History and mystery combine in a Cotswold crime thriller inspired by a village near Banbury

The Ghosts of Passchendaele is based on an extraordinary true event which was witnessed by soldiers in a graveyard in France in 1919 and which reaches right back to Great Tew as demobbed soldiers come back from the war.

Author Frederick Petford said: “It’s 1919, the Great War has just ended, and in the remote and ancient village of Great Tew a mother grieves, and the dead walk in the night. I’m fascinated by the impact of the Great War on rural villages and that, combined with the long history of curious and supernatural activity that the area is known for, made Great Tew a natural setting for a historical and rather spooky thriller like this.“While I haven’t copied the village exactly, I hope I’ve stayed true to the spirit of the place and painted a picture of life in a Cotswold village at the end of the Great War.

"I’m delighted to say the book has been very well received and a sequel, The Death of Conscience is also now also available on Amazon.”