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Book Details
The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook
The remote village of Didsbrook is thrown into turmoil after its best-known resident, the former actress turned best-selling novelist Jocelyn Robertshaw, is found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Villagers are appalled to learn that the charismatic Jocelyn died from Hemlock poisoning. Police claim she shot and ate a quail that had ingested hemlock. A theory disputed by all who knew her well. The animal-loving Jocelyn would never kill anything, but due to the lack of forensic evidence, police rule death by misadventure.
Jocelyn’s young protégée, Lucy Fothergill, determined to discover the truth about what happened to her mentor, discovers a hidden stash of Jocelyn’s notebooks, revealing jaw-dropping secrets from Jocelyn’s past. The impression Jocelyn gave the world that she lived a near-perfect life was an Academy Award-winning performance.
Believing the events from Jocelyn’s past may have led to her death forty-eight years later, Lucy begins to piece together the clues that lead to the truth.
The sleepy village of Didsbrook is about to wake up!
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Lives-Doyenne-Didsbrook-secrets-ebook/dp/B0F9P9DM57
Author Bio
Tessa Barrie was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and despite her parents uprooting her at the age of three and moving her down south, she is proud of her Yorkshire heritage.
Growing up, she recalls her family life being more Little House on the Prairie than The Waltons because her early years were fraught with drama. However, intermingled with all the emotional disruption, she remembers humour squeezing its way through the frayed feelings.
So, incorporating humour in her writing has become very important to her as she believes that, however dark a story gets, there should always be a subtle sprinkling of humour.
In June 2021, Tessa self-published her debut novel, Just Say It, a bittersweet family saga, and her second novel, The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook, a quirky murder mystery, is currently on pre-order and is due for release on 1st July 2025. Her third novel, The Rebuilding of Freya Michaels, will be published in 2026.
EXCERPT 4 – 975 words.
In 2018, the renowned actress turned best-selling author Jocelyn Robertshaw was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the small village of Didsbrook, and her young protégée Lucy Fothergill is determined to uncover the truth about what really happened to her mentor.
When Jocelyn first meets her future husband on the banks of the River Avon.
After four successful seasons with the RSC, Jocelyn met Peter Robertshaw. After several tours of Northern Ireland, a combat-weary Peter felt he had done enough for the Queen and country. He wanted to settle somewhere in a rural part of the UK where he could fish to his heart’s content. He was also looking for a wife but had yet to find the right woman.
At twenty-seven, Peter, with his outgoing personality, muscular body and chiselled good looks, was attractive to women, and he had already left a trail of broken hearts behind him.
While on leave from his regiment, he was enjoying a few days in Stratford-upon-Avon with his oldest friend and fellow officer, Patrick Parker, when he first saw Jocelyn in a performance of Romeo and Juliet. He knew her story, having read about her in the press, and he relentlessly pursued her from the moment he first saw her. Having a famous wife was very appealing to him but having a wealthy one excited him the most. Her raw beauty was an added bonus.
Peter guessed that she would be living somewhere close during her run at Stratford, so the morning after he’d seen her perform, he went for a walk beside the river, brainstorming ideas to track her down. He considered lying to the theatre, saying he was a long-lost cousin, but openly lying was probably not the best way to introduce himself.
A bevvy of swans glided past him on the flat calm waterway. How majestic they looked. They reminded him of Jocelyn on stage the previous night. Strong, beautiful, but exquisitely fragile. The soft, gentle rustling of the riverside weeping willows as the branches gently stroked and teased the water with the tips of their leaves added to his reverie.
Turning his gaze wistfully toward the horizon, a black horse and rider were cantering towards him.
He recognised her immediately. The woman of his dreams who would be his ticket to never having to work in his life. Her long, auburn hair flowed out behind her. His heart was in his mouth. She manoeuvred the horse as she approached to give him space on the path. It didn’t look like she would stop, so he called, “Miss Strand. You were wonderful last night! Your portrayal of Juliet was quite superb.”
There was a whoosh of air as horse and rider sped past. He was right. She had no intention of reining back and slowing down, let alone stopping. His heart sank, feeling foolish, which reminded him of his teenage lust for an older cousin who never gave him the time of day. He walked briskly, his head down, dejected, with his hands in his pockets, aggressively kicking at stones on the path. Then, he heard the sound of a trotting horse approaching him from behind. He spun around, and there she was. His heart soared.
“Whoa! My beauty!” The horse stopped and stood stock-still, occasionally stomping a hoof on the ground and swishing his tail, impatient to move on. Jocelyn swung her right leg over the horse’s withers and slid off his back, as supple and as lythe as a gymnast.
She slapped her hand against the horse’s powerful neck, and he snorted with satisfaction before nuzzling her cheek with his nose. Peter felt a pang of envy as the horse gently opened and closed his lips against her cheek.
She turned to face Peter. She oozed youth, beauty, and intense fragility. Her full, quivering lips broke into a radiant smile, and his knees turned to jelly. Her cheeks, pink from the wind, were as soft as a peach.
“I’m so sorry. How rude of me to sail past you like that because I am sure I heard you say something. I was miles away. Riding is my passion, you see. I get a bit carried away sometimes.”
She held out her hand to shake his.
“Jocelyn Strand. Very pleased to meet you.”
Transfixed, Peter gently but firmly shook her hand while looking into her eyes. A surge of electricity rushed up his arm as he gripped her hand, reluctant to let it go. She looked at him expectantly, taking in his boyish good looks, his green eyes looking into her own.
“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you.” He said as she gently removed her hand from his grasp.
“I’m staying with a pal from university while I’m in Stratford. It’s that delightful little Elizabethan cottage over there.” She pointed to a picture-postcard cottage with hollyhocks in the front garden.
“I get terribly homesick for Didsbrook when I am away, and Mousie, my friend, lets me borrow a stable so I can bring Zorro to keep me company.”
She dived a hand into her pocket and pulled out a couple of carrot slices, held them in the palm of her hand and fed them to Zorro.
“Didsbrook!” Peter said rather too loudly, finding his voice and biting his bottom lip. “I’ve never been there, but its reputation goes before it. I understand it is a beautiful part of the country.”
“Yes, it is, and to me, it is the most beautiful place in the world.”
Peter took a breath. “You gave the most wonderful performance last night, Miss Strand. You were quite… brilliant.”
“Why, thank you, kind sir!” She quipped, intentionally sounding like Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, which made Peter wonder if Jocelyn might be as headstrong as Scarlett, but it was a risk he was prepared to take.
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