The Snowdrop Crusade — Susan Alexander

It is obvious to Father Bob that the Occupy London movement is coming to an end and soon the protestors will be forced to leave the great square in front of Saint Paul's. The self-styled clergyman has been enjoying the notoriety of the past weeks and is looking for a way to extend the status quo for himself as well as the small band of young followers he has attracted.Then he meets a mysterious Egyptian who makes Father Bob an interesting offer. The stranger points out that not all of the 1% are in the City of London. Just as many of the privileged elite live in the country on their walled estates. He proposes that Father Bob take his group to the countryside and continue their protests there. The Egyptian will provide some vans, a place to camp and money for food and fuel.The Egyptian goes on to tell Father Bob about the current mania for snowdrops. The small white flowers are selling for hundreds of pounds for a single bulb, while school budets are gutted and health care is cut back. He suggests that Father Bob call himself and his followers the Snowdrop Crusade.Meanwhile, Professor Maggie Eliot has managed to break through her writer's block and finish the book she was committed to writing during a sabbatical year from her position at Oxford. The American academic has been supported in her efforts by Thomas, the new man in her life, who also happens to be the 28th Baron Raynham.With her book complete, Thomas asks Maggie to spend the remaining time of her sabbatical at Beaumatin, his Cotswolds estate. He also invites her to accompany him to the annual Snowdrop Ball. At the event, where the Snowdrop Crusaders are also demonstrating, Maggie meets Carlos Castillo, a Mexican shipping magnate who envisions creating a global market for British snowdrops. However, Maggie is suspicious of the man and decides to find out if the Mexican really is who he claims to be.Before the evening ends, a deadly fire breaks out. Did the Snowdrop Crusaders start the blaze? Soon after, Maggie and Thomas find the bodies of two of the young Crusaders dumped on Raynham land. Maggie believes there is a connection between the murders and the Mexican. But what could it be? And just who is Carlos Castillo?The Snwodrop Crusade is the sequal to The Ainswick Orange.