The Secret of the Three Fates

October, 1922. Ruby Vaughn's octogenarian employer and housemate Mr Owen said the trip to Manhurst Castle in the Scottish Borders was to appraise some illuminated manuscripts for their bookshop. However, the truth soon unravels along with the decades-old secrets he has been carefully hiding.
For Mr Owen, whose son Ben was killed in the Great War, is desperate to speak to him again and a trio of mediums billing themselves as The Three Fates are the answer to this keen wish. However, as the candle smoke from the séance clears, Ruby finds a body and discovers that she and Mr Owen are the prime suspects.
In a desperate bid to clear their names, they must uncover the truth about the killing even as they realise someone is determined to prevent them at all costs.

Jess Armstrong's debut novel The Curse of Penryth Hall won the Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur First Crime Novel Competition. She has a masters degree in American History but prefers writing about imaginary people to the real thing. Armstrong lives in New Orleans.