Barbara Cleverly is
probably best known for her historical Joe Sandilands series set for
the first few books in India. The
Ellie Hardwick Mysteries is a collection of five short
stories, starring mid-twenties, Suffolk-based architect Ellie
Hardwick, first published between 2003 and 2006 in crime and women's
magazines.
Love-Lies Bleeding
is set in a Norfolk stately home run by a charity. The repair of a
staircase leads to a discovery which requires Ellie to solve a
paternity question from several hundred years ago and to do a sort of
exorcism.
Here Lies is the
first of two stories set in a Suffolk church. Ellie discovers the
dead body of a woman lying on one of the church's tombs. Her identify
is swiftly established; she was about to marry into a local, ancient
family. Someone didn't want her to it seems. Ellie does a bit of
sleuthing and Inspector Jennings is introduced.
A Threatened Species again has Ellie visiting a Suffolk church
where she discovers a dead body in the belfry. She calls Inspector
Jennings out and again does a bit of investigating. (This story has
also appeared in The Best British Mysteries IV edited by Maxim
Jakubowski.)
A Black Tie Affair
has Ellie invited to a swanky evening do at a manor hall she's been
working on, owned by a property-developer. Inspector Jennings is her
date and they stumble on a body whilst looking round the house...
This time round it's Jennings who puts the pieces together.
Die Like a
Maharajah, tales Ellie to India on a tour. One of the group is an
insufferable woman who upsets everyone, so it's no surprise when she
dies. Murder or accident though? Only Ellie has the answer.
1 comment:
Karen - Thanks for this review. I like the short story format and it's always nice learn about good collections that are out there.
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