A TOURIST'S GUIDE TO MURDER

A Michigan mystery author and bookshop owner’s trip to England entangles her in a real-life murder.

Sam Washington and her sidekicks—Nana Jo, Irma, Dorothy, and Ruby Mae—are visiting London so that Sam, who’s just sold her first mystery to a publisher, can gather local color. They almost miss the plane, and all their luggage is lost, but that’s nothing a trip to Harrods can’t fix. Arriving at their hotel to join a tour that specializes in famous mystery sites, they find their guide, Clive Green, arguing with his disagreeable boss, Maj. Horace Peabody, over Peabody’s plans to sell the firm. Sam has solved several mysteries, so when she discovers Peabody dead, she doesn’t buy the story of a fatal heart attack, but the tour goes on anyway. Sam takes every moment of spare time from sightseeing to work on her newest country-house whodunit, but she can’t ignore the mystery in front of her nose. Hostilities break out between Peabody’s niece, who claims to be his heir, and tour member Prudence Habersham, who claims that her put-upon daughter, Lavender, is Peabody’s child. When Prudence is found dead, the group is grilled by DI Nelson, whose inefficient inquiries virtually force Sam and her cohorts to up their game. As the group continues their tour, many hidden secrets pop up, finally leading Sam to an inescapable conclusion.

Cozy fans get two mysteries for the price of one: The intuitive heroine finishes her novel and solves a murder.