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The Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow #1
A Thief in Stickleback Hollow
When her parents die from fever, Lady Sarah Montgomery Baird Watson-Wentworth has to leave India, a land she was born and raised in, and travel to England for the first time.
Finding it almost impossible to adjust to London society, Sarah flees to the county of Cheshire and the country estate of Grangeback that borders the village of Stickleback Hollow.
A place filled with oddballs, eccentrics and more suspicious characters than you can shake a stick at, Sarah feels more at home in the sleepy little village than she ever did in the big city, however, even sleepy little villages have mysteries that must be solved.
A break-in at Grangeback, the assault on Bosworth the butler, the theft of Sarah's jewellery and rifling through the possessions of her late father lead Sarah to believe that there is more to the crime than an interrupted burglary and that there is something more nefarious afoot.
The newly formed police force is still finding its feet, so Sarah must investigate on her own to find out what is going on in this new place she might call home.
Finding it almost impossible to adjust to London society, Sarah flees to the county of Cheshire and the country estate of Grangeback that borders the village of Stickleback Hollow.
A place filled with oddballs, eccentrics and more suspicious characters than you can shake a stick at, Sarah feels more at home in the sleepy little village than she ever did in the big city, however, even sleepy little villages have mysteries that must be solved.
A break-in at Grangeback, the assault on Bosworth the butler, the theft of Sarah's jewellery and rifling through the possessions of her late father lead Sarah to believe that there is more to the crime than an interrupted burglary and that there is something more nefarious afoot.
The newly formed police force is still finding its feet, so Sarah must investigate on her own to find out what is going on in this new place she might call home.
175 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2016
185 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Woolley
124 books54 followersC.S. Woolley (Caroline Sarah Woolley) was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire and raised in the nearby town of Wilmslow. From an early age she discovered she had a flair and passion for writing. This was fuelled by winning local poetry and short story competitions during her years at Mottram St. Andrews Primary School.
During high school, she continued to write and found her time split between acting, writing and her studies. At 14 she began writing novels. University did nothing to change her love of writing. C.S. spent a year reading Law at Manchester Metropolitan University before changing her mind and moving to read English at Hull University. After graduating she moved to Nottingham where she now lives and stays for the cricket at Trent Bridge.
In 2010, C.S published her first novel, Nicolette Mace – The Raven Siren: The Kevin Metis Saga. Since 2010 she has published books in five series – The Chronicles of Celadmore, The Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow, The Children of Ribe, The Children of Snotingas and Nicolette Mace: The Raven Siren.
More recently C.S has taken part in charity projects that include producing content for charity books such as Standing by the Watchtower: Volume 1. C.S has also acted in several plays and films including Weekend (2011).
Hobbies: horse riding, including show jumping and cross country, Formula 1, tennis, free climbing, singing, boxing, dancing, playing guitar, cricket and is also an avid PC and console gamer.
Favourite movies: The Muppet Christmas Carol, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Chisum.
Favourite books: Sharpe’s Prey, Silverthorn and the Three Musketeers.
Favourite bands: Thin Lizzy, the Darkness and McBusted.
For more information please visit:
http://www.mightierthanthesworduk.com
During high school, she continued to write and found her time split between acting, writing and her studies. At 14 she began writing novels. University did nothing to change her love of writing. C.S. spent a year reading Law at Manchester Metropolitan University before changing her mind and moving to read English at Hull University. After graduating she moved to Nottingham where she now lives and stays for the cricket at Trent Bridge.
In 2010, C.S published her first novel, Nicolette Mace – The Raven Siren: The Kevin Metis Saga. Since 2010 she has published books in five series – The Chronicles of Celadmore, The Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow, The Children of Ribe, The Children of Snotingas and Nicolette Mace: The Raven Siren.
More recently C.S has taken part in charity projects that include producing content for charity books such as Standing by the Watchtower: Volume 1. C.S has also acted in several plays and films including Weekend (2011).
Hobbies: horse riding, including show jumping and cross country, Formula 1, tennis, free climbing, singing, boxing, dancing, playing guitar, cricket and is also an avid PC and console gamer.
Favourite movies: The Muppet Christmas Carol, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Chisum.
Favourite books: Sharpe’s Prey, Silverthorn and the Three Musketeers.
Favourite bands: Thin Lizzy, the Darkness and McBusted.
For more information please visit:
http://www.mightierthanthesworduk.com
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 9, 2025
A quick easy read to get me started in the holiday spirit
January 5, 2023
Alright, to be completely honest, I usually am not one to read a "Story Book" (I don't think I've read one since college several years ago - I usually stick to some type of self-help or educational book, but I actually really enjoyed reading "A Thief in Stickleback Hollow". Aside from the intriguing story itself, I really liked that the chapters were kept short and to the point allowing me to stay engaged the entire time, and making it very easy and enjoyable to read the entire book. The story itself was suspenseful, which I loved! I am a sucker for thriller and suspense and the way the book was written made me want to keep reading more! The book is broken up into 20 chapters (which I read in 2 days - which says a lot coming from me!). The first chapter or two took me a bit to really get into and be involved in the story (there were some lengthy names of characters that (at first) were confusing to me), but by the third chapter, I was deeply involved and felt like I was there in real time watching the story play out. As I continued reading, the story became more interesting and I became more engaged with the entire book. I would definitely recommend giving this book a read; as I am SO glad I did even though I was skeptical at first about reading it. You know what they say: "You can't judge a book by its cover" ;) Look forward to reading more from C.S. Woolley in the future!
April 10, 2024
Well that was a super fast read! There is never a dull moment in this book. since it is so short, something is always happening- which makes it a fun read for sure! Although, it seemed a bit too fast paced at times where I could not really absorb the mystery and try to think through it myself.
The length made for minimal detail. I would have loved to see more emotion and internal thoughts from the characters in order to relate to them more. The only very brief moment where we really saw some emotion was when Sarah was grieving from her parent’s death, but even then there was no description for how she felt, just her actions of crying. So I would have loved to see more detail about how the characters felt throughout the story. With that said, I still enjoyed the characters. There were also quite a bit of characters introduced in such a short story, so that made it a bit difficult to remember and keep people straight in my mind while reading.
Even though I would have loved to see more detail, it’s hard to complain with the read was enjoyable and so quick, I mean I read this in one night!
Fun story and a good introduction to the series, I think I may have to pick up more in the series! (:
The length made for minimal detail. I would have loved to see more emotion and internal thoughts from the characters in order to relate to them more. The only very brief moment where we really saw some emotion was when Sarah was grieving from her parent’s death, but even then there was no description for how she felt, just her actions of crying. So I would have loved to see more detail about how the characters felt throughout the story. With that said, I still enjoyed the characters. There were also quite a bit of characters introduced in such a short story, so that made it a bit difficult to remember and keep people straight in my mind while reading.
Even though I would have loved to see more detail, it’s hard to complain with the read was enjoyable and so quick, I mean I read this in one night!
Fun story and a good introduction to the series, I think I may have to pick up more in the series! (:
reviewed
July 21, 2025This is book 1 of The Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow.
Genre: Cozy historical mystery
Tropes: Law enforcement corruption, family secret
Setting: Victorian England (1838)
Writing style: Multiple POV, third person, past tense
Tone: Brisk
Character- or plot-driven: Plot-driven
Romance: No
Sensitive aspects:
• Character slices hand on glass and gets stitched up
• 1 instance of he**
*You should be aware before deciding whether to buy this book that the series does not appear to have been copyedited or even proofread, as obvious errors abound. The great thing about the books is that each has a few pages of historical note explaining what was happening at the time and how everything in the story fit. The author also notes where elements of the story deviate from historical fact. There’s also a character list at the start of every book to remind you who everyone is in case you forget or get confused.
This is an easy, briskly paced read. It’s an enjoyable enough read, especially in regard to the writing style. Lady Sarah is spunky with a refined aspect, very independent, thoughtful, and clever. She can be also occassionally be irritable with a subtly proud streak, but certain parts of that are understandable based on her personality in a society where ladies were meant to be proper at all times and were generally underestimated.
My biggest issue was when Lady Sarah is able to get a room at a hotel with Alex, who is helping her investigate. There is no way a respectable establishment of the era would allow a woman to share a room alone with a man, even being under the impression that he is her valet. Another issue is that one of the culprits gives up immediately and without even a feeble attempt at a fight; he is much too acquiescent.
“‘A pleasure, Mr Hunter,’ Sarah replied, though her voice was pleasant enough, her eyes told him that it was nothing of the kind.” She literally just met the man. Why is this her immediate attitude?
“‘You think all young men are terrible simpering sycophants,’ the doctor laughed. ‘Well, they are, none of them have any moral character anymore,’ George said, waving his hands in despair.” Every generation says the same things. That should put everything in perspective.
“‘How could [your parents] be bad people when they raised someone like you? You know the difference between right and wrong, you’ve got a quick mind and have the decency to be ashamed of what your parents have been accused of[.]’” People place too much weight on parents’ character as a reflection of their children’s, assuming that how a child turns out says everything about who raised her. Chances are that Sarah would learn from her parents how to behave, yet individuals also make their own choices. Parents can do the best job possible and still turn out a child who behaves badly, and they can do the worst job possible and still turn out a child who behaves well.
“‘You don’t think he’ll try and present himself as a suitor to Sarah, do you?’ Alex asked lightly.” This is such an odd concern. Why would he do that? And why would she accept him?
Favorite Quotation: “You’ve done an excellent job, Miss Baker. I’m sure that when the summer draws closer, you’ll get to see some of the Indian fashions that Sarah wears and find a whole new line of inspiration,” George said warmly. Miss Baker looked appalled at the idea and hurried out of the house as fast as she could, her boys running behind her.
Genre: Cozy historical mystery
Tropes: Law enforcement corruption, family secret
Setting: Victorian England (1838)
Writing style: Multiple POV, third person, past tense
Tone: Brisk
Character- or plot-driven: Plot-driven
Romance: No
Sensitive aspects:
• Character slices hand on glass and gets stitched up
• 1 instance of he**
*You should be aware before deciding whether to buy this book that the series does not appear to have been copyedited or even proofread, as obvious errors abound. The great thing about the books is that each has a few pages of historical note explaining what was happening at the time and how everything in the story fit. The author also notes where elements of the story deviate from historical fact. There’s also a character list at the start of every book to remind you who everyone is in case you forget or get confused.
This is an easy, briskly paced read. It’s an enjoyable enough read, especially in regard to the writing style. Lady Sarah is spunky with a refined aspect, very independent, thoughtful, and clever. She can be also occassionally be irritable with a subtly proud streak, but certain parts of that are understandable based on her personality in a society where ladies were meant to be proper at all times and were generally underestimated.
My biggest issue was when Lady Sarah is able to get a room at a hotel with Alex, who is helping her investigate. There is no way a respectable establishment of the era would allow a woman to share a room alone with a man, even being under the impression that he is her valet. Another issue is that one of the culprits gives up immediately and without even a feeble attempt at a fight; he is much too acquiescent.
“‘A pleasure, Mr Hunter,’ Sarah replied, though her voice was pleasant enough, her eyes told him that it was nothing of the kind.” She literally just met the man. Why is this her immediate attitude?
“‘You think all young men are terrible simpering sycophants,’ the doctor laughed. ‘Well, they are, none of them have any moral character anymore,’ George said, waving his hands in despair.” Every generation says the same things. That should put everything in perspective.
“‘How could [your parents] be bad people when they raised someone like you? You know the difference between right and wrong, you’ve got a quick mind and have the decency to be ashamed of what your parents have been accused of[.]’” People place too much weight on parents’ character as a reflection of their children’s, assuming that how a child turns out says everything about who raised her. Chances are that Sarah would learn from her parents how to behave, yet individuals also make their own choices. Parents can do the best job possible and still turn out a child who behaves badly, and they can do the worst job possible and still turn out a child who behaves well.
“‘You don’t think he’ll try and present himself as a suitor to Sarah, do you?’ Alex asked lightly.” This is such an odd concern. Why would he do that? And why would she accept him?
Favorite Quotation: “You’ve done an excellent job, Miss Baker. I’m sure that when the summer draws closer, you’ll get to see some of the Indian fashions that Sarah wears and find a whole new line of inspiration,” George said warmly. Miss Baker looked appalled at the idea and hurried out of the house as fast as she could, her boys running behind her.
May 4, 2025
Enjoyable If You Can Suspend Your Disbelief
This is actually more of a romance novel than the mystery it was billed as on the site where I found it. It isn't badly written, although it's pretty obviously not written by a Brit, for Americanisms creep in throughout the manuscript. It has the requisite "feisty" heiress heroine and the rough-around-the-edges hero. I must admit, the villain came as just a bit of a surprise.
Of course, the reader has to believe that a well-bred woman of that era would be allowed to travel cross country without a ladies' maid and in the company of a young man--something that would NEVER have been permitted! And since the whole story hinges on this frankly-unbelievable event, one has to suspend reality for the purposes of enjoyment.
It was a good read for a rainy afternoon, but not a series I'd rush to continue.
This is actually more of a romance novel than the mystery it was billed as on the site where I found it. It isn't badly written, although it's pretty obviously not written by a Brit, for Americanisms creep in throughout the manuscript. It has the requisite "feisty" heiress heroine and the rough-around-the-edges hero. I must admit, the villain came as just a bit of a surprise.
Of course, the reader has to believe that a well-bred woman of that era would be allowed to travel cross country without a ladies' maid and in the company of a young man--something that would NEVER have been permitted! And since the whole story hinges on this frankly-unbelievable event, one has to suspend reality for the purposes of enjoyment.
It was a good read for a rainy afternoon, but not a series I'd rush to continue.
December 29, 2023
A short, interesting read, a good lead-in to the series. The story is fast-paced and the well written. Sarah, the main character, is very headstrong, even arrogant at times.
To me this story seemed very anachronistic. Though there's no date given, social mores in horse + carriage day wouldn't have accepted the scandalous behavior of these two and Hunter, if he were a decent sort, would have cared more for her reputation. I doubt any proper hotel would have rented a room or suite to two unmarried people of opposite sex; the business would have had its reputation to consider. And women weren't allowed in bars (drinking establishments) when I was a girl, never mind back then, though English pubs were a different sort of place.
To me this story seemed very anachronistic. Though there's no date given, social mores in horse + carriage day wouldn't have accepted the scandalous behavior of these two and Hunter, if he were a decent sort, would have cared more for her reputation. I doubt any proper hotel would have rented a room or suite to two unmarried people of opposite sex; the business would have had its reputation to consider. And women weren't allowed in bars (drinking establishments) when I was a girl, never mind back then, though English pubs were a different sort of place.
March 17, 2024
After the death of her parents in India, Lady Sarah Montgomery Baird's new life in England isn't as dull as she had first thought. Mere days after moving into Grangeback Estate with her adoptive uncle, her rooms are broken into, her belongings rifled through, and her father's pocket watch stolen. When blame lands on the estate's cold but reliable hunter, Sarah feels compelled to set things right.
The story felt a little dry, like the events were happening and being described rather than immersing us into the world. The supposed romance, too, felt awkward and unjustly inserted with no chemistry or apparent attraction.
The story felt a little dry, like the events were happening and being described rather than immersing us into the world. The supposed romance, too, felt awkward and unjustly inserted with no chemistry or apparent attraction.
November 29, 2020
Sarah travels to London from her home in India after the sudden death of her parents. London Society did not suit her independent spirit, and she settles in Stickleback Hollow. When her jewelry is stolen, she uses her quick mind to find answers. I suspended my knowledge of proprieties and simply enjoyed the story, especially the unconventional relationship between the quirky Brigadier and his ward, Sarah. As the Brigadier states, “Strange is better than boring.”
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 7, 2022
This reads like a poorly written fanfiction. Bland characters, uninspired dialogue, no wit and not even a small attempt at historical accuracy (A young heiress travelling alone with a man? And why the heck is everyone on first name terms?).
The constable is embarassingly incompetent, the heroine is silly and seems prone to childish tantrums (which I suppose should demonstrate her independent spirit).
I gave up reading at 30%
The constable is embarassingly incompetent, the heroine is silly and seems prone to childish tantrums (which I suppose should demonstrate her independent spirit).
I gave up reading at 30%
March 28, 2022
I enjoy these books although they are very short so read very quickly AND the Americanisms are awful such as calling a handbag a “purse” which we never do in England. Here, a purse is where we keep our money and that’s kept in a handbag.
Apart from the reduced pages and Americanisms the books are actually alright.
A nice cozy read to wind down after a hard days work. Not a Classic read but sometimes you just need something short and sweet……. But PLEASE get rid of the horrible Americanisms!
Apart from the reduced pages and Americanisms the books are actually alright.
A nice cozy read to wind down after a hard days work. Not a Classic read but sometimes you just need something short and sweet……. But PLEASE get rid of the horrible Americanisms!
April 24, 2019
Actions not of the time period
I think this was well written but the main character was so far away of what was expected of a young woman of that time period. Spending the nite in a man's cabin would have ruined her reputation. She is just too independent for the time period.
I think this was well written but the main character was so far away of what was expected of a young woman of that time period. Spending the nite in a man's cabin would have ruined her reputation. She is just too independent for the time period.
May 31, 2025
Buy A Thief in Stickleback Hollow today and be swept away by the first of these enthralling Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow. If you like historical mysteries and/or unexpected twists and female sleuths from high society, you’ll love this captivating series. There is never a dull moment.
October 8, 2017
A fantastic start, to a fantastic series! I love the characters of Sarah and Hunter. I really hope they get together in the series! The writing and descriptions really set the scene for the stories.
August 20, 2025
Wonderful
A thief in Stickleback Hollow book 1 was very enjoyable. I can't wait to read the next mystery. I love reading about a strong women.
A thief in Stickleback Hollow book 1 was very enjoyable. I can't wait to read the next mystery. I love reading about a strong women.
September 28, 2025
Short & sweet. If you're looking for a quick read with a bit of mystery and a hint of romance this with fill that need.
December 23, 2023
A new-to-me author and one that I am glad I discovered. The blurb sounded interesting and I enjoyed this book very much. Admittedly, there were a few errors (her guardian's age and height being the obvious ones) but all in all, it was an exciting and interesting read. Lady Sarah is intelligent, independent, trained and educated the best and being part of the aristocracy, had enough money to do whatever she needed to. A strong character with whom you cannot help but route for.
Although it was not the done thing in those days for a lady to travel without a maid, I have actually met someone whose grandmother (and she was landed gentry) lived in the 19th century and she totally flaunted tradition and travelled with her sister all over Europe. She was of course frowned upon but she was a little spitfire, who could handle herself and a sabre, a knife and even a gun so I am sure there are exceptions to the rule. And therefore to me, this Lady Sarah is credible. An exciting start to what can only be a great series.
Although it was not the done thing in those days for a lady to travel without a maid, I have actually met someone whose grandmother (and she was landed gentry) lived in the 19th century and she totally flaunted tradition and travelled with her sister all over Europe. She was of course frowned upon but she was a little spitfire, who could handle herself and a sabre, a knife and even a gun so I am sure there are exceptions to the rule. And therefore to me, this Lady Sarah is credible. An exciting start to what can only be a great series.
December 9, 2025
This first book in The Stickleback Hollow series was an entertaining and intriguing cozy historical romance. The characters were interesting and intelligent. I enjoyed the short and to the point chapters and how engaging the story was. I look forward to the next book. I recommend reading!.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews