The Orphans of Mersea House

England, 1957. Olive Kersey’s only love never returned from World War II, and now she’s alone and penniless. Then the last person she ever expected to see again returns to Southwold. Olive’s childhood friend, Margery Paxton, arrives to claim her inheritance: Mersea House, a stately old home she plans to turn into the town’s only lodging. Olive’s life takes a sunny turn when Margery hires her to run the establishment. But Mersea House holds its own mysteries--and its own dangers. First, rumors begin to fly when two enigmatic lodgers move in: Hugh Hodson, manager of the town cinema, and Mrs. Abigail Claypool, a recluse and war widow. And then the completely unexpected happens: Margery is informed she has a new ward, eleven-year-old Juniper Wyckes, the orphaned daughter of Margery’s first love. Mrs. Lucie Pagett, Children’s Officer at the local authority, informs Margery that Juniper was severely stricken with polio as a child and makes clear that she could be taken away if her welfare is in jeopardy. The past is never far behind for the inhabitants of Mersea House, and looming secrets may destroy the friendships they’ve created.

USA Today best-selling author Marty Wingate writes mystery series and historical fiction set in England with the occasional foray into Scotland. The First Edition Library mysteries (Berkley), set in Bath, feature Hayley Burke, the curator of a collection of books from the Golden Age of Mystery. Murder is a Must, book two, will be released in the fall, 2020. Marty is also the author of the Potting Shed books (Alibi) with Pru Parke, a middle-aged American gardener transplanted from Texas to England, and the Birds of a Feather series (Alibi) with Julia Lanchester, bird lover, who runs a tourist office in a Suffolk village.

Marty and her husband live near Seattle, but she prefers on-the-ground research whenever possible, and so they travel regularly to England and Scotland. There, she can be found tracing the historical steps of her characters--including flying a Spitfire simulator and visiting World War Two airfields--followed by stopping for tea and a slice of Victoria sponge or enjoying a swift half in a pub.