The first mystery in the bestselling Kate Shackleton crime series! A Golden Age murder mystery set in 1920s Yorkshire, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Jacqueline Winspear.

Take one quiet Yorkshire Village, add a measure of mystery, a sprinkling of scandal and Kate Shackleton - amateur sleuth extraordinaire!

Bridgestead is a quiet village: a babbling brook, rolling hills and a working mill at its heart. Pretty and remote, nothing exceptional happens, except for the day when Joshua Braithwaite, goes missing in dramatic circumstances, never to be heard of again.

Now Joshua's daughter is getting married and wants one last attempt at finding her father. Has he run off with his mistress, or was he murdered for his mounting coffers?

Kate Shackleton has always loved solving puzzles. So who better to get to the bottom of Joshua's mysterious disappearance? But as Kate taps into the lives of the Bridgestead dwellers, she opens cracks that some would kill to keep closed . . .

Praise for Frances Brody:

'Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers' DAILY MAIL

'Brody's writing is like her central character Kate Shackleton: witty, acerbic and very, very perceptive' ANN CLEEVES

'Kate Shackleton is a splendid heroine' ANN GRANGER

'Delightful' PEOPLE'S FRIEND

'Brody's excellent mystery splendidly captures the conflicts and attitudes of the time with well-developed characters' RT BOOK REVIEWS

'Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs in a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and were matured by their wartime experiences' LITERARY REVIEW