A romantic getaway. A shocking murder. There’s a fox in the henhouse in Smeaton-under-Lyme . . .

Meet Julia ‘Jools’ Lanchester. Lover of fine wines, sweet birdsong — and solving mysteries!

Life is good for Jools and her beau Michael. They’re loved up and have finally found the time for a romantic weekend away by the coast. Ah, bliss.

Until they’re summoned back to their quaint village of Smeaton-under-Lyme.

Jools’s ex-husband has been found bludgeoned to death in Hoggin Hall’s deserted summer house — and a witness statement leaves Michael as the prime suspect!

The press is having a field day, and it doesn’t take long for the village to turn against him. In a bid to protect Jools, Michael disappears, but now she’s a sitting duck for the real killer.

Jools is determined to prove Michael’s innocence. Even if it means putting herself in the flight path of a vicious predator . . .