The Dead Don't Leave Quietly

Some secrets are buried for a reason. But the dead have a way of bringing them back.

At fifty-two, former detective Eleanor "Nell" Harcourt is supposed to be deciding what comes next. Instead, she's still in Ravenswick, still drawn to the questions other people would rather leave unanswered-and still wondering whether this windswept North Yorkshire town might be more than a temporary escape.

Then a farmer outside nearby Moorwick opens an old stone well and discovers a suitcase containing human remains.

The dead woman is linked to Blackthorn Hall, a fading country estate preparing to open its doors to the public for the first time. Twelve years earlier, she arrived there to catalogue the family collection. Then she vanished. As Nell and her irrepressible friend Mags begin pulling at the threads she left behind, they uncover a hidden maternity home, altered identities, a decades-old death-and a family that has spent generations deciding which truths deserve to survive.

With DS Helen Ward determined to keep the investigation inside proper boundaries and boatbuilder Michael Attwater discovering a deeply personal connection to the victim, Nell must separate old guilt from new evidence before another person is silenced.

Because someone at Blackthorn has already killed to protect the past.

And this time, the dead don't intend to leave quietly.

The Dead Don't Leave Quietly is Book 2 in The Nell Harcourt Mysteries, an atmospheric British mystery series featuring a smart midlife heroine, strong female friendship, coastal village life, fair-play clues, family secrets, dry humour, and a slow-burn later-in-life romance.