Murder at the Homecoming

A Flora Steele Mystery, Book 13

By: Merryn Allingham

Narrated by: Charlie Norfolk

Amidst the smell of sherry trifle and the sound of lively music, the guests raise their glasses. But as a loud scream interrupts the toast, amateur detectives Flora Steele and Jack Carrington learn that not everyone is in the party spirit....

It’s the perfect day in Abbeymead for Ambrose Finch to throw a welcome party for his long-lost son, finally returning home after disappearing ten years ago. The sun is shining, the spread is sumptuous, and the residents are eager to catch a glimpse of the young man they’ve heard so much about–and perhaps learn why he left in the first place....

But when Ambrose sends his maid to fetch the cake from the kitchen, he is interrupted mid-toast by her screams. Flora and Jack rush to the kitchen, horrified to find the cook hired for the occasion lying unmoving on the flagstone floor. The sickly-sweet smell of cyanide is their only clue–but who was the glass she’d been drinking from intended for?

The poor cook had no enemies–but there are plenty at the party who do, and Ambrose seems to have invited them all to join the festivities. Flora and Jack can’t resist investigating, in an afterparty they never saw coming… And when another of Ambrose’s employees is found dead, they must work out why all roads seemingly lead back to the Finch family. But can they uncover whose past sins have come home to roost, before it’s too late?

An utterly charming cozy mystery novel filled with brilliant twists. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin, and J.R. Ellis.

©2026 Merryn Allingham (P)2026 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

murder

I like how they work out how the murder is written you dont know how or who is till later. I find these books a easy listening and can't wait for next

Another good one

I like the stories overall however, Jack and Flora need to stop saying they are leaving it to the police. They never do! Also, if they take many more hits to the head they won’t be doing much.

Too much.

This is a great series but this book is a miss for me. There's just way too much going on. With so many new characters and sub plots and spending so much time setting up the next book, the plot got lost.

Excellent

Really loved this latest episode in the Flora and Jack series ,The narrator is excellent as usual and the story has really evolved,looking forward to the next book to come out .

Totally predictable and unbelieveable

I’m a fan of this series but this latest is really disappointing. Especially because as the reader I could identify the imposter/killer right away but am expected to believe the characters, including the killer’s parent, are unable to. The killer and other obvious elements somehow completely escape Jack and Flora. They both behave in an infuriatingly dim-witted and tentative way throughout, both being secretive with each other and the police for no good reason. Jack is inexplicably disapproving of Flora at times and Flora confesses to be being bored with her life with Jack. I came away not liking either one of them anymore. There seems to be a lot of detail that only exists for the purpose of pushing page count. Strangely I had the impression that despite the high body count, nothing much happens in this book.