Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Soldiers Never Die | 1999 | Margaret Mayhew | Buy |
| 2 | Three Silent Things | 2008 | Margaret Mayhew | Buy |
| 3 | Dry Bones | 2012 | Margaret Mayhew | Buy |
| 4 | The Seventh Link | 2014 | Margaret Mayhew | Buy |
| 5 | Bitter Poison | 2016 | Margaret Mayhew | Buy |
| 6 | The Lifeline | 2020 | Margaret Mayhew | Buy |
The Village Mysteries series by Margaret Mayhew is set in Frog End, a fictional English village that looks peaceful on the surface but has a surprising amount of crime. The main character is a retired RAF Colonel who settles into village life only to discover that his neighbors keep turning up dead. Each book presents a new mystery rooted in local grudges, old secrets, or newcomers who disrupt the village’s careful social order.
The series spans six books from Old Soldiers Never Die (1999) to The Lifeline (2020). Mayhew writes with an easy, comfortable style that suits the cozy mystery genre well. The books are set against a backdrop of village fetes, country pubs, and thatched cottages, and the pleasure of reading them comes from the setting and characters as much as from solving the mystery.