[Miss Gascoigne mysteries 02] • A Wreath of Lilies

Reviewers of A Meeting With Murder* : Miss Gascoigne mysteries book 1 *

*'Every character becomes someone you know, someone you grow to like or dislike as Allan draws you in, not as a spectator, but as a participator. An outsider who becomes so enthralled with the events as they unfold that you actually can not help but want to try and solve this plot before anyone else does. Mystery, intrigue, suspense, romance, and nostalgia. This book has it all!'

'another great cosy mystery which we're so used to with this author… the description of the town and characters was so vivid it was like I was part of the community'

'Set in the 60s, the novel is rich in period detail with fabulous descriptions of the homes and the clothing, and a great ‘ear’ for the dialogue of the time… A cracking book, peopled with memorable characters'

'Good read, I liked it! I also liked that the story was a continuation of a beloved series. Its new for me to read a book set in the swinging sixties'*

**A Wreath of Miss Gascoigne mysteries book 2 **

an intriguing cosy mystery set in the swinging 60s

The **Miss Gascoigne mysteries ** are a series of traditional amateur detective mysteries set in Britain in the 'Swinging 60s' and featuring Diana 'Dee' Gascoigne as an amateur detective who stumbles over dead bodies almost as often as your average dog-walker. Between jobs and with a penchant for solving a mystery, she is aided and abetted by her brother Rob, a trainee barrister, who helps her to pit her wits against the 'official' team of investigators, which sometimes includes her 'kind-of cousin', Inspector Bill Hardy, and his sidekick, Sergeant Nahum 'Nat' Porter.

On her first 'official' investigator case working for Montague Montague of London, legal services, Dee Gascoigne is off to the village of Hartwell Priory in Essex, where locals are up in arms over the proposal to dig up their deceased ancestors buried in the local cemetery, in order to make way for three hundred new houses.

As if things aren't tense enough, a group of beatnik-like long-haired, bead wearing ghost hunters arrive and hold a séance. A message from beyond the grave seems to indicate that a grave has been forgotten.

Is this just a prank, or was it a secret burial? Who is the unclaimed one who has not been mourned?

Short extract from A Wreath of Lilies : Miss Gascoigne mysteries book 2:

A saffron-clad man with hair reaching almost to his waist began to speak, and his cohorts stepped back and bent to sit on the ground, cross-legged and silent.

‘Again the unclaimed one calls out to you, heart to heart, spirit to spirit, and begs to be brought home, to be mourned and released, no longer to be cast adrift between this world and the next. They cry out to you for your pity. Do not turn away from their plea. We who seek implore you…’

But he got no further.

A couple of the men at the head of the rabble of villagers rushed forward to break through the circle of seated chanters, grabbing a couple of them by their arms or legs and dragging them away from the group.

Someone kicked the fire brazier over, and predictably instead of going out, the flames caught at the tall grasses and set them alight. People began to yell, the flames spread, someone threw a punch and within seconds there was a brawl. The flowing white robe of a young woman caught alight.