Edna Fowler scurried across the sweeping gravel drive and up the wide stone steps to the solid oak front door of Didsbrook Manor. It was slightly ajar, and when she banged the gothic cast iron knocker against it, it groaned open...
The Blurb
The remote village of Didsbrook is thrown into turmoil after its best-known resident, the former actress turned best-selling novelist Jocelyn Robertshaw, is found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Villagers are appalled to learn that the charismatic Jocelyn died from Hemlock poisoning. Police claim she shot and ate a quail that had ingested hemlock. A theory disputed by all who knew her well. The animal-loving Jocelyn would never kill anything, but due to the lack of forensic evidence, police rule death by misadventure.
Jocelyn’s young protégée, Lucy Fothergill, determined to discover the truth about what happened to her mentor, discovers a hidden stash of Jocelyn’s notebooks, revealing jaw-dropping secrets from Jocelyn’s past. The impression Jocelyn gave the world that she lived a near-perfect life was an Academy Award-winning performance.
Believing the events from Jocelyn’s past may have led to her death forty-eight years later, Lucy begins to piece together the clues that lead to the truth.
The sleepy village of Didsbrook is about to wake up!
My Review
This novel contained so many wonderful characters. I enjoyed becoming acquainted with them all.
The book opens with the discovery of the body of Jocelyn Robertshaw, a former actress, writer, and philanthropist to the village of Didsbrook. She is well loved and respected by her friends and the villagers. When the police declare her death a suicide, her friends refuse to believe it.
Lucy, the young protegee of Joc, as she's referred to throughout the book, sets out to find evidence that this was not a suicide but murder. Lucy was a likable character. She is young, genuine, and at times a little naive about the world.
It is a dialogue-led book, and I could very well imagine this book being on stage. The author used the conversation between the characters to move the story along perfectly.
There were times when the book was a little predictable, but this did not detract from my enjoyment of it. That said, I did not work out who had committed the crime until the reveal, and sometimes, predictability can be a good thing.
I enjoyed the humour that the author sprinkled throughout the novel. It made for a fun and entertaining book to read. It is a nice cosy crime novel which lovers of the genre will enjoy.
Book Details
ISBN: 978 1036920968
Publisher: My Alter Ego and Me Press
Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)
No. of Pages: 305 (paperback)
Purchase Links
About the Author
Tessa Barrie was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and despite her parents uprooting her at the age of three and moving her down south, she is proud of her Yorkshire heritage. Growing up, she recalls her family life being more Little House on the Prairie than The Waltons because her early years were fraught with drama. However, intermingled with all the emotional disruption, she remembers humour squeezing its way through the frayed feelings.
So, incorporating humour in her writing has become very important to her as she believes that, however dark a story gets, there should always be a subtle sprinkling of humour.
In June 2021, Tessa self-published her debut novel, Just Say It, a bittersweet family saga, and her second novel, The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook, a quirky murder mystery, and was published on 1st July 2025.
Her third novel, The Rebuilding of Freya Michaels, will be published in 2026.
You can also find Tessa at:
(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)
(author photo courtesy of the author)
(all opinions are my own)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
