Arnold Landon finds himself drawn into another bitter dispute over land—in which a defenseless old woman pays the ultimate price.
To the casual observer, Penbrook Farm might seem like a ramshackle hovel, buried deep in the woods of Northumberland.
But to fragile old Sarah Ellis, it’s home. And the developers can have the place over her dead body.
Of course, no one ever expected it to come to that …
Least of all Arnold Landon, the peaceable planning officer assigned to Sarah’s case.
Late one night, he calls at the farmhouse to find the place in darkness. By the fire’s dying embers, he can make out a body lying on the hard stone flags.
Who wanted the farm so badly they were ready to kill for it?
And what has become of Sarah’s battered old prayerbook? In life she carried it with her constantly.
Does it also hold the key to the mystery of her death?
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“The skillful Mr. Lewis has made Arnold Landon an unforgettable character.”
— New York Times, praise for the series
“Right atmosphere of menace in this highly charged mystery.”
— Booklist, praise for the series“Good Northern atmosphere and neatly satisfying plot.”
— Times Literary Supplement (UK), praise for the series“A pleasure to pick up.”
— Irish TimesBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Roy Lewis (1933–2019) was a well-established crime writer with more than sixty novels to his name. He lived in the north of England, where he set many of his books. He was a former college principal and Inspector of Schools who ran business training programs and had business interests in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. His three children are all lawyers. He also wrote books on law under the pen name J. R. Lewis.
Steven Crossley, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, has built a career on both sides of the Atlantic as an actor and audiobook narrator, for which he has won more than a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a nominee for the prestigious Audie Award. He is a member of the internationally renowned theater company Complicite and has appeared in numerous theater, television, film, and radio dramas.