The Marriage Hearse

''A beguiling author who interweaves past and present'' The Times

A young woman is found strangled hours before her wedding. DI Wesley Peterson discovers that Kirsten Harbourn was being pursued by an obsessed stalker and had dark secrets her fiance knew nothing about.

But Kirsten''s wasn''t the only wedding planned to take place that day in South Devon. A couple made their wedding vows at Morbary registry office and a few days later the groom is found dead in a seaside hotel.

As Wesley examines the links between the cases, the skeleton of a young bride is discovered in a field once owned by the family of an Elizabethan playwright. Ralph Strong''s play, The Fair Wife of Padua, is soon to be performed for the first time in four hundred years.

Is the bloodthirsty drama a confession to the historic murder? And can it reveal anything about the recent killings Wesley must solve?

Whether you''ve read the whole series, or are discovering Kate Ellis''s DI Wesley Peterson novels for the first time, this is the perfect page-turner if you love reading Elly Griffiths and Ann Cleeves.

PRAISE FOR KATE ELLIS:

''I loved this novel . . . a powerful story of loss, malice and deception'' Ann Cleeves

''Haunting'' Independent

''Unputdownable''Bookseller

''The chilling plot will keep you spooked and thrilled to the end'' Closer

''A gripping read'' Best

''A fine storyteller, weaving the past and present in a way that makes you want to read on'' Peterborough Evening Telegraph