A murder where nothing is how it seems.

Synopsis

The next thrilling Ham-Hill Murder Mystery from bestselling cosy crime author Frances Evesham.

A winning horse. A fierce rivalry. A sudden death. 

Belinda Sandford thrills to the cheers of the crowd as her beautiful grey racehorse, ‘Butterfly Charm’, thunders past the finishing post first at Wincanton Racecourse. She feels like the luckiest girl in the world.

But joy soon turns to despair as a stewards’ enquiry overturns the result and awards the race to her long-time rival, Alexandra Deacon.

When Alex is found dead in suspicious circumstances, a host of accusing eyes turn to Belinda and her distraught mother begs Adam Hennessy, her neighbour, retired police officer and publican, to help clear her daughter’s name.

As Adam, and local hotelier Imogen Bishop, dig deep into the murky and powerful undercurrents of the horse racing world, they lay bare the lives and loves of local jockeys, grooms, trainers and owners.

They soon uncover a web of secrets hidden within the spectacular Somerset countryside as they strive to find the killer in time to prevent more murders.

A brand new cosy mystery series from the bestselling author of A Village Murder, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Betty Rowlands and M.C. Beaton.

My review

Adam Hennessey, still being the retired police officer is contacted by the desperate mother of Belinda Sandford.
Belinda is a promising jockey who enjoys riding her racehorse Butterfly Charm. But when at the Wincanton Racecourse her victory is taken away from her because of a stewards’ enquiry and her rival Alexandra Deacon is proclaimed winner, her mood quickly shifts.
So when Alex is found dead, there is only one suspect, namely Belinda. And her mother wants Adam to proof the innocence of her beloved daughter.
Adam and local hotelier Imogen Bishop join forces to find out the truth but quickly realize that the world of horse racing is a different world where secrets loom around every corner and nothing is what it seems…

A good whodunit is only good if you as a reader have no clue who done it…
And it’s even better if the motivation for the crime is also revealed just at the very end, after being put on the wrong track a few times.
This book surely ticks off the above mentioned conditions!

From the start it’s obvious that the murder isn’t just a case of rivalry, but there is so much more going on. And the author manages to write in such way that every time that something new appears, you have it all figured out, only to discover later on it was JUST WRONG!!!

Of course I loved reading how Adam and Imogen are again working together, with the addition of Steph and Dan. Even if only one person has actually ever done real investigation, the bundling forces make them able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.
And when the culprit is known, after seeing the clues that were left behind I was nearly shouting: “OF COURSE!!!”.

Adam and Imogen are characters that I already knew, but seeing more of Steph and Dan was lovely. Especially reading how the relationships slowly shifts between the four of them was a very nice addition to the story!

I was again sitting on the edge of my seat, wondering what more was going on that led eventually to the murdering of Alex. There were so many twists that I saw everyone as a potential murderer and I just had to know the truth!
And on a more nicer level, it was nice to see how our main characters are becoming more than just investigators on a mission.