Published By: Viking
Pages: 368
Released On: 30/10/2025
Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley’s Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom – every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within… By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow.
All eyes turn to Steven Pike, Tithe Hall’s newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn’t commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she’s been waiting for.
Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it’s too late…
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Viking for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This was a good old classic, nostalgic murder mystery, with comparisons to Agatha Christie richly deserved.
I love Ross’ kids books, they’re some of my absolute favourites, but this is his adult debut, and I admit I was worried. Not every children’s writer can write adult books and vice versa. But I needn’t have worried.
Miss Decima is one of the best characters I’ve ever read, let alone just in this book. She’s old and cranky and rude and just fabulous. She reminded me a bit of Miriam Margoles – who I also absolutely love.
There are a lot of characters – nobility, guests, gentry, and staff. I won’t go into each one because that’ll take too long. But overall they were all so well written and all had a part to play, even if it was just a small one. There’s red herrings everywhere and each characters had something interesting about them for me to enjoy. I never got to a character and despaired at reading about them.
I’m amazed by locked room mysteries, the ones of Agata Christie, but also of more modern times with Tom Mead’s Joseph Spector series. They’re meant to be impossible, and they read like they’re impossible, but then how has the author been able to decide who is behind it all, and manage to worm the reveal in but still keep it impossible.
For a story to take place in one location and over about a week, you need to have a thrilling plot and very well-created characters to keep this interesting, and this book had it in spades. It is captivating and addictive and definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year.
With the amount of thrillers and crime novels I read, I thought I was perhaps getting better at working out who did it, but apparently not, because this did a complete 180 on me and I didn’t see it coming at all.
it’s a proper classic murder mystery, but it’s also a lot funnier than I expected to be. It’s not a comedy, but there’s some dry, wry, ark humour, especially thanks to Miss Decima.
This says it is book one, so I am really hoping it’s going to be a series because I will be front of that queue.
Books By Your Bedside 