A murder most foul When the landlord of a Yorkshire tavern is killed in plain sight, Freda Simonson, the only witness to the crime, becomes plagued with guilt, believing the wrong man has been convicted. Following her death, it seems that the truth will never be uncovered in the peaceful village of Langcliffe... A village of secrets But it just so happens that Freda's nephew is courting the renowned amateur sleuth Kate Shackleton, who decides to holiday in Langcliffe with her indomitable teenage niece, Harriet. When Harriet strikes up a friendship with a local girl whose young brother is missing, the search leads Kate to uncover another suspicious death, not to mention an illicit affair. The case of a lifetime As the present mysteries merge with the past's mistakes, Kate is thrust into the secrets that Freda left behind and realizes that this courageous woman has entrusted her with solving a murder from beyond the grave. It soon becomes clear to her that nothing in Langcliffe is quite as it appears, and with a murderer on the loose and an ever-growing roster of suspects, this isn't the holiday Kate was expecting... Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton returns in A Death in the Dales with another mystery that's sure to "hold the reader attention and make them continue reading into the small hours of the night" (York Press, UK).

Author Biography

FRANCES BRODY is the pseudonym for Frances McNeil. She lives in Leeds in the North of England, where she was born and grew up. Frances started her writing life in radio, with many plays and short stories broadcast by the BBC. She has also written for television and theatre. Her one woman play Jehad was nominated for a Time Out award. Before turning to crime, she wrote historical sagas under her real name, winning the HarperCollins Elizabeth Elgin award for most regionally evocative debut saga of the millennium. Visit her online at www.frances-brody.com.