Valued for Murder: A British Cozy Murder Mystery
(A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Kanga Press (June 10, 2022)
Number of Pages c. 240

Synopsis

An antiques show. A dead diva. For an amateur sleuth the truth is not always crystal clear.

Dotty Sayers is enjoying her job in a Cotswold auction house. When she’s offered a place on an antiques TV show, she nervously agrees to a makeover and is surprised by the admiring glances she receives. Working on set at a historic country hotel, she realises all that glitters is not gold when at the bottom of the circular staircase, one of the experts is found dead.

Was the death accidental or something shadier? Dotty promises to leave the investigation to the police, but as this amateur sleuth appraises the dead woman’s estate, she can’t help unveiling clues. But when she returns from viewing a priceless sculpture, and finds her British blue cat missing, she knows that life does not imitate art.

Can Dotty tell a fake from the real deal and identify the killer?

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Guest Post

Dotty’s Top 5 Places to Visit in the English Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are a wonderful area in southwest England, with rolling hills, honey-coloured stone buildings, and historic sites.

They cover a vast area – almost 800 square miles (2,000 square kilometres) – and span across 5 British counties: Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire.

Here are some of my favourite places to visit.

Cirencester

Referred to as the ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’, this market town has prehistoric roots but rose to prominence in Roman times, when it became the second largest city in England, after London.

Wool has always been important, even for the Romans, and it led to great prosperity in medieval times, and the building of the impressive Cirencester Abbey.  For four centuries, the Abbey’s abbot ruled over the town and its inhabitants, not always in harmony, until, in the sixteenth century, Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monastery and demolition of the Abbey.  Some buildings today were partly built with stone from the Abbey.

I enjoy shopping in the town, meeting my friend Keya for lunch, and exploring the various markets in the Corn Hall.

Bibury

Bibury is close to Coln Akeman, where I work, and sometimes, on a warm summer’s evening, I drive a slightly longer route home to Fairford, and park by Bibury’s stone bridge, opposite the trout farm.

Bibury is a typical, charming Cotswold village and I enjoy walking beside the refreshing River Coln, from the impressive Swan Hotel, and taking the track up to the stone cottages of Arlington Row, referred to as the most photographed buildings in Britain.  And it’s easy to see why, especially in summer when the National Trust maintains the most wonderful trailing roses, and small beds of wildflowers in front of cottages.

If I’m feeling energetic, I’ll continue walking past Arlington Row, up the fabulously named Awkward Hill to No 9, a quaint little cottage sitting on its own which holidaymakers can rent out and stay in.

The walk back to the car is along a path through the National Trust’s Rack Isle, a boggy water meadow which is an important wildlife habitat.

Sometimes my friend Keya, Constable Varma, joins me and after our walk, we sit outside the fifteenth century Catherine Wheel pub.  Keya told me that the village has also been the setting for Bridget Jones Diary and a film I haven’t watched, Stardust.

Cotswold Walks

I am not a great walker but Aunt Beanie and Norman, if he can find someone to sit with Uncle Cliff, have persuaded me to join them and explore the many paths which criss-cross the Cotswolds.

We recently visited the village of Coleshill, and the Heritage Skills Centre at Home Farm.  Norman said the village trained thousands of men during the second world war, and that Coleshill House was a training centre for the British Resistance.

We walked through the rather boggy estate meadows, keeping clear of the grazing cows, along paths beside fields of fluffy-headed barley, and through the woods, alive with the birdsong.  Everywhere, there was an abundance of colourful wildflowers such as the vibrant purple common knapweed, a thistle-shaped flower that is popular with bees.

Afterward, Aunt Beanie treated us to toasted tea cakes in the Old Carpenter’s Canteen.  What a wonderful way to round off a day out in the Cotswolds.

Kiftsgate Court

Aunt Beanie and I recently visited Kiftsgate Court gardens, perched on the edge of the Cotswolds, north of Chipping Campden, overlooking the Malvern Hills.  Aunt Beanie was friends with Diany Binny, one of three generations of women who’ve created and maintained the gardens.

Of note is the Kiftsgate Rose, which is not a normal small bush but is described as a ‘cascading waterfall of white blooms’, and Kiftsgate claims it to be the largest rose in England.

My favourite spot, to escape from the crowds, is the tranquil water garden, recently created on the old tennis court. It is enclosed by a tall hedge and has no flowers but the black of the water, the white of the stone path, and the green of the immaculate lawn contrast with the vibrant colours elsewhere at Kiftsgate.  Water trickles out of a row of raised gilded bronze leaves at one end of the rectangular pond, which is so soothing.

Highgrove Gardens

On my wish list is a visit to Highgrove, the private residence of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, near Tetbury.  Prince Charles has transformed the gardens, which can only be visited as part of an organised tour.  Inspector Evans recently went with his mother and he was particularly enthusiastic about the arboretum and the orchard where 150 chickens roam freely under a range of fruit trees.

This is only a small selection of the wonderful places to visit in the Cotswolds.  I hope to see more, especially the prehistoric carving of a horse on Uffington Hill and some of the imposing castles and stately homes.

About the Author

Victoria Tait is an exciting new author launching her Kenya Kanga Mystery series.  She’s drawn on 8 years living in rural Kenya with her family to transport her readers to a world of curiosity, community, and conspiracy.  The Kenya Kanga Mystery series brings to life the beauty of the Kenyan landscape, the magic of its wildlife, and the warmth of its people.

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