It still surprises me that early morning is my favorite time of the day. It wasn’t always so. For over thirty years, I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed at six every weekday to teach secondary school English. Once I retired, I thought I’d be able to sleep in, but it seems my brain is permanently wired to awaken with the first light. But I must admit there’s something about the morning light that promises a day full of possibilities.
By the time I’m finished breakfast, the fishing boats have already put out to sea and the island children are hard at work at their lessons. A quiet has settled over the island, interrupted only by the occasional squawk of seagulls. If I can resist getting sidetracked by emails and social media, my goal is to write a crucial dinner party scene for my latest Regency novel.
The servants are just laying out the meat and fish course for the elegantly dressed guests when my friend Siobhan Fitzgerald sticks her head around the door and walks in. Even though I grew up on this Welsh island, I’m still adjusting to islanders coming into other people’s homes without knocking. I’m tempted to lock the door when I’m writing, but I’ll quickly become the subject of island gossip. What’s Kate hiding? people will ask.
“Are you working?” Siobhan always asks this even though she can clearly see me at the computer.
To which I always answer “Yes, but I’m due a break” even when I’m not.
There are usually three reasons why Siobhan drops by. Either she’s heard some scandalous news she can’t wait to share, or she’s had an insight into a murder investigation we’re involved in. But mostly, it’s because she’s run out of biscuits.
“Do you have any biscuits?” she asks.
I could suggest she walk down to Craggy’s shop and buy her own, but as if anticipating my response, she says, “I’m busy finishing up a coffee set for a client.”
I don’t bother to draw her attention to the fact that she’s not in her ceramics studio but sitting on my couch. Yesterday my next door neighbor, Winifred, brought over a Victoria sponge cake. It seems everyone—except Siobhan and me, that is—bakes. An unlimited supply of home-baking is the reason why I’m now ten pounds heavier than when I lived in the city.
Before the plate touches the table, Siobhan grabs a piece and takes an enormous bite, scattering crumbs everywhere. You’d think she hadn’t eaten in days.
The thing I’ve never understood about my friend is that while she’s only ten years younger than me and approaching her own middle-age, she has an almost supernatural ability to eat and never gain a pound. Siobhan’s attitude toward food is much like her attitude toward life—she grabs it wherever and whenever she can without any concern for the consequences.
It would be rude to ask, but I do anyway. “Can all your family eat like that? I mean eat all you want and never gain weight. Is it genetic?”
“I’ve never paid much attention,” she says popping the last bit of cake into her mouth. “Maybe. Or I could just have one of those fast metabolism thingies.”
What I wouldn’t give for a fast metabolism thingy.
Siobhan grabs another piece. “It’s coming up to lunchtime. We should drop by the pub. You know, recharge our batteries for the afternoon. If we’re lucky, there’s been a murder.”
We’re about due for a murder! My Regency dinner guests will have to wait.
A Dark Death – A Meredith Island Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: June 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
Kate Galway is looking forward to a quiet summer working on her latest novel at her home on Meredith Island. For a place hardly anyone has heard of, her sleepy Welsh island is attracting a lot of visitors, including a conman posing as a psychic and group of archaeology students who believe they’ve unearthed evidence of a Roman temple. Part-way through the dig, however, the students make an even more startling discovery: a body ritualistically laid out in their trench. While intrigued by the murder, amateur sleuth Kate decides to leave this investigation to the professionals. However, when she learns that both the island mechanic and her university friend’s son are prime suspects, she and hedonistic artist Siobhan Fitzgerald feel they have no choice but to get involved.
Meet the author
Alice Fitzpatrick has contributed short stories to literary magazines and anthologies and has recently retired from teaching in order to devote herself to writing full-time. She is a fearless champion of singing, cats, all things Welsh, and the Oxford comma. Her summers spent with her Welsh family in Pembrokeshire inspired the creation of the Meredith Island Mysteries which include Secrets in the Water and A Dark Death. The Meredith Island Christmas mystery, A Killing Cold, is scheduled for release next summer. The traditional mystery appeals to her interest in what makes seemingly ordinary people commit murder. Alice lives in Toronto but dreams of a cottage on the Welsh coast.