Showing results by author "Matthew Costello" in All Categories

Facing boredom after his long-postponed knee surgery, Jack volunteers at Fitz Morton Manor to serve as steward, chatting with visitors about the long history of the house. And when the retired volunteer Cyril Roebuck is found dead in the Great Hall, one morning, it seems at first that the dear old man must have suffered a heart attack. But the room was locked from the inside - and it quickly becomes clear that Cyril could not have bolted it. Soon Jack and Sarah are confronting the odd mystery of the locked room... and what must be - in fact - a case of foul play.

When Jack and Sarah are called in to investigate mysterious pranks at an exclusive girls' private school, it seems at first that it might be the work of a few mean pupils with a grudge. But things quickly turn serious when a popular teacher meets a sudden, violent death. Now, with murder in the air, Jack and Sarah have their own lessons to learn about the Cherringham Girls School, its dark secrets... and who wanted that teacher dead before they learned the truth.

Bill Vokes has played Santa at the children's Christmas show for years. But with the show just hours away, he vanishes with no explanation. The whole village is baffled. Did something bad happen to loveable Bill, upstanding citizen, churchgoer, life and soul of the party and the holiday season? Jack and Sarah are on the case - and soon discover there are secrets about this Santa that no one could have imagined.

It's Carnival week in Cherringham, but while most of the locals are looking forward to the regatta, the parade and the fireworks, Jack and Sarah are more interested in the mysterious body that's been uncovered at the archaeological dig just outside the village ... No Roman soldier - but a young man, no ID. Definitely the victim of a cold blooded murder ... from just a few decades ago. It's a baffling cold case - but one that soon heats up when a member of the carnival committee suddenly goes missing. Jack and Sarah investigate - and quickly come up against a wall of silence.

It's winter in Cherringham, and petty thief Charlie Topper's life is in danger. Desperate, he reaches out to Jack and Sarah for help: last summer - during a robbery - he witnessed a cold-blooded murder, and now he fears the killer is after him. Can Jack and Sarah solve this very cold case - before the desperate murderer comes for them too? Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo: English web designer Sarah and American ex-cop Jack.

When the penniless FitzHenrys, proprietors of the rundown Combe Castle Heritage Site, find themselves victims of a threatening campaign to oust them from their ancestral home, Jack and Sarah are called in to track down the culprit. But nothing is what it seems at this castle - from the curious and unnerving waxwork displays of the 'Odditorium' to the in-laws and neighbours who can't wait to see the last of aristocratic couple. Soon Jack and Sarah discover that truth is often stranger than fiction, and in Combe Castle things do indeed go bump in the night.

Bernard Mandeville loves trains. Every Sunday, the elderly and frail Bernard, in perfect attire, purchases a ticket on the Great Cotswold's Steam Railway, takes a seat in First-Class and revels in a journey from the past. But on one particular Sunday, in the midst of that short trip, the impossible happens. Bernard vanishes without a trace... The family reaches out to Sarah and Jack who must make their own remarkable journey on the rails...to track down the vanished gentleman!

When Brian Foley is charged with the murder of his next-door neighbour, the fastidious Arthur Cranham, it seems the case against the blustering showman is cut and dried: prints, DNA, CCTV footage - there can't be any doubt. After all - Brian and Arthur have famously been at war for years. But Jack and Sarah are convinced that the police have it wrong. With time running out, can they prove Brian's innocence and find the real killer? Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo: English web designer Sarah and American ex-cop Jack.

Jack's a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in Cherringham. Sarah's a Web designer who's moved back to the village to find herself. But their lives are anything but quiet as the two team up to solve Cherringham's criminal mysteries. This compilation contains episodes 25 - 27. SECRET SANTA: Bill Vokes has played Santa at the children's Christmas show for years. But with the show just hours away, he vanishes with no explanation. The whole village is baffled. Did something bad happen to loveable Bill: upstanding citizen, churchgoer, life and soul of the party and the holiday season?

Jack's a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in Cherringham. Sarah's a Web designer who's moved back to the village to find herself. But their lives are anything but quiet as the two team up to solve Cherringham's criminal mysteries. This compilation contains episodes 19 - 21: "GHOST OF A CHANCE": Every Halloween, the supposedly haunted Bell Hotel hosts its famous 'Ghost-Hunters Dinner', complete with scary stories, spooky apparitions and things that go bump in the night. But this year's event ends in a terrifying accident, and suddenly everyone wonders... Is there a real ghost loose in the hotel?

When Cherringham Drama Society invite a local TV celebrity to direct their Christmas show, they get more publicity than they bargained for. Someone's out to sabotage the event, and rehearsals spin into chaos. Jack and Sarah are asked to investigate and soon discover that there's a darker mystery taking place behind the scenes. Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new audio episode released every two weeks.

When young Ewan Mackay - on a dark stormy night - sails his little dinghy out to a mysterious wreck site some miles offshore from Littlehampton, he never returns. The police assume he drowned at sea - but Ewan's father is not convinced and asks Harry and Kat to investigate. Soon, they learn there are not only dark secrets about the night Ewan disappeared, but also plenty of people who wished him harm. And as they dig deeper, they too find themselves in grave danger both on land and sea.

When Harry and Kat head south to the French Riviera, they look forward to dazzling parties, a shimmering sea, and wonderful food. But once they step off the legendary Paris-Nice train, Le Train Bleu, things start to be anything but restful. Asked to assist in a dangerous case of blackmail - they soon find that the streets and alleyways of the Cote d'Azur hide not only cafes and bistros ... but also secrets and danger of a most deadly sort.

Every Halloween, the supposedly haunted Bell Hotel hosts its famous 'Ghost-Hunters Dinner', complete with scary stories, spooky apparitions and things that go bump in the night. But this year's event ends in a terrifying accident, and suddenly everyone wonders... Is there a real ghost loose in the hotel? Jack and Sarah are convinced that the culprit must be human: who would want bad things to happen at the classic hotel? But soon they're forced to confront their own superstitions as they find themselves on the trail of an unsolved Victorian murder.

The Last Puzzle: When amiable old village eccentric Quentin Andrews dies, the good folk of Cherringham are astonished at the crowd that turns up to his funeral. But even more astonished are the beneficiaries of his will: Quentin has left a veritable fortune to whomever is the first who can solve an intricate 'Cherringham crossword'. That puzzle is only the first of many that Jack and Sarah will uncover as they follow the treasure hunt for clues and learn the truth about who Quentin Andrews really was.

From the authors of the best-selling series CHERRINGHAM. When heart-throb American tennis coach Todd Winters careens off the road in his speeding car one night and plunges in the river, it seems like a tragic accident. But Winters was a young man with many dangerous secrets, and Harry and Kat discover there's no shortage of people who wanted him out of the picture. Soon they discover clear evidence: the accident was no accident at all. And now Harry and Kat had best be careful too... even in the genteel world of the Mydworth Lawn Tennis Club, a desperate murderer could be ready to kill again.

From the authors of the best-selling series "Cherringham". It's Midsummer in Mydworth - and celebrated medium Bellamy Smythe is in town with his lucrative supernatural show, claiming he can contact the departed. Still deep in mourning from the loss of her father in the Great War, spinster Alice Wetherby is desperate to make contact with 'The Other Side' and Smythe is happy to oblige - even though Alice is quite broke. Suspecting that Alice is being played, Harry and Kat investigate.

When Edward Townes - famed writer of novels about knights and maids, and castles and conquering - attends a medieval launch party for his latest book, he arrives ready to do more than celebrate. But party night brings a blizzard, a once-in-a-century storm that sees Townes staggering home, alone ... only to be found dead the next day. With Cherringham cut-off and the blizzard still raging, Jack and Sarah start investigating. Their questions reveal that many of those still stranded in the dark village have secrets. And Townes' killer is still in the village.

When a doddering Harry Platt tumbles from the top of his stairs in a deadly fall, it looks like an unfortunate accident. But solicitor Tony Standish's suspicions are aroused when he meets the beneficiaries and discovers the immense size of the estate. Jack and Sarah investigate and find that nothing is what it seems when it comes to families - not when money and secrets are involved. Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new audio episode released every two weeks.

The death of a chief executive, regardless of the circumstances—sudden or expected, still in office or decades later—is always a moment of reckoning and reflection. Mourning the Presidents brings together renowned and emerging scholars to examine how different generations and communities of Americans have eulogized and remembered United States presidents since George Washington's death in 1799. Over twelve individually illuminating chapters, this volume offers a unique approach to understanding American culture and politics by uncovering parallels between different generations of mourners.