'A delight from start to finish' Juliette Lawson When an American stranger turns up claiming to be the rightful owner of the school’s magnificent country estate it could spell trouble for everyone at St Bride’s...

No one can believe it when the headmistress, Hairnet, instantly accepts the stranger’s claim, not:



the put-upon Bursar, ousted from his cosy estate cottage by the stranger


the enigmatic Max Security, raring to engage in a spot of espionage


the sensible Judith Gosling, who knows more about Lord Bunting than she’s letting on


the irrepressible Gemma Lamb, determined to keep the school open



Only fickle maths teacher Oriana Bliss isn’t suspicious of the stranger, after all she can just marry him and secure St Bride’s future forever. That's if inventive pranks by the girls - and the school cat - don't drive him away first.

Who will nab the stranger first? Oriana with the parson’s noose? Gemma with sinister secrets? Or could this be the end of St Bride’s?

For anyone who loved St Trinian’s – old or new – or loves a cozy mystery on a grand estate filled with rather ‘interesting’ characters.

Readers love Debbie Young:

'A cracking example of cozy crime!' Katie Fforde

'These stories are charming, the students are sweet and funny and the quirks of the teachers are the icing on the cake. I'm hoping that Debbie Young writes more' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

'I was completely and utterly hooked from the first page to the last' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

'I love the feel of this series. As someone who did indeed read all the boarding school books as a child, this is a welcome 'grown-up' tonic to those long ago days' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

'I just love this series, a cosy mystery but filled with quirky characters that you just grow to love. An absolute joy to read' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

Previously published by Debbie Young as Stranger at St Bride's.