A Howl Lot of Love and Lies!

A midsummer celebration turns dangerous when anonymous messages, poisonous Valentine cards, and a vanished sleuth disturb the peace of the Malvern Hills.

A Howl Lot of Love and Lies! returns readers to the warm but increasingly unpredictable world of amateur sleuth Tamsin Kernick. What should be an enjoyable Midsummer Valentine celebration quickly takes a darker turn when cryptic messages and hostile Valentine cards begin appearing throughout the village.

At first, the trouble seems like spiteful mischief. But as the messages become more unsettling, it becomes clear that someone is playing a deliberate and potentially dangerous game. Tamsin, already busy with village preparations, finds herself drawn once again into a mystery where appearances cannot be trusted and seemingly harmless events may conceal something much more serious.

Then Tamsin herself disappears.

Her absence shifts the mystery from puzzling to urgent. With their owner in danger, her loyal dogs Quiz, Banjo, and Moonbeam become central to the search. Their instincts and natural abilities help push the investigation forward before the trail grows cold.

The mystery develops through suspicious behaviour, a dangerous scheme, and a rescue effort that puts friendship, loyalty, and courage to the test. Alongside the crime plot, the story also advances a long-running romantic thread, giving Tamsin reason to reconsider whether love might be worth the emotional risk she has resisted for so long.

As the ninth book in the series, A Howl Lot of Love and Lies! brings together many of the elements that define Lucy Emblem’s Tamsin Kernick mysteries: English village life, believable dogs, eccentric friends, clues and red herrings, gentle humour, danger without graphic violence, and the reassuring sense that truth and decency can ultimately prevail.