Killing Jane Austen (ebook)

Argumento de Killing Jane Austen (ebook)

?Well? Are you coming or what?? Steve Doherty was trying to play nonchalant but she wasn?t fooled. He was keen for her to say yes, and what?s more she was keen to say yes.

Honey Driver, Bath hotelier, also doubled as Crime Liaison Officer on behalf of the Hotels Association which was how come she?d met Detective Inspector Steve Doherty: him of the laconic good looks and sexual promise.

The promise had been looking quite ? well ? promising. Doherty was inviting her away for a dirty weekend. At least his tantalizing asides made her presume it would be pretty dirty, seeing as he told her to leave her flannelette pyjamas behind.

?A dab of perfume behind each ear should fit the bill,? he said.

?I don?t wear pyjamas.?

?Good.?

Unfortunately his timing was well up the creek. ?I can?t go.? The words caught in her throat. She hated saying no. Doherty hated her saying no too. His sigh of exasperation was like a full-force gale blowing down the phone.

?Don?t tell me. You?ve got a do on for the Bone Crushers and Horse Glue Society.?

?No! No, it?s nothing like that.?

She went on to tell him why she couldn?t come.

Yet another historical production was being filmed in Bath. This time it was about the life of the most famous spinster ever to write romantic fiction: Jane Austen.

A film crew had arrived in town and two of the production team ? namely the sound technician and the guy operating the lighting generator ? were sharing a twin-bedded room at the Green River Hotel. They also frequented the bar a lot. That was when they?d asked Honey and a few others if they fancied being film extras.

Visions of herself as a kind of latter-day Sophia Loren had sprung immediately to mind. Yes, of course she?d take part.

So would her daughter Lindsey, who was a sucker for history at the best of times.

So would her elderly mother Gloria. It was the costumes that did it for her. She just adored wearing anything floaty and feminine. And young guys in tight trousers.

Mary Jane declined, which wasn?t exactly unexpected. Their resident professor of the paranormal looked puzzled when asked if she wanted to be transported to the Regency period. ?I see people from that era every day,? she finally stated. She was referring to Sir Cedric, one-time resident of the room she presently occupied. He was supposedly one of her ancestors and still visited on occasion even though he?d died back in 1792.

Anyway, being an extra had sounded like being good fun. It was a bit like playing hooky from school. Sit around, get shot by nothing more dangerous than a camera, and have someone cook for you. The half-cut members of the production crew assured her that she?d mostly be whiling away the time reading a book or playing Scrabble.

?Shame. You don?t know what you?re missing,? said Doherty.

He was right. They?d been trying to get it together for ages, but things kept getting in the way.

'The kick-off to Goodhind's new mystery series - fast moving with a likeable
heroine and an impeccably rendered Bath background...'
Kirkus Reviews
(USA) on Something in the Blood

'Quirky characters and intriguing goings-on in my favourite city, Bath. J G
Goodhind's wonderful books are crying out to be made into a TV series. An
absolute treat!'
Jill Mansell on Walking with Ghosts.

'Sometimes it is the location alone makes you curious about a detective novel....Jean G Goodhind in her debut novel has added much more than that - a droll plot and a lot of British humour...'0