A Field Guide to Murder
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jan 27, 2026
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A cranky widower and his spirited caregiver team up to solve his neighbor’s murder in this charming and original mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.
Once a globe-trotting anthropologist, Harry Lancaster is now certain that all his grand adventures are behind him. Recently widowed and suffering from a fractured hip, Harry spends his days and nights behind a pair of binoculars, nose-deep in his neighbors’ affairs. His millennial caregiver, Emma, is determined to get him out of his armchair and back into the world.
Fate intervenes when Harry’s mysterious neighbor, Sue, phones, pleading for help. But instead of rescuing her, Harry and Emma find Sue dead: poisoned, days after a break-in at Sue’s house. Harry resolves to find out what happened, and Emma insists on going along for the ride. Together, they discover motives and suspects abound in Harry’s quaint condominium community—putting them both in the crosshairs of a cold-blooded killer.
Readers of Kristen Perrin and Deanna Raybourn will be charmed by this quirky, cross-generational murder mystery.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An elderly anthropologist teams up with his caregiver to solve a murder in Cullen's lovely debut cozy. Retired and recovering from a fractured hip, anthropologist Harry Lancaster is at loose ends. Like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, he spends far too much time looking through binoculars at his fellow residents in the quiet neighborhood of Lakeview Estates. When his neighbor Sue Daniels calls Harry and begs for help, he and his caregiver Emma Stockton rush to her home and find her dead. Harry has witnessed Sue's bizarre behavior, including her insistence that she's seen Emma somewhere before, so he refuses to accept the official conclusion that she accidentally overdosed on one of her medications. Instead, he throws himself into investigating, looking into Sue's conflicts with neighbors while Emma assists him to ensure he doesn't jeopardize his recovery. Harry's crotchety charm and Emma's patient companionship make it a pleasure to spend time in their company, and Cullen constructs a sophisticated puzzle for the pair to solve. This will leave readers eager for a sequel.
