The Mystery at Rake Hall: C.S. Lewis investigates

(Hardback)

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'A marvellous literary thriller' Clare Chase

In post-war Oxford, secrets lie behind every door.

In 1947, with rationing still biting and the black market thriving, university don C.S. 'Jack' Lewis finds himself pulled into a mystery straight from one of his friend Dorothy Sayers' novels. Susan Temple, his brightest student, has hidden herself away at Rake Hall - a hostel for unmarried, outcast mothers - and hasn't been heard from since.

With no experience beyond catching the occasional student plagiarist, Lewis is hardly a detective. But when Susan's absence continues to haunt him, he teams up with her concerned friend Lucy and together they delve into the disturbing rumours of a nasty racket at Rake Hall. Can Lewis's nose for the truth separate fact from fiction

InThe Mystery at Rake Hall, Maureen Paton - whose mother lived at the real-life Rake Hall while pregnant with Maureen - brilliantly recreates a post-war Oxford world, as well as imagining an alternative life for one of its most famous residents.

Reviews

'A marvellous literary thriller, steeped in the atmosphere of post-war Oxford immensely enjoyable!' - Clare Chase, author of Murder on the Marshes

'Unique yet nostalgic. Such a fabulous and interesting premise - to imagine C.S. Lewis as an unlikely detective. The Mystery at Rake Hall is a clever and refreshing take on the mystery novel. I couldnt put it down' - Jo Silva, award-winning author of The Edge of the World Detective Agency

The rarefied world of the Oxford College is authentically portrayed in this new novel by Maureen Paton, but there is a very dark underbelly beneath the soaring spires and Paton's new detective, Oxford don, C.S. Lewis finds himself drawn into this sinister world - J.C. Briggs, author of the Charles Dickens Investigation series

Author Bio

Maureen Paton is a freelance journalist specialising in arts, showbusiness and women's issues. She is the author of two works of non-fiction, and is a former committee member and former newsletter editor of the campaigning organisation Women in Journalism. The Mystery at Rake Hall is her first novel.