Imogen Fox, the personal assistant and wife-to-be of John Oakby, the Mayor of Fleckney Woulds, a small and peaceful county town, arrives at her office one rainy morning, only to find a corpse there - and her fiancé standing over it, his hands covered in blood. The victim turns out to be the husband of the woman everyone in Fleckney knows of. In the past she had been a part of several scandals involving the sons of the most wealthy and powerful families in the county, before she left for London in pursuit of a better life - and a richer husband. This isn't Imogen's first murder investigation, but it might yet prove to be the most challenging one. In order to catch the culprit Imogen will have to unearth the secrets of many of her dear friends, including the local police sergeant; the vicar; the husband of her closest friend who owns most of the property in the county; a famous military writer, residing in Fleckney - and unsurprisingly, the Mayor himself. Meanwhile, someone is breaking into people's gardens and ruins their lawn, digging for something. With only three months left until her wedding, Imogen has her hands full.

Agatha Innes has traded the frantic pace of the Met for the supposedly doddle of a post as Detective Inspector in the idyllic tri-county area of Abernathy, Fleckney, and Darnley - but between a history of surreal poisonings and professional assassins, Fleckney is not at all what it says on the tin. When a suspicious death occurs at the ultra-posh Serpent's Nest restaurant, Agatha is thrust into a world of two-star Michelin menus, groundbreaking pharmacological research, and local power dynamics. The victim, the head of the prominent Fitzroy family, is found face-down in his lunch with a chillingly permanent smile. As Agatha navigates the investigation, she must contend with uncooperative celebrity chefs, devilishly charming lawyers, and eccentric herpetologists. Yet, beyond the crime scene, a larger question looms: why is this specific patch of the English countryside populated by such preposterously handsome men - and why do three of them seem so intent on getting her undivided attention? Solving the murder at Serpent's Nest might be the first step in uncovering the broader, quirkier mystery of Fleckney itself.