Somebody wants Richard Fielding dead.Richard was looking forward to making a fresh start with his new wife, Alicia when they moved into Clenchers Mill. Then the attacks started.Detained in the hospital after an unusual accident, he dismisses the claim his new wife is trying to harm him. He’s convinced the property attacks are the childish pranks of locals annoyed by his plans for Clenchers Mill. … Clenchers Mill. As a successful property developer, he’s seen it all before. Mindful of Alicia’s reluctance to involve the police he instructs Kate and Simon to make discreet inquiries.
Kate and Simon are keen to find the culprit, but are inexperienced and blissfully unaware they are dealing with a determined killer toying with their prey before they strike. Their first case may prove to be their last.
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Diana Febry had a long time ago become my go-to author whenever I’m in the mood for English rural mysteries. There’s just something about her writing that immerses me right in the middle of the action – something that I only found before in Agatha Christie’s writing. “Trouble at Clenchers Mill” is another creation of hers which kept me in suspense from the very first chapters and made me turn pages faster as I got closer to the end and a vague threat that hung over Clenchers Mill turned into outright terror.
Simon and Kate were wonderful as private investigators. I liked that neither was a professional and yet they did marvelously when it came to uncovering quite a complicated plot. Their black Lab four-legged “assistants,” by the way, totally won my heart (and saved the day for certain characters in the end). I also appreciated certain social issues being raised in the story, such as the invasion of privacy, internet blackmailing, bullying, pro- and anti-hunting conflict between the two groups – all of these made the story even more relatable and intriguing. The setting was described as vividly as it always is with Ms. Febry’s books and I couldn’t get enough of the English countryside. I just wish the killer wasn’t lurking somewhere in the shadows, ready to put his sinister plans into action.
Highly recommended to all fans of the genre!
I’ve read several of Diana J Febry’s crime mysteries and thoroughly enjoyed them all. This latest offering from Ms Febry was just as good and I was so immersed in it I read it in virtually one day. I just couldn’t put it down. The characters are very likable with Kate and Simon as wannabe private investigators learning the ropes. There’s a good puzzling plot, lovely dogs, horses and even a couple of cameo characters from her other books. All in all, an excellent read for mystery lovers like me.
The first in a new series, and I loved it.
Self appointed PI, Simon and his friend Kate go to Dorset to investigate the drugging of a horse, but end up with more than they bargained for.
A brilliantly written story which had me hooked from beginning to end.
Very highly recommended.
When Richard Fielding is almost killed in a riding accident, his new wife is quick to blame the person who gave him the horse–his ex-wife, Cynthia. Convinced that the horse was drugged, Cynthia hires Kate Chapman to investigate. Kate asks her good friend and landlord, Simon Morris to assist her. When Kate confirms the horse was drugged, they must figure out who wants Richard dead and why. Their investigation reveals a slew of potential suspects from local pro-hunting advocates to those with more sinister intentions. But who is the culprit and will they succeed next time?
This is a very fun and enjoyable mystery. Kate is a blue collar girl while Simon is from a more privileged background and it provides some good conflict. The have’s and have not’s are clearly one of the themes. Though Simon makes his interest in Kate clear by the middle of the book, there wasn’t enough foreshadowing for me. The twists and turns are good and the reveal makes sense. Good job overall. I’m looking forward to picking up the next book in the series.
A fabulous country mystery. Strangers hook up on a fluke road trip that plops them in the middle of a life-or-death mystery. Simon and Kate are natural amateur sleuths who may just solve a mystery of their own love as they solve the crime for a country couple. I loved them as a team. An entertaining, fun read, as are all of Febry’s books. Always eager for the next one.
This book was an enjoyable read. It’s a classic English cozy, featuring the detective team of Simon and Kate. It starts slow, but gradually, the pace picks up. It’s heavy on setting, and England’s hunting ban and the conflict it generated is an important plot element. Simon and Kate are self-taught investigators, so there’s some bumbling around at first, but they eventually hone in on the miscreant. As in most cozies, the characters’ personalities and relationships are at least as important as the crimes, and that’s the strongest point of this book.
Diana J Febry, author of the Rural detective series, has given us another engrossing mystery novel from the English countryside.
Richard Fielding is hospitalized in Dorset after a horse riding accident. His new wife, Alicia, is convinced Richard’s ex-wife, Cynthia, tried to kill him, sending him a dangerous horse. She wants to have it put down. Cynthia says the horse is ‘a perfect schoolmaster’ and must have been drugged if it acted violently. Cynthia says the horse is evidence and Alicia better not put it down. Cynthia intends to send a vet around to take a blood sample.
We then meet Kate Chapman and Simon Morris, platonic friends recently returned to England, sharing an apartment and looking for work. Kate is willing to do just about anything while Simon decides he wants to be a private investigator.
Kate answers a post office advertisement from Cynthia Fielding ‘seeking work with horses.” Cynthia tells them the story. She doesn’t trust Richard’s new wife. She talked to Richard who suggested if Cynthia wanted to know more, she should send someone down to represent her and monitor the situation with the vet. Richard doesn’t doubt his new wife or his ex-wife.
Was the horse drugged? Is it the same horse?
Kate and Simon go to Clencher’s Mill and meet with Alicia, learning she has a teenage daughter, Helen, who is staying with friends. They later meet with Richard when he returns from the hospital.
Slowly, the author opens new door, new intrigues for the pair to confront.
Kate and Simon discover there may be more going on than first suspected.
The horse was drugged. Alicia Fielding was the one who outfitted the horse before Richard rode it. A man in a car who found Richard called for an ambulance. Did his car startle the horse? The man claims, while calling the ambulance, he saw someone dog walking in a field near where the accident occurred. Who was this mysterious person. The Fieldings are also outsiders to this small community, new arrivals. Their presence is frowned upon. They are “antis” (anti-hunting advocates) as a strange young girl named Jade informs Kate and Simon. There is a ban on hunting foxes but police in these rural communities don’t act on it. And Richard and Alicia have banned hunting on their land.
Kate the first morning comes upon a gate glued shut with dead crows hanging from it.
A warning? A prank?
At a local pub, they learn that a fifteen year old boy recently committed suicide, his death blamed on bullying at school, factions between the antis and the pro-hunting advocates.
The next night, the windshield of Alicia’s Ranger Rover is shattered and someone tries to break into the garage. A dead fox is left on the passenger seat.
Alicia still doesn’t want to contact the police.
And then Helen, who has come home, in an angry fit, tries to steal her mother’s debit card.
Simon speaks with Helen and she expresses how much she hates living here, saying “I may as well kill myself.” Helen lets Simon know she believes she did something so stupid, that might be why things are happening.
Simon wins Helen’s trust by telling her about a bad decision he once made, a terrible incident in his past that still haunts him.
Helen, swearing Simon to secrecy, tells him some disturbing things that occurred while she was chatting online with a boy named Jake.
I dare not say more. Rest assured, ‘Trouble At Clencher’s Mill’ has many unexpected twists and turns. It has a host of interesting characters with unique motivations that will keep the reader turning pages to learn the truth. I highly recommend this book. 5 stars!
I’ve read a couple of Diana J. Febry’s books and enjoyed them. I saw Trouble at Clenchers Mill and added it to the TBR list. Here are my thoughts.
Synopsis (from the author):
Somebody wants Richard Fielding dead.
Richard was looking forward to making a fresh start with his new wife, Alicia when they moved into Clenchers Mill. Then the attacks started.
Detained in the hospital after an unusual accident, he dismisses the claim his new wife is trying to harm him. He’s convinced the property attacks are the childish pranks of locals annoyed by his plans for Clenchers Mill. As a successful property developer, he’s seen it all before. Mindful of Alicia’s reluctance to involve the police he instructs Kate and Simon to make discreet inquiries.
Kate and Simon are keen to find the culprit, but are inexperienced and blissfully unaware they are dealing with a determined killer toying with their prey before they strike. Their first case may prove to be their last.
What I liked:
As with Diana Febry’s other books I’ve read, Trouble at Clenchers Mill was a well-written mystery. In keeping with the cozy mystery genre, there isn’t any graphic violence, which is enjoyable for me. The author did an excellent job of spinning the tale and hinting at blossoming romance between Kate and Simon. The secrets uncovered and the peril the characters encountered added a lot to the novel. Very entertaining!
What I didn’t like:
My only complaint about Trouble at Clenchers Mill was the conflict between the pro-hunt and anti-hunt groups. It added a bit to the story, but if further developed could enhance the mystery.
Overall impression:
Trouble at Clenchers Mill was an entertaining read! Good characters, an intriguing mystery, and plenty of suspects made the book a fun read. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, read this one!
My rating:
5 Stars
I love it when I can sit and relax with a good detective story set in rural England with twists and turns and believable characters and a surprise ending. I hope this author publishes many more books, I shall read them all. A great story that kept my interest from the first page to the last.
Great read and I hope to see more of these two.
If you want an entertaining mystery to read tonight, I recommend this one. The characters are all quite memorable, Simon especially. He comes off at first as being a bit of a playboy, but as the story progresses, you discover secrets that give so much depth to his character. He’s funny, caring, ambitious, and a bit clueless about those ambitions. Anyone can be a private detective, right? Rules? Who needs rules?
The story dips into various social issues: hu add much depth to the obstacles Kate and Simon have to overcome in determining nting and bans against it, online predators, drug abuse. None are the main thrust of the story, but theywho is causing havoc with Richard’s and Alicia’s lives. Is murder the intent, or are the disasters merely an attempt to drive the couple away?
A great read that will keep you guessing what the final outcome will be.