Chapel in the Woods, The
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Jack and Betty Haldean's weekend in the country is disrupted by sudden, violent death in this intricately-plotted 1920s mystery.
"The surprising revelations just keep coming. This is a real treat for those who enjoy Agatha Christie village murders" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review
"There's something in those woods that shouldn't be there . . ."
Enjoying a weekend in the country with his cousin Isabelle, Jack Haldean is intrigued to learn that the neighbouring estate of Birchen Bower has been bought by wealthy Canadian businessman Tom Jago. Determined to restore the place to its former glory, Jago has invited the local villagers to a fete to celebrate the grand re-opening of the 17th century family chapel.
But the afternoon's entertainment is cut short by the discovery of a body, mauled to death as if by a wild animal. Previously owned by the eccentric Cayden family, Birchen Bower has a long and colourful history, and is rumoured to be haunted. Is there any truth to the ancient family legend of the Jaguar Princess . . . and could she have claimed another victim? And what's happened to Jago's employee, Derek Martin and his wife, who have disappeared without trace . . . along with Mrs Jago's diamonds?
Refusing to believe the wild tales of man-eating beasts prowling the grounds, Jack sets out to uncover the truth. But then a second badly-ravaged body is discovered . . . Could the rumours be true after all?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British author Gordon-Smith's thrilling 11th Jack Haldean 1920s mystery (after 2019's Forgotten Murder) takes novelist and amateur sleuth Haldean to Croxton Abbas, Sussex, where a 17th-century privateer built a fine house, Birchen Bower, as well as a chapel to contain the remains of his wife, an unhappy Peruvian princess who, locals say, haunts the woods in the form of a jaguar. After a rich Canadian couple, Tom and Rosalind Jago, buy Birchen Bower and show up to take possession, they discover that Derek Martin, their advance man, has vanished along with his wife—along with the Jago jewels that the Martins were entrusted with. More alarmingly, in the middle of a village fete, another man, the Jagos' caretaker, is found dead in the chapel—and the wounds look like they were inflicted by a jaguar. Haldean is soon investigating the grisly killing, and the suspense ratchets up any time he or anyone else goes near the chapel, located in a thick forest filled with animal screams. The surprising revelations just keep coming. This is a real treat for those who enjoy Agatha Christie village murders.
