Dido Kent Mysteries
4 primary works • 5 total works
Book 1
Visiting Bellfield Hall to comfort her niece, who has been seemingly abandoned by her wealthy fiancé, Miss Dido Kent investigates the possibly related death of a young woman, a situation that is complicated by surprising secrets.
Book 2
It is Richmond, 1806. Miss Dido Kent has developed rather a taste for mysteries. Having solved the riddle of her niece's missing fiance and the body in the bushes at Belsfield Hall, she is finding her quiet holiday at her cousin Flora's home rather unchallenging to say the least. And Miss Dido Kent is a woman who likes to be challenged. So when a neighbour dies suddenly, leaving her entire estate to her young nephew, Miss Dido can't help but be suspicious. But is her over-active imagination making her look for murder where there is none? When the local doctor pronounces an overdose as the cause of death and publicly accuses the nephew of killing his aunt, Miss Dido feels her inquisitiveness is justified. And when Flora prevails upon her cousin's mystery-solving capabilities to prove the nephew innocent of the crime, Miss Dido can hardly refuse to comply. After all, what harm can a little investigating do? With dirty dealings and death amongst Richmond's upper classes, Miss Dido Kent is ideally placed to observe her neighbours' behaviour, and as she does so, she brings more to light than even she could have imagined.
Book 3
On a visit to the ruins of Madderstone Abbey, Penelope Lambe suffers a bad fall from the ancient stone steps. Before she slips into unconsciousness, Penelope manages to say, 'I saw her - It was her.' The Crockford sisters are sure that what made Penelope fall was that she saw the Grey Nun, the ghost that is reputed to walk the abbey's ruins. But Miss Dido Kent is less convinced that this was the reason for the accident, and is determined to find the real cause. Disregarding everyone else's certainty about the ghost, and endeavouring to take her mind off the financial troubles of her brothers, Dido turns all her mental energy to solving the mystery, and revisits the ruins to go over the facts of the accident, looking for clues as to its cause. But events start to seem more sinister when a human skeleton is found at the abbey. The remains are identified as those of a Miss Elinor Fenn, and letters come to light which hint at the reason for her death. But how is Miss Lambe's accident connected to this discovery? Did she see a ghostly warning? Or is there a rational explanation? Everyone is relying on Dido to find out.
Book 4
Dido Kent's sister-in-law Margaret is attempting to marry her off to the ghastly clergyman Doctor Prowdlee, with his abominable side-whiskers. Dido, however, is determined to refuse him. As punishment she is sent on a journey as companion to her rich, hypochondriac Aunt Manners - whom the family wants to keep on the right side of.
When they arrive at Charcombe Manor, Aunt Manners' childhood home, they find a mystery lying in wait for them. The rich heiress Letitia Verney has disappeared while visiting the house, and Mr Tom Lomax is suspected of abducting her. Dido, upon hearing his story, is inclined to believe in his innocence - but how is she to explain the impossibility of Miss Verney vanishing into thin air?
And there is also the abandoned wing of Charcombe Manor to be considered. Why do lights appear there at night? The house is full of enigmas, with its memories of old family quarrels and its crying ghost that keeps visitors awake. As the mystery intensifies, Miss Dido Kent embarks on her most intriguing investigation yet . . .
When they arrive at Charcombe Manor, Aunt Manners' childhood home, they find a mystery lying in wait for them. The rich heiress Letitia Verney has disappeared while visiting the house, and Mr Tom Lomax is suspected of abducting her. Dido, upon hearing his story, is inclined to believe in his innocence - but how is she to explain the impossibility of Miss Verney vanishing into thin air?
And there is also the abandoned wing of Charcombe Manor to be considered. Why do lights appear there at night? The house is full of enigmas, with its memories of old family quarrels and its crying ghost that keeps visitors awake. As the mystery intensifies, Miss Dido Kent embarks on her most intriguing investigation yet . . .
1805. An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.