A Dirty Death — Rebecca Tope

When irascible farmer Guy Beardon meets a very dirty death in his own farmyard, it seems like an accident at first, despite the fact that he was widely disliked. But when his daughter Lilah slowly begins to suspect foul play, no one is eager to help her investigation. Suspicion becomes certainty when two more deaths occur, both of which are unmistakably murder...

The difficulty lies in discovering who among the farmer's many enemies hated him enough to want him dead and then went on killing to conceal the truth. Could it be the disagreeable vicar? The self-absorbed widow? The crusty Wing Commander? The too-good-to-be-true freelance computer whiz? No one wants to get involved, and even the ubiquitous village gossip seems to know more than she will admit...

Set amidst the muck and mayhem of contemporary farming life, A Dirty Death is an entertaining and authentic crime debut.