Murder with All the Trappings (Bertie & Harriet Mysteries #2)

A middle-aged saddler. An unexpected corpse. A witty old horse with a nose for murder. Downton Abbey meets Dick Francis in this cozy historical murder mystery.

Somerset, December 1903. Everyone in Pelgren Vale is impressed when Miss Harriet Cobb is invited to Ashwold Abbey, home of the Earl of Ashwold, to attend Lady Eve’s wedding. But Harriet is not a guest—she’s the saddler.

Unfortunately, it seems to be another silly create a decorative saddle with all the trappings for a horseback wedding. Stranger still, the bride has chosen a rather sinister poem for her wedding theme.

Rubbing shoulders with the aristocracy is hardly one of Harriet's favorite things, and she'd rather not fuel romantic rumors about herself and the earl's eldest son. But when her horse, Bertie, is chosen to carry the bride down the aisle, Harriet reluctantly agrees to take the job.

When Harriet and Bertie stumble across a corpse, everyone in the gothic abbey is a suspect, and even the most absurd details must be considered. Why did Lady Eve choose one of the least-romantic poems in history for her wedding theme? Why is the family priest priest obsessed with old pagan traditions? And is this new mysterious death related to a murder that happened at the abbey thirty years ago?

Taking the reins of the investigation, Harriet and Bertie must discover which of the abbey's residents is a murderer—and protect their own secrets while they're at it.

If you like cozy mysteries with humor, history, and witty animal sidekicks, you'll love Murder with All the Trappings, a rollicking ride that will keep you guessing—and galloping—to the finish line.