The Corpse, the Cake and the Calamity.

There's a dead body in the conservatory and somebody is responsible. But who?

In "BESPOKE", my new Victorian mystery romance, the hero— a recently promoted detective inspector from Scotland Yard— has just been seconded to the Yorkshire police. He's not expecting a great deal of excitement, but within a week he is presented with a dead body, a severed foot, a very suspicious slice of cake and a curious parade of suspects. Even Sherlock Holmes would have his hands full.

Over the next few days, I'll introduce you to the scene of the crime and some of the characters in it.  Don't be surprised if some of the red herrings turn out to be chocolate covered.

 Victim: Lady Isolda Skefflington Welford

Age: 61

             In her youth Lady Isolda was the survivor of both a fire and a shipwreck. Ironic, since she was never the adventurous sort— not one to get her petticoats dirty as a child, or do anything particularly daring. As a woman whose life has been filled with duty and charitable causes, Lady Isolda is much admired and respected, held in high regard by the community as a whole. Indeed, her entire family is considered beyond reproach, even if an occasional blind eye must be turned to the coarse, ill-bred manners of her husband (wealthy businessman Ezra Welford) and the transgressions of her offspring. Out of courtesy, deference and sympathy for the faultless, ever-generous Lady Isolda, these failings are overlooked.

            Her roots are in that soil, you see. As a Skefflington, she is part of an ancient, local family tree that stretches back to the Norman conquest. Although that name is in danger of dying out, the ruins of Skefflington Castle still remain, high on the blustery hill, to remind everybody of her noble lineage. For the people of that county, Lady Isolda is one of their own— and yet higher up on a pedestal. Her behavior is the standard by which all are judged.

            But on one unseasonably hot afternoon at the end of September in the year 1893 something quite unexpected will finally be her undoing. Everything anybody has ever known about that grand lady is about to be called into question.

 

As Oscar Wilde wrote, "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."

 

Found dead with a slice of cake in her lap and chocolate on her lips, the impeccable Lady Isolda will leave behind not only crumbs, but a series of clues to frustrate Detective Inspector Deverell. Fortunately, he'll have some help from a certain young woman who, once she's got over the excitement of being a suspect herself, just might prove to be invaluable.

 

 

 

BESPOKE will be available on February 20th, 2019.

 

Image shown here: The Blossom of Youth by Wladyslaw Czachorski 1898)