DEATH OF A CUCKOO
BY WENDY PERCIVAL
Genre: Cosy Mystery
Series: An Esme Quentin Short Read
Release Date: 6 March 2017
Publisher: sBooks
A letter. A photograph. A devastating truth.
When Gina Vincent receives a letter of condolence from a stranger following her mother’s death, a photograph slipped inside reveals a disturbing truth – everything she’s ever known is based on a lie. Shocked and disorientated, she engages genealogy detective Esme Quentin to help search for answers.
The trail leads to an isolated and abandoned property on the edge of Exmoor, once the home of a strict Victorian institution called The House of Mercy and its enigmatic founder, whose influence seems to linger still in the fabric of the derelict building.
As they dig deeper, Esme realises that the house itself hides a dark and chilling secret, one which must be exposed to unravel the mystery behind Gina’s past.
But someone is intent on keeping the secret hidden. Whatever it takes.
EXTRACT
I ran down the steps and squeezed my way down the slim passage. In the recess was a narrow door but it didn’t match the faded, peeling paint of the remainder of the house’s decoration. It was brighter, as though it had been protected from the elements. As I stepped closer, I realised that’s exactly what had happened. Under my feet were pieces of broken planking. Until very recently, this doorway had been covered by a decorative panel and disguised. So who had uncovered it? It couldn’t have been there at the viewing.
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My Review:This was a very interesting story. I have been working on my family tree for over 15 years. So I was very interested i the way this story was written. I feel like a investigator myself at times. I also wish I could afford to hire a professional Genealogist for some of my brick walls. The story was very well written and it was true to life while searching for records.
The Story is about Gina Vincent. Her mother has recently passed away. While going through the sympathy cards and letters she runs across one from a old friend of her moms. This letter opens a huge can of worms. Gina never knew she was adopted. She decides she wants to know more, but has no idea where or how to start.
Gina hires Esme Quentin. Who is a genealogy detective. Esme and Gina work together to find the answers. While searching for the answers at times things turn dangerous for Gina.
This is a pretty short book. I enjoyed the story. The ending was a bit off putting to though. I wish it ad went a bit more into the aftermath instead of just leaving me handing. other then that it was good.
ABOUT WENDY PERCIVAL
Wendy Percival was born in the West Midlands and brought up in the Worcestershire countryside. After training as a primary school teacher she moved to North Devon in 1980 to take up her first teaching post and remained in teaching for 20 years.
An impulse buy of Writing Magazine inspired her to start writing seriously. She won Writing Magazine’s Summer Ghost Story competition in 2002 and had a short story published in The People’s Friend before focusing on full length fiction.
The time honoured ‘box of old documents in the attic’ stirred her interest in genealogy and became the inspiration for the Esme Quentin mystery novels Blood-Tied and The Indelible Stain. She is currently working on the third in the series, where the clandestine past of the Second World War provides the secret world into which Esme must delve to uncover the truth.
When she’s not writing fiction, Wendy conducts her own family history research, sharing her finds on her blog, www.familyhistorysecrets.blogspot.com.
Wendy lives in a Devon thatched cottage beside a 13th century church with her husband and a particularly talkative cat.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2mJj8TC
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendy_percival
Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2lhecIA
Website: http://www.wendypercival.co.uk
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