Book 1

"A gratifying contemporary series in the traditional British manner with hilarious repercussions. Cozy fans will anticipate learning more about these WISE ladies" - Library Journal Starred Review

Meet the Women of the WISE Enquiries Agency. The first in a new series.

Henry Twyst, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth, is convinced his mother is losing her marbles. She claims to have seen a corpse on the dining-room floor, but all she has to prove it is a bloodied bobble hat.

Worried enough to retain the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency - one is Welsh, one Irish, one Scottish and one English - Henry wants the strange matter explained away. But the truth of what happened at the Chellingworth Estate, set in the rolling Welsh countryside near the quaint village of Anwen by Wye, is more complex, dangerous, and deadly, than anyone could have foreseen . . .

Book 1

The Case of the Dotty Dowager

by Cathy Ace

Published 31 March 2015

"A gratifying contemporary series in the traditional British manner with hilarious repercussions. Cozy fans will anticipate learning more about these WISE ladies" - Library Journal Starred Review

Meet the Women of the WISE Enquiries Agency. The first in a new series.

Henry Twyst, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth, is convinced his mother is losing her marbles. She claims to have seen a corpse on the dining-room floor, but all she has to prove it is a bloodied bobble hat.

Worried enough to retain the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency - one is Welsh, one Irish, one Scottish and one English - Henry wants the strange matter explained away. But the truth of what happened at the Chellingworth Estate, set in the rolling Welsh countryside near the quaint village of Anwen by Wye, is more complex, dangerous, and deadly, than anyone could have foreseen . . .


Book 2

The Women of the WISE Enquiries Agency are back in a witty and intriguing new mystery. The Anwen Morris Dancers are to play a pivotal role in the imminent nuptials of Henry, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth. But it looks as though the wedding plans might go awry unless Mavis, Annie, Carol and Christine can help Althea, the Dowager Duchess, by finding a missing Morris man and a set of ancient and valuable artefacts in time for her son's wedding. Anwen-by-Wye might look like an idyllic Welsh village where family values reign and traditions still mean something in a modern world, but what will the WISE women find when they peer behind the respectable net curtains?

Book 3

The Case of the Curious Cook

by Cathy Ace

Published 30 November 2016
When the village's prodigal son, Huw Hughes, returns and sets his cap at Annie Parker, village publican Tudor begs Annie's colleagues at the WISE Enquiries Agency to unearth the truth behind Huw having been widowed three times.

With Christine enjoying a break at her family's Irish estate - where she and the brooding Alexander face a surprisingly dangerous case of theft - Mavis and Carol have to work with dowager duchess Althea Twyst to ensure their unsuspecting friend Annie's safety . and possibly the lives of more villagers.

Book 3

The Case of the Curious Cook

by Cathy Ace

Published 1 March 2017
A new case for the ladies of the WISE enquiries agency . . .

Henry Devereaux Twyst, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth, is terribly worried about some water damage to the priceless books in his lower library, so retains the services of a local book restorer to tackle much-needed repairs. The antiquarian also runs the Crooks and Cooks bookshop with his daughter - local TV celebrity chef, The Curious Cook. When the book restorer mentions some strange shenanigans going on at the book shop, Dowager Duchess Althea brings the case to her colleagues at the WISE Enquiries Agency.

As the WISE women try to unravel one puzzle from their base at stately Chellingworth Hall, they then get embroiled in another when they come across a valuable book of miniatures which seems to be the work of a local famous artist, murdered by her own brother. Are the cases linked and why do both mysteries lead to a nearby old folks' home? The WISE women are on the case - and nothing will get in their way . . . Or will it?

Book 5


Book 6

The Case of the Absent Heirs

by Cathy Ace

Published 29 December 2022

Book 7

The Case of the Cursed Cottage

by Cathy Ace

Published 20 February 2023

Book 8


Book 9


Book 10


The Case of the Unsuitable Suitor

by Cathy Ace

Published 29 September 2017
The Women of the WISE Enquiries Agency investigate a suspicious widower.

When the village's prodigal son, Huw Hughes, returns and sets his cap at Annie Parker, village publican Tudor begs Annie's colleagues at the WISE Enquiries Agency to unearth the truth behind Huw having been widowed three times.

With Christine enjoying a break at her family's Irish estate - where she and the brooding Alexander face a surprisingly dangerous case of theft - Mavis and Carol have to work with dowager duchess Althea Twyst to ensure their unsuspecting friend Annie's safety . and possibly the lives of more villagers.