The Hunted Hare (#01 in The Aidan Mysteries Series)

Pennant Melangell lies at the head of a mountain valley in North Wales. It consists of a church, with the medieval shrine and pilgrimage site of St Melangell, a few cottages - and a newly constructed hotel, The House of the Hare, built by its imposing director Thaddeus Brown. To the House of the Hare come Aidan and Jenny Davison, with their seven-year-old daughter Melangell. Jenny is dying of cancer, but is determined to live life to the full while she can. She looks forward to using the hotel's archery range. Thaddeus Brown's new centre has provoked fierce opposition. When Brown is found dead, an arrow in his eye, suspicion falls first upon Lorna, his vulnerable young niece, and then upon an eccentric and passionate local man. Then young Melangell goes missing ...The first of a series of new mysteries featuring Aidan and Melangell and set in what Fay Sampson describes as the 'thin' places of the Celtic world. Fay Sampson is a widely published author with a particular interest in fantasy and Celtic history. She has been shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize on three occasions and is a winner of the Barco de Vapor award.

Publisher Description

The hamlet of Pennant Melangell consists of a church and a few cottages and lies in a mountainous part of North Wales that is so remote that it is, even today, only barely accessible to cars. It is the ancient pilgrimage site for the medieval Saint Melangell and is still visited by those seeking healing. The Davison family has come to Pennant Melangell seeking spiritual refuge as their family faces the reality of Jenny Davison's terminal cancer. Jenny and Aidan have visited before, but this is the first time they have brought their daughter, seven-year-old Melangell, to the place which inspired her name.