The Playing Fields

by Stella Cameron

Overview

When two bodies are discovered within six weeks of one another, it would appear that a serial killer is at large in the sleepy Cotswold village of Folly.

Six weeks after a battered body is found in the grounds of the village cricket club, DCI Dan O'Reilly and his team are no further forward in the investigation. No witnesses, no leads, no clues whatsoever. Then a second body is discovered in the nearby tithe barn used by the local amateur dramatics society, artfully posed just like the first. Could there be a serial killer on the loose?

When evidence leads O'Reilly to visit the Black Dog pub, owner Alex Duggins and her partner Tony are once again drawn into a police investigation.

But Tony is dealing with some disturbing news of his own. Someone from his past has reached out and threatens all he holds dear. Are they who they claim to be, and what do they really want . . .?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780291239
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Series:	An Alex Duggins Mystery , #7
Edition description:	Main
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.98(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stella Cameron is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with over 14 million copies of her books in print. Born and raised in Dorset, England, she now lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

09/13/2021

A serial killer may be on the loose in Cameron’s lame seventh mystery featuring pub owner Alex Duggins (after 2019’s Trap Lane), set in the Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir. The first victim is found on the local cricket pitch, shoeless and without a coat. Six weeks later, another man turns up dead in a barn used by an amateur theater group for its productions. He, too, is bloody and shoeless. Meanwhile, Alex and veterinarian Tony Harrison, her significant other, continue to dither about officially announcing their engagement. Tony is hesitant because he has received an email claiming to be from his wife, Penny, who disappeared more than eight years earlier and is presumed dead. The email contains veiled threats, hinting at Penny’s return to Folly-on-Weir and her desire to become a partner in Tony’s veterinary clinic. Tony’s hysterical reaction to the email undermines credibility, as does Alex’s agreeing to meet with an obvious nutcase alone in a private place about the murders. Series fans, though, should be delighted with the happy ending. Agent: Liza Dawson, Liza Dawson Assoc. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

2021-08-18
Cotswolds pub owner Alex Duggins’ extended tango with the Gambol Green constabulary is quickened by the threat of a serial killer.

Richard Seaton’s final performance on the stage of the Playing Fields, a barn whose boards the Phoenix Players have often trod, is posthumous. He’s been stabbed to death and his body arranged in a pose that can’t be natural. DCI Dan O’Reilly links his death to that of Edward Coughlin, who was brained with a cricket bat six weeks ago and posed just as carefully. While Dan and his squad ponder whether two fatalities are enough to label the perp a serial killer, Alex, a sometime painter who owns the Black Dog pub, looks forward to her wedding to veterinarian Tony Harrison, whose engagement to her is an open secret despite Dan’s attraction to her. But Tony doesn’t seem himself, and there’s an excellent reason why. Shortly before Penny Harrison, the wife who disappeared from his side eight years ago in Australia, is finally declared officially deceased, clearing the way for his remarriage, Tony receives a letter from someone claiming to be Penny and hinting at all she can do to spoil his plans if he doesn’t—well, it’s not entirely clear what he needs to do. So many series regulars, from ex-con Sid Gammage’s two sons to the Black Dog crew, pop up that the killer would stick out even without all the queasy-making mannerisms that shriek, “Killer!” Oblivious to them all, Alex is relegated to two roles: the suspicious contact Dan’s officious Chief Constable warns him away from, and the damsel in distress who has to be saved by the real detectives.

Unlikely to interest anyone but franchise addicts hungry for the latest updates.

Kirkus Reviews

A feisty heroine, plenty of eerie suspense and unusual twists make this village cozy thoroughly engaging

Booklist on Out Comes the Evil

Cameron gets it just right, with a good feel for English village life, plenty of suspense, and a heroine who is both savvy and fearless

Booklist on Melody of Murder

An engaging, expertly plotted tale

Booklist

An engaging, expertly plotted tale

Booklist