In the heart of the Cotswolds a body is found. A teenage girl, probably local - somebody's daughter who went out one evening and didn't come back. It is not long before she is identified: fifteen-year-old Lynne Wills, who habitually drank underage in The Silver Bells pub and, on the night of her death, was seen leaving with an unknown man. Chief Inspector Markby's friend Meredith Mitchell has been befriended by another troubled young local girl, Katie Conway. On the surface Lynne and Katie have nothing in common except their age and home town. But could the insights Katie gives Meredith into her difficult family background throw some light on the other young girl?
Lizzie Martin, lady's companion, has been sent from London to the New Forest to comfort a young woman whose baby has tragically died. A sad enough task, but things take an even darker turn when a rat-catcher is found murdered, and the young woman is discovered beside the body, crying and covered in blood. Not knowing where else to turn, Lizzie calls upon her friend Inspector Ben Ross to solve the horrific crime.
Lizzie and Ben return to investigate a brutal murder in this Victorian mystery
When Mr Thomas Tapley, a respectable but down-at-heel gentleman, is found bludgeoned to death in his sitting room, his neighbour Inspector Benjamin Ross of Scotland Yard rushes to the scene. Little is known about the elusive man., until his cousin, Mr Jonathan Tapley, QC, comes forward and exposes the truth of Thomas's tragic past. As the list of suspects begins to mount, Ben can't help wondering how much of the truth is really being revealed...
It is 1864 when Lizzie Martin takes up the post of companion to a wealthy widow who is also a slum landlord. Lizzie is intrigued to learn that her predecessor disappeared, supposedly having run off with an unknown man. But when the girl's body is found in the rubble of one of the recently demolished slums around the prestigious new railway station at St Pancras, Lizzie begins to wonder exactly what has been going on...
It sends a shiver down Detective Superintendent Alan Markby's spine when he hears that a rambler has stumbled across human bones in Stovey Woods in the heart of the Cotswolds. Twenty-two years earlier, as a fresh-faced young inspector, he had a rare failure, in the hunt for a brutal serial rapist preying on local women. After the third rape, the attacker went to ground, never to be heard of again. Now, with a new investigation prompted by the grisly remains, the trail could be warm once more. But almost immediately Markby is confronted with another body and a thoroughly up-to-date murder. Could the two be connected? Perhaps, but it seems that some of the village residents would be just as happy to let sleeping dogs lie and secrets - both old and new - stay hidden...
In the cold light of dawn, a dead body is found in the smouldering remains of a burnt-out Cotswold manor. Key House has stood empty for years, but its owner, Gervase Crown, was seen nearby just before the blaze. Is he responsible, or was he the intended target? As Campbell and Carter begin their investigation it becomes clear that Gervase wasn't particularly popular and his return reawakens old memories, not all of them good.
When Meredith Mitchell bumps into her old school friend Rachel Hunter at the Chelsea Flower Show, she is shocked to discover that she was the first wife of her companion, Chief Inspector Alan Markby. But the meeting is not the only surprise - before the afternoon is out, Markby has a death on his hands!
Fuchs, du hast die Gans gestohlen
Mitchell & Markbys zweiter Fall
Meredtih Mitchell kehrt nach turbulenter Zeit in das idyllische Bamford zurück, um sich dort von ihren Einsätzen im diplomatischen Dienst zu erholen. Ein unerwartet freundliches Willkommen bereiten ihr Chefi nspektor Markby sowie ihre neue Nachbarin Harriet. Kaum, dass sie sich kennengelernt haben, wird Harriet Opfer eines Unfalls. Meredith selbst ist Zeugin eines Sabotageaktes, der für die Freundin tödlich endet.
Als der ehrgeizige Hotelier Eric Schuhmacher verkündet, dass er Springwood Hall, in der Nähe von Bamford gelegen, in ein nobles Landhotel umgestalten will, ist der Protest groß. Sowohl die Gesellschaft zur Bewahrung historischer Gebäude als auch die Leiterin des Tierheims, die Springwood Hall bisher nutzte, stellen sich gegen den Plan. Richtig prekär wird die Lage jedoch erst, als während der Eröffnungsfeier auf dem Grundstück die Leiche einer Frau gefunden wird. Meredith Mitchell und Chefinspektor Markby beginnen zu ermitteln ...
Mord ist aller Laster Anfang
Der verkrümmte Leichnam einer Katze und die des dazugehörigen Besitzers: Das ist Meredith Mitchells erster Eindruck von dem Städtchen Westerfield, wo sie eigentlich nur an der Hochzeit ihrer Nichte teilnehmen wollte. Nun aber wird sie in einen komplizierten Mordfall verwickelt und beginnt auf eigene Faust zu ermitteln - sehr zum Missfallen von Inspektor Markby, der sich nicht nur beruflich für Meredith interessiert.
März, 1870. In Piccadilly wird die Leiche einer Frau gefunden. Die Spur führt Inspector Ben Ross nach Yorkshire, während seine Frau Lizzy sich mit einem anderen mysteriösen Fall beschäftigen muss. Mit einem geheimnisvollen Mädchen, das die Leute immer wieder in einem Haus auftauchen sehen, von dem aber niemand etwas Genaues weiß - und das dann plötzlich ganz verschwindet. Bald schon weisen Indizien auf eine Verbindung zwischen den Fällen hin. Und es wird wieder einmal gefährlich für Lizzy und Ben!
When an ambitious hotelier announces that he will be converting Springwood Hall into a smart country hotel, it is greeted with a chorus of local disapproval led by the fearsome Hope Mapple - head of the Society for the Preservation of Historical Bamford. So the grand opening, to which all are invited, promises to be a lively affair, and particularly since Hope is planning a disruptive protest 'streak'. However, Hope is to be unwittingly upstaged by the discovery of a recently murdered body on the premises. Chief Inspector Markby and his guest Meredith Mitchell's summer treat has suddenly become a horribly sobering crime scene...
