She Treads Softly: The Victims of St Just

Monday, August 17, 2026

The Victims of St Just

The Victims of St Just by Sally Rigby
9/15/26; 263 pages
Storm Publishing
Cornwall Murder Mystery #8

The Victims of St Just by Sally Rigby is a very highly recommended procedural and the 8th novel in the reliably entertaining Cornwall Murder Mystery series. It can be easily be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

The body of Russell Keene is found inside a locked commercial freezer and it is quickly determined that this was no accident. Detective Inspector Lauren Pengelly and Detective Sergeant Matt Price are called out to Tredown Manor to investigate. Russell is the partner and boy friend of the owner of the manor, celebrity chef Lydia Yeoman. The manor has been set up so they can conduct exclusive weekend cooking courses using cutting edge scientific techniques. Since the class size is limited, the killer is likely one of eleven people including guests and staff, who had access to the freezer. This is set up as a classic locked room murder mystery.

The well-written procedural/murder mystery moves at a fast pace while all the clues are logically followed. It is clear from the opening scene that Russell was also poisoned, so when medical examiner Henry Carpenter provides that information to Pengelly and Price, it provides even more information for the team to work with. New connections and additional information uncovered during the investigation point to several different suspects. While there are a few of these clues that could point to someone off the manor grounds, the main suspects are all either guests or staff. There is also all manner of background information, secrets, and hidden connects also exposed.

The backgrounds and personalities of both Pengelly and Price have been presented as realistic, believable characters with individual personalities and depth in the series. Although there isn't a great focus on the individual characters this time out, those of us following the series know these characters and appreciate any and all character development in this excellent series. Following the team during an investigation is always satisfying.

The Victims of St Just is a wonderful choice for everyone who enjoys procedurals/murder mysteries. Thanks to Storm Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.