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    A Cotswold Ordeal: The gripping cosy crime series
    Unavailable
    A Cotswold Ordeal: The gripping cosy crime series
    Unavailable
    A Cotswold Ordeal: The gripping cosy crime series
    Ebook334 pages5 hours

    A Cotswold Ordeal: The gripping cosy crime series

    By Rebecca Tope

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Thea Osborne and her spaniel Hepzibah embark on their second house-sitting commission with few worries. Despite her first disastrous venture, in which she became drawn into a murder case, Thea is convinced that lightning will not strike twice, and arrives at idyllic Frampton Mansell with renewed enthusiasm. However it seems she is jinxed: within days of her arrival she finds a body hanging from the rafters of one of the barns. But was it suicide...or murder?

    The second novel in the series, A Cotswold Ordeal weaves the reader into a tangle of village history, neighbourly betrayal and conflicting passions, which culminates in a gruelling climax for Thea herself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAllison & Busby
    Release dateNov 15, 2010
    ISBN9780749009724
    Unavailable
    A Cotswold Ordeal: The gripping cosy crime series
    Author

    Rebecca Tope

    Rebecca Tope is the author of three bestselling crime series, set in the Cotswolds, Lake District and West Country. She lives on a smallholding in rural Herefordshire, where she enjoys the silence and plants a lot of trees.

    Read more from Rebecca Tope

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    Reviews for A Cotswold Ordeal

    3.5/5

    32 ratings2 reviews

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    • 4/5
      2nd in Thea Osborne's series of house-sitting mysteries. Ideally though not completely necessary to have read the first in the series. Having recovered from the events in the previous book, Thea is once again in the Cotswolds in Summer, house-sitting for a fairly disorganised modern family, complete with tempermental donkey, arogant cat, an various peacocks etc. Not all the typically british, but not that far off it either. They've gone off for two week sin Ireland, leaving Thea to look after the animals, something that's shes quite happy to be paid to do in a charming part of the country. Thea's interests in local history are spurred byt he talk of a the canal redevelopment project although many of the locals don't seem so impressed by the idea. When the cat is run over on the 1st day, Thea realises that this won't be such an easy job after all. The discovery the next day of a boy hanging in the barn makes matters considerably worse, lightened only byt he fact that once again the admirable DI Hollis will be around.A short but very engaging read about an exagerated (but only slightly) snapshot of village politics. Everyone does know everyone and events as far back as the 1900s are still relevant to the positions they take on seemingly unrelated activities such as the canal redevelopemtn - on the surface a benign activity that will increase tourist income and help the environmental diversity.Although at times it can come accross as a bit too much exposition, I do like the way Tope manages to inject some serious discussions about important topics into and otherwise ordinary crime story. Many more books should do this, especially with the tact that is achieved in the dialogue between the sisters. This part was close to perfect writing.If one is going to be picky, then Thea has recovered far too quickly from her state in the first book, and DI Hollis is way too easy going. And of coruse the villagers are seriously unliekly to have responded that strongly to events that weren't heat of the moment. The teenagesrs are better portrayed though. It is slightly obvious who the villains are, but this doens't spoil a good mystery, especially when there is an onus of proving them guilty rather than just guessing.Charming english crime story well worth reading.
    • 4/5
      First Line: It was difficult to avoid the conclusion that Hepzibah did not initially like it at Juniper Court.Hepzibah the cocker spaniel is accompanying Thea Osborne on her second housesitting assignment in the beautiful area of the Cotswolds in England. Although the dog isn't enthused with the geese that quickly come to threaten them in the yard, Thea is looking forward to staying at Juniper Court.The Phillips family seems very laid back and casual, and if Mrs. Phillips seems a bit rushed, most mothers would be when trying to pack up four children and a husband for a two-week holiday in Ireland. Besides, all Thea has to do is a bit of very light housekeeping and making sure that the old, crotchety pony is fed-- along with an assortment of other furry pets and assorted barnyard fowl. Ah yes, she's going to take walks and read; it's going to be a nice change from her first experience when a murder victim was discovered on the property on which she was staying.But we all know about best laid plans. An apparent suicide takes place in the shed where the pony is kept, and once more Thea finds herself dealing with Detective Inspector Hollis, a man who makes her heart beat a little faster... whenever he's not infuriating her. To add to the difficult situation, Thea's married sister makes a frantic phone call and appears at Juniper Court, insisting that she stay with her older sister for a few days. When the house is broken into and it becomes clear that there are people who want Thea and Jocelyn out of the house now, the intrepid housesitter finds herself torn between fear and her sense of obligation to the Phillips family. Is Inspector Hollis going to be able to figure out what's going on before the situation becomes even more life-threatening?The 408 pages of this book flew by. Although Tope makes it clear that this area is filled with one small village after another, she also conveys how isolated they are. Thea, who loves canals, tries to find her way through the woods to walk along a disused canal and is lost more often than not amongst the trees and a confusing labyrinth of footpaths. Juniper Court may be close to a village or two, and there may be neighbors relatively close, but those woods and those tangled paths make everyone and everything seem miles away. (In doing a bit of research on the author, I learned that all the villages in which these books are set are real. Tope makes sure she visits all the pubs and walks many of the footpaths, but she never talks to any of the locals... so none of them can claim to be featured in one of the books.)The cast of characters in this book is a large one. All the villagers and neighbors seem to have their own agendas and are often at cross purposes. Some are against restoring the old canal; some want it done. Others want planning permission to turn an old barn into a luxury home for the rich; others are against it. Every time Thea leaves the property, those who want her gone seem able to move in and out of the buildings at will, which really gives the book a sense of unease.It's a good thing that her younger sister shows up on the doorstep. At first Jocelyn shows all the annoying characteristics that made her the least favorite sibling, but as she and Thea get a chance to talk with each other, Jocelyn's strong points come into play. There are even several humorous incidents when both women have to deal with some recalcitrant young people. It's also good to see how Jocelyn reacts to Thea's growing interest in Inspector Hollis, whom she met in the first book in the series. Hollis seems unable to decide whether Thea should be a part of the investigation or no, and he certainly can't stay away from her!There was so much going on throughout the book that I found it impossible to keep track of names and motivations, so I just enjoyed the interaction of the characters until all was revealed by book's end. Now I'm eager to discover the identity of the next family who takes on Thea as a housesitter. In book three, will her reputation as the deadly housesitter precede her?Although mention is made of Thea's first attempt at housesitting and of her prior meeting with Inspector Hollis (in A Cotswold Killing), it's not necessary to read that first book. A Cotswold Ordeal stands on its own very well as an evocation of place and as an intriguing mystery filled with engaging characters.