The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery (Stockingham & Pike #1)
Secrets, suspense, and a dash of dark humor collide in The Murder at World's End, the first installment of Ross Montgomery’s Stockingham & Pike series. Set in Cornwall in 1910, the story unfolds on a remote tidal island where the eccentric Viscount of Tithe Hall is obsessed with preparing for the apocalypse he believes will accompany Halley’s Comet. Every window, chimney, and keyhole is sealed, yet the true danger comes from within. By morning, the Viscount lies dead in his locked study, struck down by his own ancestral crossbow.
Enter Steven Pike, the Hall’s newest under-butler, recently released from Borstal for a crime he didn’t commit. Completely out of his depth, Pike finds an unlikely partner in Miss Decima Stockingham, an eighty-year-old, foul-mouthed, and sharp-witted family matriarch. Fearless and delighting in chaos, Decima is more than ready for a murder investigation. Together, this mismatched pair must unravel hidden grudges, secret passages, and deadly puzzles before the island’s killer strikes again.
Blending historical detail, clever twists, and a mischievous sense of humor, Montgomery delivers a gripping murder mystery where nothing is as it seems. The Murder at World's End is a thrilling tale of unlikely alliances, cunning detection, and high-stakes intrigue—a story that will keep readers on edge until the very last page.
Tags: The Murder at World's End, Ross Montgomery, Stockingham & Pike series, historical mystery, murder mystery novels, detective fiction, Cornwall fiction, locked-room mystery, suspenseful thrillers, crime novels, dark humor mystery, unconventional detectives, period mystery, adventure and intrigue fiction

