Feisty Catherine de Barnes - Catney to her friends - has got her eye on local doctor Linton Heath but when he keeps getting called away, she turns to online dating. Then one of her dates becomes a suspect in the murder of ex-policeman Dean Court and she's drawn into a web of village intrigue that will do nothing for her love life or her reputation with the handsome police inspector or her fledgling chocolate business. But Catherine de Barnes is one very determined lady. Mostly.

All the familiar villagers from The Fowl Taste of Murder are back in glorious humorous technicolour, along with a clutch of new appearances including an eccentric retired RAF officer with a handlebar moustache the size of aeroplane wings; a vet who paints a road tunnel on his garage door; a bouncy Golden Retriever puppy and his Old English Sheepdog bestie. All of village life is here as Catney uncovers a melee of secret diaries, hidden crimes and old scores to settle.