We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.
‘Has a charm, and mystery, all of its own’ THE TIMES
‘Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers’ DAILY MAIL
The first historical mystery in a new classic crime series from bestselling author Frances Brody. This is the perfect locked room page-turner for fans of Agatha Christie and Jacqueline Winspear.
___________
1969. A job in the Prison Service is not for everyone. The training is hard, the cells are bleak and a thick skin is needed. But for Nell Lewis, helping prisoners is something she cares about deeply, and when she’s promoted into a new post as governor of HMP Brackerley in Yorkshire, she’s tasked with transforming the renowned run-down facility into a modern, open prison for women.
Just as Nell is settling into her new role, events take a dark turn when a man’s body is discovered in the prison grounds. The mystery deepens still when one of their female inmates goes missing, ensuing a search across the country.
Can Nell resolve the sinister happenings at HMP Brackerley, before anyone else is put in danger?
___________
What readers are saying about Frances Brody:
‘Witty, acerbic and very, very perceptive’ Ann Cleeves
‘A splendid heroine’ Ann Granger
‘An engagingly forthright and indefatigable investigator’ Irish Times
‘Frances Brody matches a heroine of free and independent spirit with a vivid evocation of time and place . . . a novel to cherish’ Barry Turner, Daily Mail
‘The series is right up there with Miss Marple’ Sunday Sport
‘Delightful’ People’s Friend
‘Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs in a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and were matured by their wartime experiences’ Literary Review
‘Brody’s excellent mystery splendidly captures the conflicts and attitudes of the time with well-developed characters’ RT Book Reviews
‘In Yorkshire we are proud to have such a first-rate crime novelist in our county’ Yorkshire Gazette & Herald
‘Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers’ DAILY MAIL
The first historical mystery in a new classic crime series from bestselling author Frances Brody. This is the perfect locked room page-turner for fans of Agatha Christie and Jacqueline Winspear.
___________
1969. A job in the Prison Service is not for everyone. The training is hard, the cells are bleak and a thick skin is needed. But for Nell Lewis, helping prisoners is something she cares about deeply, and when she’s promoted into a new post as governor of HMP Brackerley in Yorkshire, she’s tasked with transforming the renowned run-down facility into a modern, open prison for women.
Just as Nell is settling into her new role, events take a dark turn when a man’s body is discovered in the prison grounds. The mystery deepens still when one of their female inmates goes missing, ensuing a search across the country.
Can Nell resolve the sinister happenings at HMP Brackerley, before anyone else is put in danger?
___________
What readers are saying about Frances Brody:
‘Witty, acerbic and very, very perceptive’ Ann Cleeves
‘A splendid heroine’ Ann Granger
‘An engagingly forthright and indefatigable investigator’ Irish Times
‘Frances Brody matches a heroine of free and independent spirit with a vivid evocation of time and place . . . a novel to cherish’ Barry Turner, Daily Mail
‘The series is right up there with Miss Marple’ Sunday Sport
‘Delightful’ People’s Friend
‘Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs in a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and were matured by their wartime experiences’ Literary Review
‘Brody’s excellent mystery splendidly captures the conflicts and attitudes of the time with well-developed characters’ RT Book Reviews
‘In Yorkshire we are proud to have such a first-rate crime novelist in our county’ Yorkshire Gazette & Herald
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers
Brody's writing is like her central character Kate Shackleton: witty, acerbic and very, very perceptive
Praise for Frances Brody:
I really adore this series and Kate is such a strong, level-headed character
Has a charm, and mystery, all of its own
An intriguing and heart-warming story
Frances Brody matches a heroine of free and independent spirit with a vivid evocation of time and place . . . a novel to cherish
Kate Shackleton is a splendid heroine
With a competent, dynamic and likeable heroine, and an environment packed with stories great and small, it's hard to see how this series would fail
Delightful
Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs in a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and were matured by their wartime experiences. As self-reliant women in a society that still regards them a second-class citizens, they make excellent heroines
