A Very Merry Murder Summary: Kate Wells Cozy Mystery
A Festive Shoot Turns Into a Crime Scene
Malvern Farm is fully booked for December. A live television crew is arriving, Christmas is three weeks away, and Jude Gray’s younger sister is getting married in twenty-seven days.
Then the opening broadcast ends with a presenter fighting for breath, and the festive shoot becomes a murder investigation. A Very Merry Murder by Kate Wells is the sixth book in the Malvern Mysteries series, a cozy crime novel set in the hills of Worcestershire.
Widowed sheep farmer Jude Gray rents her land to Countryside Live while police work a case that runs from a caravan generator to the show’s own presenters.
The story moves through Advent toward a wedding, with a killer hidden somewhere among the cameras and Christmas lights.
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- Readers of cozy mysteries who prefer clue-driven puzzles over graphic violence.
- Fans of festive holiday settings where Christmas rituals sit alongside a police investigation.
- Readers following series characters, since Jude Gray’s farm, family, and village return from earlier books.
- Anyone who enjoys amateur sleuths working alongside, rather than against, the police.
- Readers who like a closed-circle suspect pool: a film crew, a farm household, and a small village.
TL;DR: Four Weeks, Two Bodies, One Farm
Jude Gray agrees to host a live television production at Malvern Farm through December.
Within days, a presenter collapses from an allergic reaction on air, a camera operator is found dead in a caravan, and a sound engineer is strangled with a string of Christmas lights.
Key points:
- Two deaths are connected, but only one victim was the intended target.
- Evidence points first to a work experience assistant, then to a framed husband.
- Hidden items include an EpiPen, a coffee pod, an engraved watch, and a buried hard drive.
- The solution arrives through a slip of the tongue rather than a confession.
- The book closes with a wedding and a new romantic beginning for Jude.
A Very Merry Murder Summary
Spoilers ahead. This section covers the plot, the reveals, and the ending.
The novel opens on December 1st. Jude Gray runs Malvern Farm in the Malvern Hills with her collies, Pip and Alfie, and her head shepherd, Noah Harrow.
Noah is engaged to Jude’s sister Lucy, and the wedding is set for December 28th. Lucy’s seven-year-old son Sebbie counts down to Christmas, and the household prepares for both events.
The farm has also been rented to the television series Countryside Live for three weeks of live evening broadcasts. The fee will help the farm’s finances, but Jude clashes immediately with the director, Dean Dickens.
Dean is demanding and ratings-obsessed. He books Jude to appear on camera during the opening broadcast, despite her reluctance.
Camera operator Mary Taper arrives early and warns Jude about Dean. Researcher Robyn Porter handles props, and presenters Annie Bird and Simon North settle into their caravans.
On the night of the first live broadcast, the paddock is lit for filming. During a break, Robyn serves gingerbread men and hot chocolate.
While drinking hers on air, Annie suffers severe anaphylactic shock. Her EpiPen is missing from her handbag, and Dean has to fetch a spare from the production van.
Annie is taken to hospital. Jude and Robyn later find a gold “peanut and sesame” coffee pod in the trailer machine, and blame falls on Dean’s young work experience nephew, Chris, who is sent home.
Viewing figures pass twenty million, and Dean insists filming continue. Granny Margot Lloyd, a ninety-year-old resident of a local care home, is interviewed for a history segment.
Over a meal at the farmhouse, Granny Margot tells Jude that Annie and Simon’s marriage looks staged. She says she saw Simon behaving intimately with Mary.
Two mornings later, Mary fails to appear for filming. Searching the campsite, Jude opens the door of a large production caravan and finds Mary Taper dead on the bed, her skin a vivid cherry-red.
DS Sami Abadi and DI Binnie Khatri arrive. Binnie is Jude’s close friend and is officially on sick leave.
The medical examiner confirms carbon monoxide poisoning, and the caravan’s safety detector is missing. Jude inspects the petrol generator outside and finds sticky tape residue and fluffy magenta fibres on the exhaust pipe.
Someone had taped a hose through the window to pump fumes inside. Because Mary and Annie had swapped accommodation the previous night, investigators consider that Annie may have been the intended victim.
Tabloids leak the death and expose Simon’s affair with Mary. A replacement camera operator, Holly, arrives wearing fluffy wrist warmers called “Toastie Wrists” and shows unusual eagerness for Mary’s job.
Jude finds a dark blue plastic snack tub hidden in a campsite hedge, used as a drop box. Folded schedules listing Annie and sound engineer Gabe King’s movements turn up near the village postbox.
A fire alarm sounds at the shepherd’s huts. Jude finds a hysterical Annie outside, and inside, Gabe King lies dead on the floor.
He has been strangled with a string of festive Christmas lights, and charred documents burn in the sink. Annie claims she was ambushed and escaped using self-defence.
Annie then reveals that she and Gabe were secretly assembling a documentary exposing industry corruption, Robyn’s bullying, and Dean’s misconduct.
Working with the police, Jude learns that Holly was paid by Robyn to spy on Annie and Gabe. Jude retrieves Gabe’s external hard drive from Holly.
It holds evidence against the production team and medical records showing Mary had miscarried a pregnancy before the shoot.
Jude notices that Simon North owns black winter ski gloves lined with magenta fur matching the exhaust pipe fibres. She obtains a spare key and searches his caravan.
Inside she finds a silver link watch engraved by Mary, with a blonde hair caught in the strap. She also finds gold peanut coffee pods and Annie’s missing EpiPen under the sofa cushions.
Simon returns unexpectedly and flees in a farm pickup. Jude follows in her Land Rover.
Simon crashes into a ditch and the truck flips upside down. Jude crawls in, opens his airway, and keeps him alive until emergency services arrive.
Simon lies in a coma at Hereford County Hospital, and police treat the case as solved. They believe he killed Mary by mistake while targeting Annie, then killed Gabe when confronted.
Jude is uneasy about how neatly the evidence was planted. She visits Annie at a bed and breakfast to say goodbye.
During the conversation, Annie mentions unpublicised details about the chocolate peanut in her drink and the exact hiding place under Simon’s cushions. Jude then spots a sooty exhaust mark on Annie’s own ski gloves.
Annie is the killer. Furious that Simon planned to divorce her after the Christmas special, she staged her own allergic reaction for sympathy.
She gassed Mary to remove her love rival while framing Simon, and killed Gabe when he worked out her plan. She strangled herself with Christmas lights to play the victim.
Realising Jude knows the truth, Annie pulls a Taser. Robyn enters and helps Jude restrain her until police arrive.
Annie tries to flee but is caught by Marco Ricci and arrested by DS Sami Abadi. In custody she shouts a confession at Jude, who replies that it was never a game.
With Annie charged and Simon recovering, Malvern Farm returns to normal. Sebbie performs in his school play, and the lambing shed is decorated for the wedding.
On December 28th, Lucy and Noah marry in crisp winter sunshine, and Jude walks her sister down the aisle. At the reception, Clara reveals she and Marco broke up amicably on Christmas Eve.
Marco approaches Jude, and as they hold hands, the novel ends with Jude looking forward to their future together.
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Summary by Chapter
Spoilers warning: this section outlines events in all 25 chapters. A Very Merry Murder is structured as 25 numbered chapters running chronologically through December.
Chapter 1 — On December 1st, Jude Gray begins her early morning chores with her collies, Pip and Alfie. She meets camera operator Mary Taper, who warns her about director Dean Dickens, and later eats breakfast with Noah, Lucy, and Sebbie, who finds a toy elf named Clarence.
Chapter 2 — Jude hangs Christmas lights while Dean demands her animals appear on set. She tours the campsite and meets researcher Robyn Porter, who tells her she is contractually booked to appear on the opening live broadcast.
Chapter 3 — Robyn introduces Jude to presenters Annie Bird and Simon North in their caravans. Jude visits the set, where Mary and sound engineer Gabe King are setting up, and later Lucy asks her to walk her down the aisle.
Chapter 4 — The opening live broadcast begins with Annie and Simon presenting from the paddock. While drinking hot chocolate on air, Annie suffers severe anaphylaxis, and her EpiPen cannot be found.
Chapter 5 — Paramedics treat Annie and take her to hospital. Jude and Robyn find a peanut coffee pod in the trailer machine and blame work experience assistant Chris, while the family watches the coverage with DI Binnie Khatri.
Chapter 6 — Jude and Binnie discuss the incident over mulled wine at The Lamb. Annie’s on-air reaction has passed twenty million views, and Jude voices suspicions that the allergic attack was deliberate.
Chapter 7 — Granny Margot arrives at the farm for her filmed interview and rests in Jude’s bedroom. Over dinner, she tells Jude that Annie and Simon’s marriage looks staged and that she saw Simon flirting with Mary.
Chapter 8 — The broadcast features Granny Margot’s segment on nine decades in the Malvern Hills. The next morning, Mary misses her call time, and Jude finds her dead in a caravan, her skin turned cherry-red.
Chapter 9 — Jude keeps Simon and Robyn from touching the body while police are called, and Dean immediately hires a replacement operator, Holly. Police learn Mary had swapped caravans with Annie, and Jude finds tape residue and magenta fibres on the generator exhaust.
Chapter 10 — Forensics secure the campsite, and the cause of death is confirmed as carbon monoxide poisoning. Jude notes Gabe’s hostility toward Holly, and tabloid articles later expose Simon’s affair with Mary.
Chapter 11 — Marco helps Jude carry groceries and they discuss their past. Annie admits she feels targeted and says she previously received death threats, while Jude confronts Dean and refuses further appearances.
Chapter 12 — Jude notices Holly’s fleece sleeve features magenta fabric similar to the evidence fibres. While walking her dogs, she sees someone hiding an object in a hedge and later finds a dark blue plastic snack tub there with Marco.
Chapter 13 — Jude visits Granny Margot at Perrins House Care Home, and the two compile a suspect list covering Annie, Simon, Dean, Robyn, Gabe, and Holly. Granny Margot suggests the peanut was placed deliberately to guarantee anaphylaxis.
Chapter 14 — Jude overhears Gabe begging Annie to leave Simon and warning that she is in danger. Lucy’s wedding photographer cancels, and Clara gives Jude folded schedules found near the village postbox listing Annie and Gabe’s movements.
Chapter 15 — The family goes sledging and encounters Holly, who owns “Toastie Wrists” in every colour. Lucy says she previously saw Holly searching near the postbox, and Jude later tests green fibres from a borrowed wrist warmer.
Chapter 16 — Jude finds Gabe acting defensively in the shepherd’s huts and encounters a drunk Simon, who warns her against selling stories. She recovers the missing carbon monoxide monitor and a roll of industrial tape and takes them to Binnie, then hears a fire alarm at the campsite.
Chapter 17 — Jude finds Annie crying outside a hut and Gabe dead inside, strangled with Christmas lights, with documents burning in the sink. Annie says she and Gabe were building an exposé, and police identify the lights as the murder weapon.
Chapter 18 — The network cancels the show while Dean tries to keep production going. Robyn’s account of her whereabouts contradicts Annie’s, and Jude finds ÂŁ100 in the hidden snack tub left for Holly, who admits she was paid to spy on Annie and Gabe.
Chapter 19 — Holly surrenders Gabe’s external hard drive, which documents Robyn’s bullying, Dean’s conduct, and Mary’s pregnancy. Holly agrees to help set a trap for Robyn, and her wrist warmers are taken for testing.
Chapter 20 — Robyn, Holly, and Dean are detained for questioning, and the wrist warmers do not match the fibres on the exhaust pipe. Jude notices Simon’s black gloves are lined with matching magenta fur and retrieves the spare key to his caravan.
Chapter 21 — Jude searches Simon’s caravan and finds an engraved silver watch from Mary, a blonde hair in the strap, gold peanut coffee pods, and Annie’s missing EpiPen. She reports the finds to Binnie, and Simon returns and drives off in a pickup.
Chapter 22 — Jude follows Simon in her Land Rover and reports his direction to Binnie. Simon flips the truck into a ditch, and Jude keeps his airway open until emergency services arrive; he is taken to hospital in a coma.
Chapter 23 — Jude meets Annie at Four Trees B&B, where Annie mentions details only the killer could know. Jude accuses her, Annie draws a Taser, and Robyn helps restrain her until police arrest her.
Chapter 24 — Malvern Farm returns to normal as Christmas approaches and the lambing shed is prepared for the wedding. Simon wakes from his coma and learns of Annie’s arrest, and Jude joins Binnie and Sami at The Lamb.
Chapter 25 — Christmas Day passes quietly at the farm with presents and a festive meal. Three days later, Lucy and Noah marry, and at the reception Marco approaches Jude after Clara reveals their amicable break-up.
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Characters in This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Jude Gray | Widowed sheep farmer at Malvern Farm who hosts the television crew and investigates the deaths. |
| Lucy | Jude’s younger sister, preparing for her December wedding. |
| Noah Harrow | Malvern Farm’s head shepherd and Lucy’s fiancĂ©. |
| Sebbie | Lucy’s seven-year-old son. |
| Adam Gray | Jude’s late husband, who died of cancer. |
| Frank Harrow | Noah’s father and a veteran farmhand. |
| DI Binnie Khatri | Jude’s friend and a senior investigator on sick leave. |
| DS Sami Abadi | Binnie’s colleague leading the official murder enquiry. |
| Annie Bird | Co-presenter of Countryside Live who stages an allergic attack and commits two murders. |
| Simon North | Annie’s co-presenter husband, who had an affair with Mary and is framed for the crimes. |
| Dean Dickens | Director of Countryside Live. |
| Mary Taper | Camera operator and Simon’s lover, killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. |
| Gabe King | Sound engineer assisting Annie’s documentary, strangled with Christmas lights. |
| Robyn Porter | Researcher on the production who paid Holly for information. |
| Holly | Replacement camera operator who traded backstage information for cash. |
| Granny Margot Lloyd | Ninety-year-old care home resident who advises Jude on suspects. |
| Marco Ricci | Local craftsman and Jude’s former partner. |
| Clara | Marco’s girlfriend, who ends the relationship on Christmas Eve. |
| Chris | Dean’s young work experience nephew, blamed for the peanut coffee pod. |
Book Snapshot
- Genre & Subgenre: Cozy Mystery / Festive Cozy Mystery, agricultural procedural
- Core Narrative Tropes: Amateur sleuth, isolated community, festive holiday setting, framed suspect, red herrings, double murder
- Tone & Atmosphere: Cozy, rural, festive, and suspenseful
- Primary Conflict: A killer strikes the crew of a live television show based at Malvern Farm, and Jude Gray works to identify them
- Pacing Style: Steady, clue-driven cozy procedural with escalating tension and a final reversal
- ISBN: 978-1836781455 (ISBN-10: 1836781458)
- Pages: 266
- Book Structure: 25 numbered chapters running chronologically through December
- Series: Book 6 of 7 in The Malvern Mysteries
- Publisher: Boldwood Books Ltd, September 3, 2025
