The Submerged Village
(2026)(The fourth book in the D I Rowan Penhallow series)
A novel by Wendy Cartmell
When the past refuses to stay submerged, someone will kill to drown it.
During Devon's worst drought in decades, Burrator Reservoir drops to record lows—exposing the ruins of villages deliberately flooded in 1898. What should be a fascinating historical curiosity becomes a murder investigation when DI Rowan Penhallow's Jack Russell terrier, Buddy, discovers a body buried in the remains of a Victorian manor house.
With forensic evidence, encrypted murder plans, and testimony that will shatter a family forever, Rowan builds a case that asks uncomfortable questions: How far would you go to protect your family's reputation? What do you owe to ancestors' crimes? And when does historical injustice become a motive for modern murder?
The Submerged Village combines procedural authenticity with West Country atmosphere, moral complexity, and with a dog who steals every scene. A murder mystery about truth, justice, and the weight of secrets that span generations.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
During Devon's worst drought in decades, Burrator Reservoir drops to record lows—exposing the ruins of villages deliberately flooded in 1898. What should be a fascinating historical curiosity becomes a murder investigation when DI Rowan Penhallow's Jack Russell terrier, Buddy, discovers a body buried in the remains of a Victorian manor house.
With forensic evidence, encrypted murder plans, and testimony that will shatter a family forever, Rowan builds a case that asks uncomfortable questions: How far would you go to protect your family's reputation? What do you owe to ancestors' crimes? And when does historical injustice become a motive for modern murder?
The Submerged Village combines procedural authenticity with West Country atmosphere, moral complexity, and with a dog who steals every scene. A murder mystery about truth, justice, and the weight of secrets that span generations.
Genre: Cozy Mystery