The Murder at the Mill

 The Murder at the Mill (2020) by Irina Shapiro

December 1866, England. It's been about six months since (Lord) Captain Jason Redmond first came to England to wrap up his grandfather's estate. Instead of heading back to America where he was born and raised, he's been settling into his new role as lord of the manor...and surgeon in support of the local police. As Christmas approaches, there are two unwelcome surprises among the festive events: another dead body and his former fiancee, Cecilia. Cecilia had immediately turned to his best friend for comfort when rumors that Redmond had been killed during the Civil War had reached her. By the time he'd been released from the Andersonville prison and made his way home, she was married and expecting her first child. And now, here she is on his doorstep.*

*Okay...so, I've just started this and I've got a prediction for the storyline. Cecilia will immediately set her cap for Jason again--thinking that he couldn't possibly have gotten over her. She's actually more interested in his title than him. Kate (the vicar's daughter whom Jason has feelings for) will misunderstand the situation and there will be trouble in that particular paradise. Either in this book, or the next, Cecilia will be booted out permanently and Jason and Kate will be brought closer together by the temporary set-back. I'm going to go ahead and publish this now so my followers can hold me accountable in case I'm wrong. 😊

First line (Prologue): The moon hung low in the nighttime sky, its fat belly skimming the tops of the elms that stood like a row of silent sentinels in the distance.

First line (1st Chapter): Inspector Daniel Haze shivered, as much from the bitter cold as from the sight that ad greeted him when he'd arrived at the mill.

Last line:
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Deaths = one drowned; two cholera