TROUBLE IN THE COTSWOLDS

Thea Osborne hopes to spend a quiet Christmas house sitting for the Shepherds in the picturesque Cotswold village of Stanton. But her arrival coincides with the funeral of local businessman Douglas Callendar, found electrocuted in his bath, and amateur sleuth Thea finds her curiosity piqued. When another villager is discovered brutally murdered the following afternoon, Thea is thrust into the middle of yet another police investigation. With the Callendar family linked to most of the village, Stanton is bursting with suspects. Jealousy, closures of footpaths and secret animal research are all possible motives for the murders, and Thea finds herself in a pickle when even the most trustworthy of the local residents are questionable. 318pp, paperback.