Kirjahaku

Seven strangers are invited to West Cliff House, a secluded estate owned by Cuthbert Waterfield: Annabelle Draper, Major Simmons, Doctor Runcible, Julia Hardcastle, Ahmed Rashid, Wilbur Cunningham and Cuthbert's brother, Herbert. Cuthbert says he did not invite them to his house, and yet here they all are - invited by someone. But by whom - and why? Trapped in the house by the weather and by the high tide, they try to make sense of their situation... and then the murders begin.What is the motive for the killings? Are the guests linked in some way that they are unaware of? Will any of them survive the night and escape at low tide?

Death on Swift Wings is the first book featuring Gertrude Harrington. An ongoing series of cosy mysteries set in the 1950s and 60s, the books will appeal to readers who enjoy Agatha Christie and other Golden Age Murder Mystery novels.At one time, Gertrude was head cook at Templemead Hall in Clyst St James, a sleepy English village in the county of Kingworthy. Following the death of her niece Mabel at the house under suspicious circumstances, Gertrude left her post, and using her severance pay she has purchased the village Tea Room, which she intends to run with another of her nieces, Juliet.In Death on Swift Wings, Gertrude is all set to meet Juliet's fianc , Herbert. But Herbert has disappeared. The Earl of Castleford was invalided out of the Army during the war, and now rears pigeons. A number of his pigeons have been shot from the sky, and Lord Castleford is being blackmailed. He doesn't know why, but suspects any one of the household staff and villagers: he is not well liked by anyone except his wife.There has also been a spate of robberies nearby, but the thief has yet to be caught - he disappears into thin air as though on swift wings, earning him the nickname Pegasus. Gertrude discovers a pouch filled with diamonds, and at the same time Lord Castleford's crashed car is discovered with a dead body at the wheel.In his absence, Herbert becomes the chief subject for all the crimes, but Gertrude feels he is not guilty and so she sets out to prove his innocence.But then a second body is discovered...

6 months after the events of Death on Swift Wings, Gertrude Harrington becomes involved in a new mystery. One of her sisters informs her that the recently reported murder at a Bed and Breakfast in the hamlet of Little Sleeping resembles a death in one of the murder mystery novels written by Lavinia Rushbrook. Lavinia is the owner of Templemead Hall, where Gertrude used to be head cook; someone Gertrude hoped never to meet again. But when more murders resembling those in Lavinia's other novels occur, it becomes clear that a copycat killer is at large. A death closer to home forces Gertrude to meet with her ex-employer to find a motive for the deaths. It is a meeting that reopens old wounds, which Gertrude thought healed. But will the pain help or hinder Gertrude in her quest for the truth?