A Fatal Necessity

DI Herbert Reardon investigates the murder of an enigmatic woman who was about to leave her comfortable life behind and mysteriously disappear in this page-turning 1930s historical mystery with gasp-worthy revelations.
1935, Templewood, Worcestershire. Judge Waring's glamorous wife Emilie is mysteriously missing and no one knows where she is - until she's found the morning after a party at neighbouring Falquonroy Park, in a clearing in Templewood's grounds, strangled yet neatly laid out next to two pieces of matching luggage.
What could possibly have brought Emilie to the site where the family's new home, The Spinney, was about to be built, equipped for travelling? Was she planning to leave with someone she knew? Who was determined that she should meet such a terrible end? As Detective Chief Inspector Herbert 'Bert' Reardon and Sergeant Jago discover more about the enigmatic Emilie, they unravel terrible lies and devastating secrets stretching back years . . .
This compelling historical mystery sharply conveys British society and politics of the interwar period of the 1930s. A great choice for fans of traditional mysteries with multi-layered and engaging characters from Jacqueline Winspear and Anna Lee Huber.

Marjorie Eccles was born in Yorkshire and spent much of her childhood there and on the Northumbrian coast. She is the author of many crime novels, including the Gil Mayo police procedurals - which were adapted for television by the BBC - and the DI Herbert Reardon historical mysteries. She has one grown-up son and now lives in Buckinghamshire.