A Body in the Village Hall by Dee MacDonald (non fiction books to read TXT) 📕

‘He’d been spying on me from across the valley and had worked out which bedroom was mine.’ She shivered. ‘Then I had this feeling I was being followed up there but I couldn’t be sure. I realised I’d forgotten my phone but I did have the anti-attack spray in my pocket and reckoned I could deal with anything.’

‘You underestimated Sandra Miller.’

Kate nodded. ‘I did.’

‘We just got the result of the analysis of the contents of the package which you guessed rightly contained the plastic apron and gloves. Both had blood on the outside that matched Fenella’s. And the gloves had skin cells inside, which matched Sandra’s DNA.’

‘So do you reckon that was another of Kevin’s bargaining tools for extracting money, along with the recording on his phone?’ she asked.

‘Exactly that.’

‘Poor Jess. I don’t think she had a clue what was in that package. She was only worried because they’d broken the law in the first place by Kevin taking the rap for Fenella and then because she hadn’t handed in the package sooner. She was still protecting him even after his death. And do you know what I find incredibly sad about this whole business?’ Kate asked.

‘No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.’

‘What’s sad is that Seymour truly loved Fenella but perhaps couldn’t satisfy her, and so he understood her need to have affairs. And I’m beginning to think that she loved him too but needed to prove to herself that she was attractive sexually. Everyone was so keen to judge her, but not Seymour. And no one’s been pointing the finger at the married men she took up with, have they? Why was it all her fault? I feel so sorry for her and for them both.’

‘She could still have paid Kevin that money though, couldn’t she?’

Kate sighed. ‘Yes, I suppose she could. I didn’t say she was an angel!’

The food arrived.

‘I’m retiring at the end of the month,’ Woody said as he dug into his steak, ‘so, if you ever feel the need to solve any more crimes, I’ll be right there to offer my expertise.’

Kate laughed. ‘I think Tinworthy’s had more than its share of crime.’

Their eyes met and lingered for a moment.

‘You can never be sure,’ he said.

If you were gripped by A Body In The Village Hall, find out what happens in the next Kate Palmer murder mystery in A Body in Seaview Grange.

Get it here!

A Body in Seaview Grange

Practice nurse Kate Palmer is ready for some peace and quiet in her little Cornish village, but there’s soon to be a murder on her doorstep…

Kate’s retirement in Cornwall hasn’t quite gone as planned – Lavender Cottage is in need of substantial repairs and her sister Angie’s fondness for gin does rather stretch the purse-strings.

So when Kate is asked to do some nursing at the luxury retirement flats in Seaview Grange, she jumps at the chance. The old Victorian house has stunning views of the sea and the retirees are a peaceful bunch. That is, until Edina Martinelli, a glamorous ex-opera singer, is found poisoned in her home.

Edina’s death is ruled an overdose by Digoxin, the same medication she had been on for years. But Kate is sure the woman she met was not suicidal, and with the reputation of her practice on the line, she decides to do some digging. Luckily she’s got the newly retired Detective Inspector Woody Forrest to help her…

It’s not long before Kate discovers evidence of foul play, and there’s no shortage of suspects. Was it the besotted vicar? The ill-tempered stepson? Or perhaps Edina’s neighbour finally had enough of her constant warbling. It seems everyone had a motive, but who amongst them had the stomach for murder? And will they kill again?

If you love murder mysteries by Agatha Christie, Faith Martin or Joy Ellis, then this page-turning novel will have you reading late into the night!

Read on for an extract of A Body in Seaview Grange!

Extract - A Body in Seaview Grange

You needed to be over sixty years of age and have deep pockets to be able to buy one of the luxury flats in Seaview Grange, up on the cliffs near Higher Tinworthy. Kate Palmer didn’t qualify on age just yet, and her pockets were extremely shallow but she was nevertheless keen to see how the other half might be living.

It was a beautiful sunny early September morning and Kate felt on top of the world, having just returned from Edinburgh for the birth of her first grandson. He was the most adorable, angelic infant ever born, with the possible exception of her own two handsome, perfect sons, of course.

And now, here she was, driving up to Seaview Grange to see a lady called Edina Martinelli in Flat 4 who had recently broken her ankle and was complaining that the plaster felt too tight.

Up until now Elaine, the nurse who split the week with Kate at the medical centre in Middle Tinworthy, had been doing most of the house calls. She was also assigned to ‘Assisted Living Care’ which meant she’d be the designated nurse to look after the residents of not only Seaview Grange, but also The Cedars and the Moorside Nursing Homes. She was shortly going to retire and Sue, who had worked there full time for years, was offered the calls. ‘Not on your life,’ said Sue. ‘Who wants to go visiting those decrepit old biddies? Not me, I’m staying right here. Down to you, Kate!’

Kate didn’t mind at all. She loved getting out and about instead of being stuck in the treatment room all day. It was a good way to get to know people and there was normally a cup of tea or coffee on offer.

‘Good luck!’ Sue had called after her. ‘That Martinelli woman’s always complaining about something or other.’

Seaview Grange was a large, imposing grey stone double-fronted building facing the Atlantic, one of many superior residences in the Higher Tinworthy area, set in what Kate