The Echo at Rooke Court — Harriet Smart

August, 1841 -- Felix Carswell returns from his blissful wedding journey and is at once called to the bedside of a young man fighting for his life. Fred Pierce has been seriously injured rescuing the occupants of a house from a fire, and Major Giles Vernon suspects the fire was not an accident. When Fred Pierce loses his struggle to live, having uttered a mysterious message on his deathbed, the search for an elusive arsonist begins. Could there be a connection with a recent fire at a cotton warehouse, or is there something amiss at the bank where Fred Pierce was a diligent employee?

Major Vernon has been house-hunting with his fiancée Emma Maitland, and the couple have agreed to rent an ancient but beautiful house in the Minster Precincts, Rooke Court. Their new landlord is Sir Morten Hurrell, owner of a magnificent country estate at Hurrell Place. But they soon find that all is not well with the Hurrell family when the heir Arthur Hurrell is found dead in highly suspicious circumstances. Vernon and Carswell find they have another challenging investigation on their hands.

A scandalous anonymous novel, a potential bank collapse and the acrimonious affairs between the Hurrell family and their neighbours the Wyttons only add to the complexity of the case. Felix finds the struggle threatens to break the still fragile bonds he has formed with his young wife, while Giles faces dismissal and the possible end to his marital hopes; it will require all their ingenuity and courage to find the answers they need.

From the opulent luxury of country estates to the shocking realities of a fever hospital and the extraordinary secrets offered up by an old house, The Echo at Rooke Court is the sixth enthralling Northminster Mystery featuring Major Giles Vernon and Felix Carswell.