A Mischief of Murder, by Helen Hollick

The village Flower and Veg Show should be a fun annual event – but who added mischief and murder to the traditional schedule?

July 1973

Old friends and new enemies? Jan Christopher’s Aunt Madge is to be a judge at Chappletawton’s annual village flower and vegetable summer show – a chance for the family to have a holiday in the Devon countryside, especially as Jan’s fiancé, DS Laurie Walker, is still recovering from gunshot wounds and her uncle, DCI Toby Christopher, is enduring injury-related sick leave.

The event should be a fun occasion where friendly rivalry between gardeners, cooks and crafters lead to the hopeful winning of the coveted Best In Show trophy – but who added mischief and murder to the traditional schedule?

Snippet

Heather looked appalled. “Are you suggesting our competitors cheat? I assure you they don’t…” She paused, went slightly pink. “Well, not usually. It was discovered last year that Mrs Pyke had bought her flowering pot plant from the local garden centre. She was remiss enough to have left the price tag on it. Then there was that year when all except one rose grower developed foot rot, or something, overnight just before the show.”

“Foot rot is for sheep,” Alf corrected. “Don’t you mean black spot?”

“No, that’s Macbeth,” Elsie interjected.

Laurie frowned. “Macbeth is a red spot, I think. Lady Macbeth’s bloodied hands ‘Out, out damn spot’.”

Aunt Madge added her two pennyworth. “P.G. Wodehouse mentions a black spot in his Joy in the Morning. I love some of the characters’ names he came up with; this one is Boko Fittleworth.”

I might have guessed she’d mention something from Wodehouse as she’d read all his books at least twice. She maintained that they cheered her up on wet winter weekends.

I corrected all of their theories. “The Black Spot is from Treasure Island. It was given to Long John Silver as a sign that he was to be dumped as Captain, but he pointed out that the round spot was made from paper taken from a Bible, so whoever had made it would be the one cursed for defacing the Lord’s Word and that, in consequence, he himself was quite safe.”

Heather’s expression was that of bewilderment. “Roses get black spot?”

“Yes,” Alf pointed out, “but it’s a fungal virus that spreads. They couldn’t have all suddenly got it overnight.”

“And I rather think you meant greenfly, dear,” Elsie added with a gentle smile.

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/MischiefOfMurder

Meet Helen Hollick

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure series, cosy mysteries – and her short stories – skilfully invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and fiction blend together.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant. Her 2025 release is Ghost Encounters, a book about the ghosts of North Devon – even if you don’t believe in ghosts you might enjoy the snippets of interesting history and the many location photographs.

Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, chasing the peacocks away from her roses, helping with the horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with the housework…