The Body in the Ice: A gripping historical murder mystery perfect to get cosy with this Christmas

(Paperback)

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Description

Christmas Day, Kent, 1796

When an unidentifiable body is discovered in the ice-covered pond of the empty manor house, it soon becomes clear that foul play was involved and the villagers of St Mary fear a murderer amongst them.

Local law enforcement is distracted by the ongoing smuggling runs between Dover and Calais, and the victim's servant status doesn't warrant great attention so it falls to the Reverend Hardcastle in his new appointment as justice of the peace to investigate. But with the identity of the victim unknown, no murder weapon and no motive, this seems like an impossible mission. Employing the help of his trusted friend, Amelia Chaytor, Hardcastle begins the process - and soon discovers there's more to the mystery than he first thought.

The Body in the Ice, with its unique cast of characters, captivating amateur sleuths and a generations-long family feud at its heart, is a twisting tale that vividly brings to life eighteenth-century Kent and draws readers into its pages.

Reviews

An enjoyable murder mystery with engaging characters, nicely observed historical detail and gentle humour. -- Tracey Warr * Historical Novel Review *
A welcome addition to the genre... I know if the next book in the series had been published I would be reading that now. I'll have to look forward to it but in the meantime, I thoroughly recommend this to all * hairpastafreckle72.blogspot.co.uk *
A gripping, atmospheric page turner... The plot itself is extremely clever...The Body on the Doorstep is fresh and exciting in addition to being skilfully written. * The Bookbag *
An enjoyable murder mystery with engaging characters, nicely observed historical detail and gentle humour * Historical Novel Review *
This is an enjoyable read, lots of interesting historical detail, engaging characters and plenty of twists to the plot. There is definitely potential for a series based on these characters and setting, I would like to read more * A Good Read Blog *
This is a most impressive debut from a new writing team. The setting pre-dates most of the war between England and France, i.e.. pre-Bonaparte, but is beautifully realised with lots of understanding of both the politics and everyday life. The plot is cleverly put together with differing explanations and characters and motives that may or may not be true. All in all a terrific book and I want to read more! * Plucked Highbrow *
A clever and gripping atmospheric page turner, with engaging and believable characters, plenty of twists and turns, nicely observed historical detail and touches of gentle humour...The characterisation throughout is superb. The artist JMW Turner makes an interesting and sympathetic appearance and even the minor players appear authentic and individual. The background is impeccably presented and the pace picks up as the story progresses. If the showdown owes more to Christie than Le Carre it is nonetheless in keeping with the overall tone of a quite brilliant and traditional period novel * Crime Review Book Blog *
Richly atmospheric and wonderfully written, with just the right proportions of domestic and national politics, murder and polite conversation. The ending put me on the edge of my seat. * For winter nights A bookish blog *
Everything about The Body in the Ice is perfect. * The Books and the Bees *

Author Bio

A.J. MacKenzie is the pseudonym of Marilyn Livingstone and Morgen Witzel, a collaborative Anglo-Canadian husband-and-wife duo. Between them they have written more than twenty non-fiction and academic titles, with specialisms including management, medieval economic history and medieval warfare. The Body on the Doorstep (2016) was their first novel.