Murder at Briar House
(2026)(The seventh book in the Poppy James Cozy Mystery series)
A novel by Gemma Harper
An elegant estate sale. A body beneath the library ladder. And one beagle who knows trouble when he sniffs it.
Café owner Poppy James expects silver-polishing opinions and vintage gossip when she brings coffee to Briar House, the grand old home of the late Eleanor Vale Ashcroft. Then estate manager Simon Creel is found dead in the library, and the room goes so still Poppy can hear Midsip’s low growl from beneath the desk.
‘Tell me that was already broken,’ Nadine whispers.
It wasn’t.
The sheriff sees a tragic fall. Poppy sees a staged scene, missing auction tags, and guests who keep looking anywhere but at the truth. Celia Ashcroft needs the sale to rescue what’s left of the family fortune. Antiques dealer Daniel Voss is circling the wrong heirlooms. And family attorney Andrew Pike seems a little too certain which papers belong buried.
With Theo chasing old property records and Midsip nosing out one clue too many, Poppy follows Briar House’s secrets into a scandal someone has protected for years.
Simon wasn’t killed for what he stole.
He was killed for what he found.
And Poppy may be next.
Genre: Mystery
Café owner Poppy James expects silver-polishing opinions and vintage gossip when she brings coffee to Briar House, the grand old home of the late Eleanor Vale Ashcroft. Then estate manager Simon Creel is found dead in the library, and the room goes so still Poppy can hear Midsip’s low growl from beneath the desk.
‘Tell me that was already broken,’ Nadine whispers.
It wasn’t.
The sheriff sees a tragic fall. Poppy sees a staged scene, missing auction tags, and guests who keep looking anywhere but at the truth. Celia Ashcroft needs the sale to rescue what’s left of the family fortune. Antiques dealer Daniel Voss is circling the wrong heirlooms. And family attorney Andrew Pike seems a little too certain which papers belong buried.
With Theo chasing old property records and Midsip nosing out one clue too many, Poppy follows Briar House’s secrets into a scandal someone has protected for years.
Simon wasn’t killed for what he stole.
He was killed for what he found.
And Poppy may be next.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Gemma Harper's Murder at Briar House