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This page lists novels that feature the amateur detective Sheila Malory.

Cover images are, when possible, of the UK first edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

Gone Away

Hazel Holt

1989

A Mrs. Malory novel.

Published in the US as Mrs Malory Investigates.

"Everyone knows that impertinent Lee Montgomery is marrying Charles Richardson for his money. After Lee vanishes, Charles’ friends breathe a sigh of relief. But Charles loves his pretty fiancée and is determined to get her back. He enlists the talents of Mrs. Sheila Malory, whose pastimes include reading nineteenth-century novels and ferreting out the truth. Mrs. Malory, a reluctant amateur detective, is soon convinced that Lee has been the victim of foul play. The residents of the sleepy seaside village of Taviscombe, England, are about to discover just how difficult it is to keep their terrible secrets with Mrs. Malory on the case."

The Cruellest Month

Hazel Holt

1991

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Widow Sheila Malory has been looking forward to her stay at the Bodleian Library in Oxford as a chance to research wartime women writers and catch up with old friends from her college years, the one “purely happy” time in her whole life. Her relaxing idyll is interrupted when a librarian, Gwen Richmond, is crushed to death beneath collapsed bookshelves. After the accident proves to be murder, Mrs. Malory’s godson Tony, who also works in the library, asks her to help investigate. Gwen was manipulative and unpleasant, so there are no shortage of suspects. The dead woman’s World War II diary reveal dreadful truths that may lead to the killer; they will also force Mrs. Malory to revisit the past in a new and colder light. "

The Shortest Journey

Hazel Holt

1992

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Mrs. Edith Rossiter, a rich matron, also has a wealth of greedy relatives--a cold-blooded daughter, a wastrel son, and a desperate sister. Because she is in excellent health, none of them can hope to inherit anytime soon ... So when Edith vanishes from Taviscombe’s finest nursing home, the police suspect the worst, despite the lack of evidence. Mrs. Rossiter was a close friend of Mrs. Sheila Malory, who as usual applies her skills as an amateur detective to delve into the lives of the missing woman and her hopeful heirs. Was Edith addicted to sleeping pills? What did the mysterious couple seen in Edith's company want from her? The truth will be stranger and more startling than even Mrs. Malory could have possibly imagined. The Shortest Journey is the third of Hazel Holt's Mrs. Malory mysteries."

An Uncertain Death

Hazel Holt

1993

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Sheila Malory is swept up in the organization of the Taviscombe Festival, and has to spend more and more time in the company of the unpleasant Adrian Palgrave whose overbearing manner makes him unpopular with almost everyone. But everyone is shocked when his lifeless and bloody body is found."

Murder on Campus

Hazel Holt

1994

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"A small university in Pennsylvania has engaged Mrs. Sheila Malory to teach a course on Nineteenth-Century Women writers, and so, with some reluctance, the widow leaves her home in the charming seaside village of Taviscombe to experience academic life in America. The semester will prove even more challenging than she thought, for no sooner does she arrive than a colleague is found with a bullet in his head. The victim is particularly nasty, a man many would like to see dead. Lieutenant Landis, the lead investigator, just happens to be divorced, available, and eager to discuss Shakespeare. When he asks Mrs. Malory for help, he puts her in a difficult position. Should she assist him in his investigation, even if her efforts encourage his romantic interest? Sheila, who can't resist a good murder mystery, forges ahead. What she discovers will make her regret that she ever left Taviscombe."

Superfluous Death

Hazel Holt

1995

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"The sleepy seaside town of Taviscombe has more than its share of gossips and schemers. It also has Mrs. Sheila Malory, a widow whose gift for judging character and unmasking murderers is as impressive as her knowledge of nineteenth-century literature. Mrs. Malory's sleuthing talents are tested once again when she comes upon the body of one of her friends, a sweet elderly lady. Miss Graham's death by poison is quite convenient for a local doctor of dubious reputation; the dead woman's refusal to move thwarted Dr. Cowley’s plans to build a nursing home. But Mrs. Malory knows that nothing is as simple as it seems, especially when it is revealed that Miss Graham left a considerable fortune. Another suspicious death during a fireworks display further complicates matters. These two very different murders - one furtive, the other violent - can't possibly be related. Or can they?"

Death of a Dean

Hazel Holt

1996

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"While in Stratford, widow Sheila Malory always stays with her old friend, actor David Beaumont. On this visit she finds him in dire straits: his career is on the skids and his finances are in ruins. Unless he can convince his penny-pinching brother Francis to sell their jointly owned family home in the seaside village of Taviscombe, the bank will repossess his cottage. Francis, Dean of the Culminster Cathedral, does not believe that charity begins at home. He refuses to put the house on the market or provide a loan. Mrs. Malory offers David a place to stay in her own home in Taviscombe so that the two brothers might meet in person to find a solution. Even if Francis can be persuaded to sell, one impediment remains: their ancient and addled nanny has been told that she can stay in the home until she dies. Even after Nana’s sudden death, Francis insists that they hold on to the property. When he dies from consuming high tea laced with poison, the police conclude that both deaths were murder. Unfortunately David is their prime suspect. Determined to clear her friend’s name, Mrs. Malory applies her considerable skills as an amateur sleuth to identify the real culprit. She has seen her share of evil, but even Mrs. Malory is shocked by what her investigation turns up."

The Only Good Lawyer...

Hazel Holt

1997

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Every year solicitor Graham Percy makes a tour of the West Country to visit old friends, and unfortunately for Sheila, her home is one of the tiresome lawyer's ports of call. But Graham's latest stay turns out to be his last, for one morning he is found on the seafront with a fatal stab wound ."

Dead and Buried

Hazel Holt

1998

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"The Taviscombe village fete opens with an attempt on the life of chairwoman Frieda Spencer, and a second attempt succeeds a fortnight later. Her toyboy lover is charged with the killing. Investigator Sheila Malory is not convinced, and is convinced the reasons go back a long time."

Fatal Legacy

Hazel Holt

1999

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Amateur sleuth Sheila Malory is once again called into action when an old friend dies suddenly and mysteriously . . .When an old friend invites her to a Writer of the Year party Sheila Malory feels she cannot refuse. And a week later she is thankful she made the effort, for Beth - otherwise known as Dame Elizabeth Blackmore, the popular novelist - dies suddenly leaving Sheila as her literary executor. Among Beth's papers is an unfinished novel telling of a passionate love affair. But something about it convinces Sheila it is autobiographical. Could her friend have been living a double life? And why are members of Beth's family behaving so oddly in their grief? After news reaches her of another sudden death Sheila starts to suspect that Beth's death was no accident."

Lilies That Fester

Hazel Holt

2000

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Thea Wyatt has only been back in Taviscombe a short while, yet already she has secured a job at the local law firm and has been asked for her hand in marriage. And when Michael Malory announces their engagement to his mother, Sheila couldn't be more delighted. But the fairytale is shortlived. For Gordon Masefield, a senior solicitor at Thea's firm, has died shortly after an altercation with her. And now Thea is the prime suspect for his murder. However, Masefield has no shortage of enemies and when Sheila and Michael start the hunt for the real killer it begins to look as though practically anyone had both the will and the opportunity to kill him."

Leonora

Hazel Holt

2002

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"It is twenty years since Leonora Staveley retired from her illustrious career as an investigative journalist to live as a virtual recluse on Exmoor, surrounded only by her beloved animals. With an increasing lack of concern for her own welfare and her house filled to the brim with the clutter and relics of an extraordinary life, no-one was too surprised when the elderly Leonora suffered a fatal bout of food poisoning. But Sheila Malory suspects something far more sinister was involved in the death of her friend. For there are a number of people, including Leonora's brother Vernon and her neighbours the Bamfilde brothers, who had good reason to want this wealthy lady out of the way once and for all. And aside from the obvious suspects, just who was the mysterious young man seen camping near Leonora's house just days before she died . . .?"

Delay of Execution

Hazel Holt

2001

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"When Sheila Malory is asked to help out at the prestigious Blakeney's School for Girls, she is simultaneously thrilled and terrified. For her predecessor, Margaret Hood, is a hard act to follow. A powerfully charismatic figure, Margaret inspired fierce loyalty in her select group of pupils - until her sudden death. With her characteristic charm and discretion, Sheila soon becomes a popular member of staff, entertaining confidences from both colleagues and pupils. In doing so she learns that not everyone considered Margaret Hood to be a positive influence on the girls . . . And then a second death shakes Blakeney's foundations. As Sheila delves deeper still she discovers that there are dark secrets lurking beneath the surface of this well-to-do establishment - and no shortage of people with the motive for murder."

Death in Practice

Hazel Holt

2003

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Malcolm Hardy, the new partner at Taviscombe's veterinary practice, is not a popular man; but without his money the surgery would have to close. Within a few weeks of starting his new job he seems to have upset most of the town: firing one of his long-serving colleagues; installing his girlfriend as veterinary assistant at the surgery; refusing to treat stray animals for free; accusing another colleague of malpractice as well as being seen out with a married woman. As far as Sheila Malory is concerned there is little to like about the new vet. But despite his unpopularity it is still a shock when Hardy collapses and dies at the surgery. And when the post-mortem reveals that his death was unnatural, suspicion instantly falls on his former colleagues. Could somebody at the practice be a killer? Or might the thoroughly unpleasant Malcolm Hardy have other enemies with murder in mind?"

The Silent Killer

Hazel Holt

2004

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"When widower Sidney Middleton is found dead in his cottage from carbon monoxide poisoning, Sheila Malory is deeply disturbed. The old man had seemed in good health and the ageing wood-burning stove, cited as causing the fatality, had just been serviced. Sheila’s suspicions that this was no accidental death just won’t be quietened. Sidney had always seemed a pleasant, unassuming gentleman. So Sheila is shocked when, at the old man’s funeral, she encounters outright hostility. Then Sheila uncovers some rather shocking information about the deceased…information that paints him in a very different light and leads her to ask how many people might have borne him a grudge?"

No Cure for Death

Hazel Holt

2005

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Something peculiar is going on at the Group Medical Practice in Taviscombe. Sheila Malory can’t help but feel it may be linked with the unexpected arrival of Dr Morrison. Arrogant and cold-mannered, his alleged misdiagnosis of a local patient who later died has made him the focus of village rumour. When Dr Morrison is found dead, apparently murdered, it is assumed to be a random act of violence. However Sheila Malory is not convinced. Had Dr Morrison been involved in some sort of dangerous business in London. Or did someone local have a motive for wanting him out of the way?"

Death in the Family

Hazel Holt

2006

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Slowly I began to understand fully the horror of what had happened to that family, and the extent of Bernard's responsibility for it. More than ever, when I thought of the irreparable damage he'd done to so many people, I felt, with Veronica, glad that he was dead. Bernard Prior was never popular with the rest of his family. And when his second cousin, Sheila Malory, is warned that he is visiting members of the Prior family in order to research their genealogy, Sheila considers it nothing more than a bore. However, what seems like an innocent pastime soon turns into something more sinister. When Bernard dies in suspicious circumstances, family secrets start to emerge. It appears that Bernard's death is not as straightforward as it seems; while he is known as a bore and a bully, there is nothing to indicate any motive for cold-blooded murder. But someone clearly wanted him dead, and Sheila begins to realise that his research into their family history may have turned up more than a collection of old photographs. Never one to let sleeping dogs lie, Sheila takes it upon herself to discover the truth behind Bernard's demise. What secrets lie buried in the family past? And what will happen to those who try to uncover them?"

A Time to Die

Hazel Holt

2008

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Life in Taviscombe, Devon, ambles along at its own pace. Sheila Malory is being kept busy by her relations, particularly her god-daughter and granddaughter who have gone horse-mad at the local stables. Run by glamorous couple Jo and Charlie Hamilton, she a former leading lady and he, a once Olympic standard equestrian, the stables seems to be a fine business - but is all as it seems? When a series of tragic 'accidents' cast a shadow over the stables and the town Sheila, never backward in coming forward, determines to investigate."

Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death

Hazel Holt

2009

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Sheila Malory has her reservations when she is asked to research the history of the village of Mere Barton, as it brings her into close contact with miserly Annie Roberts, a controlling woman who's much resented by her fellow villagers. Not even the local rector has a good word to say about her. When Annie suffers a fatal bout of self-inflicted food poisoning, there is more relief than grief around the village. However, as Sheila continues to work on the local history, she begins to wonder if Annie's death was as accidental as it first seemed? "

Mrs. Malory and a Necessary End

Hazel Holt

2012

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"When Sheila Malory fills in for a friend at a local charity shop in the quiet English town of Taviscombe, she's happy for the change of scene. It will give her a chance to deal with interesting books, meet new people, and above all, work for a good cause! Still, not everything at the shop is so appealing. The ill-tempered, officious store supervisor, Desmond Barlow, runs the shop as a tyrant. That is, until Desmond is found stabbed to death in the shop, and Mrs. Malory puts her impeccable sleuthing skills into play. Unfortunately, it seems that Desmond was disliked by pretty much everyone. In a town full of suspects, Mrs. Malory must go behind closed doors and delve into a slew of small-town secrets if she wants to discover a killer who is far from charitable."

Death is a Word

Hazel Holt

2014

A Mrs. Malory novel.

"Eva Jackson is Rosemary's cousin ('umpteen times removed') and she has moved back to her childhood home in Taviscombe after the untimely death of her beloved husband Alan. As is the way of the village, Eva has been pounced upon by the local charities, and it is during a coffee morning that she mentions to Sheila Malory that she fears Alan might have died an unnatural death... Sheila is intrigued and sets out to find out more. But when Eva's body is discovered after a supposed insulin overdose, Sheila wonders if the killer might still be at large in the charming Devon countryside."