Samson O’Brien has been dismissed from the police force, and returns to his hometown of Bruncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales to set up the Dales Detective Agency while he fights to clear his name. However, the people of Bruncliffe aren’t that welcoming to a man they see as trouble.
Delilah Metcalfe, meanwhile, is struggling to keep her business, the Dales Dating Agency, afloat – as well as trying to control her wayward Weimaraner dog, Tolpuddle. Then when Samson gets his first case, investigating the supposed suicide of a local man, things take an unexpected turn, and soon he discovers a trail of deaths that lead back to the door of Delilah’s agency.
With suspicion hanging over someone they both care for, the two feuding neighbours soon realize that they need to work together to solve the mystery of the dating deaths. But working together is easier said than done . . .
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Thrilled to be able to share an extract of Julia Chapman’s ‘Date With Death, with you all today as the tour bus swings by TWG! Thank you to Alice Dewing from Panmacmillan for inviting me on the tour! Hope you enjoy the extract!
From Chapter One ‘Edith, is that . . . ? It can’t be . . .’ Edith Hird turned to see what had captured Clarissa’s attention, squinting across the road at the motorbike and the man sitting astride it. It should have been hard to tell, with the distance and her ageing eyesight. But she knew straight away, even with the mane of black hair that graced his shoulders. It was the defiant way he was staring down at the town, the familiar brooding intensity – which had grown into hostility as the years passed and he became branded as a renegade – accentuated by the livid bruising on his cheek. The motorbike was a giveaway, too. Everyone in Bruncliffe knew that bike. As Titch and the two elderly sisters moved closer to the window to get a better view, Elaine Bullock was crossing the cafe to the only occupied table, her entire focus on the plates in her hands. ‘Here you go. Home-made cottage pie and chips,’ she announced cheerfully as she approached the waiting diners, relieved to have made it without any mishaps. Then she made the fatal mistake of glancing outside and her gaze was caught by the sight of the man on the motorbike. She only had time for a glimpse of his profile before he put his helmet on. It was enough. ‘Oh my God!’ she gasped, plates tilting in her hands to a precarious angle, everything sliding towards the edge. ‘It’s . . . that’s . . .’ ‘Trouble,’ said Titch, oblivious to the dripping plates. ‘With a capital T.’ ‘I need to make a phone call,’ said Elaine, hastily depositing the meals onto the now gravy-smeared table before hurrying over to the coat stand, grabbing her mobile from her jacket pocket and rushing towards the back door, leaving her customers bemused in her wake. ‘Well,’ said Edith, still transfixed by the man on the other side of the road, a smile growing on her face. ‘Looks like life in Bruncliffe is about to get interesting.’Buy now from Amazon
[Julia Chapman is the author of Date with Death, the first novel in the Dales Detective Series, published March 9th (Pan). You can follow Julia on Twitter @DalesWriter, visit her website www.jstagg.com and find her on Facebook www.facebook.com/DalesDetective]Advertisements Like what you see? Let others know!
