Writing a book which is heavily location-based is always a challenge, especially when you don’t live in the area you’re writing about. Doing so under a government lockdown due to a global pandemic makes it a touch trickier still. Being unable to visit Rutland whilst writing this book certainly provided me with a challenge, and if I’ve come close to meeting it, praise should certainly not be directed at me.

My unwavering thanks on that front must go to everyone who’s helped me from afar, answering inane questions about gates, footpaths and countless other minutiae concerning Rutland. In no particular order, these are:

Jill Kimber, Robert Ovens and everyone else at the Rutland Local History & Record Society for the wealth of information they provided me. At this point, I must stress that the Rutland Local History & Record Society is a wonderful, esteemed and incredibly helpful bunch of people, and is an entirely separate entity from the fictional history society mentioned in this book. The Rutland Local History & Record Society has, so far as I know it, no murderers among its ranks, nor should murderers be encouraged to join (although membership is a very reasonable £14 a year, or just £16 for your entire murderous family).

In all seriousness, the RLH&RS is an absolutely superb organisation and a wonderful group of people, and anyone with even a passing interest in the history of Rutland should absolutely become a member.

Jonathan Young, Anglian Water’s manager at Rutland Water, was a great help in giving me ideas for how my killer could access Normanton Church under cover of darkness. Thank you, Jonathan.

To the Reverend Canon Leo Osborn for having been willing — but unable — to appear as a character in this book due to his retirement from the clergy, which would have left me looking rather daft had I not realised. Thank you.

To everyone in Rutland who’s expressed such a keen enthusiasm for this series, I really cannot thank you enough. Your passion and interest spurs me on more than you’ll ever know, and I hope beyond anything else that I’ve done your part of the world justice.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten many of you, but I’m going to have a crack at it anyway. Huge thanks to Beverley Graham for her local knowledge and contacts; to Matt Smith, Ady Dayman, Sophie Price, Namrata Varia and Ben Jackson from BBC Radio Leicestershire; Rob Persani and Jennifer Lee from Rutland Radio; Kerry Coupe — editor of the Rutland & Stamford Mercury; Darren Greenwood from Oakham Nub News and Sue Parslow from The Village Diary magazine for their enthusiasm and keenness to help promote the series.