Root of All Evil

A weekend holiday at a wealthy relative's country manor

A recipe that calls for mayhem in this charming cozy English mystery.

Andrew Basnett's cousin Felicity

Is old, rich, and the owner of a swanky Berkshire estate.

The situation

If Basnett were a savvy mystery reader rather than a retired professor of botany, he would know that an invitation to spend Easter weekend at such an estate is all but guaranteed to involve at least one murder.

The complications

But since Felicity is all about excess, this trip delivers not only a death threat, but also an imminent disinheritance, the theft of a fortune in diamonds, some spectacular intrigue involving the servants, and not one but two corpses.

The hero

It''s a good thing the mild-mannered professor is around to suss out the family secrets!