Death by Canapé

It's still kicking off in Piddlington Minster...

If Piddlington Gazette editor, Harry Hedges, thought the sleepy Dorset town had earned a respite from murder after not one, but two bodies turned up on its roundabout last year, he's got another think coming.

First, someone has been placing sinister effigies among the streets of the local Model Village: seemingly harmless fun until one turns out to be a dead ringer for the town mayoress, a woman best known for her big development plans and even bigger list of enemies.

That same evening, following a glitzy party thrown by the district's newest celebrity, the mayor is found dead. Did she really choke on a canape? Harry smells a front-page splash but can he persuade his rookie reporter and truculent chief sub to back his hunch? Not to mention the office's beloved Labrador dog - who has intriguing career plans of his own.

Armed with nothing but his reporter's notebook and instinct, Harry sets out to solve the case before another resident turns up dead.

After all, in a town this small, everyone's under the microscope. Literally...