OUT IN HARDBACK NOW

Downton Abbey meets Knives Out in the gripping new crime series from the bestselling author where an unlikely sleuthing duo - an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogerian - hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world.

‘A tantalising whodunnit with some of the funniest dialogue I’ve read in a while’ JENNIE GODFREY
‘Ingeniously plotted and highly addictive. Fans of P G Wodehouse will enjoy this!’ ALEXANDER ARMSTRONG
‘A joy from start to finish. This is crime writing at its best’ JANICE HALLETT

Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom - every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow.

All eyes turn to Stephen Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for.

Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late...

With a killer on the loose, new footman Stephen and the Viscount's hilariously vile-tempered aunt form an unlikely detective duo. A fine start to a promising new series * Daily Mail *
Riotous and deeply enjoyable . . . even I didn’t crack the clever solution to the locked-room puzzle * Telegraph *
An absolute cracker! * The Sun *
A great plot and laugh-out-loud funny * Woman & Home *
Get ready to add this to your Book of the Year list. This is impeccable writing, with a plot as sharp as cut glass and characters that jump right out of the pages. * Janice Hallett *
A hugely enjoyable book, which takes all the traditional locked-room mystery conventions and puts them through the mangle * Andrew Hunter-Murray *
A witty, fleet-footed historical mystery, The Murder at World's End is a slice of undiluted joy * Alex Hay *
A wonderfully clever take on the classic locked-room mystery. I’ll happily follow foul-mouthed Miss Decima and steadfast Stephen Pike through many more mysteries * Kristen Perrin *
Devilishly plotted and beautifully executed, Ross Montgomery’s debut historical crime fiction novel is an utter joy from start to finish * Abir Mukherjee *
Ingeniously plotted and highly addictive. Fans of P G Wodehouse will enjoy this! * Alexander Armstrong *

Ross Montgomery is the author of award-winning books for children. His novels have been twice shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book of the Year and twice selected for the Waterstones' Children’s Book of the Month, as well as chosen for the Sunday Times ‘Top 100 Modern Children’s Classics’. His latest, I Am Rebel, was an immediate bestseller, chosen by Waterstones as their Children's Book of the Year 2024.

He lives in London with his wife, a baby, and a cat named Fun Bobby. The Murder at World's End is his first adult novel.