Welcome to England’s New Forest, where clinging mists hide many a secret. Step beneath the towering pines — on any twisty heathland path — and you’ll soon realise there’s more to this place than meets the eye . . .
Detective Elinor Saxby leaves the city for a crooked little cottage near sleepy Lyndhurst village.
It’s not exactly her dream home, cut off from everything and everyone she’s ever known. But Elinor will do anything to leave her troubled past behind.
She can run from her demons. But she can’t hide.
The very next morning, Elinor gets a call from her new sergeant.
A woman’s been found dead. Drowned in the pool of her luxury woodland spa. Her silk gown is ruined. Her perfect skin marred by livid red hand prints.
But it’s not these details that send Elinor spiralling in panic. It’s the victim’s name. Because the dead woman is no stranger to Elinor. She texted just last night to ask Elinor one last favour.
Now the only favour Elinor can do her is to find her killer.
Linda Mather is the author of the Jo and Macy Mystery series. The 6th book in this
series is THE PERFECT HOUSE FOR MURDER, published in August 2023.
Her Jo and Macy Mystery books are Forecast Murder, A Sign for Murder, Murder as Predicted, The Hanged Man and A Future Murder, all published by Joffe Books and available on Amazon. They feature Jo Hughes and her private investigator boss David Macy. Jo is an astrologer, who also works as a PI and whose tenacious inquiries lead her to twisty resolutions.
The Jo and Macy Mysteries series is set in the West Midlands and Cotswolds. A sense
of place is really important to Linda. She likes to research the places she writes about by visiting when she can to absorb the atmosphere, weaving the details into the stories.
The idea for her latest book came to her during lockdown during many canal walks.
The cottages with their flower-filled window boxes and the idyllic pubs along the canal path are so pretty and perfect that it looks as if nothing bad could ever happen there. Linda saw this as a challenge.
Linda has recently landed a contract for 3 books in a police thriller series and is
currently writing the first of these, which is set in the New Forest.
She also has plans for the next Jo & Macy Mystery.
My thoughts: Elinor has moved from the busy buzz of Birmingham Police to the sleepy New Forest, where she doesn’t think they have much crime. But her first case is murder, and the victim is someone she knows.
While the team get to work, Elinor has to deal with office politics, a new boss, and members of her team who would rather be anywhere else than here.
Luckily newly qualified Detective Constable Nancy is keen as mustard and determined to get to the bottom of the case, how did a trauma counsellor end up face down in the pool at a luxury hotel and spa with her lungs full of chlorine gas? And does an accident involving the same hotel’s handyman and his moped have anything to do with it?
As the case unfolds and the team starts to get used to their new DCI, can they get to the bottom of things and work together, and can Elinor whip them into shape subtly, avoiding comparisons with her predecessor, whose exit seems to be have been swifter than she originally believed. What is going on in the New Forest?
An enjoyable and engaging start to a new series, from which Nancy emerges as the most interesting character apart from Elinor, who has plenty of secrets of her own. I look forward to more in the next book.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
Thank you so much for being a part of this adventure x 💚💛
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