[sufue]

The Lazarus Tree is the sixth in Robert Richardson's Augustus Maltravers series. It is free right now at Kindle US and UK.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017BSKX5U
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BSKX5U

Spoiler:

The picture-postcard English village of Medmelton is a pretty place for a murder.

The air remains thick with enchantment of centuries past as superstition is nurtured and embraced by many of the residents. Here, the women have strange eyes — one brown and one green — since magic is not a myth in these parts.

When the famous London poet Patrick Gabriel is murdered beneath the legendary Lazarus Tree, Medmelton is forced into the spotlight. The intrusion of the press is not welcomed by the village. They are fiercely protective of their own, refusing to assist the police they resent such interference and wish to safeguard the mystery of the Medmelton murder from outsiders.

Eventually the curiosity seekers drift away, but the mystery still lingers. And Gus Maltravers, at the request of a friend alarmed by the strange behaviour of his stepdaughter, agrees to investigate.

But when Gus begins making Medmelton’s very private affair his business, he finds as many unanswered questions as questionable answers. Farcical rumours begin to fly around the village about his status and in order to enable enquiries he initially does nothing to stop the gossip. It appears that the observations of an outsider uncover things that even the police have missed.

Strange happenings soon come to light. Hideous, unearthly and cruel things have been occurring in Medmelton and painful confessions are forced. … someone in the village is a killer desperate to hide the secrets of past and present at all costs.

Concealing a murder is the least of their worries…