A Thief in Stickleback Hollow: A British Victorian Cozy Mystery (The Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow Book 1)
Author: C.S. Woolley
Blurb:
Her arrival in England has exposed a mysterious conspiracy that stretches across the British Empire. Her parents’ deaths are tied to it, but will investigating it lead to her own demise?
Lady Sarah Montgomery Baird Watson-Wentworth is still grieving her mother and father’s death at the hand of an ugly fever when she has to leave everything behind. Leaving her birthplace in India and navigating London’s stiff and starch Victorian society has only compounded her grief and brought further frustrations. An invitation to a sleepy rural estate on the border of a quaint country village seemed like the perfect escape. That is until a thief triggers events that turns everything she ever knew upside down.
Unconvinced by the fingers pointing at the surly, but handsome groundskeeper as the thief, Lady Sarah can’t help but search for the truth, with a local constable to help her in her hunt. But with shady characters lurking down every leafy lane, and a perilous secret buried somewhere in her late father’s belongings, the determined peeress could be poking a very large hornet’s nest.
Can this clever aristocrat unmask a crook before she loses her most treasured heirlooms?
If you like historical mysteries, unexpected twists and murder conspiracies, you’ll love C.S. Woolley’s captivating series.
Buy A Thief in Stickleback Hollow today and be swept away by the first of these enthralling Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow.
Julie’s Review:
Interesting Facts
- The series was written for my mother who is an avid reader, but didn’t like the genres that I was writing in and I wanted her to have something I wrote for her to read.
- Each book has an historical note at the end that goes over the historical bits that are true and what was created for the books or changed for the sake of creative licence.
- There are already four planned spin-off series that will follow different characters from the books that will begin rolling out in 2025 when the Stickleback Hollow series is complete.
- The concept for the series came out of a dream, the premise of which forms the basis of book 8 in the series – The March of the Berry Pickers.
- Constable Arwyn Evans was named after a real-life policeman from Wales, Arwyn Philips, who I had known since the day I was born. Sadly he passed away earlier this year from cancer just after he retired.
Character Bios
Lady Sarah:
Lady Sarah was raised in India, until her parents’ untimely deaths. As the only member of the household to survive, she was given the ultimatum – marry or return to England. Having been allowed to grow up without the same constraints as other women of her social standing, she was unwilling to marry any of the boring men that presented themselves as suitors. Arriving in England for the first time, she finds it harder to adjust and find a place to belong in the strange land her parents both served from afar. But when visiting her father’s old commanding officer, the Lord of Grangeback Manor, she hopes that she has finally found a place to call home. With a village filled with eccentrics, crackpots and other misfits, Stickleback Hollow is a place where not everything is as simple as it first appears.
Mr. Alexander Hunter:
A man that has grown up used to being ignored and mistreated by those who believe themselves his betters. His mother died when he was young and he never knew who his father was. The Lord of Grangeback Manor took the young boy in and sent him to school to be educated. At boarding school, Mr. Hunter did not fit in and was the target of bullying that shaped him into a strong and silent individual. He always felt more at home in the great outdoors than in the halls of grandeur. When he was able to, he left school and apprenticed with the gamekeeper on the Grangeback Estate. He took up residence in the lodge that had once been his home during his youth. His introverted nature and his aversion to people has meant that the people of Stickleback Hollow find him suspicious, but within the manor, he is trusted and his loyalty to the Lord of the Manor is unwavering.
Constable Arwyn Evans:
A runaway from Wales, his father was a good friend to the doctor in Stickleback Hollow. When he fled his father’s farm, the doctor found him a home and employment in Stickleback Hollow as a constable in the newly formed Cheshire police. Life as the village constable wasn’t the most exciting job in the world, that is until Lady Sarah arrived in the village. With her arrival, the village and his work have become exceedingly more interesting. He also enjoys having friends to help him solve mysteries that he would not be able to solve
Formats
- eBook – Kindle Unlimited and Kindle only
- Paperback – widely available
- Hardback – widely available
- Audiobook – coming soon
Genre of the Books
Primary:
- Historical Cozy Mystery
Secondary:
- Historical Mystery
- Cozy Mystery
- Women Sleuths
- Amateur Sleuths
About the Author
I was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, UK, and raised in the nearby town of Wilmslow. From an early age, I discovered I had a flair and passion for writing.
I began writing at the age of 7 and was first published in 2010. I currently live with my husband, Matt, and our two cats in Christchurch, New Zealand.
As an avid horsewoman and gamer, I also have a passion for singing, dancing, the theatre, and my garden.
I don’t usually read mysteries, but this sounds so interesting
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It does huh?