The Body at Rookery Barn

By Kate Hardy

What it’s about?

Outside, Rookery Barn glows in the mid-morning sunshine while fat bees flit lazily between the forget-me-nots. Inside, a body lies dead…

Widowed Georgina Drake has no regrets about moving to beautiful, sleepy Little Wenborough in rural Norfolk. Until she opens the door to her rental property and finds the dead body of her latest guest, irritable university professor Roland Garnett. And on top of that she’s suddenly hearing a woman’s voice through her hearing aids.

Completely shaken by the discovery, Georgina can hardly believe it when the police conclude that Professor Garnett was poisoned, with a dinner delivered by Georgina herself. Is she about to be accused of murder? Georgina needs to pull herself together, try to ignore the distracting voice, and clear her name!

Asking around, it seems Roland Garnett offended half the village during his three-week stay and made unwelcome advances to the rest. But who was provoked enough to poison him? Georgina’s best lead is the deadly oleander found in Roland’s system. Her gardener, Young Tom, had access to the plant, but before she can talk to him Tom becomes the killer’s next victim.

As the crimes mount up, so do the clues, but does Georgina have what it takes to follow them to their conclusion? Even when her amateur sleuthing puts her next in the killer’s sights…?

An addictive and completely gripping cosy crime novel. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Midsomer Murders.

What I think:

I’ve been off work this week with an absolutely rotten cold, and need something to read while snuggled up drinking Lemsip. Cosy mysteries are always a go to comfort read, so I started on The Body at Rookery Barn by Kate Hardy.

This is a great start to the new Georgina Drake series. Set in a fictional Norfolk village, Georgina is a relative outsider, having moved there two years earlier. She has made some good friends and her adult children visit regularly and have a great relationship with their mum.

The story begins when Georgie goes over to check on her rental property, which is adaject to her family home. The barn conversion has been rented to a visiting lecturer from Cambridge who wanted peace and quiet to write his book. When she open the door it is clear that all is not well and her guest is dead. What initially looks like a heart attack soon becomes suspicious.

It soon becomes clear that investigating officer DI Colin Bradshaw thinks Georgie herself may be involved. With the help of some friends, Georgie sets out to find out who killed the unpleasant guest who seems to have upset everyone he ever met.

There’s also a slightly spooky but interesting parallel mystery as Georgie sets out to fund the history of the farm and the fate of the previous owners.

I feel like this book has set up some nice relationships for future investigations, especially between Georgina and Colin. The writer is creating a whole world, and I expect Georgie’s friends will reappear. I would definitely read another book in the series, and it will be interesting to see where the unresolved mystery leads.

Thank you Netgalley and Storm Publishing for this advanced digital copy of The Body at Rookery Barn. It was perfect company while I’ve been ill.