Former New Mills author’s latest whodunit tells the tale of murder and well dressing

Kate Minchin, who uses the pen name Kate P Adams, has written the latest book in her Charleston House Mystery series which is out this month.

She said: “Well Dressed to Die is a love letter to Derbyshire. I may not live in the High Peak anymore but it’s still so much a part of my heart.

“And what better way to celebrate all things Derbyshire than a book about wells dressing.”

The book starts the night before the ancient well-dressing tradition in the Derbyshire village of Castledale. The dressers work feverishly to get the displays finished in time.

Kate said: “However, someone has got in ahead of schedule. One of the wells is already dressed with a dead body.”

This book is the ninth in the series and for Kate, who took a break to branch out to start a new series, says returning to Charleston House was like coming home.

“It was like meeting old friends again and picking up where we left off.”

For Kate, who previously worked at Hampton Palace she has a lot of inside information about how stately homes work.

She said: “In the book are the characters you may recognise from previous stories and each book those characters grow so it’s great to see how they develop.

“For me, writing is a full time job, I write 3,000 words a day and I write two or three books a year. I normally know where the story is going but this book felt a bit different though I wasn’t quite sure where the ending was going so it was nice to watch the characters develop.”

This book follows Sophie Lockwood, who despite being determined not to get involved in the investigation into how Cora Parrish came to drown in the well, wants to concentrate instead on her day job as a café manager at popular local tourist attraction, Charleton House, the amateur sleuth can not help being intrigued.

From the victims of Cora’s schoolgirl bullying to those wishing to conceal a murky past of their own, suspects run aplenty.

Distracted by the appearance of a handsome historian, and by the unexpected turn her colleague and best friend Mark’s career takes, Sophie feels like she is going round in circles, achieving nothing but stirring up the dirt. Then a startling revelation on the local news leaves Sophie convinced she has cracked the case.

But after a fractious confrontation and an encounter in a remote beauty spot, she realises that even Derbyshire’s very own Sherlock can sometimes get things wrong.

Kate says she can write up to eight drafts of her story although she says that three is normal as she wants to get everything right.

Kate said: “I live in the USA but where I set my books is so important to me and Derbyshire as a place is a character in its own right.

“My cosy murder books offer gentle escapism to readers on both sides of the pond. I like to describe places in such detail that you can visit a place I’ve written about and it looks in real life how it does in the book.”

When over from the States Kate likes to drink in the Sett Valley Cafe in Birch Vale where she says the Peak Bean is the best coffee in the world.

“I go back home with bags and bags to keep me going until I next visit again. I wanted to do a tribute to the best cup of coffee and the best cafe owners so in this book they drink coffee in the Sett Valley Cafe.

“It’s important for me to be authentic to my readers and I love it there so why shouldn’t the wonderful team get a mention, although not everyone likes hot drinks so maybe people can meet up for milkshakes in the next book!”

In the Charleston House series Kate’s book covers always feature a cat in tribute to her own four legged friend named Pumpkin and a deer, her favourite animal, is also to be found on the cover.

“It’s just a bit of fun,” she said, “but one my readers love to look for now.”

Kate got into writing after moving to America and waiting for her green card and found it was something she could do and something she enjoyed.

Now her writing has given her a career where she is able to travel back home to see friends and family more so than she would have done if she got an office job.

She joked: “The holiday entitlement is much better over here than over there. But this way I’ve given myself a job that allows the freedom of travel.”Kate is currently in New Mills but before returning to America, she and her wife will be hiring a campervan and going travelling in Scotland but says she will be back in England before the end of the year.

She added: “So grab your hiking boots, cosy fans, we’re heading deep into the stunning Peak District for coffee, cake and a country walk, with laughs, surprises and intrigue aplenty along the way.

“And there’s even a TV celebrity waiting in the wings.”

Well Dressed to Die will be out later this month and will be available from local bookshops as well as online at Amazon and https://www.katepadams.com/