#SaturdaySpotlight is on Marilyn Leach & All Hallows Dead: A Berdie Elliott Saints Day Mystery

Good Morning Friends,

Today we welcome, Marilyn Leach back to our blog with the fifth book in a series that heralds the intrepid English vicar’s wife and gifted sleuth, Berdie Elliott, as an ascendant crime solver.  All Hallows Dead is a current-time whodunit that’s rooted in England’s ancient past. 

Thanks for being in our spotlight, Marilyn, can you tell us what inspired you to write a Saint's Day mystery?

Thank You, Pam, for having me back on your blog! The easy answer is to explore the North of England and breathe in the rich heritage of abbey ruins, wind-swept villages, venerable churches, brooding skies, and the North Sea, inspires creative thought and the centuries-old history generates story ideas. Short autumn days and long blustery nights are just the right season to read All Hallows Dead with a hot cup of tea close at hand.  Cheers 😊

I hear you, Marilyn. I went to England last year and you're right, the magnificent architecture and the country's history can certainly get the juices flowing. (You can read about my trip HERE). Tell us more about All Hallows Dead...

Sure, here's the Blurb...

How can a sixteenth century saint help solve a twenty-first century crime?

When Berdie Elliott, vicar’s wife and sleuth extraordinaire, attends a church course with her husband in the North of England, she bumps into her former newspaper boss who calls upon her to investigate beguiling circumstances that spell murder.  From the landed Cavendish family to the local pub’s manager, Criswell Abbey and its village are steeped in a centuries-old mystery.  The legend of a departed churchman, a mysterious bell tower, England’s tangled history, a delayed marriage proposal, and a wily parrot all help Berdie to declare the truth in All Hallows Dead.  

And an Excerpt...

Berdie Elliott and her best friend, Lillie Foxworth, often find themselves in hot water, and they’re not brewing tea.

What I found is absolutely priceless. There’s….” Berdie stopped when she became aware of clip-clop steps in the nave. “Shh.” She put her index finger to her lips.  

“Why shush?” Lillie didn’t make her voice particularly quiet. 

Berdie raised her brows and pointed toward the nave. “Someone’s about the place,” she whispered. “We can’t let on that we’re in here…”

The steps outside became louder. They were advancing toward the tower. 

Lord have mercy.  

There was a hesitation.  

Berdie held her breath. She realized instantly that whoever was on the other side of the door, was perhaps one who knew all the secrets of this place which could mean she and Lillie were in very real danger. 

Oh my, intriguing from the get go. How can we find out more about you now, Marilyn?

Here's my "official" bio Pam, including places readers can connect...

At the age of nine, Marilyn wrote her first play with a childhood neighbor, “The Ghost and Mr. Giltwallet”.  It was a mystery.  And she’s been writing in one form or another, hobby or livelihood, since.  As well as teaching art, she’s had the opportunity to co-author several plays that have been performed on both church and secular stages, as well as two screenplays.  Marilyn has had the good fortune of “discovering her roots” while visiting England where she developed lasting relationships with wonderful people there.  It has greatly impacted her writing.  A great fan of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and David Cook’s Hetty Wainthropp series, Marilyn was inspired to write her Berdie Elliott Mystery series.  It takes place in a small English village where the vicar’s wife, Berdie Elliott, is the divine sleuth.  Marilyn lives lakeside in a cottage on the outskirts of Denver near the foothills.

Find Marilyn at... www.amazon.com and www.pelicanbookgroup.com

Check out Marilyn's previous visits and the other books in her series: HERE 

Get your copy of All Hallows Dead at Amazon & Pelican Book Group.