A Touch of Murder

Tolling church bells are as much an aspect of rural England as are grazing sheep, thatched-roof cottages and verdant-hedged lanes.  But someone in this sleepy village evidently takes exception to one slice of Merrie Olde England, for Roger, Lord Swinbrook is found on Valentine's Day in the bell tower of his estate¾frightfully dead and terribly unromantic.

As picturesque as the village appears, DS Brenna Taylor and her colleagues from the Derbyshire Constabulary discover all is not picture-perfect in the lives of the residents.  There is the feud between Roger and a retired couple who hate his bell ringing; a neighbor who despises Roger's wealth and rank; the younger brother who yearns to inherit the title and estate.  And what about Roger's former business partner?  He was once married to Roger's wife¾could he want the inconveniently-married Roger out of the way so he can remarry her, now that she's come up in the world?  Or is it someone in her family who wants some of the estate and money to filter their way?

When a second murder occurs in the same place and under similar circumstances as the first, Brenna finds her own emotions threatening to erupt: there are her conflicting feelings toward her associate DS Mark Salt, her obsession to discover the identity of the woman her boss, DCI Geoffrey Graham, is dating, and her own mounting fear that Graham considers her merely a co-worker.  But in the chilling close to the case, when Brenna's life is in jeopardy, she realizes the importance of friendship, and how close she came to losing it.