Melody of Murder

Alex Duggins Mystery Book 3

by Stella Cameron

Joffe Books

Mystery

May 31, 2020

ISBN-10: 0727895125

ISBN-13: 9781780290843

Available in: Hardcover, e-Book, Trade Size (reprint)

Melody of Murder
by Stella Cameron

Looking for a gripping murder mystery with a feisty female sleuth? Meet Alex Duggins in this new series from a bestselling author.

A MUSICAL NEW FAMILY BRINGS DISCORD TO THE VILLAGE

Village sleuth Alex Duggins hears singing coming from the church and finds herself drawn to a girl’s beautiful voice. Suddenly the singing stops and Alex hears a loud crash. Alex races in and finds the girl sprawled on the floor. She is already dead.

The girl is part of the Quillam family. They are recent arrivals to the area, and not well-liked. They are renting a luxurious country house and their number include a young piano virtuoso and his controlling father, the pianist’s beautiful, acquisitive and passionate mother, an ambitious family retainer, and an intimidating woman who has always run the Quillam household.

Who wanted the girl dead and why?

A sly, clever perverted killer is on the loose in the village. Can Alex help stop any more deaths?

Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie, J R Ellis, and Clare Chase.

Stella Cameron is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author with over fourteen million copies of her books in print.

MEET ALEX AND TONY
People think Alex is the perfect girl-next-door, but she’s made of sterner stuff than most girls-next-door. Divorced pub owner and graphic artist, she meets challenges head on, especially when she decides to stand up for justice and the underdog. Alex is no stranger to trouble, never has been since she was a scrappy young girl with no dad, and a mum working around the clock to keep them together.

Alex’s friend Tony Harrison is a vet—to the disappointment of his GP dad. A quiet man with a sharp wit and strong belief in the goodness of others, he has taken hard knocks, not the least of these, the loss of a young wife who disappeared, never to be found.

THE VILLAGE
A view of Folly from The Hill—as locals call it—is cause for a smile in any season. Let’s try December, early on a cold morning. Snow covers frozen twigs that crackle beneath your feet. The snowfall is only a fine swirl now. On a high point to the west stands ruined Tinley Tower, the folly the village was named for. Below, across the green with its frozen duck pond, honey-yellow cottages huddle. Thin smoke straggles from chimneys and lights shine through small leaded windows. Villagers wake early here. The Black Dog, Alex Duggins’ pub, sits at the heart of it all, strands of colored lights shining along its eves. George’s bakery van is already on its rounds, as is the Lovell’s Dairy lorry. It’s too early for the scarlet-blazered children to be climbing on the school bus, but dog walkers are already marching through the narrow streets and across the green. Idyllic. Deceptively so?

Originally published June 2016 in hardcover and March 2017 in trade paperback by Severn House Publishers/Creme de la Crime.

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Stella Cameron's Bio

Stella Cameron is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author with over fourteen million copies of her books in print. Cameron continues to add to her critically acclaimed Alex Duggins Mystery series with book 5, WHISPER THE DEAD (April 2018). She draws on her English background to create an atmosphere and characters that readers will long to know better. Cameron is the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Achievement Award for distinguished professional achievement and for enhancing the stature of the Northwest Literary community. She lives in Washington with her husband Jerry, her sweet elderly Papillon Millie, one-eyed and beautiful orange tabby, Jack and Gorgeous George the frequently bad, latest feline addition to the household. From his lissome length, we are unsure if George is a cat rather than a ferret.