The Manor House Murder- Faith Martin- Crime


(Please note this book was first published as “AN UNHOLY SHAME” under Faith Martin’s pen name JOYCE CATO.)

There is a clerical conference at the manor house. Sir Andrew who owns it took it from a

crumbling house to a successful hotel and conference centre. Not too long ago he

suffered the death of his daughter and he can’t let that go. Graham Noble is the local

cleric who has been invited to speak along with several of his peers. Many have brought

their other halves along for the trip. When the conference opens Graham is aghast to

see Celia, someone he hasn;t seen for twenty years but he remembers what she was

like and how she was after him. He quickly introduces her to his wife Monica. When Celia

dies from an alleged nut allergy Graham is quickly the prime suspect. He had reason by

way of the past and that he was seen with a bag of peanuts. Monica has a local repuation

of being the one in two murder cases to have come up with the perpitrator. Can she do

it this time and save her husband whom she knows wouldn’t harm a fly?  I love these

books and was sorry to learn that this (hopefully only for now) is the last of Faith’s

books. A book you can really relax with whilst the grey matter can still be a little

active. A robust plot and some larger than life characters who you can picture

easily. I like how Monica gathers the evidence but isn’t involved how a “normal”

detective would be or even the likes of Miss Marple type characters. She sits on

the sidelines, listens (to lines we get- so in theory we should be able to work it out

- takes a better person than me- Gungadin!) and then comes out with

her theory to put it all together. I’ll miss these. A truly wonderful series.

For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

The Manor House Murder
Meet Monica Noble: the vicar’s wife with a taste for solving crimes.


THE WEEKEND TURN MURDEROUS
Monica Noble and her husband Graham, the local vicar, are invited to participate in a high-flying church conference being held at a swanky manor house hotel in their village.

At the Saturday night dinner, the ambitious female cleric Celia Gordon tragically dies, seemingly of a peanut allergy.

But when Chief Superintendent Jason Dury arrives on the scene he quickly discovers that it's a case of murder.

And Monica's husband is the prime suspect.

Other suspects include an eminent bishop, an archdeacon viciously opposed to female clergy, and his wife, the curator of a local museum, who is definitely up to something.

But if Monica is to find out who killed Celia, and free her husband from suspicion, she must grapple with a very ruthless — and increasingly desperate — killer, putting herself and those around her in mortal danger.

This is the third of a series of enjoyable murder mysteries with great characters and baffling crimes which will keep you gripped till the final page.

Perfect for fans of classic whodunits by authors like Agatha Christie, LJ Ross, TE Kinsey, and J.R. Ellis.

MONICA NOBLE was widowed young, leaving her to raise her feisty daughter on her own. That is, until she met and fell in love with Graham Noble, a country vicar (pastor), who enticed her to leave her high-flying job in advertising in the city and move to the Cotswold countryside. There she found bucolic life very pleasant indeed — until murder started to rear its ugly head. And she discovered, to everyone's surprise, that she had a flair for solving the most unholy of crimes.

FAITH MARTIN is the million-selling author of the DETECTIVE HILLARY GREENE and JENNY STARLING mysteries, which have topped the global best-seller charts.

More FAITH MARTIN mysteries coming soon. Join the Joffe Books mailing list to be the first to hear about the next in the series.

MONICA NOBLE MYSTERIES
Book 1: THE VICARAGE MURDER
Book 2: THE FLOWER SHOW MURDER
Book 3: THE MANOR HOUSE MURDER

JENNY STARLING MYSTERIES
Book 1: THE BIRTHDAY MYSTERY
Book 2: THE WINTER MYSTERY
Book 3: THE RIVERBOAT MYSTERY
Book 4: THE CASTLE MYSTERY
Book 5: THE OXFORD MYSTERY
Book 6: THE TEATIME MYSTERY
Book 7: THE COUNTRY INN MYSTERY

FAITH MARTIN
Faith Martin was born in Oxford, and has spent all her life within twenty miles of the university city, even working at Somerville College for five years before turning to writing full-time. The author of the popular DI Hillary Greene novels, she also writes more classic-style 'whodunits' under the pen name Joyce Cato, but began her writing career as Maxine Barry, winning an award for penning romance novels! A popular writer for over 25 years, she has had nearly 50 novels published so far. Her hobbies include walking her now ageing dog, wildlife-watching, reading and (reluctantly) gardening. 
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