Murder at Raven's Gate by Louise Marley Narrator: John Hastings
Series: An English Village Mystery #4
Published by Storm Publishing on May 15, 2026
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Mystery
Length: 10 hrs 53 mins
Pages: 387
Format: Audiobook
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Beyond the village of Raven’s Edge stands the Gateway to the Dead – a crumbling stone arch marking the site where a long-ago battle raged and the dead were buried where they fell. But it’s the forgotten mansion hidden in the trees behind it that holds the real mystery…
Lady Peony has lived at Blackheath Hall for decades, invisible to the world – until a ghostly soldier begins knocking at her door. But Lady Peony is no fool. In her experience, where there are spirits, there are schemers. And someone wants her out of that house.
As DI Ben Taylor and DS Harriet March begin their investigation, bitter winds howl through Raven’s Edge and strange mists curl around the battle site. Harriet must untangle what’s real from what’s imagined. Is there truly a ghost haunting the old house, or is someone very much alive using supernatural tales as cover for their own deadly agenda?
I thoroughly enjoy this series. Raven’s Edge is a village that has a leaned into its past and maybe embellished it a bit. It leans into the spooky, and witchy, and ghostly.
We’ve got two mysteries this time around. A “ghost” has been haunting Blackheath Hall, where two older sisters, Lady Peony and Rose, live. Lady Peony is far from a scared, little old lady. She knows fully well that the knocking is not really a ghost, but someone trying to scare them out of the house. She hires Kieran Drake to figure out who is behind it, so he and Milla Graham have set up shop at the hall to keep watch. In the meantime and not too far away, DS Harriet March’s date with Misha from the coffee shop, is cut short when, while on a ghost tour, they find a dead body in a shallow grave.
I like that Harriet was leading the investigation this time around, although I’d like a bit more Milla and DI Ben Taylor. I also enjoyed the flashbacks that gave us more background on Kieran’s life and how well they tied into the current mystery. We do have a lot of characters here, and a lot of interconnected relationships. I think it does help to have read the others in the series first, but the mysteries here are self-contained.
We have a couple twists and turns and I like how it all played out. I don’t want to give too much away though. I had both the digital and audio versions so switched back and for a bit, although I admit audio is easier to make time for. The narrator did a good job. The characters were each distinct and the tone and pace fit the story well. I can’t wait for the next one.
About Louise Marley
Louise Marley writes murder mysteries and romantic comedies. She is lucky enough to live in a village where there is a famous library and TWO ruined castles. (Her husband still thinks they moved there by accident.)
Her first published novel was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which was a finalist in Poolbeg’s ‘Write a Bestseller’ competition. She has also written articles for the Irish press and short stories for women’s magazines such as Take a Break and My Weekly. Previously, Louise worked as a civilian administrative officer for the police.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys visiting big old houses, which she uses as inspiration for the houses in her novels, and reading other people’s books when she ought to be writing her own…
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