telly - television
torch - flashlight
trolley - shopping cart
windscreen - windshield
Other Notes
The emergency number in the UK and the Isle of Man is 999, not 911.
CID is the Criminal Investigation Department of the Isle of Man Constabulary (Police Force).
When talking about time, the English say, for example, “half seven” to mean “seven-thirty.”
With regard to Bessie’s age: UK (and IOM) residents get a free bus pass at the age of 60. Bessie is somewhere between that age and the age at which she will get a birthday card from the Queen. British citizens used to receive telegrams from the ruling monarch on the occasion of their one-hundredth birthday. Cards replaced the telegrams in 1982, but the special greeting is still widely referred to as a telegram.
When island residents talk about someone being from “across,” they mean that the person is from somewhere in the United Kingdom (across the water).
Acknowledgments
Thank you readers, for staying with Bessie for so many books.
Thanks to my editor, Denise, who has been trying to help me with my grammar since the first book.
Thanks to Kevin for the wonderful photos that grace my covers.
And thanks to my beta readers who help in a million small ways.
Aunt Bessie Volunteers
Release Date: September 19, 2019
Aunt Bessie volunteers to help Manx National Heritage clear out years of accumulated rubbish at Peel Castle.
Elizabeth Cubbon has been known as Aunt Bessie for most her life. She’s acted as an honourary aunt to most of the children who’ve grown up in Laxey over the past fifty years or more. She’s also well known for being a helpful volunteer with Manx National Heritage, the group charged with preserving and publicising the island’s rich history.
Aunt Bessie volunteers to take a quick look.
When Mark finds what looked like a skeleton in one of small towers in the castle walls, Bessie reluctantly takes a peek. A quick call to the police has Inspector Anna Lambert on the scene a short while later.
Aunt Bessie volunteers to help the police work out the identity of the skeleton.
Bessie knows people all over the island. It doesn’t take her long to compile a list of women who left the island at the right time and never returned. Now the police just have to work out which woman never got any farther than St. Patrick’s Isle, the tiny island where Peel Castle sits.
Bessie and the police need to work out the identity of their skeleton, but that isn’t all. They also want to know how she died and how her body ended up at Peel Castle. Equally puzzling is how it managed to remain undiscovered for over thirty years.
Also by Diana Xarissa
Aunt Bessie Believes
Aunt Bessie Considers
Aunt Bessie Decides
Aunt Bessie Enjoys
Aunt Bessie Finds
Aunt Bessie Goes
Aunt Bessie’s Holiday
Aunt Bessie Invites
Aunt Bessie Joins
Aunt Bessie Knows
Aunt Bessie Likes
Aunt Bessie Meets
Aunt Bessie Needs
Aunt Bessie Observes
Aunt Bessie Provides
Aunt Bessie Questions
Aunt Bessie Remembers
Aunt Bessie Questions
Aunt Bessie Solves
Aunt Bessie Tries
Aunt Bessie Understands
Aunt Bessie Volunteers
The Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Mysteries
Arrivals and Arrests
Cars and Cold Cases
Dogs and Danger
Encounters and Enemies
Friends and Frauds
Guests and Guilt
Hop-tu-Naa and Homicide
Invitations and Investigations
Joy and Jealousy
Kittens and Killers
Letters and Lawsuits
The Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novellas
The Appleton Case
The Bennett Case
The Chalmers Case
The Donaldson Case
The Ellsworth Case
The Fenton Case
The Green Case
The Hampton Case
The Irwin Case
The Jackson Case
The Kingston Case
The Lawley Case
The Moody Case
The Osborne Case
The Patrone Case
The Quinton Case
The Rhodes Case
The Isle of Man Romance Series
Island Escape
Island Inheritance
Island Heritage
Island Christmas
About the Author
Diana grew up in Northwestern Pennsylvania and moved to Washington, DC after college. There she met a wonderful Englishman who was visiting the city. After a whirlwind romance, they got married and Diana moved to the Chesterfield area of Derbyshire to begin a new life with her husband. A short time later, they relocated to the Isle of Man.
After over ten years on the island, it was time for a change. With their two children in tow, Diana and her husband moved to suburbs of Buffalo, New York. Diana now spends her days writing about the island she loves.
She also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future as Diana X. Dunn and middle grade and Young Adult books as D.X. Dunn.
Diana is always happy to hear from readers. You can write to her at:
Diana Xarissa Dunn
PO Box 72
Clarence, NY 14031.
Find Diana at: DianaXarissa.com
E-mail: Diana@dianaxarissa.com