Death of a Pantomime Cow: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #8
()
About this ebook
The eighth instalment in an occasional series of short stories covering the elapsed time between the books in The Falconer Files series.
An insanely gripping village detective series with a delightful slice of humour. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Lillian Jackson Braun and Midsomer Murders.
____________
The town has recently opened it's new theatre and the Town's Women's Guild is to present it's first live performances the pantomime 'Jack and the Beanstalk' - over Christmas.
DI Harry Falconer has managed to duck two days spent over the festive season in the Carmichael household by pleading other commitments, but treating the whole family, himself included, to tickets to the first performance, on Boxing Day.
But he seems to be able to do nothing straight forward, and when tragedy strikes in the very first Act, he is catapulted back into his professional role with a vengeance: and on a Bank Holiday, too.
Andrea Frazer
An ex-member of Mensa, Andrea Frazer is married, with four grown-up children, and lives in the Dordogne with her husband Tony and their seven cats. She has wanted to write since she first began to read at the age of five, but has been a little busy raising a family and working as a lecturer in Greek, and teaching music. Her interests include playing several instruments, reading, and choral singing.
Read more from Andrea Frazer
The Falconer Files Collections Down and Dirty in the Dordogne Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Fresh of Breath Air Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder and Mayhem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curious Case of the Black Swan Song Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod Rob Ye Merry Gentlemen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bookcase of Sherman Holmes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Falconer Files Murder Mysteries Books 1 - 14 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristmas Box Set Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Death of a Pantomime Cow
Titles in the series (9)
Love Me to Death: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Sidecar Named Expire: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBattered To Death: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsToxic Gossip: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDriven To It: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWritten Out: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #7 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll Hallows: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Falconer Files Brief Cases Books 1 - 8: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath of a Pantomime Cow: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
The Complete Falconer Files Brief Cases Books 1 - 8: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll Hallows: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Falconer Files Brief Cases Books 1 - 4: The Falconer Files Brief Cases Collections, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove Me to Death: The Falconer Files - Brief Cases, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlame: A Completely Gripping Psychological Suspense Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rapturous Moon: Minorie Raine: Trials & Tribulations, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAugust Dust Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYarrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Burning Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Strange Story Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Nature Faker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sherloch Curse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Girl with the Sweetest Secret Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Seasonal Secret Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5His Elusive Nightingale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelected Short Stories: O. Henry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPerfect Recall: A Story by Ann Beattie Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Echoes of Innocence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBehind the Raven Mask: The Bressoffs of Alaska, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCompton MacKenzie: The Best Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of the Amulet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwinter: The First Portal: the TWINTERS' adventures, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpeaking Of Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhilomville Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Smiths Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIrish Fairy Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarrow Witch Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Her Cinderella Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Horse and Other Supernatural Tales of the Sage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Cozy Mysteries For You
Eight Perfect Murders: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Word Is Murder: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Spoon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murders at the Montgomery Hall Hotel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Under a Red Moon: A 1920s Bangalore Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret, Book & Scone Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rivers of London: 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret of Poppyridge Cove Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swan Song Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murderous Affair at Stone Manor: A Completely Gripping Cozy Murder Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on a Mystery Tour Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Murder in the Dark: A Gripping Crime Mystery Full of Twists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Alchemist: An Accidental Alchemist Mystery, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures: a joyful and heart-warming novel you won't want to miss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Color Me Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Line to Kill: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Epitaph: A Gripping Murder Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death Du Jour: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mistletoe and Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Marple: Twelve New Mysteries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gaudy Night Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Clouds of Witness: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Regatta Mystery And Other Stories: Featuring Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Mr. Parker Pyne Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marlow Murder Club: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Death of a Pantomime Cow
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Death of a Pantomime Cow - Andrea Frazer
The eighth of a series of short stories covering the elapsed time between the books in the Falconer Files series.
Carsfold has recently opened its new theatre and the Town’s Women’s Guild is to present its first live performances – the pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ – over Christmas.
DI Harry Falconer has managed to duck two days spent over the festive season in the Carmichael household by pleading other commitments, but treating the whole family, himself included, to tickets to the first performance, on Boxing Day.
But he seems to be able to do nothing straight forward, and when tragedy strikes in the very first Act, he is catapulted back into his professional role with a vengeance: and on a Bank Holiday, too.
Christmas Eve – one thirty in the morning
All the participants in the forthcoming tale were asleep, all excitement and anticipation that had kept this state at bay, now calmed by regular breathing and bright, hopeful dreams of the morrow.
But, no, one figure is still not abed. There is one still up, and in the Carsfold Community Theatre. Incongruously dressed in the costume of a pantomime cow, she has deserted her partner so late, and made her way to this location, for a little extra rehearsal for one of her parts, to be premiered on Boxing Day. Kate Kerridge did many things fanatically, and her partner, realising this, had long since made his way to bed, and thus to sleep, unwilling to wait up for her return, which he expected to be very late indeed.
Outside, the night was crisp, with frost twinkling in the moonlight, turning each leaf and blade of glass into a precious jewel which could never be replicated by human hands. It was a peaceful night, cold but beautiful. In fact, all was calm, all was bright.
The sound of sleigh bells was not yet discernible, and there were no reindeer in sight up above, but it would not be long before there was plenty of creeping about, accompanied by the furtive stuffing of stockings and pillow cases, to keep the legend alive for yet another year.
I
25th December
33 Letsby Avenue, Market Darley
Detective Inspector Harry Falconer placed his knife and fork down side-by-side, perfectly parallel on his plate, and belched very discreetly, a hand covering his mouth for the sake of manners, even though his only company was his five cats. Not only had he managed not to be on duty over the two most important days of Christmas, but he had managed to arrange things so that he did not have to drag himself to someone else’s house, someone else’s celebrations, and fit in with whatever family traditions they wanted to re-enact, eating up his precious free time with pastimes that meant nothing to him.
Following a kind-hearted and well-meant invitation to join he and his kin for the two days of celebrations, he had managed to bamboozle his soft-hearted DS, Carmichael, by explaining how his mother had invited him to spend a family Christmas with her and his father, as it had been some time since he had managed to be with them at this time of year. And he had managed to fool his mother by explaining to her how much his DS wanted his boss to spend a family yuletide with his young family, with all the trappings of stockings and under-tree presents, crackers and paper hats that this involved.
In fact, both invitations had been issued, their only real function being as a tool to turn down the other, and he had eventually achieved what he had long aimed for – a quiet Christmas Day on his own.
In celebration of this unexpected victory, he raised his wine glass and drank a toast to the deliciousness of solitude when properly planned and executed. He remembered the chaos that had been Christmas the previous year,