Tag: amateur sleuth

It’s launch week for the second of my new #cosycrime series:

The Fish and Chip Shop Detectives and The Campervan Murder.

Publication day is this coming Thursday, 11th June

Blurb

Don’t miss the second instalment in the Fish and Chip Shop Detective Agency Series!

It’s been a busy summer for the Fish and Chip Shop Detectives as they get drawn into their next investigation, hook, line and sinker…

The bustling streets of Mousehole are home to Robbins’ Fish and Chip Shop, where Maggie and Ryan dish up the best fried goods Cornwall has to offer – and solve a crime or two.

When a villager is found dead, Maggie and Ryan rapidly find themselves deep in a new mystery.

But as the case unfolds, it becomes clear that something strange is simmering beneath Mousehole’s serene surface. The enigmatic owner of the chip shop, Mr Robbins, is nowhere to be found. And when Maggie and Ryan search his campervan home, they find it already unlocked and completely ransacked…

Where is Mr Robbins? Is his disappearance linked to the murder? As the fish and chip shop detectives face a boatload of questions, can they catch the killer before someone winds up dead?

Here are the first 500 words to whet your appetite…

Chapter One

Wednesday 3rd September

‘This is perfect!’ Izzie’s enthusiasm shone out of the computer screen.

‘Perfect?’ Maggie was surprised at her daughter’s reaction.

‘How can the fish and chip shop I work in being broken into be a good thing?’

‘Come on, Mum! You wanted a more challenging case to investigate – now you’ve got one.’

‘I wasn’t imagining anything so close to home. Perhaps I should have been careful what I wished for,’ Maggie reluctantly admitted. ‘To tell you the truth, Ryan and I have discussed giving up on the idea of being private detectives. We’ve only had three cases in three months. One lost cat, a stolen bird table and a stolen necklace.’

‘Did you say, bird table?’

‘I did. Turned out our client’s neighbour had “borrowed” it.’

Maggie rolled her eyes. ‘We found ourselves refereeing a long running dispute between neighbours.’

‘And did you resolve their argument?’

‘We did – but I suspect it was a ceasefire rather than a truce.’

‘And the cat?’

‘Ryan found it after knocking on doors for the best part of a day, asking people to check their outbuildings to make sure she wasn’t trapped inside. The normally pampered feline was in a seldom-used shed a mile from home, looking very sorry for herself.’

‘I bet the owner was delighted to get her back.’

‘If she was, she didn’t show it. Went on alarmingly about how her darling’s pedigree value would be diminished if she had mongrel kittens.’

Izzie could sense her mother’s disappointment all the way from New Zealand. ‘It’s early days yet. You and Ryan solved a murder for goodness sake. Where is Ryan, anyway?’ Izzie picked up a mug, which Maggie knew would be full of green tea.

‘In your room. He’s really settled in, but don’t worry, he knows he’ll have to move back into the chippy’s bedsit once you’re home.’

Izzie blew air over her mug. ‘So, what happened at the chippy?’

‘Someone broke in through the back door last night. They stayed in the office. Left the shop alone.’

‘So what did they do?’

‘Searched the filing cabinet. Although why anyone would want to rifle through a load of order forms is beyond me. Either way, it doesn’t matter, because Mr Robbins doesn’t want us to investigate – or interfere, as he put it. You know how private he is.’

‘And then some! I swear he loves his “man of mystery” persona.’ Maggie couldn’t help but laugh, as Izzie asked, ‘Did you see anything?’

‘Very little. He ushered Ryan and me out of the office when we got to work this morning, saying he’d deal with it. Swore us to secrecy.’

A knowing smile crossed Izzie’s face. ‘I bet he hasn’t told the police.’

‘If you’re about to suggest he doesn’t want the matter investigated because he’s secretly a gangster, then I hate to disappoint you. He’s just the owner of a chip shop.’

‘He looks like a gangster.’

‘I know, but you can’t just make assumptions about…’

***

You don’t need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this one.

You can preorder ‘Campervan Murder’ from all good book retailers, including your local independent book seller, as well at via:

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Hodder & Stoughton

Waterstones 

ONLY 2 DAYS TO GO!!

Happy preordering,

Jenny xx