In this exclusive authorized edition from the Queen of Mystery, the unstoppable Hercule Poirot finds himself in the Middle East with only one day to solve a murder.

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sits the corpse of Mrs. Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist is the only sign of the fatal injection that killed her.

With only twenty-four hours available to solve the mystery, Hercule Poirot recalled a chance remark he’d overheard back in Jerusalem: “You see, don’t you, that she’s got to be killed?” Mrs. Boynton was, indeed, the most detestable woman he’d ever met. . . .

This story is a work of historical fiction based on real people and events. It describes a troubled royal marriage during the course of one year in AD 675. Mercia and Northumbria have long been at war. There is an unexpected romance. King Aethelred of Mercia and Osryth of Northumbria decide to marry. Aethelred gives Osryth a wedding gift of valuable treasure gleaned from the battlefields of the past. She decides in secret to take the treasure along with the remains of her long-dead uncle to a shrine in Bardney in Lincolnshire. Osryth faces many challenges and setbacks on her long journeys to places such as Whitby, Lincoln and later York. The loss of the gold, silver and jewels causes a rift in her marriage. The mystery looks unlikely to be solved. Will the treasure ever be found and will the couple ever be reconciled?

THE INSTANTLY ICONIC NO. 1 BESTSELLER 'Devotees of Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories will feel most at home here' Guardian 'I've been waiting for a novel with vicars, rude old ladies, murder and sausage dogs... et voila!' Dawn French 'Cosy crime with a cutting edge' Telegraph 'Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice' Ian Rankin 'Charming and funny' Observer Even better than I knew it would be' India Knight 'Quintessentially English' Sunday Express 'An absolute joy' Adam Kay ''Wry, tongue-in cheek and whimsical' Daily Mail 'Glorious' Robert Webb 'Beautifully written, charming, funny, intelligent and mordant too' Sunday Times 'Pitch perfect' Philip Pullman 'A cunning whodunnit' Daily Express Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton, where he lives alongside his widowed mother - opinionated, fearless, ever-so-slightly annoying Audrey - and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda. When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in the church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village. And then Anthony Bowness - cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton - is found dead at the back of the church. As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his community together... and catch a killer.