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Madeleine Brooks Mystery #0.5
Death at Grenstead House
A brutal murder.
A young woman serving life imprisonment.
Her guilt is obvious…or is it?
When Madeleine Brooks’ cousin Tish Adams rings to say she’s now a mother of two, Maddie is overjoyed, but perplexed. Tish has long been infertile and her hopes of adoption have been thwarted at every turn. So how has her wish for parenthood been granted so suddenly?
When a young pregnant woman is put in the local prison for murdering her boyfriend, Maddie finds herself investigating the case at Tish’s behest. The convicted woman was found beside the bloodied victim, with her fingerprints on the weapon…and she’s the mother of Tish’s children.
But something about the young surrogate’s murderous actions don’t add up for Maddie. Why is she insistent that the victim was not her boyfriend and that his murderer was an intruder? And why was she providing surrogacy services during her sentence?
Determined to get to the truth, Maddie discovers hidden facts that start to indicate this case is anything but open and shut.
Death at Grenstead House is the prequel novella to the Madeleine Brooks Mystery series. On top of rumblings of discontent in her professional and married life, probation officer Maddie Brooks finds herself intrigued by this mystery. Soon, as chronicled in the other books of the series, she finds herself regularly entangled in all manner of murderous cases in her sleepy little English village.
A clever and engaging murder mystery suitable for a cozy winter’s evening with the cat purring, a fire in the grate, and a glass of something handy.
A young woman serving life imprisonment.
Her guilt is obvious…or is it?
When Madeleine Brooks’ cousin Tish Adams rings to say she’s now a mother of two, Maddie is overjoyed, but perplexed. Tish has long been infertile and her hopes of adoption have been thwarted at every turn. So how has her wish for parenthood been granted so suddenly?
When a young pregnant woman is put in the local prison for murdering her boyfriend, Maddie finds herself investigating the case at Tish’s behest. The convicted woman was found beside the bloodied victim, with her fingerprints on the weapon…and she’s the mother of Tish’s children.
But something about the young surrogate’s murderous actions don’t add up for Maddie. Why is she insistent that the victim was not her boyfriend and that his murderer was an intruder? And why was she providing surrogacy services during her sentence?
Determined to get to the truth, Maddie discovers hidden facts that start to indicate this case is anything but open and shut.
Death at Grenstead House is the prequel novella to the Madeleine Brooks Mystery series. On top of rumblings of discontent in her professional and married life, probation officer Maddie Brooks finds herself intrigued by this mystery. Soon, as chronicled in the other books of the series, she finds herself regularly entangled in all manner of murderous cases in her sleepy little English village.
A clever and engaging murder mystery suitable for a cozy winter’s evening with the cat purring, a fire in the grate, and a glass of something handy.
116 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 10, 2021
23 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Tannis Laidlaw
39 books30 followersBorn in Winnipeg in Canada, Tannis Laidlaw visits the family cottage at the lake every summer, but lives in Auckland in New Zealand - that's right - two summer's every year. She has a history of writing academic papers mostly psychology in medicine, plus a few poems but mostly, now, novels. She's married with grown-up kids and 2 grandchildren. Tannis loves to travel, read and, of course, write.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 17, 2022
There are several different kinds of sub-genres within the crime genre ... cozy, thriller, private eye, hard-boiled, mystery, and so on. Death at Grenstead House by Tannis Laidlaw does not purport to be a thriller. It is not a ‘police-procedural. Nor can it be defined as a ‘cozy’ mystery. The cosy designation has been taken over by little old ladies in a pleasant English village who knit, who always have little doggies or pussy cats, and who run pubs or cafes. Once I read the story, however, it became clear that Death at Grenstead House functions perfectly as a ‘classic murder mystery’.
There can be no doubt that Tannis Laidlaw knows exactly what she is doing with this genre. She poses a testing mystery with some violence and threat. But in the classic mode, she tosses in a few red herrings along the way while offering enough clues to allow observant readers an opportunity to solve the puzzle before the author’s ‘reveal’. She also adds depth to the story by surrounding her friend’s life and marriage in a subordinate layer of mystery that is more than enough to keep the readers’ mind working overtime.
Laidlaw’s writing is engaging, skilful, and pacy. The reader is pulled along, actually uncaring of genre, interested only in following where the writer leads. This book was always destined to be an absorbing read.
Whether in the movies or in books, I love stories where someone comes to someone and says, ‘My friend is in jail, but I am convinced she’s innocent. Could you have a look into it?” This kind of mystery can be fascinating and, indeed, it is the essence of the plot of Death at Grenstead House. Laidlaw is a gifted storyteller and in her expert hands, Death at Grenstead House has the reader skipping through the pages. I sat up a fair bit of the night to finish the book, unable to put it down until I found out who had done what and why.
This book is designed to introduce Laidlaw’s amateur sleuth, Probation Officer Madeline Brooks. Madeline is a well-rounded, attractive character with strong values and a determined mind. On the basis of this first offering, I can safely predict that she will easily carry this series into several very successful full-sized novels. But, hey, don’t take my word for it. Read it for yourself and become a fan.
There can be no doubt that Tannis Laidlaw knows exactly what she is doing with this genre. She poses a testing mystery with some violence and threat. But in the classic mode, she tosses in a few red herrings along the way while offering enough clues to allow observant readers an opportunity to solve the puzzle before the author’s ‘reveal’. She also adds depth to the story by surrounding her friend’s life and marriage in a subordinate layer of mystery that is more than enough to keep the readers’ mind working overtime.
Laidlaw’s writing is engaging, skilful, and pacy. The reader is pulled along, actually uncaring of genre, interested only in following where the writer leads. This book was always destined to be an absorbing read.
Whether in the movies or in books, I love stories where someone comes to someone and says, ‘My friend is in jail, but I am convinced she’s innocent. Could you have a look into it?” This kind of mystery can be fascinating and, indeed, it is the essence of the plot of Death at Grenstead House. Laidlaw is a gifted storyteller and in her expert hands, Death at Grenstead House has the reader skipping through the pages. I sat up a fair bit of the night to finish the book, unable to put it down until I found out who had done what and why.
This book is designed to introduce Laidlaw’s amateur sleuth, Probation Officer Madeline Brooks. Madeline is a well-rounded, attractive character with strong values and a determined mind. On the basis of this first offering, I can safely predict that she will easily carry this series into several very successful full-sized novels. But, hey, don’t take my word for it. Read it for yourself and become a fan.
May 9, 2023
Death at Grenstead House - My first read by this author and I was impressed by and immersed in this introduction to the Madeleine Brooks Mystery Series. The simplicity in the writing style belies the actual depth of the casual investigation by a parole officer instigated by her cousin's concern for the imprisoned surrogate mother of the cousin's children. The PO suffers from her investigation but benefits are reaped for others, except for the .... 5*
Darkwater Lake Mystery series.
A Writer is Dead - My second story by this writer and I was a wee bit disappointed by the beginning seven chapters. Jodie, the writer, got on all twelve of my nerves with her incessant caterwauling about needing the notes of the dead author Iris.
The story did pick up and move on, and became interesting. Good story lines and most of the characters were likeable, but not all. Turns out the most despicable character had a reason for the nastiness, and became an object of pity. So much for that PhD Jodie earned.
The Canadian wilderness sounds like a wonderful place to discover. I did enjoy Death at Grenstead House, the prequel to another series. Getting through the first few chapters is the hardest part of Writer before getting into the good parts. I am willing to read more of the Darkwater Lake series. 3*
Darkwater Lake Mystery series.
A Writer is Dead - My second story by this writer and I was a wee bit disappointed by the beginning seven chapters. Jodie, the writer, got on all twelve of my nerves with her incessant caterwauling about needing the notes of the dead author Iris.
The story did pick up and move on, and became interesting. Good story lines and most of the characters were likeable, but not all. Turns out the most despicable character had a reason for the nastiness, and became an object of pity. So much for that PhD Jodie earned.
The Canadian wilderness sounds like a wonderful place to discover. I did enjoy Death at Grenstead House, the prequel to another series. Getting through the first few chapters is the hardest part of Writer before getting into the good parts. I am willing to read more of the Darkwater Lake series. 3*
August 24, 2021
Death at Grenstead House is the prequel novella to the Madeleine Brooks Mystery series. Probation officer Maddie Brooks is not happy in her current job and is none to happy in her marriage. As she is considering just what she can do to make her life better she runs across a mystery involving a death that happened at Grenstead House. I anticipate that solving this mystery will lead Maggie down a new professional path in her upcoming novels. I highly recommend this novel, and can’t wait to follow her along as she investigate new mysteries in her quaint little village. I gave this honest, voluntary review after being given a free copy of the book with no monetary compensation
December 20, 2024
A prequel to the Madeleine Brooks series, this book introduces us to the characters in the series. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews