Coming Soon: 'A Fatal Necessity' by Marjorie Eccles

Published by Severn House,

6 May 2025.

The 6th book in the Herbert Readon series

DI Herbert Reardon investigates the murder of an enigmatic woman who was about to leave her comfortable life behind and mysteriously disappear in this page-turning 1930s historical mystery with gasp-worthy revelations.

1935, Temple Wood, Worcestershire. Judge Waring's glamorous wife Emilie is mysteriously missing and no one knows where she is - until she's found the morning after a party at neighbouring Falconry Park, in a clearing in Temple Woods grounds, strangled yet neatly laid out next to two pieces of matching luggage.

What could possibly have brought Emilie to the site where the family's new home, The Spinney, was about to be built, equipped for travelling? Was she planning to leave with someone she knew? Who was determined that she should meet such a terrible end? As Detective Chief Inspector Herbert 'Bert' Reardon and Sergeant Jago discover more about the enigmatic Emilie, they unravel terrible lies and devastating secrets stretching back years . . .

This compelling historical mystery sharply conveys British society and politics of the interwar period of the 1930s. 

  

Marjorie Eccles was born in Yorkshire and spent much of her childhood there and on the Northumbrian coast. The author of thirty-three books and short stories, she is the recipient of the Agatha Christie Short Story Styles Award. Her earlier books featuring police detective Gil Mayo were adapted for the BBC. Her most recent series is set after the Great War and features DI Herbert Reardon. There are six books in the series. She has also written a number of standalone books. She lives in Hertfordshire.