Murder is easy…when it doesn’t look like murder.

Tess Morgan has finally made her dream of restoring the beautiful Kilfenora House and Gardens into a reality. But during rehearsals for the play that forms the opening weekend’s flagship event, her dream turns into a nightmare when a devastating accident looks set to ruin her carefully laid plans.

There are rumours that Kilfenora House is cursed, but this feels personal, and becomes increasingly terrifying when more than one body is discovered. Could someone be closing in on Tess herself?

Clarissa Westmacott, ex-star of stage and screen, certainly believes so, particularly when she learns that purple-flowered aconite has been picked from the Poison Garden. And Clarissa will stop at nothing to protect the friend she has come to see as a daughter…

My Review

You can’t beat a good whodunnit, especially when – like in this case – you don’t have a clue right up until the very end. Suspicious, too obvious, no motive, too obscure, couldn’t have, wouldn’t have, a red herring – all the possibilities are here.

Following a personal tragedy which saw Tess Morgan escaping to a job in Dubai, she has finally decided to return to Ireland and restore the beautiful Kilfenora House and Gardens. It’s cost her a fortune in time and money and nothing can stand in the way of success. Tess can’t allow it to, not after all the effort and hard work.

So when a devastating accident occurs just days before the opening night, Tess is drawn into a nightmare that could derail her plans. They say that Kilfenora House is cursed, but who believes that kind of nonsense these days? But when more bodies turn up, it begins to feel personal. Who is trying to terrify her and could she be next?

There are a lot of characters involved and it took a while to work them all out, but bear with. It all becomes clear as to who is who (just), though I still didn’t know who was guilty. I even began to suspect Merlin the cat, who seems to be as clever as the rest of them put together, though Clarissa is really the star of the show. Well she was, literally, for many years and she knows her stuff. Especially when it comes to the purple-flowered aconite which grows in the Poison Garden. Because it kills without trace. After a few days it’s gone from the system and the cause of death mimics a heart attack. But who is cunning (and daring) enough to use it?

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

About the Author

Sam Blake has had a string of No. 1 bestsellers with her runaway bestselling debut, Little Bones, the first in the Cat Connolly trilogy, shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Switching to psychological thrillers, Keep Your Eyes on Me was a No. 1 bestseller, and her next book, The Dark Room was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Her last thriller, Remember My Name, went straight to No. 1 in January 2022. Originally from St. Albans in Hertfordshire, Sam now lives at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains, near Dublin in Ireland.