A Steep Price to Pay: A Cozy Mystery in the Cotswolds, (Paperback)

In a village where everyone takes their tea seriously, <br>someone just made it deadly.<br> <p>Former London food journalist <b>Clementine "Clem" Ashby</b><br>came to the picturesque Cotswold village of<br><b>Thornwick-on-Wye</b> to sell her great-aunt's tea room<br>and leave her disastrous city life behind. Two years later, <br>she's still there - flour in her hair, a philosophical cat<br>named Earl Grey at her feet, and a life she's finally<br>beginning to love.</p> <p>Then <b>Reginald Finch-Hatton</b> arrives.</p> <p>The country's most celebrated - and most feared - antique<br>appraiser has been invited to headline the<br><b>Thornwick Flower Festival</b>, and within a single<br>afternoon he manages to publicly humiliate half the village.<br>By the time The Gilded Spoon Tea Room closes its doors, <br>there isn't a soul in Thornwick who doesn't have a reason<br>to despise him.</p> <p>The next morning, he's found dead in Clem's back room.<br><b>Poisoned - possibly by his tea.</b></p> <p>Detective Chief Inspector Alistair Drummond would very<br>much like Clem to step back and let the professionals<br>handle it. Clem would very much like to not be charged<br>with murder. And Earl Grey, philosophically untroubled<br>by the whole affair, would very much like his breakfast.</p> <p>With the Flower Festival in full swing, the village<br>crawling with suspects, and her tea room taped off as a<br>crime scene, Clem has no choice but to do what any<br>sensible former investigative journalist would do: <br><b>make a fresh pot of tea, open her notebook, <br>and start asking questions.</b></p> <p>But in Thornwick-on-Wye, some secrets are steeped<br>very, very deep.</p> <p>Readers are saying...<br> </p><p><i>"Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, <br>Alexander McCall Smith, and M.C. Beaton."</i></p> <p><i>"The cosiest, most atmospheric mystery<br>I've read in years."</i></p> <p><i>"Earl Grey the cat ALONE is worth the price<br>of this book."</i></p> <p>If you love these, you'll love<br>A Steep Price to Pay: <br> </p><ul><br><li>The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman</li><br><li>The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency<br>by Alexander McCall Smith</li><br><li>Hamish Macbeth Mysteries by M.C. Beaton</li><br><li>Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton</li><br><li>A Vicar's Guide to Murder by Rebecca Tope</li><br><li>Cotswold Mysteries by Rebecca Tope</li> <p> </p></ul> <p><b>A Steep Price to Pay</b> is the first book in the<br><b>Thornwick-on-Wye Myster</b></p>

• A Steep Price to Pay: A Cozy Mystery in the Cotswolds, (Paperback)
• Author: Independently Published
• ISBN: 9798258908490
• Format: Paperback
• Publication Date: 2026-04-26
• Page Count: 644