent heroines, grumpy doctors, and clue rich investigations where violence stays non gory and the romance is closed door, slow burn, and lands in a deeply satisfying happy for now.

Settle in with your preferred beverage and visit Hartleigh; once you arrive, you will not want to leave.