It was meant to be a cosy evening at the Black Feather, but the atmosphere takes a chilling turn when one of the guests clutches his throat, gasping for breath, and topples off his chair. Nathalie, the inn's owner, is in a state of shock... until she finds out that the "victim" is part of the "Poisoners' Club", an assembly of approximately two dozen pharmacists who gather annually in the quaint town of Earlsraven. Their convention promises an evening of amusement, in the form of activities such as "Guess that Side Effect", "Pill Popping Bingo", and, a crowd favourite, "What's Your Poison?" But the fun takes a dark turn. Nathalie and her cook Louise must race against time to uncover the truth... before more lives are endangered.

About the series: There was nothing in the will about this ...

Cottages, English roses and rolling hills: that's Earlsraven. In the middle of it all: the "Black Feather". Not only does young Nathalie Ames unexpectedly inherit this cosy inn from her aunt, she also falls heir to her aunt's secret double life! She solved criminal cases together with her cook Louise, a former agent of the British Crown. And while Nathalie is still trying to warm up to the quirky villagers, she discovers that sleuthing runs in the family.

Ellen Barksdale was born in the English seaside resort of Brighton. From childhood she was a bookworm, and from a young age was interested in crime novels. Her first experience of crime fiction was with the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon. After years of reading crime fiction, she recently decided to take up writing herself. "Tea? Coffee? Murder!" is her first mystery series.