The Tale of Hill Top Farm — Susan Wittig Albert

In this first of the Cottage Tales, animal lover and all-around Good Samaritan Beatrix Potter, author of Peter Rabbit, is ready to help solve local mysteries. And with her entourage of animal friends, she sets out to win over the human hearts of Sawrey ...

England, 1905. A Londoner -- a female Londoner -- has just bought a farm in rural Sawrey. The locals don't know what to make of Beatrix Potter. They've never heard of an unwed woman buying and running a farm. Some meet her with genuine warmth; others keep her at arm's length. Beatrix, recovering from the death of her fiance, believes she can heal in the countryside, a quiet place to work on her children's stories. But when a villager dies unexpectedly, with allegations of foul play, Sawrey turns out to be anything but quiet ...