‘The Body at the Roman Baths’ by Kate Hardy

Published by Storm Publishing,
5 February 2025.
ISBN: 978-1-80508754-0 (PB)

Georgina Drake is delighted when her friend Sybbie and her husband Bernard ask her to photograph the Roman ruins which have been discovered at Little Wenborough Hall, their home. They had no idea that buried near their house is a Roman bath house with stunning Mosaic floors. They headed around the back of the house where trenches had been drawn and students in hoodies and jeans were kneeling on mats, carefully scraping away earth with trowels.  One of the areas had a tarpaulin over it which Georgina surmised was the Mosaic floor. Trish – Dr Melton, second in command to Simon Butterfield, the lead archaeologist was phoning Simon who was supposed to be meeting them.  Having no reply Trisha outlines the layout of the Roman baths, built nearly 2000 years ago. 

Having received no response from Simon, Trish with Bernard’s help hauls the tarpaulin away. Lying in the middle of the mosaic is a man with blood surrounding his head. Georgina halts Trish from moving towards the body and carefully checks that there is no sign of life. 

Whilst waiting for her partner DI Colin Bradshaw, his sergeant, Mo Tesfaye and constable Larissa Foulkes, Georgina comforts the other distressed archaeologists. 

As Georgina moves away from the body, a familiar voice sounds in her hearing aids. Georgie, we need to talk.

‘Do you know anything about the body?’ Doris asks Georgina quietly. No, said Doris, but Timothy Marsden was one of the archaeologists who uncovered the bath house in 1865.  Can you remember where he died? ‘Where he’s buried?  Georgina asked. ‘It’s a bit of a trickly one’ Doris said. In all of the cold cases they had worked together Doris had always known where a body was buried and encouraged Geogina’s dog Bert to help find it. But not this time.   

Using her method of tracing back documents Georgina starts her investigation. Soon discovering connections between past and present. This isn’t the first time tragedy has struck this site. Over a century ago, a young Victorian scholar vanished without trace during the original dig, leaving behind a devastated fiancée and a trail of unanswered questions. 

Just to muddy the water, when interviewed Helena, one of the students said that they had, had a visit from the Nighthawks.  Metal detectorists who come at night and dig where they think they might find something to sell on the black market. We always know, as next morning when we arrive at the site there are random holes everywhere. Simon said there wasn’t any point in reporting it to the police! 

Slowly as Georgina delves into both mysteries, she uncovers blackmail and betrayal. But is unaware that someone in the village wants the secrets to stay buried.  Will Georgina uncover the secrets and stay alive?
-------
Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Kate Hardy has written for as long as she can remember; it started with stories about ponies and dogs, moved into ghosts and history, and then into local history and romance. She's won three Romantic Novelists' Association awards for her romantic fiction - and is thoroughly enjoying her new life of crime! She lives in Norwich with her husband, two grown-up children, two spaniels and too many books to count. When she's not writing or researching, she'll be out at a gig or the theatre, at ballet class, doing cross-stitch, taking photographs of the sunrise while persuading the spaniels to stay still for one second, fossicking around on a beach or in archives, or exploring ancient buildings. She loves learning new things, which is why you'll always discover something different in a Kate Hardy book. Oh - and, like her heroine Georgina Drake, Kate's deaf but doesn't let it hold her back in any way.