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On The Table Read, “The Best Book Reader Magazine in the UK“, Andrea Nelson’s first book of her impending The Trouble with Murder series, introduces avid ghost-hunters Beth and Monty. As witnesses to a suspected murder the duo are accompanied in their sleuthing adventures by Beth’s husband, Jordan, and Monty’s motorbike-loving 88-year-old Auntie Mildred. Tasked with finding out what really happened at Waterdale Hall, their efforts quickly turn into a myriad of mishaps. Will Beth and Monty discover the truth surrounding the murder, and will their friendship survive the task in hand?
Adding a good dose of humour to the world of murder mystery, The Trouble with Murder … At the Hall launches Andrea Nelson’s The Trouble with Murder series.
Deciding to put her time during lockdown to good use and to pen her first novel, the author’s style is inspired by Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, both of which she enjoyed when growing up.
With this her debut novel, the author delivers a well-conceived plot packaged up in an easy-flowing and accessible writing style that makes The Trouble with Murder … At the Hall a perfect whodunnit for a lazy afternoon.
With books two and three of the series already in the publishing pipeline, The Trouble with Murder … At the Hall is the type of book you feel Miss Marple herself would enjoy and makes for an engaging addition to the murder/mystery genre.
Two friends, Beth and Monty like to go ghost hunting. On this occasion, they themselves witnesses to a suspected murder. Beth has always considered herself a bit of a Miss Marple and unfortunately for Monty, he is the only one (not so willing) to join her. Along the way, Monty’s Auntie Mildred (who is in her 80’s and rides a Motorbike) becomes involved. Beth’s Husband Jordan who is co-owner of a Silver Mine in Australia, finds, upon his return home, he has become part of the team.
The “incident” happens when they go on a Ghost Walk at the local Manor House called “Waterdale Hall” They only find out the Ghost Walk is cancelled when they get there but Beth wants to take a look anyway. The characters find themselves in the middle of something they hadn’t anticipated, and the story then becomes more about how they deal with the mess they are in and the relationship between the characters themselves.
Monty and his Auntie, whilst related share more of a love for wine rather than their genes. They love and hate each other in equal measure. The “team” find themselves working neck deep trying to solve the case with a series of mishaps occurring along the way.
“Many years ago, my English teacher told me that I should write a book one day. I didn’t think, however, it would take me this long. My literary opportunity came during the lockdown in November 2020. I have lived in Hertfordshire for the past 23 years and we had recently moved house in 2020. The whole world was miserable. Absolutely fed up having spent so long living with various restrictions due to the Pandemic, so I decided to write my book at long last. It actually didn’t take me too long to decide what type of book it would be. I grew up reading The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries. I loved Miss Marple. In Fact, my all-time favourite is Margaret Rutherford. I loved the humour.
“I based the characters in all of the books so far on people I know. Bits and pieces of peoples characters and fused them together. Auntie Mildred in the book is actually two people in one. My Great Aunt was my Auntie Mildred, and she rode a motorbike called Betsy, the other half of her is an aunt of one of my friends.
“I found writing the book a joy. Initially, I had intended to write the book for myself and just have one copy printed that I could show to my children and in the future, my grandchildren and say, look what I did. Probably midway through the book, I thought, this could become a series of books.
“I love the characters they made me laugh and thought to myself, if I can make other people laugh reading this, then I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve. Laughter is so important, and everyone deserves to have a little bit of it in their lives. It’s a tonic. I felt that during the pandemic, this was mine.”
“I am 54 and have always loved to write. I live with my partner and my two sons, and also have a daughter who lives in Vancouver.
“I grew up in a small Village in the North West of England called Burtonwood. I had the happiest of childhoods and had my own horse which I’d ride around the village. The whole time, I’d be creating some kind of adventure in my head, “What would I do if this or that happened”. I head back to Burtonwood as often as I can to see family and old friends.”
Over the years, I moved to the South East with work and our base then became Hertfordshire. Living life at such a fast pace as most of us tend to do juggling work and a young family, I found the complete circuit breaker the pandemic brought to all of our lives allowed me to take a good look at what was really important to me in my life and how far I could push myself with my Creative Mind.
I picked up my pen and began to write. I had a lot of fun with this first book of the series.
Published by Murder Press, The Trouble with Murder … At the Hall is available in paperback (£7.99) and Kindle format (£3.99) on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3CMNVWN and https://amzn.to/3CSEvJG respectively
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