And Then There Was The One
A Novel
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
From Martha Waters, the author of the “enchanting” (Entertainment Weekly) Regency Vows series, a new historical romance set in 1930s England with a murder mystery twist.
In a quaint village in the Cotswolds, Georgiana Radcliffe has accidentally become an amateur detective after helping solve four murders in a single year. When the chairman of the village council turns up dead, everyone agrees with the official ruling of a heart attack, but Georgie can’t help but suspect that the council chairman is a fifth victim. Now, murder tourists are flocking from around the country, in hopes of becoming sleuths themselves.
Along with her reporter friend, she reaches out to a famous London detective for assistance in ascertaining why they have become a magnet for murder. But the fancy detective is simply too busy—or can’t be bothered—to help, and instead dispatches his secretary, Sebastian Fletcher-Ford—a posh womanizer who, truthfully, is just trying to get out of his hair, much to practical, no-nonsense Georgie’s dismay. But as they investigate in the charming Buncombe-upon-Woolly—with plentiful scones, sheep on the village green, and murder tourists at every turn—Georgie finds that her previous assessment of Sebastian may have been wrong, and rather than solving a murder, she may be solving for love instead.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An amateur sleuth finds love in this clever homage to Golden Age detective fiction from Waters (the Regency Vows series). There have been four murders in the tiny Cotswolds village of Buncombe-upon-Woolly in 1934 alone—and Georgiana "Georgie" Radcliffe has helped local law enforcement solve them all. When another villager turns up dead, Georgie suspects more foul play, but officials write it off as a heart attack. So Georgie reaches out to a famed London detective for assistance. Though the detective declines to come to Buncombe, he sends his secretary, Sebastian Fletcher-Ford, to investigate. With his good looks and charisma, Sebastian quickly charms both the locals and the "Murder Tourists" who have flocked to town out of morbid curiosity. Georgie, however, is committed to resisting Sebastian's allure. As they work together to crack the case, Waters capably peels back the many layers of their personalities, highlighting Georgie's intellect and anxieties and revealing that Sebastian's playboy persona hides expert sleuthing skills. The love that blossoms along the way is entirely believable. Striking a beautiful balance between sweet romance and cozy mystery, this memorable tale is sure to please.
