The third Fish and Chip Shop Detective novel is out tomorrow!
To whet your appetite, I’m sharing an exclusive extract from The Fish and Chip Shop Detectives and a Mystery at Sea.
Blurb
Get ready to join the Fish and Chip Shop Detectives as they set sail on their latest investigation…
In the picturesque Cornish seaside village of Mousehole, Maggie and Ryan are busy running Robbins’ Fish and Chip Shop. They love nothing more than a cup of tea, a nice slice of cake… and solving a murder mystery.
But Maggie and Ryan weren’t expecting to find a dead body in the castle on St Michael’s Mount, a famous island known for its causeway that disappears under water at high tide.
Already searching for a local youth, Mitch, who’s been missing for three weeks, Maggie and Ryan fear the worst. Then when a fishing boat is stolen, the detectives begin to suspect that all three mysterious events are somehow connected…
Has Mitch found himself in at the deep end? And can the amateur sleuths solve their latest case before the truth is left out at sea?
Don’t miss book 3 in the Fish and Chip Shop Detective Agency Series, perfect for fans of Fiona Leitch and Peter Boland – available to pre-order now!
EXTRACT: (From Chapter Two)
‘Linda.’ Maggie got to her feet. ‘Can we get you a drink?’ ‘A hot chocolate would be lovely. Thank you.’
‘I’ll fetch it.’ Ryan stood up. ‘Cream and marshmallows?’ ‘Just plain, please.’
Maggie noticed their client’s hunched shoulders and bowed head as she sank onto the bench. ‘I’m assuming you’ve not heard from your nephew?’
‘Nothing.’ Linda looked up. ‘I hope I’m worrying over nothing, but I’ve got this feeling I can’t shake. Something is wrong.’
‘Feelings like that should never be ignored.’
‘That’s what I thought. If I did nothing, and Mitch was in trouble …’
‘You’d never forgive yourself.’ Maggie nodded sympa-thetically.
‘James, my brother and Mitch’s dad, thinks I’m fussing because my husband is dead and not around to annoy.’
‘That’s a bit harsh.’
‘His wife Angela walked out on him and Mitch five years ago. It hit James hard.’ Linda looked drawn. ‘He never used to say such cruel things. I try to cut him some slack, but sometimes …’
As Ryan returned, a mug of hot chocolate in hand, Maggie opened her notebook. ‘We’ll do everything we can to find Mitch, but we can’t promise success.’
‘I appreciate your candour.’ Linda placed her palms on the table. ‘What would you like to know first?’
‘Let’s start with the basics.’ Maggie removed the lid from her pen. ‘Mitch’s full name, age and address.’
‘Mitchell Ashley. He’s nineteen, and he lives with his father at 9 Alma Road, Penzance.’
As Maggie wrote down Linda’s responses, Ryan took over the questioning. ‘Is he working or at college? University?’
‘Unemployed. Failed his A levels last year.’ Linda wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. ‘Mitch always did okay at school. He’s practical rather than academic, but he still got eight GCSEs – all Cs. He was disappointed not to get a few Bs, but I remember saying the Cs stood for consistent. Cheered him up … that’s when he decided to stay on at school to do A levels in the sixth form.’
‘He went to the local academy?’ When Linda nodded, Maggie ventured, ‘You mentioned his mum left five years ago.’ ‘Things had been bad between Angela and James for a while, but they kept trying for Mitch’s sake. I’ll be the first to admit that James is not always easy to be around. One day
Angela just upped and left. Without Mitch.’ ‘Do you know why she left him behind?’
‘I don’t, Maggie. Maybe she just wanted a clean break. Or she may have thought it was best for Mitch to have a stable home with his GCSEs coming up.’
‘But to leave your teenage son …’ Ryan left his sentence hanging in the air. ‘Can I ask what you meant when you said James isn’t easy to be around?’
‘Short temper. Not good at holding down a job. Consequently, money’s always tight. I did wonder if Angela’d found someone easier to live with – but I’ve no evidence of that.’
‘What does James think?’
‘He’s too angry to think. My brother has never come to terms with his wife leaving him. In his heart, I’m sure he knows he treated her badly – I can’t decide if he’s broken-hearted or simply furious with her or himself, or both.’ Linda let out a heavy sigh. ‘James started to drink too much as well, making him even more morose. And alcohol tends to inflame his temper further.’
‘I see.’ Maggie found herself wondering if Mitch had gone away to escape his father’s ire.
Changing the direction of the interview, Ryan asked, ‘What does Mitch look like?’
‘Short ginger hair, sprinkle of freckles. Here.’ Linda opened her phone. ‘I’ve got a picture. I’ll WhatsApp it over.’ Maggie and Ryan found themselves looking at a boy who was entirely average. Average height, average appearance, average clothing – black jeans and white T-shirt. His only distinctive feature was his red hair.
‘Is there anything else about him we should know? Regional accent? Left-handed? Only ever wears Nikes? That sort of thing?’
Linda shook her head at Ryan. ‘Sounds local, no handy limp or anything, right-handed and he wears New Balance trainers; like almost everyone else these days.’
Ryan glanced down at his own feet, encased in black New Balances. ‘Could we have his telephone number and email address? You never know, he might answer if he doesn’t recognise the number.’
Linda took the pen Maggie offered her and jotted them down in her notebook. ‘You think he might be avoiding family, rather than having gone missing.’
‘It’s an angle we should consider. It’s possible he just needed a break from his dad.’
‘To be honest, that’s what James thinks. But why hide from me? We’re close – at least, I thought we were.’ Holding her hot chocolate to her chest, Linda went on, ‘When Angela left, Mitch tried hard. I suppose he felt he had to, in case his dad left him too. He threw himself into his studies, was helpful, and – if I’m honest – Mitch was the one James relied on, not the other way around. And that was as big a prob-lem as his mum deserting him – although James can’t, or won’t, see that. Mitch gradually became resentful of being the only one who did the cooking and cleaning. But, over the last six months, Mitch simply stopped trying. At home and at school. While he and I remained close, Mitch and James drifted apart. They’re like people in a house-share rather than father and son.’
Maggie jotted down a few more notes. ‘When did you last see Mitch?’
‘Almost three weeks ago. I was trying to get them to talk without arguing, so I invited Mitch and James over for a barbecue on Bank Holiday Monday. I was amazed they came, to be honest.’
Ryan opened his phone’s calendar. ‘That would have been the twenty-fifth of August.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Who else was there?’
‘Just James, Mitch, me – and Bryn of course.’ Linda smiled as she mentioned her son’s name. ‘It was nice. A bit strained sometimes between James and Mitch, but there were no fights or anything.’
‘And when was the last time Bryn saw him?’
‘Same time as I did. Mitch and James left our house together at around seven that evening.’ Linda took a sip of her drink. ‘James, however, last saw Mitch on Saturday the sixth of September. He dropped Mitch off near Penzance railway station at about eight in the evening, after they’d been to the supermarket.’
Maggie glanced at the date on her phone. ‘It’s the fourteenth today, so that’s a total of eight days since a family member has seen him. Any phone or email contact since then?’
‘Nothing. He told his dad he was off for a drink with his mates, but Mitch only has one friend that we know of. A lad known as Zip.’
‘Zip?’ Maggie frowned. ‘And his real name?’ ….
Pre-release Reviews
‘Another great light detective story in the Fish and Chip Shop Detective Agency series.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This the third book in the Fish and Chip Shop Detectives series and it was just as enjoyable as the first two… This mystery was a fun challenge to figure out and I really enjoyed solving it alongside our detectives!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A perfect blend of suspense, humour, and heart. The clues were cleverly placed, and the ending was both surprising and satisfying. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Available from all good retailers, including:
Happy reading,
Jenny x
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