Set in the rolling hills and villages of the Cotswolds and brimming with warmth and intrigue, this collection of twelve short stories from Rebecca Tope features familiar characters and places from her popular Cotswold Mystery novels. A suspicious funeral, a fatal encounter at a garden center, and a country walk marred by the discovery of a hidden corpse are just some of the perplexing situations with which Thea Osborne, her friends, and a further cast of characters must contend in this expanded view of the Cotswold Mystery world. Including "The Blockley Discovery" and "With Slaughter in...

Thea Osborne's latest house-sitting assignment is a little different to the rest. Along with her spaniel, Hepzie, Thea finds herself in the village of Chedworth. She is tasked with creating an inventory of Rita Wilshire's possessions, requested by her son, Richard Wilshire, after moving her into a care home. All goes to plan, until Thea and her fiance, Drew Slocombe, find Richard dead in a barn. When family members come knocking, Thea and Drew struggle to give them answers. The Wilshire family has its own past and, whilst Thea knows it is not really her business, she cannot help but become...

Thea Osborne and her faithful spaniel, Hepzie, have taken on a house-sitting assignment in the charming Cotswold village of Temple Guiting. But as always, an idyllic village can harbour a disquieting number of secrets and when a skeleton is discovered at the roots of an old beech tree, Thea is grateful for the presence of her partner DS Phil Hollis. There is no concrete evidence as to who the bones belonged to although it isn't long before theories and rumours abound. Thea soon finds herself drawn into a murder investigation - perhaps the countryside isn't that quiet after all.

Despite the catastrophic outcomes of her previous house-sitting commissions, Thea Osborne, accompanied by her trusty spaniel, Hepzie, is truly convinced nothing can go wrong on her next assignment in the charming village of Blockley. The Montgomerys have asked her to look after their house while they take a much needed holiday. But trouble seems to follow Thea and when a body is discovered in the house next door, she finds herself in the midst of village secrets. From mystical local legends to celebrity sightings, the erstwhile quiet area turns out to be a place of mysterious contradictions -...

Following a string of disastrous house-sitting assignments, and an equally troubled personal life, Thea Osborne is understandably apprehensive about her latest commission: a wintry month in an isolated house with only an assortment of animals, including her loyal spaniel Hepzie, for company.

Thea Osborne has just lost her beloved father and retreats to housesitting in Lower Slaughter, hoping to find peace. The scenery is beautiful, the tranquility a welcome backdrop to her independent ways, and there's a host of miscellaneous animals to help stave off her loneliness - not to mention the much-needed company of her faithful spaniel Hepzie. As Thea settles down to two weeks of solitude, her biggest challenges are doing jigsaw puzzles and fighting off bats in the bedroom. That is, of course, until reality catches up with her. When Thea's bossy elder sister turns up on her doorstep...

Undertaker Drew Slocombe is not having a good day. His business is failing, the car needs an MOT (safety inspection) and he's driving 120 miles to the Cotswolds to carry out the late Greta Simmonds' final wishes. Unfortunately, when he gets there, a string of bureaucratic mistakes means that he's now the chief suspect of a murder inquiry. He's beginning to wish he had never heard of Greta Simmonds. Thea Osborne and her loyal spaniel Hepzie are still pursuing their occupation as house-sitters, despite the disastrous incidents of the past. At the moment they are staying in Greta Simmonds'...

Thea Osborne hopes to spend a quiet Christmas house sitting for the Shepherds in the picturesque village of Stanton, but her interest is stirred when a local businessman is found electrocuted in his bath. When two people show up brutally murdered the following day, Thea finds herself thrust into the middle of yet another police investigation.

Thea and Drew have been married for a year but Thea is chafing at the domestic routines. When a routine burial exposes secrets of the deceased, Drew finds himself caught in the middle of a family feud. With another crisis leaving him with a profound dilemma and Thea struggling against the charms of a new man, can their marriage survive this test?

In the wake of a series of unfortunate experiences in the Cotswolds, Thea Osborne, accompanied by her spaniel Hepzibah, is perhaps over-optimistic about the English summertime and the possibilities of her latest house-sitting assignment in the secluded village of Cranham.