Shadows Before

In hope of a fresh start after being acquitted of the murder of his sister-in-law, Matthew Weir moves his family to Spanwater, a remote manor in the Cotswolds. But his heiress wife Catherine is unsettled in their new home, retreating into childhood memories and wandering the country lanes. Life improves when Aurelia Brett is hired to keep an eye on her, but then Catherine dies suddenly, and arsenic is found in her home-made tea. Evidence points to someone in the house, but Chief Inspector Pardoe finds confl icting clues and suspicious behaviour among Spanwater’s neighbours too. When a second death occurs, Pardoe must race to catch a killer who is both cunning and ruthless.