The witch at wayside cross - Lisa Tuttle

Jesperson and Lane have just solved their first major case when a man bangs violently on their door - and almost immediately drops dead. The police rule death by natural causes, but the detectives are determined to find out what really happened . . . Mr Manning was screaming about witches before his death.

The case takes them to Mr Manning’s Norfolk home, a land of mysterious Shrieking Pits and ancient knowledge. Mr Manning was himself a member of the enigmatic School of Ancient British Wisdom, and not the first to suffer a similar fate. Local gossip suggests that he was secretly engaged to one of the three lovely sisters who reside at Wayside Cross - but which one? Are they really witches, as the gossips also claim? And what does all this have to do with the mysterious Shrieking Pits and a mother desperate to find her missing baby? Jesperson and Lane, at your service. 

My thoughts:

Jesperson and Lane have a new case when a man drops dead on their doorstep and screams about witches. Intriguing. So they set out to Norfolk.

Yes this is book 2, but I do feel like it works as a stand alone too. You just read it as a mystery then, and do not know how they come to become detectives together.  But then who wants to miss out on that.

It really is Miss Lane doing most of the groundwork and we see things from her POV. Jesperson is out there solving things (and finding some amazing answers, I did NOT expect that.) She is a clever woman. I like them both.

As for the mystery. Yes who killed him. The 3 witches? Or are they witches?  The man running the society of magic? Someone else? Oh and then this baby disappears too. Another puzzle to solve and yes I sure did not solve it. I can tell you that.

Conclusion:
A nice historical mystery with a twist.

Paperback, 360 pages
Published August 10th 2017 by Jo Fletcher Books
The Curious Affair Of #2
Historical mystery
For review