Soho Lineup March: Leonie Swann

It has been an eventful morning for Agnes Sharp and the other inhabitants of Sunset Hall, a house share for the old and unruly in the sleepy English countryside. Although they have had some issues (misplaced reading glasses, conflicting culinary tastes, decreasing mobility, and gluttonous grandsons), nothing prepares them for an unexpected visit from a police officer with some shocking news. A body has been discovered next door. Everyone puts on a long face for show, but they are secretly relieved the body in question is not the one they're currently hiding in the shed (sorry, Lillith).

It seems the answer to their little problem with Lillith may have fallen right into their laps. All they have to do is find out who murdered their neighbor, so they can pin Lillith's death on them, thus killing two (old) birds with one stone (cold killer).

With their plan sorted, Agnes and her geriatric gang spring into action. After all, everybody likes a good mystery. Besides, the more suspicion they can cast about, surely the less will land on them. To investigate, they will step out of their comfort zone and tangle with sinister bakers, broken stairlifts, inept criminals, the local authorities, and their own dark secrets.

The year is rapidly drawing to an end, Hettie the tortoise is hibernating and Agnes, Charlie, Marshall, and the other elderly residents of Sunset Hall are going stir-crazy. They've had enough of the broken boiler, drafty bedrooms, and Christmas jingles on the radio. And to top it off, another series of murders is rocking the hamlet of Duck End. It seems like every villager and his dog is trying to make up for all of the thwarted murders of the past thirty years.

Most unpleasant! The residents of Sunset Hall don't want anything to do with the criminal activities. So when Edwina manages to sneak onto Marshall's computer and promptly wins a stay in an exclusive coastal hotel in Cornwall, the Sunset Hall crew doesn't waste any time in deciding to join her. After all, Edwina can't be left unsupervised.

But they've barely unpacked their bags when Agnes sees something unsettling: two figures in hoods walk away from the hotel along the cliffs, but only one returns. Worried she's witnessed a murder, Agnes tells the others. At first nobody really believes her--the crew has enough to do working their way through the incredible menu, exploring the hotel's wellness landscape, navigating old and new love affairs and adopting a boa constrictor. But when the hotel ends up isolated from the outside world after a storm, it becomes clear that a murderer really is on the loose--and they're trapped, just like the other guests!