T E Kinsey

February 1913. Lady Hardcastle and her diminutive but brave lady’s maid, Flo, have been invited by their friend JB McIntyre to spend the weekend at his recently renovated Tudor fort on a remote island off the Devonshire coast. But the holiday quickly turns sinister when first a number of valuable jewels go missing—and then a fellow guest is murdered with a most unusual weapon. Asked by JB to investigate, the stakes are raised for the sleuthing duo when a violent storm traps the group on the island and cuts them off from help. Is the murderer in their midst? With everyone claiming to have an alibi—but each also having a skeleton in their closet—can Lady Hardcastle and Flo unravel this complex web of secrets and deception before the killer strikes again?

They’re used to solving murders. But until now the killer has always been human…October 1912. The inhabitants of Littleton Cotterell emerge from their homes after a week of torrential storms to the gruesome news that one of Sid Hyde’s prized sheep has been mauled to death. As rumours abound of a vicious beast stalking the Gloucestershire countryside in search of prey, Lady Hardcastle and her fearless lady’s maid, Florence Armstrong, set out to find what is surely a rational explanation. Then Hyde himself is brutally killed in a similar attack, and the villagers go from curious to terrified. Littleton Cotterell isn’t exactly unaccustomed to murderers—but a ferocious animal capable of tearing a man to shreds? That’s entirely different. When another man dies and a third is injured, it’s clear that whatever is behind the attacks needs to be caught, and fast. But are the villagers really seeing what they think they are? Is there actually a beast on the loose? Or is what’s out there something more sinister—and much more human?