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Murder on the Cotswold Express: A 1920’s Historical Cosy Mystery
A vicar's daughter turned baroness. A ruthless industrialist dead behind a bolted door. A luxury train with no way off.
Cecily, Lady Ashcombe, Vicar's Daughter Turned Baroness and Reluctant Sleuth. Cecily boards the Cotswold Express bound for Oxford, still smarting from a quarrel with a powerful magnate over a threatened churchyard. Before the countryside slips past the windows, one passenger will not reach the far platform. She wants to see justice done for those too small to fight for themselves. A bolted compartment, a carriage full of secrets, and a Scotland Yard inspector on holiday who would rather she stayed out of it.
Elsie Pickering, Lady's Maid and Sharp-Eyed Confidante. Elsie has served long enough to read a room before anyone speaks, and she keeps a notebook the well-heeled passengers never think to notice. She wants to keep her mistress safe and see the truth set right. Her place below stairs means the people who matter rarely think she is listening.
Trapped with a killer among strangers, Cecily must sort truth from silence before an innocent answers for another's crime. The orders from Oxford are proceed, and nobody leaves the train. When the Express reaches the platform, whoever has not been named walks away for good.
Everyone on this train has a reason to lie. Only one of them had a reason to kill.
• murder on a train
• closed-circle mystery
• lady and her maid sleuthing duo
• 1920s historical cosy mystery
• amateur sleuth with a past
• locked-room puzzle
• justice for the voiceless
• clean closed-door cosy mystery
Perfect for fans of Golden Age locked-room whodunits, 1920s British amateur-sleuth mysteries, and character-driven ensemble puzzles with a faith-friendly heart.
Climb aboard the Cotswold Express and begin the mystery today.
Heat Closed Door (no on-page intimacy)
Witty · Suspenseful · Emotional
Series Book 5 in The Lady Ashcombe Murder Mysteries (but can be read as an enjoyable standalone mystery)
Hopeful close
Single POV · Third Person Content
off-page death, grief, classism, mild peril, family loss, wartime trauma Inspirational
Christian themes — woven naturally, never preachy
Cecily, Lady Ashcombe, Vicar's Daughter Turned Baroness and Reluctant Sleuth. Cecily boards the Cotswold Express bound for Oxford, still smarting from a quarrel with a powerful magnate over a threatened churchyard. Before the countryside slips past the windows, one passenger will not reach the far platform. She wants to see justice done for those too small to fight for themselves. A bolted compartment, a carriage full of secrets, and a Scotland Yard inspector on holiday who would rather she stayed out of it.
Elsie Pickering, Lady's Maid and Sharp-Eyed Confidante. Elsie has served long enough to read a room before anyone speaks, and she keeps a notebook the well-heeled passengers never think to notice. She wants to keep her mistress safe and see the truth set right. Her place below stairs means the people who matter rarely think she is listening.
Trapped with a killer among strangers, Cecily must sort truth from silence before an innocent answers for another's crime. The orders from Oxford are proceed, and nobody leaves the train. When the Express reaches the platform, whoever has not been named walks away for good.
Everyone on this train has a reason to lie. Only one of them had a reason to kill.
• murder on a train
• closed-circle mystery
• lady and her maid sleuthing duo
• 1920s historical cosy mystery
• amateur sleuth with a past
• locked-room puzzle
• justice for the voiceless
• clean closed-door cosy mystery
Perfect for fans of Golden Age locked-room whodunits, 1920s British amateur-sleuth mysteries, and character-driven ensemble puzzles with a faith-friendly heart.
Climb aboard the Cotswold Express and begin the mystery today.
Heat Closed Door (no on-page intimacy)
Witty · Suspenseful · Emotional
Series Book 5 in The Lady Ashcombe Murder Mysteries (but can be read as an enjoyable standalone mystery)
Hopeful close
Single POV · Third Person Content
off-page death, grief, classism, mild peril, family loss, wartime trauma Inspirational
Christian themes — woven naturally, never preachy
245 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 15, 2026
Loved it!!!
This book like the others in this series was packed with action. Cecily is quite the Lady of Ashcombe. She is not afraid to take on what ever she faces and does it with dignity and grace. I hope there is more books to come.
This book like the others in this series was packed with action. Cecily is quite the Lady of Ashcombe. She is not afraid to take on what ever she faces and does it with dignity and grace. I hope there is more books to come.
October 19, 2026
Cosy little mystery
Great little cosy mystery, always fun to read with easy to follow backgrounds of characters. This is the 4th book of this series I have read.
Great little cosy mystery, always fun to read with easy to follow backgrounds of characters. This is the 4th book of this series I have read.
October 21, 2026
Very Complex Plot with Real Life Characters
An enjoyable real life read with no way to guess the guilty parties. I have very much enjoyed reading ALL of her books.
An enjoyable real life read with no way to guess the guilty parties. I have very much enjoyed reading ALL of her books.
October 26, 2026
A Real Surprise
Yes, it’s a cosy but it’s also rather brilliant and unique. Much deeper than one would expect. Enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Yes, it’s a cosy but it’s also rather brilliant and unique. Much deeper than one would expect. Enjoyed it from beginning to end.
October 26, 2026
A fun and enjoyable read. It could perhaps do with being a little less clever 🤔.
November 10, 2026
Cotswold Express
I enjoyed the book because it kept me guessing.
I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
I enjoyed the book because it kept me guessing.
I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews