Renegade snares two in Sutton’s Hill House Vintage Murdery Mystery series 

Renegade has acquired The Potting Shed Murder, the first book in the new Hill House Vintage Murder Mystery series by Paula Sutton, the face behind Hill House Vintage, which has over half a million Instagram followers.

Publisher Christina Demosthenous acquired world English rights, including audio, for the two books from senior agent Oscar Janson-Smith at Gleam Futures, and Renegade will publish The Potting Shed Murder on 4th April 2024.

A Renegade superlead for 2024, the team will be launching The Potting Shed Murder at Harrogate Crime Festival. At Harrogate, there will be an installation on-site with a vintage car and samplers of the book.

In the novel, Daphne leaves London behind to move to Pudding Corner, a sleepy Norfolk village. However, as a Black woman arriving in a small, rural community, she is faced with a number of uniquely subtle hurdles and hidden tests, which she is determined to overcome simply by being herself.

As time goes by, and she finds herself in great demand as the village’s unofficial Vintage Lady, she begins to acclimatise to a more sedate way of life. But when the village school’s headmaster is discovered dead, lying face down in his allotment patch, everything changes. His wife refuses to accept a verdict of natural causes, and the village is suddenly ablaze with scandal about "the potting shed murder".

When the headmaster’s influential widow points her finger at Minnerva, Daphne’s new friend, the fingers of the village begin to point with her. As the unjust politics and machinations of power in a quaint rural village slowly become apparent to her, Daphne decides to clear her friend’s name, and starts to investigate.

Sutton is a vintage-hunting interior stylist, author, columnist and TV personality. She left London – where she worked in fashion publishing – over 10 years ago to move to Hill House in Norfolk with her family. She is the creator of the blog and social media brand, Hill House Vintage.

Demosthenous said: “Paula is a true natural. I’ve been blown away by the warmth, sparkle and effortlessness of her narrative voice, and how beautifully she brings to life the stunning surrounds of Pudding Corner, its eclectic cast of characters, as well as its dark and deadly underbelly.

“Cosy crime tends to be a pretty conservative area of the market, lacking in inclusivity, and Paula has such a fresh, much-needed take on the genre. The Potting Shed Murder is packed with twists and turns, characters you love to hate, and an unforgettable amateur sleuth you root furiously for.”

Sutton said: “With this book I wanted to welcome people into the seemingly bucolic world of Pudding Corner and Pepperbridge – an imaginary picturesque and calm enclave of Norfolk that is filled with secrets and intertwined lives. The beauty of untouched areas like Norfolk is that every farmhouse has a history, every resident has a backstory, and every backstory has a twist and a turn, and I wanted to explore that.

“Although a work of fiction, the protagonist and stories take inspiration from my own often-surreal journey from urban South London to the ‘cottage-core’ beauty of rural English country living.”

Janson-Smith added: “Paula is one of the most effortlessly charming people you could possibly hope to meet – however, it seems she has been harbouring a dark side. While her debut novel is packed full of the wit, warmth, and bucolic appeal you’d expect, there is a gripping murder case at its core, as well as a rather frank look at the realities of contemporary countryside living.

“It is an assured debut, and I’m pleased that Christina and the team at Renegade immediately recognised Paula’s immense talent.”