Betty Rowlands - Page 1
Hardback
Hodder & Stoughton
(2004) |
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Sweet Venom
Betty Rowlands, queen of the contemporary cosy, brings us a deliciously intriguing mystery with a surprising sting.
Aidan Cresney seems to be a model citizen. An active member of the parish council and a former barrister, he took up beekeeping as a retirement hobby.
Cresney confidently boasts that bees will never attack an apiarist `who knows what he’s doing’. Yet one day he is found dead after suffering multiple stings.
When a second family member dies in similar circumstances, tongues begin to wag. And Melissa Craig, the Cotswolds’ intrepid crime-writing sleuth, starts to uncover some disturbing secrets ...
Sweet Venom is a well-plotted, and captivating crime novel from this acclaimed author.
Praise for Betty Rowlands' Melissa Craig Mysteries
'Full of sharp insights with an unexpected twist in the tail' Val McDermid Manchester Evening News
'A clearly gifted and knowledgeable writer, never less than engaging and readable' Financial Times
'Gently old-fashioned whodunit, riddled with lurking anguish' The Times
'A splendidly lively debut ... good plotting, well-crafted writing and believable characterisation' Publishing News
'All the best ingredients of English crime ... a novel of sharp insights' Cotswold Life
‘She has the rare skill that grabs the reader’s complete attention at page one and holds it to the end’ Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.
‘Astute characterisation and good local colour… engaging and sensitive’ Oxford Times
Dirty Work
This is a crime Sukey Reynolds shouldn't be investigating... if she wants to stay alive The work of a Scenes of Crime Officer is usually pretty routine: photographing crime scenes, picking up strands of clothing, dusting for fingerprints. But when Sukey Reynolds is called in to the gory scene of the murder of 'Evita' Stanton, she knows it'll take weeks before her nightmares subside. Sukey's habit of parting from her job description by investigating the crimes themselves, and - even more exasperatingly - solving them, has been putting a strain on her affair with DI Jim Castle. But this time he can't afford to be indifferent to her conclusions.
No Laughing Matter
Two fatal cases of food poisoning at Framleigh House, the smart residential home where Melissa Craig's mother Sylvia is staying, are treated by the authorities as accidental. To Melissa's consternation, Sylvia decides to do some detective work: Why do the once-married couple ignore one another in company but make a secret rendezvous in the grounds? Do the two gay actors fit into the puzzle? Can Sylvia trust the confidante whom she has roped into her 'investigation'? When another resident is taken ill Melissa starts to take her mother's concerns seriously and begins to investigate with the aid of local journalist Bruce Ingram and in so doing puts her own life in jeopardy
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First British Edition Hodder & Stoughton (2001) |
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The Fourth Suspect
Cotswold based crime writer Melissa Craig has acquired a reputation for solving real mysteries. But when her estranged father is found murdered in his own workshop, events come chillingly close to home. To Melissa’s horror, fingerprints found on the murder weapon prove to be those of the mother with whom she has had no contact for almost thirty years.
Determined to prove her mother’s innocence, Melissa starts her own investigation with the help of her literary agent, Joe Martin. And as she probes into the background to her father’s personal and business life, she discovers that he wasn’t quite the puritanical pillar of society he purported to be.
And then a second victim is found brutally murdered. . .
| Paperback - Coronet (2000) |
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First British Edition Hodder & Stoughton (2000) |
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The Man at the Window
Melissa Craig, ‘a canny and vigorous crime novelist’ Financial Times, faces her most challenging case to date in Betty Rowlands’ intriguing, engaging and powerful new novel.
Graham Shipley has come to the Cotswolds to take up a new teaching appointment and to make a fresh start after the break-up of his marriage. He is made welcome by the Head of St Monica’s Preparatory School and by his new neighbour in Upper Benbury, crime writer Melissa Craig.
But shortly after his arrival a young girl is found drowned. Foul play is suspected and Graham’s past threatens to catch up with him. In desperation, he turns to Melissa for help.
As Melissa quietly questions anyone who might have seen the girl that fateful day, she soon discovers that this is not a simple case of murder -there are other more complex and sinister influences at work in the village.
About The Author
In 1988 Betty Rowlands won the Sunday Express/Veuve Clicquot Crime Short Story of the Year Competition. Her success continued with the publication of five acclaimed Melissa Craig mysteries, A Little Gentle Sleuthing, Finishing Touch, Over the Edge, Exhaustive Enquiries and Malice Poetic all available as Coronet paperbacks. She is an active member of the Crime Writers' Association and regularly gives talks and readings, runs workshops and serves on panels at Crime Writing Conventions.
She lives in the heart of the Cotswolds where her Melissa Craig Mysteries are set and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
Sweet Venom
(Hodder & Stoughton,
2004)
May 04
(Melissa Craig)
Dirty Work
(
2003)
Severn House Oct 03
No Laughing Matter
(
2003)
Hodder May 03
(Melissa Craig)
Touch Me Not
(Severn House,
2001)
Severn House Jan 01
(Sukey Reynolds)
The Fourth Suspect
(Hodder & Stoughton,
2001)
(Melissa Craig)
The Man at the Window
(Hodder & Stoughton,
2000)
Coronet Pbk Aug 00
(Melissa Craig)
Death at Dearley Manor
(Severn House,
1998)
(Sukey Reynolds)
The Cherry Pickers
(Hodder & Stoughton,
1998)
NEL Pbk 1998
(Melissa Craig)
An Inconsiderate Death
(Severn House,
1997)
Severn House Aug 97
(Sukey Reynolds)
Deadly Legacy
(Hodder & Stoughton,
1996)
(Melissa Craig)
Smiling at Death
(Hodder,
1995)
(Melissa Craig)
A Hive of Bees
(Severn House)
(Sukey Reynolds)
A Little Gentle Sleuthing
(Melissa Craig)
Over the Edge
(Melissa Craig)
Finishing Touch
(Melissa Craig)
Malice Poetic
(Melissa Craig)
Exhaustive Enquiries
(Melissa Craig)
Sweet Venom
by Betty Rowlands
