Murdering the Pines

Frieda Keeler agrees to accompany her good friend, Charlotte Leicester, on a long weekend away to the idyllic countryside of southeast England. In search of a good school for her granddaughter Charlotte encourages Frieda to visit Pinewood Preparatory School for Young Ladies but, what initially for Frieda is a haunting trip down memory lane, soon becomes a murder investigation when the much hated PE teacher is found dead in the new gymnasium. Frieda and Charlotte find themselves aiding the police with their enquiries, puzzling out how and why the PE teacher was killed minutes after the students had left for the half-term holidays. Pinewood Preparatory School for Young Ladies, built during the Victorian era, holds many secrets and the mystery deepens when a second teacher is found hanging in a nearby copse of pine trees the following morning. Has she been murdered or taken her own life? All the teachers come under suspicion and, amidst a torrent of lies, deceit and mistrust, Frieda and Charlotte strive to uncover the truth.

This murder mystery is set near Epsom, Surrey in 1956 and features the two heroines in the TREE SERIES of whodunits written by A E Chambers. Although the sixth book in the illustrious series, this novel can be read on its own.