The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge by Martin Edwards

Nell Fagan is a brash journalist on the trail of two disappearances - centuries apart. The men literally disappeared into thin air, never sighted again, but rumours are rife. The Lodge is nota welcoming space neither are the owners popular amongst the locals. To add to the mystery, a psychiatric facility run by the Sambrook family is also in this village, and the family's aloofness addsto the mystery about the patients. When Nell meets with one attempt to kill her which was unsuccessful, she does not heed the warning that her prying into events even though 300 years old, obviously is upsetting a few people. Meeting an untimely end, Rachel Savernake now embarks on her own lines of enquiry typing up a death in London, with the multiple deaths now happening in this remote village, and uncovering old family disputes and secrets. The characters are so varied, the rector and the doctors, the wanna be lord of the manor all hiding behind a facade of secrets they dont want uncovered. The detective work progresses slowly but this vintage classic crime and it is very good. Sent by Poisoned Pen Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.