The True Killer of Lord Blackmere

A Tilling & Daughter Bindery Mystery

A letter sealed for fifty years. A historian dead within the week. One bookbinder who notices what everyone else misses.

In the fog-laced fenland village of Wendlesham, in the Jubilee autumn of 1887, spinster bookbinder Evelyn Tilling is rebinding a century-old armorial volume when she finds a sealed letter tucked inside the cover. It is addressed, in a careful hand, to "The True Killer of Lord Blackmere."

Before she can decide what to do with it, the village historian, who asked for the very same book, is dead.

Evelyn is no detective. She is a woman with a lamp, a loupe, a bone folder and a nose for paper, ink and glue that does not lie. She follows the letter's clues through the church tower and its ringing chamber, the almshouse, the Reading Room committee and the tea tables of a village that remembers everything and says almost nothing. Every secret she uncovers reaches back to the early years of Queen Victoria's reign.

Inside this cozy mystery:

An amateur sleuth with a craftsman's eye for forgery, ink and binding
A foggy Victorian village full of committees, gossip and old grudges
Five suspects, each with motive, means and opportunity
Fair-play clues you can follow along with
A slow, atmospheric build with real warmth between the characters
A satisfying twist and a hopeful ending
No gore, no graphic violence, no bad language

Perfect for readers of Victorian cozy mysteries, village whodunits, historical mysteries with an amateur sleuth, and books about books, libraries and bookbinding.

The True Killer of Lord Blackmere is Book 1 in the Tilling & Daughter Bindery Mystery series. It stands alone, and it ends on a hook for the next book.