Young widow, Isobella Bridges discovered and fell in love with The Yellow Cottage as a child. Many years later she returned to the Island, discovered it was for sale and bought it on a whim. Or so she thought.
She had no idea at the time how much it would change her life, nor that it was yet to reveal all it’s secrets. Ones that even Ella couldn’t imagine.
She purchased the cottage from an old lady, but this was no ordinary old lady. And she left her cat, but this was no ordinary cat.
Ella soon realises that this isn’t the only gift the old lady left.
Having only been in residence a few short weeks, and still unpacking boxes, she receives a telephone call from her brother, inviting her up to London for Sunday lunch.
This call sets in motion a series of events that puts Ella’s life, and those of the people closest to her in danger.
‘An Accidental Murder’ is a cosy amateur sleuth novella, with a difference. Set in 1930’s England, it is the first in the series of The Yellow Cottage mysteries.
Targeted Age Group:: 25+
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
This book and the future books in the series, were spawned from a FREE short story called The Yellow Cottage, available on my website. I had several emails and messages on social media from readers asking (and in some cases demanding), there be more, because they loved it so much. Up until then, I hadn’t considered turning it into a series, nor in fact writing cosy mysteries. However during the writing phase, I fell in love with the whole process and the characters, but more importantly the genre. I’ve always been a fan of Agatha Christie: Marple and Poirot and of Arthur Conan-Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, and it was a natural extension of a love for those works, that lead me to pen the short story in the first place. Inspiration came from those fans and readers that wrote and asked me for more. I’m very grateful to them.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
To be honest they practically wrote themselves; primarily because the kernel of the idea had been in my head for nearly two years before I actually sat down to write it. Basing it on a short story, I already had a couple of the characters in place, it was then just a case of developing the plot, the secondary characters, and fleshing out the back-story of the main characters. Phantom, the cat, was part of the original short, however he seemed purrfect (excuse the pun) to include in the whole series, and almost all the reviews and messages I have received since, have mentioned how much they love him.
Book Sample
It was a particularly chilly and damp Saturday afternoon in September, and I was taking a momentary break from the unpacking of boxes, to have a quick sandwich and a cup of tea. I’d already laid and lit the log fire, and now sat, sleepy and content in an overstuffed armchair, watching the flames dance and flicker in the grate. And listening to the wind whistling down the chimney, like an irate ghost.
I’d only been living in the cottage for a few short weeks, but it felt as though I’d lived there all my life. From the moment I stepped inside, at the initial viewing, it had wrapped itself around me like a second skin, and I knew I’d come home at last.
It had, or so I thought at the time, been a spur of the moment decision, to come back to the island after so many years. But it seemed now as though fate had conspired to steer my actions.
As a child, my family had chosen the island as a holiday destination for two weeks each summer. And one year, the last as it happened, I’d seen, and fallen in love with The Yellow Cottage. Coming back so many years later, on a whim, I had discovered it was for sale, and to cut a long story short, I bought it.
As I sat there drinking my tea, remembering the rather strange circumstances in which the cottage had become my home, the cat came in. Not a particularly interesting event in itself, I’d agree, except this cat, walked in through a solid wall.
I’d idly been wondering why he always chose that particular spot to enter from the back garden, but once I knew the answer, it was obvious. I was cleaning the small snug area under the stairs a couple of days ago, having decided it would be a perfect place to use as an office.
Going through the bookshelves, I came across a large hardback book, and folded inside were some of the old building plans. Looking closer, I realised that the current door to the back, wasn’t the original. That had been bricked up, and a new opening made further along. Phantom, as I’d named the cat, in a particularly unimaginative moment, was using the old doorway. The same one I expect he always used when he’d lived there, as a flesh and blood companion.
Phantom was a legacy from Mrs. Rose, the previous owner. She and I had met when I first came to view the cottage a few months ago. And had chatted briefly, whilst simultaneously saving a swan from, ‘death-by-fishing-line’. It wasn’t until I returned to the cottage, and Mr. Wilkes, the patiently waiting estate agent, that I found out she’d already been dead for seven months.
As it turned out, Phantom wasn’t the only thing Mrs. Rose had left me. But it wasn’t until the phone rang, and set in motion a series of extraordinary events, that I realised, just how strange the rest of my life was going to be.
Author Bio:
J. New is a British author who writes Mysteries and Thrillers. Her books are set in various era’s; The Yellow Cottage cosy mystery series is set in 1930’s England and one of a her works in progress is an English Victorian Mystery. She’s also working on a police procedural mystery thriller, set in modern day England, and a paranormal mystery romance series, again set in the modern day, but this time in the US. Her interests include psychology, spirituality and the metaphysical, which she integrates into her story telling. She’s also a fine artist and keen gardener, nature and animal lover, as well as a hands-on dog rescuer. She reads a vast array of books and loves connecting with and reading the works of Indie-authors. She loves all works by Terry Pratchett, as well as Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and the Harry Potter series.
The short story which inspired her Yellow Cottage cosy mystery series is available FREE on her website for those joining her Readers Group.
Links to Purchase Print Books
Buy An Accidental Murder: A Yellow Cottage Cosy Mystery Book 1 Print Edition at Amazon
Links to Purchase eBooks
Link To Buy An Accidental Murder: A Yellow Cottage Cosy Mystery Book 1 On Amazon
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Have you read this book? Tell us in the comments how you liked it!
is the book I would choose to read. The description really captures the imagination.
An accidental murder – A yellow cottage cosy mystery book 1 is the book I would choose as the description has caught my imagination and interest.
Thank you so much Debbie for your kind words. I hope you love reading the story as much as I loved writing it.
Best wishes
J. New