The Tickler’s Jam Murders

It is 1919. The war is over, the soldiers are home, but brutal death is not far behind.

When businessman Sir Wilfred Walker is blown up in his Rolls Royce, Detective Sergeant Kite is sent to investigate. Kite, ejected from the London Metropolitan police, has a reputation as a troublemaker, a serious health problem, and an obsession with asking awkward questions. Constable Sparrow is a livewire with tales to tell. And all the inhabitants of Crowthorpe Manor have secrets to hide.

Trapped and cut off by the snow in rural Lincolnshire, Kite’s time is soon running out. It is a case that no-one, especially his boss, wants him to solve. But the Tickler’s jam killer is hiding in plain sight and has not finished yet.

Peter Tickler is the great-grandson of T G Tickler, supplier of jam to the troops in the trenches. But this novel is entirely fictional.

Reviews:

Jake Lynch: “Peter Tickler masterfully constructs a tense country house mystery, replete with period details and convincingly represented social relations, captured in the interactions between characters. Tension builds, gradually at first then with knuckle-whitening speed, to a denouement that is satisfyingly layered and ambivalent. The fascination is further enhanced by the connection between the story and his own family history. Highly recommended.”

Sylvia Vetta: “I enjoyed The Tickler’s Jam Murders. The opening felt like a teaser – a classic Agatha Christie whodunit set in a manor house. Subtly that changed and issues of class, gender and domestic violence impinged on the plot. The setting just after WW1, was relevant too. The aftermath of the war and its effects on society as depicted in the novel, felt authentic. It’s an entertaining page turner but not shallow entertainment –a good read!”