Welcome to Cornisea island and the mysteries surrounding the Cornish Castle…

Death Plays a Part

When her beloved London theatre closes for renovations, costume maker Guinevere is excited to start a job at Cornisea castle, a centuries-old keep on a small tidal island off the coast of Cornwall. Imagine a whole summer full of stories of hidden treasures, fab food and long walks with her perky dachshund Dolly.

But when a reenactment of a medieval trial in the castle dungeons ends in real-life murder, and accusations threaten the castle's future, Guinevere and Dolly dig deep into the island community's best-kept secrets to unmask the killer and save their Cornish summer.

Rubies in the Roses

Guinevere Evans has a dream summer job: cataloguing books at a castle on a tidal island off the coast of Cornwall. With her perky dachshund Dolly by her side she explores the island’s colourful history, tries fabulous local food and sees the gorgeous sunsets.

But when an old friend of her employer drops in, claiming a rare bejewelled wedding goblet is hidden in the castle gardens, strange events start to take place: several people turn up claiming they have a right to the elusive goblet, and a dead body is found on the beach.

An unfortunate accident, or does this death relate to the struggle for ownership of the goblet? Is there even a goblet?

Guinevere and Dolly dig in and discover plenty of motives to lie, steal and yes, maybe even kill. Can they prove what really happened to the victim and what became of the precious rubies that are at the heart of the mystery?

VIVIAN CONROY

discovered Agatha Christie at thirteen and devoured all the Poirot and Miss Marple stories. Even more fun than reading was thinking up her own fog-filled alleys, missing heirs and priceless artefacts. So Vivian created feisty Lady Alkmene and reporter Jake Dubois sleuthing in 1920s’ London and the countryside, first appearing in A Proposal to Die For. For the latest on #LadyAlkmene, with a dash of dogs and chocolate, follow Vivian on Twitter via @VivWrites

Praise for VIVIAN CONROY

‘An incredibly tightly written closed door mystery’

Rachel’s Random Reads (Top 500 Amazon Reviewer)

‘This author writes a cracking book. I could hardly bear to put it down’

Grace J Reviewerlady

‘A Proposal to Die For is wonderfully smooth and glamorous, in the style of Agatha Christie combined with the beauty of Gatsby’

The Story Collector Blog

‘The first in a new series, this is a well written historical mystery with just a hint of attitude’

Cayocosta72

‘When it’s as charming as A Proposal to Die For mystery and history make the most wonderful combination’

Little Bookness Lane

‘I will definitely be reading the rest of this series’

Holly (Goodreads)

Available from Vivian Conroy

A Lady Alkmene Callender Mystery series

A Proposal to Die For

Diamonds of Death

Deadly Treasures

Fatal Masquerade

A Country Gift Shop Mystery series

Dead to Begin with

Grand Prize: Murder!

Written into the Grave

Cornish Castle Mystery series

Death Plays a Part

Rubies in the Roses

Cornish Castle Mystery Collection

Vivian Conroy

ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

Copyright

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018

Copyright © Vivian Conroy 2018

Vivian Conroy asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

E-book Edition © December 2018 ISBN: 9780008314439

Version: 2018-10-03

Contents

Cover

Blurb

Author Bio

Praise

Book List

Title Page

Copyright

Death Plays a Part

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Rubies in the Roses

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Dear Reader

Endpages

About the Publisher

Death Plays a Part

Vivian Conroy

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all editors, agents, and authors who share insights into the writing and publishing process.

Thanks to my fantastic editor Victoria Oundjian and her team for embracing Cornisea Castle, Guinevere, and Dolly from the very first brief pitch I presented, and to the design team for creating a fabulous new cover look for this series.

A special thanks to all my readers who share their enthusiasm for my books online and in real life:

you keep the series coming!

May Cornisea Island bring you summery escapism

and the satisfaction derived from solving a good puzzle!

Note

Although inspired by real-life tidal islands like St Michael’s Mount and its French counterpart, and by many fascinating sources of Cornish history, archaeology, folklore, flora and fauna, cuisine etc., Cornisea Island and its castle with ruling family is a fictional world. Its layout, businesses and societies, special constable and deadly legends of patron saints and secret treasure are all the fruits of my imagination.

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