Funny how things come back to you.
Getting dressed for dinner with my parents to mark their forty-fifth wedding anniversary, my thoughts turned to another occasion decades earlier when we were together in London, celebrating the end of my police officer training. That was the night I realised I’d one day want to go home to Heft, in rural North Yorkshire, and work my local patch. I can still picture the look on my mother’s face – delight mingled with surprise – while Dad appeared bemused to think ‘a little place like Heft where nothing much happens’ was really where I saw my future.
And yet it was.
Twenty years later, things fell into place, and I came home, an experienced sergeant with a trusted partner in tow – my Springer Spaniel, Officer Wilson.
I don’t mind admitting, law enforcement in Heft was not what I expected – in fact, it was something of a shock to the system.
Having spent years on the beat in London, then in Harrogate – both of which had plenty going on – I anticipated my hometown (population 1,923) would be, well, quiet in comparison. Undemanding. The truth is, I’ve never been busier. Careful what you wish for, my mother, Violet, is fond of saying.
It’s early days and I’m still coming to terms with my new beat: the quirkiness, the endless complaints about parking infringements, delivery drivers, disputes between neighbours, house alarms going off at all hours … What my husband Nick calls ‘non-crimes. In the spirit of community policing and keeping the peace, I take it all seriously. (Which, frankly, can be exhausting.) Still, it’s what I signed up for, and I love my job. Plus, I’m not on my own, I have Wilson, who’s smart, loyal, loving, enthusiastic, intuitive, a seasoned investigator – and great at winning people over.
To give you a flavour of what we’re busy with day to day right now, there’s a missing person case – Melody Bright, sixty-six, married, comfortably off. Went out one day and didn’t come home. Her husband, Brian, insists she would never leave without a word, but in the absence of evidence of foul play, I’m keeping an open mind. It’s possible she simply walked out on her marriage. (People do. I’ve had cases like that before.)
I’m also keeping a close eye on the high street, where Heft’s long-established traditional bakery, Hooley’s, is feeling the heat from a newcomer, Rise, a so-called cakery-bakery that specialises in sourdough bread, fancy patisseries – and, recently, a pie that looks almost identical to the famous Hooley Heft. I mean, healthy competition is one thing, I just don’t want to see a battle of the bakers break out on my watch.
I should also mention Troy Conrado, an American billionaire, who recently moved into Heft Hall and promptly had fake grass installed at the front of the historic property – to the horror of the locals, who arrived with placards to protest. Troy is possibly the quirkiest of all Heft’s residents, the one who needs the most careful handling. Unfortunately, I have to manage him on my own since he has what you might call an aversion to dogs (Wilson is banned from the Hall).
As you can see, there’s enough going on to keep me on my toes. Tonight, though, I’m out of uniform and putting work to one side to enjoy a meal with my family, which is a rare treat. Not that I’m ever truly off duty.
In fact, there goes the doorbell now …
Death in the Countryside – A Wren & Wilson Mystery, Book 1
Release: August 2025
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
The sudden disappearance of a local woman reopens an old case in a small English town where everyone knows everyone’s business.
This debut police dog mystery will delight fans of Ann Cleeves and Margaret Mizushima.
Meet Sergeant Ali Wren and her trusty companion Officer Police Dog Wilson, a springer spaniel with a nose for trouble. Together they serve the small Yorkshire town of Heft, where everyone knows everyone else’s business. And if they don’t, that’s a cause for concern…
Ali, who has just returned home to Heft, needs all her diplomatic skills, not to mention a huge sense of humour, to navigate the requirements of her job. Drama lurks around every corner, from rogue parking in the disabled bays to a feud between the long-established Hooley bakery and a fancy new ‘cakery-bakery’. When Brian Bright reports his wife Melody missing, at first Ali thinks it’s just another routine case. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that Melody has simply left, tired of playing a supporting role to Brian’s obsession with classic cars and his first (dead) wife.
But something niggles. When Ali and Wilson doggedly continue their investigation, they find there was more to Melody than anyone realised – and more to her disappearance too…
Meet the author
Maria Malone was born in the North-East of England and has worked in print journalism and television. She has written TV companion books and ghosted autobiographies for extraordinary people. She is a former Yorkshire Press Awards Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year. Visit her website at www.mariamalonebooks.com.