The Ringer's Secret: A DI Rowan Penhallow Mystery

by Wendy Cartmell

Some secrets are built into the walls. Some bells cannot be unrung.

When restoration workers break through a Victorian wall in St Petroc's Church tower, they find more than crumbling stonework. The skeleton bricked inside has been there for 150 years and someone in the village has been making sure it stayed hidden.

For DI Rowan Penhallow, the discovery is curious but historical. Then Gerald, the church archivist, is found dead at the foot of the tower steps by Buddy, Rowan's Jack Russell, and curiosity becomes murder.

The team realise that Gerald had been quietly piecing together a story from old probate records and dusty parish ledgers. A story about a forged will, a disinherited heir, and a young solicitor's clerk who knew too much. Now Gerald is gone, and the bell-ringing society that has met in St Petroc's tower for 150 years is saying very little.

Buddy, Rowan, DS Marcus Trewe, and forensic examiner Dr Eliza Carne must unpick a web of loyalty, silence, and inherited guilt that reaches from a Victorian murder to the present day.

While one of Devon's most respected families watches and waits.

The ninth Rowan Penhallow mystery. Perfect for fans of LJ Ross and Rachel McLean.

178 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2026

About the author

I was a Primary School Teacher before leaving England to settle in Spain nearly five years ago. I previously worked in Sales, Marketing and Public Relations for large and small companies. I now write crime novels featuring Sgt Major Crane a detective in the Special Investigations Branch of the British Army, based on Aldershot Garrison. My inspiration for Sergeant Major Crane was my love of crime writing and my husband’s 22 years service in the British Army.

I attend a lively Writing Group who unashamedly meet at beautiful beach side cafes on the Costa del Sol.