The Cost of Living

Rachel Ward author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Sandstone Press Ltd

Published:21st Sep '17

Currently unavailable, our supplier has not provided us a restock date

The Cost of Living cover

Full UK marketing campaign by the Sandstone Press in-house team.

When a young woman is attacked walking home from her local supermarket, Bea Jordan, a smart but unfulfilled checkout girl, is determined to investigate. Colleagues and customers become suspects, secrets are uncovered.

When a young woman is attacked walking home from her local supermarket, Bea Jordan, a smart but unfulfilled checkout girl, is determined to investigate. Colleagues and customers become suspects, secrets are uncovered. While fear stalks the town, Bea finds an unlikely ally in Ant, the seemingly gormless new trainee, but risks losing the people she loves most as death comes close to home. The Cost of Living is a warm, contemporary story with likeable leads, an engaging cast of supporting characters and a dark thread running throughout.

This odd, appealing pair prove a formidable match for the surprising killer. Readers will look forward to their next outing.

* Publishers Weekly *

Bea and Ant are a delightful crime-solving duo and I’ll very happily join them again for another clean-up in a Costsave aisle.

* Crime Review *

Unlikely friendships and quirky wit make this the most warm-hearted of crime debuts.


Utterly fab, fresh and real.


A breath of fresh air, Ant and Bea are fabulous creations.


Heart-warming, intriguing and character-led, this is just the right kind of crime book to curl up with in front of the fire...


I absolutely loved THE COST OF LIVING. Crime just where you least expect it, and one of my favourite ensemble casts.


Rachel Ward’s The Cost of Living flies into my top five reads list of 2018. It has everything you could want from a read.


Rachel Ward is an extremely skillful writer and here she provides warm characterisations, convincing dialogue, deliciously awkward romantic liaisons, a wicked wit to make you giggle and a plot to keep you guessing all the way to the check-out. It's a treat!

* Bradford on Avon Mini Book Festival *

One of the best murder mystery books I’ve read in a very long time.

* Between the Pages blog *

The thread of darkness and the engaging characters coupled with the plausible setting makes it more than just a cosy crime story.

* Live and Deadly blog *

An excellent standalone but Ward has put the building blocks in place to make for a stellar series.

* Cramlington Book Club *

I really enjoyed reading this book. Ant & Bea are very likeable characters, very down to earth and there was a lot which made me smile throughout the book.

* Portobello Book Blog *

A heartwarming, entertaining mystery which keeps you gripped until the very end

* SomewhereInABook, Bookstagram *

The perfect book to curl up with as the nights start to draw in and there’s a chill in the air.

* Writing from the Tub blog *

Imagine a warm snuggly hug in book form and you get The Cost of Living.

* Random Redheaded Ramblings bl

ISBN: 9781910985830

Dimensions: 200mm x 130mm x 20mm

Weight: 231g

320 pages