Trouble Brewing

by Anna Markland

A corpse in the ale. A scandal in society. A love neither expected.

Lancashire, 1862. When a body is discovered floating in a vat of ale, Inspector Halliwell wastes no time in probing the town’s most prosperous brewery. Every worker is a suspect—including Jacob Longworth, the enigmatic owner whose livelihood now hangs by a thread. Worse, whispers reveal the dead man was blackmailing Jacob, leaving him squarely in the constable’s sights.

Enter Lady Jane Yate: a darling of Victorian society, beloved patroness of the Women’s Temperance League—and the last woman anyone expects to defend a brewer accused of murder. Yet Jane cannot ignore Jacob’s plight, nor the forbidden spark that ignites between them.

As passion simmers and scandal brews, Jane and Jacob are drawn into a dangerous game of secrets and lies. To clear his name, they must unmask a cunning killer before he strikes again—and before the desire that threatens to consume them both becomes a scandal all its own.

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About the author

Anna Markland is a Canadian author with a keen interest in genealogy. She writes historical romance about family honor, ancestry and roots. Her novels are intimate love stories filled with passion and adventure. Following a fruitful career in teaching, Anna transformed her love of writing and history into engaging works of fiction. One of the things she enjoys most about writing historical romance is the in-depth research required to provide the reader with an authentic experience.

Reviews

[Anna Markland]

This is the third book in the Cotton Cops Mysteries series. Our old friend, Inspector Marcus Halliwell, is again in charge of investigating a murder, this time at a local brewery. I have to admit, I too became confused as to the murderer's identity, but I think I have the tangled web of suspects figured out now!

Here's a taste of the opening.
“At least ’e died ’appy,” the brewmaster chortled.
Gathered around the mash tun, curious brewery workers chuckled their general agreement with Jenkinson’s witty comment.
Unreasonably out of breath after climbing the ladder up to the platform in a panic, Jacob didn’t see anything funny in a corpse floating in the mash tun of his brewery. “He doesn’t look very happy to me,” he gasped. “Who is he?”

Here's another snippet from the opening chapter:
“Yes,” Jacob replied. “Jenkinson here found the body. He’s the brewmaster, so I’ll let him explain.”
Halliwell listened closely to Jenkinson’s account, then appeared to speak to the corpse that was by now floating face down again. Walsh made a note of everything Jenkinson said, but pointedly ignored the mumbling inspector.

I'm halfway done!!

[Pat Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspector Halliwell is once again involved in a confusing and frightening murder case. Jacob is just trying to run his brewery…Jane is trying to shut it down with her Temperance movement. A Lady and a Commoner story that puts the ton to shame. The villain could be any one of 10 people, most within the same family! Watching how the story evolved and my prediction of who the real villain was…was dead wrong! The author does a wonderful job of storytelling and hiding secrets, keeping the plot moving and some cute and adorable hyjinx along the way. I appreciated the “hiding” of the one crass word I abhor and the love scenes were tastefully done. A murder mystery that will keep you guessing and involved to the end, with some twists and turns I never saw coming.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.