We’re so glad to have Holly Newman on the blog today. She’s here to celebrate the release of her new book, Murder on the Downs, and answer some questions for us in the process. Murder on the Downs is the fifth book in her Chance Inquiry series.

What has been your favorite part about writing this series? Keeping the love alive between Lady Cecilia and Sir James. I’ve read married couple series where the main characters are married but no longer have that married feeling. I want to make sure Lady Cecilia and Sir James keep that married spark alive no matter what they do.

What has been the hardest part about writing this series? Sir James and Lady Cecilia are not detectives. After I wrote Murder in Trade, readers asked for more books featuring these characters. The series grew from these requests. I always hope I am giving my readers the stories they were looking for from the Branstokes.

What inspired this entry in the series? Sir James and Lady Cecilia Branstoke became parents and felt settled in the village of Mertonhaugh. I wondered what could happen in a small, peaceful village that could cause a “Chance Inquiry”. Then an idyllic picnic revealed a prominent towns person half-way down a cliff face.

What kind of research did you do for Murder in the Downs? Two topics:

1. I found Pennyroyal mentioned in an old herbal book as being used as an abortifacient. I knew Pennyroyal was a poison so I researched how it could be used as an abortifacient. I also researched what it did to the body.
2. I researched brewing in 1817, the buildings, the oast houses, the ingredients, and the process.

Who is your favorite character in Murder in the Downs? Miss Georgia Inglewood, one of the victims. She was narcissistic and used people to her own ends, but strangely, though everyone knew her bad ways, she generated loyal friendship from those around her. This fascinated me to find out how she did this.

How has the relationship between your two main characters, Sir James and Lady Cecilia, evolved over the course of this series? Their love for each other has deepened over the course of the series. You can see it in the casual touches they share, the light teasing, their trust in one another, and their mutual understanding as to what is happening around them. They are different people, however; they complement each other.

What are some books you are enjoying reading right now? Do you have any recommendations? I’m enjoying the “Shifter Lords” series by S. E. Babin, and I’m about to start the Scandals and Snowflakes anthology of Christmas time stories. Also being added to my TBR pile this week are the new books out by Carla Simpson and Darcy Burke. I love both of their mystery series!

Want to know more about Murder in the Downs?

When tragedy strikes the peaceful village of Mertonhaugh, grief turns swiftly to suspicion. The magistrate’s spirited daughter dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances. Days later, the vicar’s wife is found at the base of the cliffs—an apparent suicide.

Eager for closure, the magistrate declares the case solved: the vicar’s wife administered a fatal potion to his daughter, then took her own life in remorse. But Sir James and Lady Cecilia Branstoke aren’t so sure. Behind the polite facades and Sunday smiles, they sense something darker stirring.

As the Branstokes quietly pursue the truth, their inquiries expose old resentments, forbidden liaisons, and the invisible rifts dividing Mertonhaugh’s tidy society. Yet the deeper they dig, the more peril creeps toward their doorstep—endangering not only their reputations, but the life of their young son, Hugh.

In a world where appearances deceive and justice wears many faces, the Branstokes must tread carefully… or risk losing everything they hold dear.

Newman’s Murder on the Downs delivers the quintessential English village mystery—elegant, atmospheric, and steeped in period charm. Fans of traditional historical mysteries will find themselves utterly engrossed in Mertonhaugh’s secrets, where every character has something to hide.

Meet Holly Newman:

Holly Newman is a pseudonym for Holly Thompson. She lives in Florida seven miles from the Gulf Coast with Ken and their six cats. Holly decided to be a writer when she was in the fifth grade and filled notebooks with stories—until a mean-spirited high school teacher told her she had no talent for writing. Crushed, for several years she stopped writing, but the writing bug didn’t go away. Her first book won first place in the University of Texas at Dallas fiction writing competition and was first runner-up for the Rita award from Romance Writers of America.

Holly’s interest in the Regency period came while in high school and she volunteered to re-shelve returned books at the community library. Every week there were Georgette Heyer novels to be shelved. Curious, she checked one out and became immersed in the world of the regency.

Fast forward ten years. When attending Science Fiction Conventions she met people who read science fiction; but also enjoyed the works of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, just as she did. They liked these books so much that they wore regency costumes at the science fiction convention. They even had regency era dancing on the convention program. These Science Fiction readers and writers knew a lot about the regency era. Intrigued, Holly did research on the era and quickly went from being a casual regency reader to a regency history buff. After that, with encouragement from science fiction authors, it was just a small step to writing regencies.

You can find her on her website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.