As soon as they meet, it’s murder.

When Jade Fitch opens a new-age shop in the picturesque market town of Hazeby-on-Wyvern, she’s hoping for a fresh start. Meanwhile, Fi Booker is trying to make a living from her floating bookshop as well as deal with her teenage son.

It’s just coincidence that they’re the only two people on the boat when local antiques dealer Freddy Stott drops dead while turning the pages of a book. Or is it?

After a grilling from the unfriendly neighbourhood policeman, Jade and Fi are left shaken. Can they prove they didn’t kill Freddy Stott? Was he even the intended victim? And can they trust each other?

Local gossip reveals a host of suspects, but with the police taking their time and hostility towards them growing in the town, Jade and Fi decide to investigate. Will that make things better, or much, much worse?

Murder for Beginners is the first book in the Booker and Fitch cozy mystery series, set in and around the English market town of Hazeby-on-Wyvern.

Recapturing the past can be murder.

When Tallulah Levantine, neglected sixties movie star, moves to Hazeby-on-Wyvern, she bankrolls the local am-dram production of Macbeth in exchange for the role of Lady Macbeth. This annoys both the usual leading lady and the leading man, Andy, who’s dating Fi.

However, her presence boosts the town, with a festival, events and activities planned. Better still, a hit TV series directed by famous Jon Angel is filming nearby. Could the town and its budding actors be set for stardom?

Then Tallulah receives threats and rehearsals are blighted with accidents. Finally, a body is found in her dressing room, mistaken for her. Who is trying to kill her, and why? The prime suspects compete to frame each other, but with insufficient evidence, the show must go on.

As the town hits the headlines, suspicion falls on someone Fi believes is innocent. When another crime takes place and the evidence points to the same suspect, she realises that time is running out. Can she and Jade discover the murderer lurking in the wings?

Ritual sacrifice, or planned murder?

Jade’s new-age shop is thriving. But when she decides to photograph the winter solstice sunrise at the local stone circle she finds something much less attractive: a dead body, badly beaten, on a stone altar.

The body is identified as that of Richard Baines, a local with his own IT business. But who killed him, and why?

Suspicion immediately falls on the local pagan community, but something about the body bothers Jade, who confides in her friend Fi. Is everything what it seems?

The pair have their own ideas, but the police are less than interested – and as the case remains unsolved, Jade’s involvement puts her under suspicion and her business at risk.

Can Jade and Fi uncover the truth – and convince the town they’re right?

Unwelcome visitors can be murder

It’s May, and Fi and Jade are taking part in a bank holiday fete at Spetisham Hall. Business is good, and for Fi at least, romance is in the air.

But when a series of conversations suggest that Fi’s dead husband isn’t dead at all, her life starts to unravel. Could it be true? And if it is, what does that mean for her and her son Dylan?

Before Fi has the chance to investigate, though, one of her informants is found dead at the river’s edge.

If it’s murder, who benefits apart from Fi? And is she in danger too?

Fi and Jade must discover the truth before anyone else is hurt and Fi’s fledgling relationship with Marcus is destroyed, even if it means confronting the man who deserted her so many years before.

When murder comes with the job…

Halloween is approaching, and Jade is looking forward to bumper profits for Crystal Dreams – until another magic shop opens its doors. And the shop manager isn’t above stealing their ideas…

Jade’s furious, and sparks fly between her and her assistant Netta as they fight over the best way to keep Crystal Dreams afloat. But that pales into insignificance when the rival shop manager is found dead – and all the evidence points to Jade.

That isn’t Jade’s only problem. She’s been running away for years – but a chance photograph leads someone from her past straight to her.

Is Jade’s new life in Hazeby at risk? Can she prove her innocence? And will her friendship with Fi survive when her secrets are revealed?

Save the last dance for death…

When Marcus is invited to a high-school reunion, the only thing he’s looking forward to is catching up with old friends. Fi is delighted as she’ll get the chance to dress up and show her feminine side. Jade is less enthusiastic and there’s no way she’ll wear a ball dress, even for Rick.

Former classmates convene on Hazeby – both those who stayed, and those who left as soon as they could. Friendships are rekindled and the party is a great success until the body of a guest is discovered with the apparent murderer standing nearby. It’s tragic, but is it clear cut? What possible motive could the murderer have?

As Marcus investigates, he realises that rivalries and abandoned love affairs have been rekindled too. Could these be behind the murder? But he’s hampered by his emotions and his son Leo’s friendship with the main suspect.

It’s down to Fi and Jade to help find the killer before the wrong person is charged and their life is ruined.