A Drew Farthering Mystery, #6
Genre: Historical British Mystery / Suspense
Date of Publication: November 7, 2017
Pages: 336
Investigating a suspicious accident leads Drew on a path that points to international intrigue and ever-growing danger.
Drew Farthering arrives in idyllic Scotland for the 1935 British Open at Muirfield, hoping for a relaxing holiday with his wife, Madeline, and friend Nick. But death meets him once again when Lord Rainsby, their host at Thorburn Hall, is killed in a suspicious riding accident--only days after confiding in Drew his fears that his business partner was embezzling funds.
Thorburn Hall is filled with guests, and as Drew continues to dig, he realizes that each appears to have dark motives for wanting Rainsby out of the way. Together with Madeline and Nick, he must sort through shady business dealings, international intrigue, and family tensions to find a killer who always seems to be one step ahead.
Praise for Death at Thorburn Hall:
"Amateur sleuthing at its finest!" ~Fresh Fiction Review
"Another great mystery headed by the charming Drew Farthering and his intelligent wife, Madeline. There is murder, mystery, intrigue and a little romance, which makes Death at Thorburn Hall a most enjoyable read . . . The plot has twists, turns and a few surprises throughout the story. Deering is at her best when penning Drew Farthering mysteries." ~RT Book Reviews
"This sixth series entry will delight Agatha Christie fans." ~Library Journal
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Excerpt:
Chapter One, Part Two
From Death at Thorburn Hall by Julianna Deering
Drew gave the woman a polite smile. “If there’s nothing else . . . ?”
“Oughtn’t you to introduce me to your friends, Misha?” she said, turning appealingly to the Russian.
“Merely passersby, ma’am,” Drew said with a tip of his hat. “If you have everything sorted here . . .”
“Oh, yes. Certainly. It’s too good of you to try to help. Poor Misha, he can’t be troubled with practical matters, you know. The brain of the artist is simply too profound for the trivialities you and I must deal with. I’m sure you understand.”
The man was standing now with his hand spread across his shirtfront, his brow furrowed as if his recent near-tragedy had quite overcome him.
“I’m certain he bears it as bravely as he is able,” Drew told the woman, somehow managing to look earnestly solicitous.
“I am never one to complain,” the Russian said dolefully.
“No, of course not,” the woman soothed.
“The past is gone,” he sighed, “and we must carry on.”
“Good man,” Drew said with hearty finality. “Stiff upper lip and that, eh? Well, I’m afraid we have a car waiting for us, so we’d best be off. Good luck to you both.”
“Oh, dear,” the woman said, standing tiptoe as she attempted to see over the crowd. “Where is Alfred now? I don’t want them waiting dinner for us.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Madeline hissed, tugging her husband’s arm.
He followed her toward the station exit, looking baffled.
“You were going to go back and help her. Don’t bother denying it.”
“Nonsense. I was merely trying to see where Nick had got to.” He lifted his head, looking back toward the train. “I thought I saw him just over there.”
She pressed her lips together. “And what would he be doing over there? The way he bolted off the train, you’d have thought it was on fire.”
It was too loud in the station to hear her husband’s low laughter, but she could feel the soft rumble of it in his chest. “He was rather worried about not being on the platform when Carrie’s train comes in. I don’t think he much cared for her coming all this way alone, and I can’t blame him.”
“Judging by the telegram she sent from the dock, she got along just fine. And she wasn’t exactly alone.”
But she was alone. Carrie Holland had been her best friend for just ages. Carrie’s father had walked Madeline down the aisle at her wedding, taking her own late father’s place in the ceremony in giving her to Drew. She had teased and scolded Carrie’s little brother as if he were her own. But now both father and brother were gone. Her mother had passed on years ago. Carrie had no one left.
Drew squeezed her hand. “I know you’re worried about her, darling, but I’m hoping this visit is just what she needs to put things right.”
“I’m hoping it won’t be just a visit.”
He gave her a wink. “That, my love, is where Nick steps in.”
Madeline nodded. Poor Nick. He had fallen hard for Carrie three years ago when she and Madeline had come to Drew’s Hampshire estate, Farthering Place, as part of their European tour. Madeline had stayed and married Drew, while Carrie had gone on with her tour and then returned home. After a year of letters between her and Nick, she had come back to England to visit. Absence had certainly made their hearts grow fonder, but then the loss of her brother made it necessary for her to return home once more to care for her grieving father. Now there was nothing in America to hold her, yet were letters enough? After two more years apart, would things be the same between her and Nick?
“He should have asked her to marry him long before now,” Madeline said.
Drew shrugged. “It was a bit awkward when she left the last time, you know. She had her father to deal with along with everything else, and he didn’t want to make it any more difficult for her, trying to keep her in Hampshire when she needed to see to things at home. And you wouldn’t want him to pop the question via telegram, would you? That would be shockingly vulgar.”
She giggled at the look of melodramatic horror on his face. “I suppose there are more romantic methods.”
“Mine, for example.”
She stopped short, one hand on her hip. “Yours? Your method was to nearly get yourself killed so I was forced to stay and keep you out of trouble.”
He looked positively smug. “It worked, didn’t it?”
She lifted an eyebrow and then started them walking once more. Feeling him laugh again, she prodded him with her elbow and nodded toward the platform they were approaching.
“You’d better go rescue Nick before he topples off.”
Hat in hand and tawny hair ruffled by the wind, Nick was leaning out over the track, obviously looking for any sign of the train.
Drew hurried up beside him and pulled him back a little. “Best look out there, old man. It’d be a bit of a letdown for your Miss Holland if she finds you under the train rather than waiting beside it.”
Nick’s smile was more nervous than convincing. “Just wondering why the deuced thing isn’t here yet. You don’t think there was a breakdown or anything, do you?”
“Of course not.” Madeline took his arm and gave her husband a look that discouraged a flippant response. “It’s not even due yet.”
“Isn’t it?” Nick looked up at the station clock and then gave Madeline a rather sheepish grin. “I suppose it isn’t.” Then his expression became urgent. “She is coming, isn’t she?”
“You have her telegram, don’t you?” Drew asked.
Nick beamed and patted his breast pocket, eliciting the crackle of paper. “Shall I quote it for you?”
Drew turned to Madeline, shaking one accusing finger at her. “I hold you responsible for every bit of this, wife. Here I thought I had a fine estate manager and stout fellow for any emergency, and you arrange for him to be turned into some helpless form of jelly.”
She looked at him with disdain. “Carrie and I came to Hampshire on vacation. Any jellification on the part of either of you is entirely your own fault.”
“I see,” Drew said gravely. “When we go home to Hampshire, I will see that inquiries are made.”
About the Author:
Julianna Deering (also writing as DeAnna Julie Dodson) has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness, and triumph over adversity. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with three spoiled cats and, when not writing, spends her free time quilting, cross stitching, and watching NHL hockey. Her series of Drew Farthering mysteries set in 1930s England debuted from Bethany House with Rules of Murder (2013) and is followed by Death by the Book and Murder at the Mikado (2014). Dressed for Death (2016), and Murder on the Moor and Death at Thorburn Hall (2017). She is represented by Wendy Lawton of the Books and Such Literary Agency.
Connect with Julianna: Website | Twitter | Deanna Website | Amazon Page | Facebook
Giveaway:
One Winner Will Receive the Full Drew Farthering Mystery Series!
November 28-December 7, 2017
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