Regular readers of Linda’s Book Bag will know how privileged I feel to be able to review online for My Weekly magazine and when the book is the first of a new series, D is for Death, from a much loved author Harriet Evans under a new penname, Harriet F. Townson, then it’s all the more exciting.

You’ll find my posts relating to Harriet Evans here.

D is for Death was published by Hodder and Stoughton on 6th June 2024 and is available for purchase through the links here.

D is for Death

Meet Dora Wildwood: runaway bride, book lover, and aspiring detective.
Likes: solving crimes, peppermint creams, trousers and her own independence.
Dislikes: cracked book spines, tyrannical behaviour, beetroot.

1935. Dora’s on the first train to London, having smuggled herself out of the house in the middle of the night to escape her impending marriage. But unluckily for her, Dora’s fiancé is more persistent than most and follows.

As Dora alights at Paddington station, she is immediately forced to run from the loathsome Charles Silk-Butters. She ducks into the London Library to hide and it is there, surrounded by books, where she should feel most safe, that Dora Wildwood stumbles across her first dead body.

Having been thrown into the middle of a murder scene, it’s now impossible to walk away. Indeed, Dora’s certain she will prove an invaluable help to the gruff Detective Inspector Fox who swiftly arrives on the scene. For as everyone knows, it’s the woman in the room who always sees more than anyone else: and no one more so than Dora herself…

D is for Death heralds the launch of a brilliant historical crime series that marries the quality of Dorothy L. Sayers with the ingenuity of Janice Hallett – and in Dora Wildwood introduces a character with the spark and gusto of Enola Holmes and the detective skill of Miss Marple. It is the debut crime novel from bestselling author Harriet Evans, writing as Harriet F. Townson.

My Review of D is for Death

My full review of D is for Death can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that D is for Death is a real triumph, being witty, pacy, totally absorbing and a brilliantly constructed whodunnit and well as an intelligent whydunnit. I thought it was excellent.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Harriet F. Townson

Harriet F. Townson is the pen name of Harriet Evans who has sold over a million copies of her books. She is the author of thirteen bestselling novels, including the Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller The Garden of Lost and Found, which won Good Housekeeping’s Book of the Year, and The Wildflowers, which was a Richard & Judy Book Club selection. She used to work in publishing and now writes full time, when she is not being distracted by her children, other books, crafting projects, puzzles, gardening, and her much-loved collection of jumpsuits. She lives in Bath, Somerset.

For further information, visit Harriet’s website, follow Harriet on Twitter/X @HarrietEvans, or find her on Facebook and Instagram.