Kirjahaku

#15 IN THE RAFFERTY & LLEWELLYN COZY MYSTERY SERIES 'Wonderful series. Fantastic books. I highly recommend them. They have terrific characters and interesting plots.' GAIL FARRELLY, AUTHOR If you enjoy some humour with your murders, you'll likely love this series ABOUT THE SERIES DI Joe Rafferty, working-class lapsed Catholic, is cursed by coming from a family who think - if he must be a copper - he might at least have the decency to be a bent one. When you add the middle-class, moralistic intellectual DS Dafyd Llewellyn to the brew the result is murder with plenty of laughs for us and plenty of angst for Rafferty. For lovers of cozy mysteries and British detectives KITH AND KILL #15 Sophia Egerton, matriarch of a family of fashion designers, is murdered on the same day she celebrates her ninetieth birthday. DI Joe Rafferty has to wonder if one of her family thought she had lived too long, because most of the suspects were there when she died and just happen to be the wealthy Sophia's ever-loving relatives. Rafferty and his family have a celebration of their own. But what to buy Ma as a gift to mark the occasion? Rafferty's attempts to persuade his numerous & bolshie siblings that buying a gift from a 'man in the pub' is not a good idea, not least from his police career point of view, involves him in some serious - and cripplingly expensive -bribery and corruption. If only he'd remembered that his Ma had a mind of her own he might have saved himself both grief and cash. His investigation proceeds on its un-merry way, thwarted not only by his own mind's obsession with the Rafferty-family propensity for dodgy purchases, and the victim's family, but also by his own parish priest. Fr Roberto Kelly, so frequently Rafferty's b te-noire, has turned up to offer succour to one of his lady parishioners. But it is only by getting the contrarily-wilful priest on-side that Rafferty knows he will ever get a conviction. 'Evans' series has stand out central characters and clever plots.' AUNT AGATHA'S BOOKSHOP, ANN ARBOR

'A captivating read.' FIVE STARS ON READERS' FAVORITE'A very readable account of a fascinating woman who dared to stand up to Henry VIII and survived. It is thoroughly researched, admirably written, and the author's love of the Tudor period shines through.' Historical Novels ReviewShe dared to defy him. But Mary Rose Tudor, the little sister of Henry VIII, paid a price.Can you imagine what it must be like to be the little sister of English king, Henry VIII? Remember, this is the king who went on to have six wives, two of whom he had beheaded.And although the teenage Mary Rose is his favourite sister (he even named his famous ship after her), his shifting alliances and ruthless desire to have his own way, made him push the young and lovely Mary into a hateful state marriage with the ailing and ancient King Louis XII of France.But, a reluctant Mary Rose, as strong-willed as Henry and passionately in love, for the first time, doesn't give in easily. Before agreeing to the match, after a relentless campaign to get her to say yes, by her loving brother, Mary Rose extracts a promise from Henry. A promise she is determined he will keep.

His first murder investigation......and Joe Rafferty's already got troubles in spades.His first case in charge looks like being his last.Because his new boss has taken against him; the case is a poisoned chalice with a 'faceless lady' victim; and his main suspect is pals with the Chief Constable.Even his Ma adds seems to add to the kicking...Does she really expect him to supply a Get Out of Jail free card for his cousin, Jailhouse Jack? When what Jack needs is a miracle.And Jack's not the only one.Rafferty's boss rubs his hands in anticipation of his failure; perhaps he's got some detective favourite ready to slot into his space. And the case of the 'Faceless Lady' looks likely to be the one that enables him to do it. His Ma's little problem just adds the cherry on the top.All he can do is grit his teeth and hope for a lucky break.But when it comes, it's from such an unlikely source that he suspects the fates are having a laugh at his expense. But it's the only clue he's got, so he has to follow it up.Will he end up with egg on his face? Or solve the murder against all the odds?Rafferty wishes he knew. The only thing he's sure of is his boss gunning for him if he fails. The victim needs justice, and Rafferty's determined to get it for her. But he also wants to deprive his boss of his petty satisfaction. So he goes with his gut-instinct, but keeps his fingers crossed all the way.'Evans' humor seriously added to my enjoyment of her book. The series has stand out central characters and clever plots.' AUNT AGATHA'S BOOKSHOP, ANN ARBOR'Did not see the end coming.' Reader Reviewer

'The original crossroads used to run by here, ' Sam told Rafferty. 'Legend has it that this was the old Hanging Tree.'When Inspector Rafferty first hears the report that a bound and hooded body has been seen hanging from a tree in Dedman Wood, he dismisses it as a schoolboy hoax, especially when police at the scene find nothing out of the ordinary.But his anxiety rises sharply when the witness turns out to be a respectable local magistrate, who identifies the corpse as Maurice Smith, a man once accused of four child rapes. Thrown out on a legal technicality, Smith's case had become a cause c l bre which had generated much ill-feeling within the community.Then the body turns up again in the woods. Could there be a self-appointed executioner at work, meting out his own form of justice on the legendary Hanging Tree?

'Well, this was a real find. Geraldine Evans knows how to make a character leap off the pages at you.'For Readers who like cozy mysteries and humorous mysteries.Superstitious British Detective Joseph Rafferty is having a bad week - not an unusual occurrence - and he can't help feeling trouble comes in threes. Also niggling in his mind is the fact that Llewellyn, his posh sergeant, has brought a 'bargain' suit from Rafferty's Ma. Sure to be stolen goods, the suit is bound to drop Rafferty in it when the holier-than-thou Llewellyn wears it on his wedding day -- with the loathed, sharp-eyed, Superintendent Bradley amongst the guests.Rafferty's first premonition turns out to be accurate when a company manager is found dead at his desk. The tyrannical Barstaple had known full well that he was hated by most of the office. But did he really deserve to be poisoned? And so horribly.Rafferty's week goes from bad to worse and worse again. And when you take the 'bargain' suit into the equation and Superintendent Bradley's anticipated reaction to this stolen piece of shmutter, the week really has gone to Hell in a handcart. And taken Rafferty with it. But maybe even Hell will be the better destination compared to the possibilities the Superintendent is sure to have in mind.ʻAn ingeniously constructed plot, deft dialogue, well-drawn characters, and a few humorous touches, make this an enjoyably intriguing read.'

Increasingly conscious of his lonely state, Detective Inspector Joe Rafferty signed up with the Made in Heaven dating agency, using an assumed name to stop his colleagues and his nosy Ma finding out what he'd done. What he hadn't bargained on was that he should wind up investigating the murders of two female members of the dating agency, with himself, or rather his alter ego, in the frame for the crime.Will the anonymity of the alias be enough to carry him through the investigation? And will the extra time he's bought prove sufficient to find the women's real killer before the finger of suspicions is pointed at him?