The Body at Rookery Barn

A Georgina Drake Mystery, Book 1

By: Kate Hardy

Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard

Outside, Rookery Barn glows in the mid-morning sunshine while fat bees flit lazily between the forget-me-nots. Inside, a body lies dead…

Widowed Georgina Drake has no regrets about moving to beautiful, sleepy Little Wenborough in rural Norfolk. Until she opens the door to her rental property and finds the dead body of her latest guest, irritable university professor Roland Garnett. And on top of that she’s suddenly hearing a woman’s voice through her hearing aids.

Completely shaken by the discovery, Georgina can hardly believe it when the police conclude that Professor Garnett was poisoned, with a dinner delivered by Georgina herself. Is she about to be accused of murder? Georgina needs to pull herself together, try to ignore the distracting voice, and clear her name!

Asking around, it seems Roland Garnett offended half the village during his three-week stay and made unwelcome advances to the rest. But who was provoked enough to poison him? Georgina’s best lead is the deadly oleander found in Roland’s system. Her gardener, Young Tom, had access to the plant, but before she can talk to him Tom becomes the killer’s next victim.

As the crimes mount up, so do the clues, but does Georgina have what it takes to follow them to their conclusion? Even when her amateur sleuthing puts her next in the killer’s sights…?

An addictive and completely gripping cozy crime novel. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Midsomer Murders.

©2023 Kate Hardy (P)2023 Storm Publishing

5 Stars

I enjoyed The Body at Rookery Barn. The characters are engaging and the mystery is well developed. I look forward to the next book.

Five stars for enjoyment

I am not interested in books based on romantic themes so I have not read anything by Kate Hardy. I came across a review that mentioned she was writing a mystery and thought it would be worth a try. I liked it. My stars are based on total enjoyment of a book and this is a well written, light hearted cozy with a mild touch of romance. I liked the characters, and while I do not care for a constant diet of cozy mysteries, when I am in the mood for something carefree and happy this series will fit the bill.

Fantastic Story Telling

I loved this story and the narrator. The characters had a fun quirkiness to them that was very likable and the story was very cute. A little predictable, but an enjoyable listen.

Description misleading by omission

I am conflicted about this book. It is a pleasant cozy and if I could ignore the ghost in the room, I would have enjoyed it.
But yes, there was a ghost and I do not like supernatural stories. So had I known it I wouldn't have purchased the book. This is not small thing and should have been included in the description. I went back and reread the description to ensure I didn't miss it, but no - it was not there, not in the description not even as a tag.
Strictly speaking, the book had two mysteries running in parallel, only one with the ghost. But instead of enjoying the characters and the storyline I kept wondering if the ghost will be a part of the solution to the non-ghost mystery and ruin the whole book. This bothered me so much that throughout I was preoccupied considering whether to exchange the credit. The fact that I didn't is a testament to the author, but still I did not really enjoy the book - definitely not as much as it deserved.
The ghost-related mystery could have been added in other ways, for instance a "find" of one sort or another which leads the characters on an historical investigation.
The mystery relating to the ghost was resolved, so I will consider reading the next book in the series, after making sure and double sure the ghost is there no more.