Books
Our choice of spring reads from local authors.
The Deadly Detective Agency
By Ann Parker
It’s not often you get to solve your own murder, but that’s exactly what happens to Abigail Summers when she wakes up dead! Set in Becklesfield, a fictional village in the Chilterns, Abigail finds herself working with psychic Hayley Moon and her policeman husband, to find out how she died. This truly English mystery, complete with May Fayre and Maypole dancing, has a touch of the paranormal thrown in.
Warners End author Ann Parker previously ran a dressmaking business, but since retiring has published children’s book Magic & Memories and signed a contract for two cosy murder mysteries – this is the first.
For the Love of Farming
By Farmer Will
Farmer Will Young hardly adheres to the traditional image of a farmer – this attractive young man, who initially had plans to be a professional footballer, has made his name on TikTok – and even had a stint on TV’s Love Island. Bringing his love of animals to the fore, this charming book gives an insight into life on his Aylesbury farm in a very accessible way.
Once Upon A Time at the Hotel Midnight
By Jay M Myers
Mystery magic and allure – that’s what you’ll find in this tale of jazz musician, Myles Jakeman, who finds himself at The Hotel Midnight in London in 1936, where jazz, romance and revenge take centre stage. Myles is caught in a dangerous love triangle with singing sensation, Midnight Melody. But all is not what it seems: a brass key in the shape of a treble clef commands bizarre power; a hoard of priceless artefacts becomes one man’s obsession; a mysterious tunnel of music stirs the imagination, and a famous detective saves the life of King Edward VIII.
Born in Canada, and now living in Wigginton, Jay Myers is also the author of Twenty Million
Leagues Above the Sea; The Colour Conspiracy; I Shot the Sheriff, and The Oxymoron Murders & Other Short Stories of the Unexpected.
The Last Murder at the End of the World
By Stuart Turton
This dystopian thriller revolves around a murder on an island paradise that holds what is left of the world. The story is told by Abi – an AI entity that exists in the minds of the last 125 people left on Earth. When head scientist Niema is murdered – and everyone’s memories of the night have been wiped – Emory has 91 hours to find out what happened and save the island.
Berkhamsted author Stuart Turton is the Sunday Times bestselling and Costa Book Award winning author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water.
The Man Alone with the Lake
R T Warner
Achieving your dream life is something many of us aspire to – but what happens when that dream comes at the cost of your wellbeing? When a 22-year-old football prodigy, achieves his career dreams, he finds that it is not what he envisaged. And when a life-altering incident prompts him to re-evaluate his life journey, he realises that what he really yearns for is a life where is utterly alone.
This is the first outing for St Albans-based author R T Warner, who is currently studying medicine
at University.
Finding Hope
By Nicola Baker
The first book in a farm adventure series from Nicola Baker, star of TV’s Our Farm in the Dales.
When ten-year-old Ava moves to Whistledown Farm while her parents are working abroad, she must swap city life for mud, wellies and animals. But as one catastrophe follows another, will Ava learn to love life on the farm and find hope in nature?
For ages eight and above.
Nicola is married to Countryfile presenter Matt Baker. She lives on a smallholding in the Chiltern Hills with her husband and two children.