PUBLISHED BY HEAD OF ZEUS, AN ARIES BOOK ON 13th APRIL 2023
Amateur sleuth Astrid Swift swaps the sporting summer in England for a British ex-pat enclave in Spain, where everyone has a secret reason for leaving the UK.
The sunniest days, the deadliest nights.
Amidst the sun and sangria, something sinister is lurking on the Spanish coast. Usually a sleepy seaside enclave, Estopena has instead found itself rattled by a poison-pen campaign that is teasing out its residents’ secrets on social media.
Astrid Swift sailed to the sunny beaches with the intention of reconnecting with her estranged father. Instead of an emotional reunion, though, she’s been tasked with catching who’s been threatening his new wife. Soon Astrid is entwined in the lives of these ex-pats, from the boozy local heckler to the socially awkward beachcomber.
But can she find the internet troll before it’s too late for the town? Or will each revealed secret tear this cosy community – including Astrid and her father – even further apart?
Amateur sleuth Astrid Swift swaps the sporting summer in England for a British ex-pat enclave in Spain, where everyone has a secret reason for leaving the UK.
The sunniest days, the deadliest nights.
Amidst the sun and sangria, something sinister is lurking on the Spanish coast. Usually a sleepy seaside enclave, Estopena has instead found itself rattled by a poison-pen campaign that is teasing out its residents’ secrets on social media.
Astrid Swift sailed to the sunny beaches with the intention of reconnecting with her estranged father. Instead of an emotional reunion, though, she’s been tasked with catching who’s been threatening his new wife. Soon Astrid is entwined in the lives of these ex-pats, from the boozy local heckler to the socially awkward beachcomber.
But can she find the internet troll before it’s too late for the town? Or will each revealed secret tear this cosy community – including Astrid and her father – even further apart?
My thoughts – Very entertaining and a good example of good cosy crime. This is a who did it with characters that really work well with this plot. I must admit I did not work out who it was so it all came as a surprise. I love Spain so it was nice to read about a place I have not been to, I feel a little map of the place would have gone down well at the beginning of the book. Make a good holiday read.
M.E Eccleston
Lives in Ealing, West London, with his partner, three teenage kids and a new French bulldog. Writing novels is the latest career. There have been a few others. Radio DJ, BBC journalist, TV presenter, film critic… other stuff, now so long ago, I wonder if it ever happened.
LIST THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE WOULDN’T READ IN YOUR ‘OFFICIAL’ BIO.
- I played ping pong with Jason Donovan and lost.
- Once had a job selling ice cream from the dungeon of a castle and was sacked on the first day.
- Represented Northumberland at pole vaulting at the age of 14.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE COSY MYSTERIES?
During the recent lockdowns, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about leaving London and moving to the countryside with the family. In the daydream the countryside was perfect. Cosy pubs, stately homes… the sun is always out. Too good to be true, really – that’s why it’s a dream. So I took all that and ran a murder plotline through it.
WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE TO READ COSY MYSTERIES?
There’s an inbuilt question with whodunnits that keeps you reading. Basically, yes, who has done it? Whatever deadly deed ‘it’ is. Then with cosy crime, you have so much more. An idealised setting where things never get too grisly, friends can be relied on and the hero always works it out in the end. Cosy crime provides some reassuring certainty in uncertain times.
