The Blooming Detectives
One amnesiac. Many mysteries. A small Welsh village with one massive secret and a lot to hide.
Llanrhydwen is one of those beautiful old villages nestled in the Welsh Valleys. Victorian-era buildings, stunning landscapes that play with the weather, close-knit community. And one massive secret: magic is real. Not that the human community in the village know that—hence the secret. But when you’re a witch and an amnesiac (like Essie Hemmings), that secret becomes something of a problem. Especially if the local police after you (like Essie Hemmings).
Each book is a standalone mystery (often involving murder) that’s solved by the end, so you’re never left wondering whodunit. Essie outwits villains and (when necessary) the police. with the help of her partners in crime … sometimes literally.
Read if you like: paranormal cosy mystery · self-deprecating British humour · female friendships · fun, witty stories · a protagonist with no filter · Sam
Coming December 2026
Budding Suspicions
Bewitched meets Miss Marple in this fun and witty mystery series, where an amnesiac witch with a penchant for chaos, untangles murder in a Welsh village brimming with secrets.
For Essie Hemmings, waking up at the bottom of some stairs in the small Welsh village of Llanrhydwen is just the start of her troubles. With no memory of her past and her grandmother found dead in the garden, Essie finds herself the prime suspect in a crime she can't remember committing.
Racing against time and her own amnesia, she must unravel the truth before she's carted off to jail—or worse, meets the same fate as her grandmother.
But in Llanrhydwen, nothing is as it seems. As supernatural undercurrents ripple through the village, Essie realises that her small world is brimming with more magic and menace than she ever imagined.
Can Essie and her new friends solve the mystery shrouded in her lost memories? Or will the sinister forces at play in Llanrhydwen claim her as their next victim?
Can you weed out the killer before it’s too late?
The Blooming Detectives Series
Atmospheric, witty, cosy mysteries set amidst the stunning landscape of the Welsh Valleys and Wales
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Note from Toria
Sometimes the spark of a story comes from the weirdest of things…. or at least mine do. I was at college when, one morning, I fell out of bed and narrowly missed hitting my head.
I have the kind of brain that plays the what-if brain, it’s how I generate so many stories. I have more trouble getting my brain to stop coming up with ideas than finding any. So me, being me, started wondering what if I’d got amnesia? And so, Essie was conceived. It took years for me to fully flesh her out. I carefully made her look nothing like me (except her height because I don’t know how to write tall people) and then, one day, years later while at my 9-5 I had the startling realisation that Essie absolutely was me, just with no filter.
It’s a story that doesn’t paint me in the sanest of lights, and for all the details you’re going to have to read the book as I’ve put the story in the back. It’s a good one: it involves mis-use of period products and the kind of logic my brain runs on at oh-dark-thirty or not enough shame.
I hope you read it — do try not to judge me too much if you do.
Other Series from Toria Howell
Did you know Toria has written several other series of books? From romance to cosy comedy mysteries, there’s something for every reader…
Saltmere Chronicles
