A Walk Through England Mystery Series

For retired San Diego detective Rick “Chase” Chasen, week-long walks in the English countryside are an enjoyable new pastime. But sometimes these outings take deadly detours…

Chase is disappointed that his partner Mike won’t be joining him on his tour of the rocky Cornish coast—but like long-distance walks, long-distance relationships can require an occasional break. He still has his friend Billie for company, though, and a few more fellow Americans, from a New Orleans restaurateur to a New York travel writer, joining them on their jaunt.

When the group hears before their departure that local landowners have been sabotaging the trail with booby-traps, their walk leader dismisses it as rumor—but some in the group are worried, especially after a terrifying incident on a bridge the very next morning. As they bravely continue their expedition, twelve-year-old chatterbox Ivy, who’s already spilled some of her mother’s secrets, continues gossiping to Chase about the group members. She’s been researching online and thinks they’re not all as they seem. When one of them nearly plunges to her death during a visit to a 16th-century castle, Ivy’s sure a killer walks among them.

That turns out to be a real possibility when the near miss is followed by a suspicious death during a meal break. Did a Cornish property owner take a prank too far? And is Ivy just a drama-obsessed internet addict, or is ignoring her warnings a fatal misstep? If murder is truly afoot, Chase will have to rely on his investigative wits to trip the killer up.

Former San Diego detective Rick “Chase” Chasen has found a welcome change of pace on walking tours in the British countryside. But England’s green and pleasant land can hide all kinds of surprises—including murder . . .


Chase has two compelling reasons for returning to England—a group walk along the famed Coast to Coast trail in the picturesque Lake District, and a chance to further his relationship with Mike, the handsome Devonshire coroner he met on his last trip. The walkers, including Chase’s dear friend and fellow Anglophile Billie Mondreau, assemble at a Cumbrian hotel and begin their adventure with the traditional “baptism of the boots” in St. Bee’s Bay. But they’ve barely begun traveling eastward with their genial guide than the group dynamic turns unexpectedly rocky.

The problem is the Uptons—a wealthy family who have arrived from Texas, and whose squabbling antics continually overshadow the bucolic surroundings. Brock Upton, tall and commanding, is traveling with his pint-sized wife and his three siblings, along with a family friend. Every member of the party cites a different reason for joining the tour, and Chase’s instincts tell him they’re all lying.

Brock’s heart condition hinders their progress through the Lake District’s hills and dales. But that proves the least of their problems when one of the Uptons is fatally poisoned. Years of secrets and grudges emerge, along with a decades-old family mystery. And only Chase’s investigative expertise can find the answers—and uncover a killer in their midst before tragedy befalls the tour again . . .

For fans of M.C. Beaton, Martha Grimes, and Alexander McCall Smith, the first in a charming new mystery series set in the English countryside, as a retired San Diego police detective embarks upon group walking tours in England’s most scenic counties…until murder takes him on a deadly detour!

Still grieving the death of his long-time partner, Chase reunites with his dear friend and fellow Anglophile Billie Mondreau for a seacoast holiday of historic sightseeing. Assigned a pair of guides from the tour company, Wanderers, Chase and Billie join seven other like-minded Americans looking forward to an English getaway. All except for Ronald Gretz. The wealthy entrepreneur behind the international Golden Sunset nursing home chain doesn’t like anything about walking, touring, or England. Coarse and opinionated, Gretz’s complaints get on the nerves of his fellow Wanderers—and his long-suffering trophy wife.


But Gretz’s gripes are tied to his own nerves being frayed. He has been receiving threatening texts and emails signed “An Avenger.” Convinced someone means him harm, Gretz asks Chase to watch his back. Soon, Gretz falls afoul of several “accidents,” until one final “accident” results in Gretz dead at the bottom of a cliff. While helping the police investigate, Chase discovers that members of the tour group not only disliked the victim but had legitimate motives for wanting him dead. Now, he just has to uncover who among them is willing to kill . . .