Two Spinsters Books 1-3 Ebook Box Set
Louisa-Margaretta Haddington and Judith St Clair are natural enemies. Can they look past their quarrels to look more closely into spectacularly mysterious events in these three thrilling tales?
Two Spinsters and a Corpse
Two Regency era spinsters, one quiet and one quarrelsome, try to catch a killer before Christmas in this new historical mystery series.
Miss Judith St Clair is a frugal and pious young woman. When her father accepts a lucrative new position as the rector of a parish in Derbyshire just before Christmas, she is dismayed that she and all her siblings must move to this cold and inhospitable country while still in mourning for their mother. What’s worse, her father’s patrons are the rich and imposing Haddingtons, a family recently settled at Wycliff Castle.
Miss Louisa-Margaretta Haddington, after years of dismissing every possible suitor, is in love. But her parents, who will not consent to the match, have removed her and her reputation from harm by buying an enormous estate in Derbyshire. Louisa-Margaretta is determined to avoid everyone, but when she and the rector’s daughter both take refuge in the library to avoid dancing with gentlemen at a ball, they are unwitting witnesses to a murder.
Though each young woman despises the other, they know they will need each other’s help if they are to find the killer and save their families. With Judith’s quiet intelligence and Louisa-Margaretta’s fiery and flirtatious nature, they set out to solve the puzzle. But when one of them has a brush with death disguised as a hunting accident, they realise that they must be quick, or they shall risk running out of time.
Two Spinsters and a Duel
A duel, a quarrel, and an innocent man. Can two best friends reconcile in time to solve a murder?
Judith St Clair and Louisa-Margaretta Haddington, united in their heartbreak, are passing a quiet spring in the countryside. Though Wycliff Castle and its rectory are isolated, the Derbyshire peaks are beautiful, and Judith begins to enjoy the spring. A visit from Louisa-Margaretta’s brother Percival, whose regiment is stationed nearby, promises company and excitement for both.
That is, until one of the soldiers is killed by a member of the house party.
Judith insists on finding the murderer, but Louisa-Margaretta demurs. She is not shocked by dueling, nor is she threatened by the idea of a killer under the castle’s roof. When Percival himself is accused of the crime, and threatened with hanging, Louisa-Margaretta regrets her decision. But even if she begs her friend for forgiveness, will they find the guilty party in time to save Percival?
Two Spinsters and a Madman
A foundling, a murder, and a home full of people society has deemed mad. Can two intrepid spinsters save themselves and this rare refuge?
Wealthy Louisa-Margaretta Haddington is spending a London season in the company of Mr Fortescue, a notorious rake and spendthrift. She knows she should not seek him out, but she finds him intriguing. Meanwhile, her old friend Judith St Clair has left her home to work in the Home, a refuge for men and women who are thought to be mad. The resident doctor is Mr Ludlow Fortescue, who is as serious as his London brother is irreverent. Though Judith finds the Quaker beliefs strange, the work is meaningful. When a foundling child is abandoned at the Home, its residents band together to care for her.
Then Mr Ludlow Fortescue is killed.
Suspicion quickly falls on the men and women who are residents of the Home, though Judith knows that not one of them would have intentionally harmed the doctor. Louisa-Margaretta, in order to escape her suitor, promises to solve the murder. But neither of the two friends knows where to start. And when a second foundling is left outside the Home, they begin to wonder if death and new life might be connected.
