Recommendations based on "Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death"

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines- the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over- adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy's business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn't stay still long enough for habits or routines. She's currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D'Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job . . . Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?

Superintendent Richard Jury's investigation into the seemingly unrelated crimes of a London mugging and murder in the town of Littlebourne takes him to the local pub, the Anodyne Necklace, which is inhabited by a variety of colorful village characters. Reprint.

Private Detective Cormoran Strike is visiting his family in Cornwall when he is approached by a woman asking for help finding her mother, Margot Bamborough – who went missing in mysterious circumstances in 1974.Strike has never tackled a cold case before, let alone one forty years old. But despite the slim chance of success, he is intrigued and takes it on; adding to the long list of cases that he and his partner in the agency, Robin Ellacott, are currently working on. And Robin herself is also juggling a messy divorce and unwanted male attention, as well as battling her own feelings about Strike.As Strike and Robin investigate Margot’s disappearance, they come up against a fiendishly complex case with leads that include tarot cards, a psychopathic serial killer and witnesses who cannot all be trusted. And they learn that even cases decades old can prove to be deadly . . .

[Read by Frederick Davidson]Little progress had been made by the Thames Valley Police since the discovery of a corpse in a North Oxford flat. The police had no weapon, no suspect, and no motive. But within days of taking over the investigation, Chief Inspector Morse and Detective Sergeant Lewis uncover startling new information about the life and death of the victim, Dr. Felix McClure, late of Wolsey College, Oxford.The trail leads to a staircase in Wolsey College and a former ''scout'' there, one Edward Brooks, who disappears following the theft of a knife from the Pitt Rivers Museum. When another body is discovered, Morse suddenly finds himself with too many suspects, including Brooks' wife, a prostitute, and an enigmatic schoolmistress. Attracted to one of the possible killers, the chief inspector may be too involved for success.It will take much thought, many pints, and not a little anguish before Morse sees the connection between McClure's death and the daughters of Cain.

In this captivating installment of M. L. Longworth’s acclaimed series, our newlywed investigators contend with their most sinister challenge yet: a centuries-old curseProvençal Mystery Series #6Watch the series! Murder in Provence is now on Britbox.Chef Sigisbert “Bear” Valets has just opened his own restaurant, La Fontaine, in Aix-en-Provence. It’s an immediate success—glowing reviews and a loyal clientele, including our favorite investigative duo, Verlaque and Bonnet. But when he decides to extend his restaurant’s seating into a historic courtyard, some very powerful neighbors are against him. The local historical society wants the courtyard, which witnessed a seventeenth-century hanging and two World War II-era murders, to remain untouched.Valets charges on, even after a skeleton is found buried next to the courtyard’s ancient fountain. But when Valets begins receiving threatening letters, he becomes convinced that his life is in danger. And then the fountain inexplicably stops running. By disturbing the garden, has Bear triggered an age-old curse? And can newlyweds Verlaque and Bonnet solve the mystery before someone else ends up dead? Set against the blossoming backdrop of the south of France, M. L. Longworth’s latest is sure to thrill fans of Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri.“Beguiling . . . Longworth evokes the pleasures of France in delicious detail—great wine, delicious meals, and fine company.” —Publishers Weekly

Cambridge 1354. Christmas approaches and the town is gripped by the worst blizzards in living memory. As the physician, Matthew Bartholomew, struggles to help the poorer citizens cope with freezing temperatures, his colleagues prepare for the festivities. The weather has trapped many travellers in the town, including Matthew's erstwhile love, Philippa. She and her wealthy husband are invited to Michaelhouse for the main feast, and Matthew is horrified that he does not immediately recognise the over-weight, sulky woman who once stole his heart. In some ways he is relieved to accept Brother Michael's orders to identify a man found dead, apparently from exposure, in a nearby church, but the success of his mission brings him closer to Philippa's circle, for the man was her husband's servant. And then the husband himself is dead, victim of an accident on the treacherous ice of the fens - or was it a more sinister death, somehow linked to the death of one of his business rivals months earlier in London?Susanna Gregory again brings medieval Cambridge to rich and vibrant life in a beautifully crafted mystery.

"The mist-shrouded moors of Devon proffer a trove of delights for two vacationing zoologists--but also conceal a hoard of dark secrets reaching down to the fathomless depths of the ocean. Miss Merula Merriweather barely saved her uncle from the gallows after he was wrongly accused of murder--and now, she's left the bustle of Victorian London to recuperate in the fresh air of Dartmoor with her fellow zoologist, Lord Raven Royston. The trip offers a unique treat, as they'll be staying with a friend of Raven's, who owns a collection of rare zoological specimens--including a kraken, a sea monster of myth and legend. But all is not right in the land of tors, heaths, and mist. Their host's maid has vanished without a trace, and the townspeople hold him responsible, claiming that his specimens are alive and roam the moors at night, bringing death to anyone who crosses their path. Merula and Raven are skeptical--but the accusations become more ominous when they find several specimen jars empty. As the two hunt for clues across a desolate and beautiful landscape, a stranger appears bearing a shadowy secret from Merula's past. Could there be a connection between her family history, the missing girl, and a fearsome monster that could be on the loose? The race is on to find the truth."--Publisher.

When Juno Browne purchased a car for her lover, Daniel Thorncroft, she was not expecting that they would find a dead body in the boot. Who the dead man could be is a persistent question, as is the whereabouts of the seller, Amber Horrell. While Inspector Ford and the Ashburton police are soon on the case, Juno's insatiable curiosity and concern for the missing Amber lead her to start sleuthing on her own. It turns out that Amber's family are notorious in this corner of Devon, with an ancient murder and vanishing red diamond in their past and a shady antiques business very much in their present. With the discovery of a second corpse, Juno's involvement in the investigation becomes more troublesome and the line between reality and fiction also becomes blurred. But the truth, she discovers, is far more complicated than it seems.

The past can't stay hidden forever...The Cold Case Unit of Derby Constabulary feels like a morgue to DI Damen Brook. But in disgrace and recently back from suspension, his boss thinks it's the safest place for him. But Brook isn't going down without a fight and when he uncovers a pattern in a series of murders that date back to 1963, he is forced to dig deeper. How could a killer stay undetected for so long? Could it be luck or are more sinister forces at work? Applying his instincts and razor sharp intelligence, Brook delves deep into the past of both suspects and colleagues unsure where the hunt will lead him. What he does know for sure is that a significant date is approaching fast and the killer may be about to strike again.

For young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, a spa stay becomes a lot more thrilling when TWO dead bodies are found in this third book in the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, inspired by the life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Enola Holmes.Aspiring writer Aggie Morton is ready to enjoy an invigorating trip to a Yorkshire spa, where her widowed mother can take the waters and recover from a long mourning period. Having solved yet another murder and faced extreme peril with her best friend Hector over Christmas, Aggie’s Morbid Preoccupation is on alert when rumors abound about the spa's recently deceased former patient . . . and then another body appears under mysterious circumstances. Together with Grannie Jane, and often in the company of George, a young patient at the spa, Aggie and Hector take a closer look at the guests and staff of the Wellspring Hotel, and venture into the intriguing world of the local undertaker. Has there been a murder—or even two? As Aggie and Hector ignite their deductive skills, their restful trip takes a sudden, dangerous turn.