Sometimes I wonder why we called our business The WISE Enquiries Agency, because I’m no’ feeling too clever this morning; not enough sleep…apprehensive about being away. When the four of us sat in that pub in London, years back, wondering what we’d do with ourselves – all having had our future plans upended by murder – we thought we’d be able to replicate the sort of investigation we’d just undertaken, and make ourselves a living. And with Carol being Welsh, Christine being Irish, me a Scot, and Annie a true Cockney, so English through and through, we reckoned that WISE was a good name – a good sales pitch, too. But, this morning? Ach, I’m no’ looking forward to sitting in a car all day with Althea; she’ll witter all the way from the Chellingworth Estate here in Wales to Twyst House in Scotland…so I’ll have to bite my tongue more than once, no doubt.

But it should be a quiet time when we get to Scotland, which is good, because the run-up to Christmas with the tragic case involving the fortune teller, then that blessed panto in the village – with all the associated shenanigans – wore me out. So I’ll put my feet up with the dowager at her Scottish pile for a week, then visit my two boys and their families in Dumfries for another week, and come back to Wales completely rested. It’ll be busy then: Christine’s due to be having her baby in London soon, and Carol and Annie have said they’ll hold the fort alone while I’m gone, though each of them’s due a break when I get back. They mentioned that they’ve got a meeting with Annie’s ex-counsellor this morning – the one who helped her through a nasty rough patch after that chap died during a case she worked on, down in Swansea. They don’t know what reason this Barbara Newsom might have for becoming a client, but they’ll find out later today. As will I, I dare say.

I just hope Twyst House isn’t as bleak as I fear. Henry’s a decent duke, but he doesnae like spending money on the old place…though his mother’s fond of it, so she nags him about it. I’ll find out soon enough, I suppose. Althea’s got Ian Cottesloe driving us up there – in one of the Bentleys no less, which should make for a comfy ride at least. But I warned the cook here at the Dower House to make sure we get a good breakfast inside us before we go, and he’s been given instructions by Althea to make up a basket for us for the journey. Knowing her…it’ll be full of cakes.

You can find out if Mavis’s time in Scotland turns out to be as quiet, and restorative, as she hopes (hint: probably not!) and why Annie’s old counsellor needs to call upon the agency’s investigative services in The Case of the Devious Daughter – the twelfth book in the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries series by Cathy Ace.

THE CASE OF THE DEVIOUS DAUGHTER
Series Name: A WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery, Book 12
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: December 2025
Format: Print, Digital
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‘SO WHAT DO YOU THINK – IS SHE PANICKING, OR IS IT REALLY POISON?’

It’s January in the picturesque Welsh village of Anwen-by-Wye, where temperatures plummet as Annie Parker and Carol Hill find themselves working for a woman who seems perilously close to death’s door…and holding some worrying views about why that might be. They’re tackling the delicate case alone because Christine Wilson-Smythe is trapped in London until her baby is born, where she battles boredom by burrowing into the woes of a couple of wine snobs. Meanwhile, Mavis MacDonald has accompanied dowager duchess Althea Twyst to the family’s Scottish pile, where time with offspring is supposed to be the focus, until a very significant person from Mavis’s past appears with an alarming problem she feels compelled to investigate…leading to a situation that threatens Althea’s elaborate – and not entirely welcome – plans for Burns Night.

Despite the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency being scattered around the UK, they still manage to act as a strong team, especially when a plea from Henry, Duke of Chellingworth, gets them to stand as one: his wife’s chum, Val Jenkins – once best known as TV’s Curious Cook – has convinced the duchess that a healthy eating plan is needed by everyone residing at the Hall. When Henry realizes this includes himself, he takes action to try to save his favorite foods and, as a side-effect, his wife’s good friend.

About the author
Cathy Ace’s Cait Morgan Mysteries feature a globetrotting Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist who solves traditional whodunits alongside her retired-cop husband, Bud Anderson (Eve Myles will portray Cait in the TV production by Free@LastTV). Her WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries feature four softly poached female PIs solving cozy cases from a Welsh stately home. Shortlisted for Canada’s Bony Blithe Award three times, winning once, Cathy’s also won IPPY and IBA Awards, as well as the CrimeFictionLover Editor’s Choice Award for Best Indie Novel. She’s been shortlisted for Crime Writers of Canada Awards three times, migrated from Wales aged 40, and now lives in Canada.