When Megan and Betty Evans agree to attend the South Wales Festival of Choirs, they expect music, tea, cake and perhaps the occasional argument over judging scores.
They do not expect murder.
Swansea is alive with song as choirs from across Wales gather for one of the biggest musical events of the year. The hotels are full, the cafés are buzzing, and everyone is talking about Gareth Vaughan, the famous conductor and chief adjudicator whose charm has made him a national treasure.
At least, that is how he appears in public.
Behind the applause, Megan and Betty soon discover a different story. Performers fall silent when Vaughan’s name is mentioned. Old rivals avoid his eye. Young musicians seem frightened of his judgement. Whispers follow him through rehearsal rooms and hotel corridors, but no one wants to say too much.
Then Vaughan collapses during the festival.
What first looks like a sudden tragedy soon becomes something far darker. As the police move in and suspicion spreads through the choir world, Megan and Betty find themselves drawn into a mystery filled with old grudges, ruined careers and secrets buried beneath decades of polite applause.
With help from Dylan’s social media sleuthing, Gwen’s librarian instincts, Bryn’s quiet common sense and Sandra’s sharp café gossip, the Bus Pass Detectives begin to untangle the truth. But every clue seems to lead to another suspect.
Was it the organiser whose festival was being destroyed?
The choir director humiliated in public?
The young performer pushed too far?
The blackmailed singer with everything to lose?
Or the forgotten conductor whose career vanished after crossing Gareth Vaughan years ago?
As the final performance approaches, Megan and Betty must work out who had the motive, the opportunity and the courage to silence the most powerful man in Welsh choral music.
Because in a world built on harmony, someone has struck a deadly note.
Warm, witty and full of Welsh character, Murder at the Choir Festival is a cosy mystery about music, friendship, old secrets and the danger of underestimating women with bus passes.
Perfect for fans of gentle British mysteries, amateur sleuths, village gossip, sharp humour and murder without graphic violence.