Murder at the Rookery Grange Retreat

By Gina Kirkham

What it’s about?

Christmas Eve, 1989. A couple is found slumped in front of their twinkling Christmas tree in an apparent murder-suicide . . .

Today. Librarian Pru Pearce is preparing for her wedding to police detective Andy Barnes. But after one of her Women’s Institute friends suffers a suspicious accident at Rookery Grange, a home for the elderly and infirm, Pru and the other ladies are on alert. And when one of the residents is asphyxiated with a pillow, no one can rest easy . . .

With her wedding taking a disastrous turn and a killer on the loose, the part-time detective makes another vow: to investigate and solve the mystery. Will she unravel generations of murderous secrets and find the culprit?

What I think:

Released this week, Murder at the Rookery Grange Retreat is the third book in the Prunella Pearce Mystery series.

With the help of her best-friend Bree, Pru is in the middle of planning her wedding to gorgeous police detective Andy Barnes. Everything seems to be on track, but it isn’t long before the wedding plans are going awry, there’s a crazy wedding planner getting involved.

There’s also murder and mystery at Rookey Grange Retreat, a local care home where Pru helps out. When one of the residents dies in suspicious circumstances, Andy and his team are investigating. Winnie Clegg is staying at the home while she recuperates and has a seemingly lucky escape in her wheelchair. But is it just an accident, or was she pushed. Is there something sinister going on at the Retreat?

As well as Pru and Bree who are such wonderful characters, the real stars of this book are the Four Wrinkled Dears, the old ladies from the WI who set out to investigate what is going on. They are absolutely hilarious and I can only hope that my own WI friends age like them! This will genuinely make you laugh.

With some of the chapters from the killer’s point of view, the pace of this increases throughout the book.

This is such a fun series. The characters are genuinely loveable and interesting and funny. There is the perfect balance between intrigue and humour. This is a great read for a cold winter’s evening and perfect for fans of cosy mysteries.

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murders-Rookery-Grange-Retreat-unmissable-ebook/dp/B0CHW1XF26/ref=sr_1_1

About the author:

Gina was born in the late 1950s to a mum who frequently abandoned her in a pram outside Woolworths and a dad who after two pints of beer could play a mean Boogie Woogie on the piano in the front room of their 3-bed semi on the Wirral. Being the less adventurous of three children, she remains there to this day – apart from a long weekend in Bognor Regis in 1982.

Her teenage years were filled with angst, a CSE in Arithmetic, raging pimples and Barry White. Marriage and motherhood ensued, followed by divorce in her early thirties and a desperate need for a career and some form of financial support for herself and her young daughter. Trundling a three-wheeled trike along a leafy path one wintry day, memories of her favourite author Enid Blyton, ginger beer and solving mysteries along with her lifelong passion to be a police officer, excitedly gave way to an epiphany. And thus began an enjoyable and fulfilling career with Merseyside Police.

On reaching an age most women lie about, she quickly adapted to retirement by utilising her policing skills to chase after two granddaughters, two dogs and one previously used, but still in excellent condition, husband. Having said goodbye to what had been a huge part of her life, she suddenly had another epiphany. This time it was to put pen to paper to write a book based on her experiences as a police officer. Lying in bed one night staring at the ceiling, Gina’s alter-ego Mavis Upton was born, ready to star in a humorous and sometimes poignant look at the life, loves and career of an everyday girl who followed a dream and embarked upon a search for the missing piece of her childhood.

Thank you to Bloodhound books for my gifted digital copy of Murders at Rookery Grange Retreat, and to Love Books Tours for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful blog tour.