Book Blurb

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Author Bio

Barbara’s Review

It seems those Bake Off shows just can’t catch a break.  The latest series of Bake Off Wars is being filmed at Francis Court estate, a compound that is home to Her Royal Highness Princess Helen and her husband, their son Fred, and their daughter Beatrice, widowed Countess of Rossex.  The filming has only made it through one episode before one of the judges is murdered.  Oops!  The victim, sixty-six-year-old Vera Bolt, is not well-loved on the set, so there is a plethora of suspects.

With Richard Fitzwilliam still recuperating from the gunshot wound he received in an earlier case, a new detective is assigned from the special force that is responsible for protecting the royals.  DCI Hayden Saunders is a man with a chip on his shoulder and he doesn’t appreciate help or input from anyone – even a royal.  Oops!

Bea and her best friend and business partner, Perry Juke, swear to stay out of the investigation – and they keep to that vow until it becomes personal.  The disagreeable DCI Saunders almost immediately zeroes in on Summer York who is a presenter on the show – and Bea’s brother’s girlfriend.  When Fred asks for help – how can they say no?

This is another excellent addition to this author’s A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series.  The characters are warm and inviting and feel more and more like family with each new book – especially with the lovable West Highland Terrier, Daisy.  I was so excited to see the relationship between Fitzwilliam and Bea take a significant step forward and I will be looking forward to the next book to see the progress there.  The mystery was excellently plotted and there were plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing until the end.  While this can be read as a standalone book, I highly recommend reading the series in order from the beginning to get the full feel for the characters and their relationships.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About The Book

Uncovering a web of conspiracy that intertwines past and present, can Lady Beatrice and DCI Richard Fitzwilliam catch a killer and unveil the truth of her husband’s death at long last?

BREAKING NEWS Second Senior Police Officer Dies Within a Week

A senior officer from the Protection and Investigations (Royal) Services died unexpectedly yesterday. His death comes hot on the heels of Detective Inspector Ethan Preece (43) from City Police, who died of a suspected heart attack last week. Although he’s not yet been named, the dead officer was a greatly respected public figure, who had served in policing for over thirty years. A PaIRS spokesperson has confirmed that ‘neither men’s death is being treated as suspicious at this time’.

 With the senior PaIRS officer dead, so is any hope of reopening the inquiry into Lady Beatrice’s husband’s accident fifteen years ago. Unless, of course, there is something that links the two men to the Earl’s fatal car crash?

 Can she and Fitzwilliam, along with their friends, work together to unravel the mystery and catch a killer before the truth is buried forever?

Purchase Links

Amazon – UK

Amazon – US

Author Bio

Barbara’s Review

This is definitely my favorite book of the series so far. Things are going off in every direction and you’ll need your head on a swivel to keep up. It is interesting, engaging, exciting, and a tad bittersweet for Lady Beatrice. With murders, spies, cartels, and things from the past to swat at you, you’ll be so engrossed you’ll lose all track of time.

One of my favorite things is that it was more of an ensemble cast this time around. It wasn’t Lady Beatrice and Perry Juke stumbling across a dead body and then running roughshod over the police investigation to solve the crime themselves. As a matter of fact, this book probably gave Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam as much page time as Lady Beatrice – and their relationship was actually cordial rather than adversarial. I am delighted to see the burgeoning relationship between the two and will be happy to see where it leads.

City Police Detective Inspector Ethan Preece was shot (wounded) during a protection detail for a member of the royal family – but then – he was murdered in his hospital bed. Not many days later, a senior officer with the PaIRS, Protection and Investigations (Royal) Services, was also murdered. DCI Richard Fitzwilliam doesn’t like coincidences, and two police inspectors being murdered within such a short time is just too much of a coincidence for them not to be related. But how? They didn’t work in the same departments. They weren’t friends, though they’d been in the same department many years ago. Fitzwilliam is pretty sure he isn’t going to like the answers when he finds them. He sure is right about that!

Lady Beatrice is interested in the investigation but sees no reason to be involved in it. Except, both of the men were involved in the investigation of her husband’s death more than fifteen years earlier. She’s never been at ease with that investigation and has sought more and more information as the years have passed – but now, with those two officers gone, her inquiries are also at a dead end.

Lady Beatrice, Perry Juke, and Simon Lattimore make a formidable investigating team in this series – and they continue in this book. They are also joined by Emma and Izzy McKeer-Adler whom we’ve also previously met. We also have a short visit with Brett Goodman of the CIA whom we met in the last book. DCI Fitzwilliam and Detective Sergeant Spicer round out the crew along with a new character, Detective Sergeant Hardwick. Can that illustrious lot of folks put the clues together, identify the bad guys, and then thwart them? You bet they can – and they do. Goodness, what an ending!

I can definitely recommend this exciting, well-written, nicely-paced book. If you love a good mystery, red herrings, and seeing the bad guys get their comeuppance, this book is for you.

Does Beatrice get her answers or is this the end of her chance to do so? After all these years, does it really matter? You’ll just need to read the book to see.

Happy Reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.