Mostrando resultados por autor "Judith Cutler" en Todas las categorías

When a local lad that vicar's wife Jodie Welsh employed to help in her garden disappears, along with Jodie's expensive camera, nearly everyone assumes the worst. But Burble's disappearance marks the start of a series of increasingly disturbing incidents - until the body shows up, and Jodie must use all her skills to unmask a ruthless killer.

Newly appointed as land agent to the youthful Lord Croft, Matthew Rowsley finds plenty to keep him busy as he attends to his lordship's neglected country estate. But he's distracted from his tasks by the disappearance of a young housemaid. Has Maggie really eloped with a young man, as her mother attests - or is the truth rather more sinister? What's been going on behind the scenes at the grand country estate and where has his lordship disappeared to?

A head teacher's work is never done, especially if, like Jane Cowan, you're a victim of your own success. Her responsibilities are compounded by an influx of children, most of whom do not speak English, following their families supplying cheap labour. Jane can't turn a blind eye to the conditions in which many of these families are living, even more so when some children simply disappear. When everything points to the shadowy dealings of people smugglers in the area, she has her work cut out.

From the moment Lina Townend and Griff Tripp, set up their antiques stall at the weekend fair, Lina knows they’ve made a mistake. But Lina’s day is brightened when local director Emilia Cosworth begs Griff to take part in her latest play. Lina’s own good luck seems in short supply. Griff’s frequent rehearsals put strain on her relationship with DI Morris; a new antiques centre threatens their business; and Lina is visited by a man who wants her to work for him and seems disinclined to take no for an answer.

1861, Victorian England. When Matthew and Harriet Rowsley are invited to a party at Clunston Park by Matthew's cousin, Colonel Barrington Rowsley, Harriet is nervous - surely the aristocratic guests will snub her? Her fears are realised on their first evening when the only person who deigns to speak to her is the spiteful Grafin Weiser and confirmed when she commits a faux pas at the cricket match the following day. Grafin Weiser is then found murdered and the finger is quickly pointed at Clara, an eleven-year-old maid, as the culprit.

On a freezing winter's night, the residents of Thorncroft House are roused from their beds by an unexpected visitor. Although Lady Stanton seems reluctant to explain the reasons for her visit, housekeeper Harriet Rowsley would never turn a stranger from the door. But tensions arise, with both visitors and servants trapped indoors by the snow. The situation worsens on the discovery of the body of a housemaid lying at the foot of the stairs.

With his lordship's mental health failing, management of his grand country estate has been assigned to a group of trustees, including land agent Matthew Rowsley and his wife Harriet. But the smooth running of Thorncroft House is disrupted by a series of unforeseen events. Building work on the estate workers' new cottages is halted by the discovery of Roman remains. The family butler is brutally assaulted and left for dead. Matters take an even more disturbing turn when Lord Croft's long-lost cousin, Julius Trescothick, arrives from Australia.

Sophie Rivers has left behind the stresses of teaching at an inner-city college in Birmingham for a while and has just started seeing the delectable Mike Lowden, one of the country’s most exciting cricketers. When he suddenly becomes the prime suspect in the particularly nasty murder of a rival cricketer, Sophie’s got too much to lose to remain merely a spectator. The more deeply she becomes involved, the more sinister the circumstances appear. Does she have to nail a bent policeman as well as find the real murderer?

For lecturer Sophie Rivers a writing course on the outskirts of Birmingham is a bit of a busman’s holiday. Still, creative inspiration might strike. But then, knowing Sophie’s luck, so might a murderer… She can hardly believe it when a fellow student is found dead in her room. And when a course tutor goes missing, it’s clear that one of the students might be interested in death as a reality rather than a literary concept. But who is responsible? Sophie can’t control her investigative instincts.

Sophie Rivers is rightly proud of her cousin Andy, a famous rock’n’roll star. Andy has just renounced the excesses of the music business for a life of campaigning for good causes. So why would anyone want him dead? It all starts harmlessly enough: vandalism, graffiti…But when one of Andy’s roadies plunges to his death after swigging the singer’s drink, Sophie begins to fear for her cousin’s life. And then the killer, tired of being thwarted, turns his attentions to Sophie.

Sophie Rivers thinks she’s fallen on her feet when a temporary research post takes her to George Muntz College, just yards from her Birmingham home. Her new employer offers pleasant, even lavish, facilities and state-of-the-art equipment. Perhaps, though, all is not as comfortable as it seems, as Melina, a computer technician, may have been about to explain. For once Sophie doesn’t have time to listen. But when Melina is found dead, it’s soon clear that other people are keen to hear what Sophie herself has to say .

Sophie Rivers has left the turmoil of her inner-city college to take an MEd course at the University of the West Midlands. But she's getting nowhere with the group of South-East Asian students she's supposed to be helping. She confides in the excellent lecturer Carla Pentowski, but there's something strange about Carla's past - or lack of it. When some of her students start behaving oddly, Sophie talks to her old friend, Superintendent Chris Groom.

Sophie Rivers can't wait to settle into married life now that Mike is back from touring Pakistan and Sri Lanka with the England cricket team. So when she's offered a temporary job at his home ground, archiving a collection of memorabilia that has been left to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, she jumps at the chance, envisaging companionable journeys into work and cosy lunches in the Tom Dollery bar. But the reality is a far cry from her romantic dream.

For Sophie Rivers, tackling newly imposed profit margins and a disruptive Fundamentalist movement means that teaching comes low on the agenda. And when a young teacher dies, victim of a series of arson attacks at William Murdock College of Further Education, another teacher is attacked, and a women's safe hostel is razed to the ground, Sophie has more than school politics on her mind. Could these events be connected to the group of muggers she witnessed in action?

With her husband away on an England cricket tour of Pakistan, and the deadline for her MEd dissertation looming, Sophie Rivers is in no mood for distractions. Unfortunately, as a member of the university choir, she is finding it impossible to avoid them. It soon becomes apparent that the music faculty has more than its fair share of nutty professors and insecure students - and for some reason Sophie seems to have been appointed their unofficial guidance counselor.

While Jane waits for renovations to be completed on her new permanent home, she remains in temporary accommodation under the watchful eye of her landlord, Brian Dawes, chair of the governors at Wrayford School. Her work life is dominated by preparations for the all important school play, but behind the scenes the threat of major cuts to the school's budget puts a strain on morale. Alongside these concerns are her landlord's deteriorating health and the odd behaviour of her neighbours - both mysteries she could do without.

A house full of academics should imply calm and quiet, but much to housekeeper Harriet Rowsley's dismay some of the guests seem to have problems with the estate's unconventional practices and aren't afraid of voicing their concerns. Having Harriet and her husband and interim estate manager Matthew as the hosts of Thorncroft House, while his lordship is ill, is obviously not to everyone's taste! But Harriet won't let their opinions get in the way of running the household. She and her husband seem to have things under control until a series of unusual accidents occur around them.