Mrs. Malory and A Death In the Family
Mrs. Malory series, No 17
by Hazel Holt
Hazel Holt writes classic English village mysteries that are highly literate and highly civilized. They're beautifully
written, highly readable, and set in a world where manners and proper behavior matter, even if they aren't universally
exhibited. Violence certainly happens (these are murder mysteries, after all), but as a sad part of life you
deal with when you encounter it, not part of what defines life.
Superficially these are about as cozy as it gets - set in a small English village, with an older-woman protagonist
who spends a lot of her time on such things as village volunteering, helping with her granddaughter, and cooking.
However, while Sheila Mallory is someone you'd enjoy having as a comfortable friend (something I've never felt
about Miss Marple, another deceptively cozy-seeming sleuth), she's also full of clear-sighted intelligence and
integrity. You experience the story through her non-fluffy eyes, making them equally non-fluffy cozies: what I
prefer to call traditional mysteries.
Loathsome cousin Bernard has threatened, er, promised, a visit. In retirement, he's taken up genealogy and
intends to force everyone in the family he can reach to help him fill up the family tree; while boring them
further by "sharing" on the subject with all the relentless demagoguery of a former schoolmaster. Unfortunately it
appears he's also been digging up skeletons buried under the family tree and letting their owners know. Almost
inevitably, his body is found with his head beaten in. Was this the inevitable result of telling people he knew
their secrets, or something else entirely - loathsome as he was as a visitor, what must he have been like for his
immediate family to live with all those years? Sheila may not have liked him much, but a mixture of intellectual
curiosity, belief in justice, and concern for other members of her own family means she has to find out what
happened.
This is one of the best entries in a series full of vivid characters, with plots based in solid puzzles that
play fair with the reader, fluidly written with an admirable sense of place. Highly recommended. |
The Book |
Signet |
November 2006 |
Mass market Paperback |
0451219899 |
Mystery - traditional |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: |
The Reviewer |
Kim Malo |
Reviewed 2006 |
NOTE: |
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