1
of
1
The Last Word Is Death
Series: The Val & Arbie Mysteries
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 719 ratings, 54 reviews)
Brief Description
A cosy romp of cream teas, double-barrelled names and murder. THE SUN The new book in the Val and Arbie mysteries from the multi-million-copy selling author Faith Martin. One of these guests has a date with death… Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift arrives at Dashwood House, a glamorously...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Last Word Is Death. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
'A cosy romp of cream teas, double-barrelled names and murder.' THE SUN The new book in the Val and Arbie mysteries from the multi-million-copy selling author Faith Martin.
A gripping new historical cozy crime mystery series for 2025, for fans of Richard Osman
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
A cosy romp of cream teas, double-barrelled names and murder. THE SUN
The new book in the Val and Arbie mysteries from the multi-million-copy selling author Faith Martin.
One of these guests has a date with death…
Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift arrives at Dashwood House, a glamorously modern hotel in the up-and-coming resort of Galton-next-the-Sea, but all plans for a relaxing stay are scuppered when one of the guests is found dead.
The body is found in the writing room, the victim part of a set visiting the seaside town for an engagement party, which happens to include Arbie’s old friend, Val.
Familiar with Val and Arbie’s previous experience in solving puzzling crimes, the bride asks the pair to investigate. They quickly discover that the victim had no shortage of enemies, and many of the guests are up to no good. But who is simply hiding a secret, and who is hiding murder?
Readers have fallen in love with The Last Word is Death
'Absolutely gorgeous storytelling with characters and setting perfect for the time frame’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This one is perfect for readers who love Agatha Christie-style stories and cosy murder mysteries. A great second book!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'It has the hallmarks of an Agatha Christie mystery’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780008706883
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 25 September 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: HQ Digital
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 200g
Pages: 288
About the Author
Faith Martin has been writing for over 25 years, in four genres and under four different pen names. She was born in Oxford and sets most of her crime novels within sight of the city of dreaming spires. A real nature lover and aficionado of the countryside, descriptions of wildlife and native flora often find their way into her manuscripts.
Also by Faith Martin
View all-
A Dangerous Train of Thought
A brand new Golden Age cosy crime mystery from the multi-million-copy bestseller Faith Martin. 'A masterfully constructed page-turner of a murder mystery. Clever, compelling, and intriguing. An excellent read' TA Williams 'Hugely entertaining with an ingenious solution! I loved it!' Clare Chase 'Suspicious notes, a lethal hat pin and a body in the library … As far as I'm concerned...Paperback$3499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Murder by Candlelight
One suspicious death. Two amateur sleuths. And an utterly impossible crime… The NUMBER ONE ebook bestseller! 'Amuses and intrigues in equal measure… a splendid start to what promises to be a long-running series’ Daily Mail The Cotswolds, 1924. At the Old Forge in the quiet village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh, a cry of anguish rings out: the lady of the house, Amy...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Fatal End
Don’t miss Faith Martin’s fiendishly clever new novel, Murder by Candlelight, set in the 1920s and described as ‘the perfect village mystery’ by J.M. Hall. ‘There is so much to love about A Fatal End… Another nail-biting mystery awaits.’ The Lancashire Post Oxford, 1963. In a backstreet club, people dance the night away to their favourite band. But behind the...Paperback$5100Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks
More from Crime & Thriller
View all-
New ReleaseEvery Lake
Scary stories are fun... until your life becomes one. When Alice was fifteen, her father killed Mia Heywood in their lakefront cottage before vanishing into the trees. At least that's what the locals think happened. Over a decade later, Alice has lost her job as a journalist, she's going through an expensive divorce and she desperately needs to sell the...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseIt Could Have Been Her
PREPARE TO BE HOOKED: The no. 1 Sunday Times and MULTI-million-copy bestselling author is back with a brand-new spine tingling thriller. It was the night she almost died. Jane Trevally, newly divorced and feeling a little lost, agrees to accompany a man she doesn't know to his house in the darkest corner of Hampstead Heath. She's offered a drink, goes in, and...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New Release26 Beauties
The twenty-sixth thrilling novel in the globally bestselling Women's Murder Club series. Beautiful young women are disappearing by the dozen. A celebration is cut short when a concerned father crashes Detective Inspector Lindsay Boxer's party. His daughter is missing - and she's not the only one. DI Lindsay Boxer has been tracking a chilling pattern: a Jane Doe washed ashore,...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Secrets We Hide
The stunning new North Falls thriller by the bestselling author of We Are All Guilty Here 'Quite simply, Karin Slaughter is the best of us' Dervla McTiernan Welcome back to North Falls -- a small town with big secrets. The house at 1601 Iris Drive looks like any other in the quiet, residential street. But rumours are rife about the Vickery...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Parkwood Murders
They came for an escape, but can they escape a killer? Detective Nicola Bridge returns in another gripping and immersive mystery For its loyal guests, Parkwood Holiday Village in west Dorset is a haven- woodland walks, a tranquil lake, service around the clock. Until, just after midsummer, a body is found floating in the swimming pool. Detective Nicola Bridge, exhausted...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Hope Rises
'BALDACCI IS STILL PEERLESS' - THE SUNDAY TIMES REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD . . . Walter Nash, working under the alias of Dillon Hope, is on the road to revenge after becoming an informant for the FBI against a global criminal operation headed up by Victoria Steers. Steers has ripped everything Nash held dear away from him....Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New Release
Slash
A year after a brutal shootout left her lover dead, ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers is a hot mess, drinking too much and eating too little, working casual gigs for a shady firm of private investigators — while holding conversations with a ghost. A desperate father asks her to investigate his missing son — a double-murder suspect last seen during the...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseA River Red With Blood
The players call it the Game, and its aim is simple: to abduct and kill a stranger without getting caught. They're very good at it. They've been playing it for a long time. And they can keep playing as long as everyone sticks to the rules: No Killing Close to Home and No Killing Outside the Game. But those rules...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Shadow Step
The new Detective Miller thriller from bestselling author Mark Billingham, full of tension, wit and incredible twists. The Shadow Step: One taken simultaneously by a pair of dancers facing the same direction, one of them behind and slightly shifted leftwards ('in the shadow') Typically, such a step perfectly demonstrates synchronized elegance. It showcases a couple in near telepathic harmony with...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid August -
New ReleaseBlue Lightning
Blue Lightning The fourth Shetland novel A remote island on lockdown. A killer on the loose . . . Shetland detective Jimmy Perez knows it will be a difficult homecoming when he returns to Fair Isle to introduce his fiancée to his parents. With the autumn storms raging, the island is cut off from the rest of the world. Then...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseRed Bones
Red Bones is the third Shetland novel featuring detective Jimmy Perez. Sometimes the dead won't stay buried... When a young archaeologist uncovers a set of human remains, the island settlers are intrigued. Is it an ancient find—or a more contemporary mystery? Then an elderly woman is shot in what appears to be a tragic accident in the middle of the...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Last to Drown
Praise for Noelle W. Ihli: 'Hands down one of my favourite reads of the year' - FREIDA MCFADDEN 'A true classic in the genre' - LISA JEWELL 'A propulsive story that haunts and mesmerizes' - KARIN SLAUGHTER FIVE DAYS. TWENTY STRANGERS. NO PHONE SIGNAL. The rafting trip was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. But now that Kaia's...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Crime & Thriller lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
